7. Ajuka’s decision

"What's all this commotion?"

Danzo slowly swaggers out of the Root headquarter while supporting himself with his wooden stick.

"Danzo-sama!"

The Root member pauses and bows in front of him.

Mm…

Danzo nods and turns towards Ajuka and his Anbu squad. He frowns as he recognizes the scroll in Ajuka's hand.

"What's the big deal with the members of Hokage's anbu mindlessly charging in Root?"

He has a calm expression as he taps his stick on the floor.

"Danzo-sama! It's like this…"

One of the Captain reports to Danzo while Ajuka and his squad cautiously stare at Danzo.

Hmm…

"So, you are implying that these people barged into our base with no evidence?"

Danzo has a stern expression on his face as he displays his authority.

"Danzo! Cut the crap. You can't put a blindfold on this case just like all other cases."

Ajuka straightens his chest and confronts Danzo.

"Oh?!"

Danzo raises an eyebrow as he stares into Ajuka's eyes. The courage and determination in the young man's eyes astound him.

"You resemble your father when he was young. But that's all! You don't have the judgment and the wisdom of your father."

Danzo shakes his head.

"Hiruzen has pampered you so much so that you failed to realize the consequence of stealing that Secret Scroll of Weapon Sealing!"

"I am completely aware of the consequence of my actions, but to me, it seems like you have forgotten the consequence of treachery against the village."

Ajuka clutches the secret scroll, ready to unleash its power when required.

"Hmph!"

Danzo snorts at him.

"Does this scroll have boosted your confidence to this degree that you aren't even afraid of barging into the second most powerful organization of Konoha and even slander and threaten the life of its leader?"

A nearby Root member places a large wooden chair beside Danzo as Danzo gracefully sits on it. He turns to Ajuka and remarks.

"This scroll is not something the like of you could hope to activate and use against me!"

Danzo turns to his root shinobis and signals them.

"Kill everyone except for this boy! I want this incident to serve as a warning to prevent such reckless fools from stepping on the authority of the ROOT."

"Yes, Danzo-sama!"

The nearby captain nods and turns towards Ajuka and his team with cold eyes.

"This is bad!"

Senjuro wipes the sweat from his forehead and silently prays to himself.

'I hope the messenger made it to Hokage-sama on time, or else I am afraid, we don't have any chance of survival.'

"Don't you dare!"

Ajuka unfurls the scroll and makes some quick hand signs. He infuses a large amount of chakra into the scroll and slams his palm on it.

The scroll glows with a bright hue. Danzo and the rest are stunned to see this development.

"He is able to activate it?"

Danzo stares at Ajuka with wide eyes.

Fwoosh…

The bright light dies down, but nothing happens.

"What?!"

Ajuka and the rest stare at the scroll with confusion.

"I see!"

Danzo's fluctuating emotions calm down and he smirks.

"Do you think you have enough chakra reserve to wield the secret scroll of Weapon Sealing used by Lord Hashirama with his massive reserves of chakra?"

Ajuka's expression turns ugly as his trump card fails him.

"The answer is obviously no! Now, you will pay for trespassing in Foundation's territory and causing havoc."

Swish… swish…

Danzo makes some hand signs and inhales a large amount of air.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!"

Danzo fires a flurry of high-pressurized wind bullets towards Ajuka.

Tch…

Ajuka clenches his fist and infuses fire chakra into them.

"Fire Release: Shield of the Western Fire God"

He crosses his arms and creates a giant flaming shield to block the jutsu.

Hmm?!

"This jutsu!" Danzo frowns as he recognizes the jutsu.

"I see! You inherited the legacy of the Flame God of Konoha. Too bad, he had the potential to rise above others but he died too young!"

Danzo dismissively shakes his head and prepares another attack.

"The previous activation of the scroll must have consumed a lot of your chakra. I wonder how long will you last!"

Danzo makes more hand signs and inhales a large amount of air.

"Wind Release: Wind Wave"

Danzo waves his hand in front of his mouth and exhales a linear wave of pressurized wind to cut through the barrier.

BOOM…

The wind wave clashes with the fire barrier and cuts through it. Ajuka infuses more and more of his chakra to sustain the barrier, but the barrier is deteriorating rapidly.

Fwoosh…

The wind wave slices through the barrier and travels towards Ajuka.

"I… I lost!"

Ajuka has an indignant expression.

Swoosh…

A shadow leaps in between Danzo and Ajuka.

Swish…

The shadow waves its hand and easily disperses the wind wave.

Huh?!

Danzo narrows his eyes as he witnesses this.

Tch…

He clicks his tongue and mutters.

'Still the same level of skills as in his prime!'

Ah!

Ajuka lowers his arm and stares at the back of the newly arrived figure.

The figure is dressed in a haori with red, full-length kimono tied using a white sash. There is kanji for 'Third Hokage' inscribed on the back of the haori. A giant red hat with white stripes and a kanji for 'Fire' also decorate his head.

"Hiruzen?"

Danzo remarks as he stands up from his seat with the support of his wooden stick.

"Hokage-sama!"

Ajuka calls out to Hiruzen.

"Hmm…"

Hiruzen turns towards Ajuka with a stern gaze.

"I will deal with you later. For now…"

He turns towards Danzo and adopts a serious expression as he exudes the demeanor of a hokage.

"Danzo! What's the meaning of this?"

"What are you talking about, Hiruzen?"

Danzo calmly stares into Hiruzen's eyes.

"Hmph… don't play this clueless card on me! I already know what you are up to!"

Hiruzen takes out a scroll from his pocket and throws it towards Danzo.

Swish…

Danzo grabs the scroll and reads it. His expression turns ugly as he reads the contents.

"I presume this is not the right place to talk about such matters!"

Hiruzen firmly stares into Danzo's eyes.

"Hiruzen! YOU!!"

"Danzo! I am the current HOKAGE! So, follow my orders and meet me in the Hokage office."

Swoosh…

Hiruzen turns around and walks out of the Foundation's headquarter.

"Also! Don't forget to bring the boy along with you. I want to take a look at him."

Tch…

Danzo clenches his stick in anger as some cracks appear on it.

'HIRUZEN!! JUST YOU WAIT!'

He silently mutters to himself.

------------------

Later, in the Hokage Office;

"Hokage-sama!"

Senjuro and Ajuka are kneeling in front of Hiruzen as he skims through the paperwork. Hiruzen places down the papers and turns to Ajuka.

"Do you acknowledge your mistakes; if yes then silently reflect on them? From now onwards, you won't make a public appearance until I think you have reflected enough!"

Hiruzen waves his hand to dismiss them.

"NO! It's not like that!" Ajuka clenches his fist and raises his head.

"Now I get it! It's not like you are blind, but it's more like you don't want to see and recognize it." Ajuka yells at Hiruzen.

"My Sensei wasn't killed in the war. The very people he called comrades brutally murdered and backstabbed him!"

Ajuka takes out a kunai from his pocket.

Slash… slash…

He shreds his jounin vest into pieces.

"If this is the leaf's way of handling its inner affairs, if this is the competency of the Hokage; then I won't be a part of such a system."

Slash…

Ajuka slashes the band around the leaf forehead protector.

Slam…

He slams the forehead protector on the table and glares into Hiruzen's eyes.

"Sensei sacrificed his life to protect me. Yet, I can't even fulfill my pledge to protect his family. From today onwards, I won't be a shinobi of the leaf until the day arrives when Foundation ceases to exist!"

Ajuka turns around and walks towards the exit.

"AJUKA!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"

Hiruzen stands from his seat and yells at him.

"You don't have to worry about me. I won't become a rogue shinobi."

Ajuka waves his hand and dismisses Hiruzen's concern.

"Before his untimely death, Sensei was invited by the members of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas; but he refused them. Since I have inherited Sensei's legacy; I will join the group and protect Konoha in my way."

Bang…

He slams the door shut and flickers away.

Sigh…

Hiruzen takes a deep breath and slumps down in his seat. He gazes at the Hokage Monument illuminated by the faint moonlight.

'Tobirama-Sensei! Looks like you made a mistake with your judgment by selecting me as the Hokage.'

"Hokage-sama! I apologize on behalf of Captain Ajuka. He is young and rash, so a moment of rage consumes his senses. Please pardon him for his offense!"

Senjuro bows in front of Hiruzen.

"It's fine! You don't have to apologize for anything. Just return to the Anbu headquarter and assign a pair of shinobis to protect Nakamura Weapon Shop from shadows."

Hiruzen dismisses him.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

Senjuro bows once again and flicker away.

Sigh…

Hiruzen takes a deep breath and rubs his forehead.

'It's the least I could do for him!'

Hiruzen contemplates his decision and reminisces some old memories from the Second Shinobi War.

An image of a tall young man with fiery red hair and dark red eyes appears in his mind.

Knock… Knock…