"Maybe… we could find someone to steal the Four Seas Restaurant's recipes and secret formulas?"
A glint appeared in the Third Hokage's eyes.
It was a tempting thought.
"But it's not exactly an honorable move. Once we acquire the recipes, someone will have to actually run the place… and it can't be me. I'm the Hokage—if I'm exposed, not only would it damage my reputation, but it would also ruin the trust I've worked so hard to build with Ren Takashi."
"No. This sort of thing is best left to Danzo."
"I'm sure he's already heard the news and is fuming about it anyway, ha!"
The corners of Hiruzen's mouth lifted into a wry smile.
Danzo was just too convenient.
And that's why, no matter how ambitious Danzo became—no matter how recklessly he expanded Root—Hiruzen had never truly cut him loose.
Speak of the devil…
Bang!
The office door slammed open as Danzo stormed in, his face thunderous with rage.
"Hiruzen!" he bellowed. "You've seen it, haven't you?! I told you from the start—this kid isn't some naive brat! You should've handed him over to me!"
"Now look! He's forming alliances, recruiting the next generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio!"
"Don't you realize what that means? Those three clans are your most loyal political allies!"
"If the Uchiha start pulling them into their orbit, it'll cause massive problems!"
"We cannot allow this to continue! Give him to me, Hiruzen!"
Danzo was practically shaking with fury.
Ren Takashi's charisma was far more dangerous than he'd anticipated. If given a few more years, would the entire village be singing the boy's praises? Would the Uchiha clan become entrenched in every corner of Konoha?
That couldn't be allowed.
Not that he'd ever admit he was also jealous of the Four Seas Restaurant's profits.
Root's funding had always been tight—Hiruzen kept the purse strings painfully short.
Training required money. Expansion required money. Experiments? Even more money.
If Danzo hadn't taken direct control of nearly all the Sarutobi clan's remaining wealth—and if his clan's gambling dens weren't earning mountains of cash—Root would've collapsed years ago.
Yes, unlike Hiruzen who siphoned funds from the village to fatten his clan, Danzo had gone the other way:
Bleeding the Shimura clan dry to feed Root.
Under his leadership, the Shimura had shriveled into a shadow of their former selves.
He even regularly "recruited" their brightest into Root.
If Danzo hadn't been such a selfish bastard obsessed with becoming Hokage, his contributions might've exceeded Hiruzen's.
As it stood, his own clan was cursed to wither under his ambition.
By Naruto's era, the Shimura clan had almost vanished.
This man was a monster.
And the Four Seas Restaurant? That was prime meat on the table—and Danzo wanted a cut.
Sure, he knew Hiruzen wouldn't hand Ren over.
But the restaurant? That was up for grabs.
He also knew Hiruzen was plotting behind the scenes, same as him.
"You know I can't hand him over, Danzo."
Hiruzen stood slowly, walked over, and quietly shut the door.
He dismissed the surrounding ANBU with a wave of his hand.
Then turned to face his old comrade.
"Let's not waste time. Just tell me what you want. I know damn well this isn't just about Ren Takashi."
Hiruzen wouldn't say aloud what they were both thinking.
He preferred Danzo to volunteer his dirty ideas—kept his own hands clean that way.
Danzo understood immediately.
Of course he did.
"Hmph. I'll deal with it," Danzo said coldly. "I'll take that restaurant out of those brats' hands and give the Ino-Shika-Cho clans a proper warning."
"But I want 70% of the profits."
He named his price without flinching.
"Absolutely not."
Hiruzen rejected the offer flatly. "At most, fifty-fifty."
"And don't bother trying to take the restaurant itself. It's just a rented building—it's worthless."
"The real value lies in the recipes and secret formulas."
"Have someone acquire them quietly. Then set up a new restaurant somewhere else, using that intel. It'll yield the same profits."
"And we'll avoid unnecessary retaliation from the Uchiha or the Ino-Shika-Cho."
"More importantly, it won't derail my efforts to brainwash Ren. Understood?"
Strategy, Danzo. Use your head.
Sometimes Danzo's methods were just too crude.
"…Hmph."
Danzo's brow twitched.
"That… is actually a good idea."
"So you are trying to brainwash him into becoming your pawn, huh?"
"And you call me underhanded?"
He snorted with disdain.
Hiruzen always painted himself as righteous and wise… but in the shadows, he was just as dirty.
"Still—so I go do all the work, risk all the exposure, and you take half the profit for sitting pretty in your tower?"
"That's outrageous."
Danzo's voice grew darker. "Unacceptable."
"I'm the Hokage," Hiruzen replied matter-of-factly. "Even taking 50% is generous, considering you'll be handling the operation."
"Be grateful, Danzo."
"If you don't like it, I'm sure Koharu or Homura would be more than happy to assist."
Danzo clenched his fists.
Unbelievable.
He did all the grunt work, took all the risks—and this smug bastard reaped the benefits?
"That title should've been mine… it was supposed to be mine…!"
Danzo could barely contain the fury inside.
Every time Hiruzen lorded his position over him, that hunger for the Hokage's seat burned brighter.
"One day, monkey… I will take that chair from you."
"The title of Hokage belongs to me—me alone!"
He swallowed the rage, forced it down.
For now.
"…Fine. I'll do it."
"But I'm leaving."
He spun on his heel, unwilling to remain a second longer in that suffocating office.
"Make sure no one finds out," Hiruzen reminded him. "If word leaks, I can't protect you."
Danzo scoffed.
"You think I need you to tell me that? Hmph!"
And with that, he slammed the door behind him.