Chapter: 15

Hiruzen gestured for the ANBU to rise before speaking,

"Out with it, we haven't got the whole night."

Hachidori straightened up, her ANBU mash hiding her slightly irked facial expression,

"The Surveillance Corps has intercepted a messenger near the border of the Land of Rivers. The cipher division is checking for any hidden messages, but it states that Tanigakure is preparing for war against Sunagakure."

Hiruzen's brows furrowed at her words,

"Just Tani?"

His disbelief was justifiable, after all, even if Suna was the weakest of the five Great Shinobi Villages, it was still far more powerful than the likes of Tanigakure.

Hachidori nodded,

"Yes, Lord Hokage. Although,"

She hesitated for a moment before continuing with her report,

"There has been some news of skirmishes along the Suna border of Land of Claws and Land of Fangs."

Hiruzen chuckled,

"So the Hyenas are banding together to take down the weakest of the tigers, eh?"

Hachidori didn't say anything, or rather, she didn't want to speak anything unnecessary.

The third Hokage leaned back in his chair, wondering what to do with this new mess,

"Inform the ANBU stationed at the border to gather as much intelligence as they can regarding the skirmishes. Tell them to remain vigilant and report any further development immediately."

Hachidori nodded,

"Understood Hokage-sama,"

That was the cue for her to leave the old man alone with his thoughts, but she remained standing. 

Hiruzen raised his head a bit, meeting the ANBU's eyes with an inquiring look on his face,

"Anything else?"

Hachidori nodded,

"Yes, Lord Hokage. I wanted to discuss a matter concerning one of my subordinates."

Hiruzen's bow shot up. This was interesting, usually, he was only consulted for the recruitment of new members and the dismissal of old ones. But to think that the niece of White Fang himself would seek his advice told him he still had some sway over the members of the ANBU... and it pleased him greatly,

"Ah, of course, and who might that be?"

Hachidori hesitated for a moment before going ahead with her query,

"ANBU Surveillance Corps member, Suzume."

The Hokage's eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to remember if that name meant anything to him,

"Suzume... Suzume...:

He droned on for over half a minute before his eyes snapped back into focus,

"You mean Kaori Hanada, right? Civilian Chunin. She was involved in the Suna spy incident. What about her?"

Hachidori nodded,

"Yes, Captain Fukurō's concerned about her situation..." 

She recounted the events of the previous day, detailing how Kaori was supposed to be dispatched to Hoshigakure but Fukurō didn't take her with him when he noticed she was using transformation jutsu. His Byakugan didn't see anything suspicious, except for the transformation, and even Stork's insects didn't detect any unusual activity.

"So... did you find anything unusual about her yet?"

Hiruzen was feeling quite irritated by the seemingly pointless suspicion of both the Captain and Vice-Captain of the surveillance corps... maybe he should consider someone less paranoid for the position.

"Well..."

She hesitated again,

"Her excuse is that she somehow awakened a bloodline..."

The Hokage shook his head, laughing,

"Nonsense, why would she need to use transformation jutsu just because she 'Awakened' something?"

Hachidori stared impassively as the Hokage chuckled like a fool. The amusement in his voice was getting on her nerves, but she was patient enough to leave the most shocking fact for the last,

'Let's see how you laugh at that, old man.'

"Her hair turned red."

 At first, Hiruzen didn't quite register what she just said and kept on laughing,

"Hahahaha... Wait! What did you just say?"

"Her hair turned red, Hokage-sama..."

She said the words 'Hokage-sama' in a slow and rhythmic voice, letting the weight of her words sink in.

"B-but that's..."

He wanted to say that it was impossible because, as far as he knew, red hair was an inherent trait of the Uzumaki clan. The only surviving member of the Uzumaki clan was Kushina, who happened to be the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed at Hachidori.

"Did you?"

She nodded,

"I did. Top on the priority list. It's her alright."

Hiruzen let out a sigh of relief,

"And the red hair?"

"Genuine. It seems she had some Uzumaki blood in her veins. The gene strain probably awakened due to her life being threatened."

Hachidori watched impassively, having had her fun watching the old man's reaction, suddenly, she felt a heavy weight pressing down on her shoulders. The air thickened with chakra as the Hokage momentarily lost control of his powers.

Smoke curled out of the tobacco pipe, as he leaned back in his chair, 

"Uzumaki blood..."

He muttered, stroking his white beard thoughtfully.

"There are no Uzumaki survivors besides Kushina. How could this girl be...?"

The amusement disappeared from his face, his face took on a shade of worry and his fingers began tapping impatiently on the armrest of his chair,

"Hachidori!"

His tone betrayed no doubt that his next words were commands, not statements,

"Archive Kaori Hanada's files under the A-Rank secrecy section, from this moment onwards, no one, not even the ANBU should be informed of her lineage. No, not even Fukurō! Tell him the transformation jutsu is because of disfigurement or something."

Hachidori inclined her head in acknowledgment of his orders,

"Inform Kaori that she is not to divulge this secret to anyone! As for you,"

He smiled and she knew whatever the old man had in store for her, it would not be easy,

"I have an A-rank surveillance mission for you. Don't let her out of your sight, not even for a moment. I need information, gather everything you can about the girl's background, her parents, any extended families she might have... anything that can shed light on her lineage."

"Understood. I shall leave no stones unturned."

However, before Hachidori could disappear, the Hokage started to give her another list of tasks,

"Also, monitor the nature of her bloodline abilities, and train her. No, don't rush to deny the mission,"

He raised his hands to silence her before she could voice her complaints,

"I am not telling you to teach her your clan's secrets. Just spar with her and improve her combat experience."

Hachidori bowed once more, her expression unreadable under the mask,

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

With that, she vanished into the shadows, leaving Hiruzen alone with his thoughts.

The discovery of another Uzumaki had thrown a wrench in many of his plans. He would have to act quickly, change some of his plans to favor his future moves, and the most important thing of all... he had to make sure Danzo would never hear anything about this girl,

 *BANG!*

"HIRUZEN! GIVE THE GIRL TO MY ROOT!"

'Too late for that I guess'

He grumbled internally while picking up the ink pot and hurled it at Danzo's face,

*SMASH!* *SPLATTER*

"NO! GET OUT!"