Unveiling Shadows

In the dimly lit Hokage office, the heavy air of tension hung palpably.

Tsunade sat behind her desk, her head bowed in weariness, hiding her brewing emotions, her hands clasped tightly together.

Shizune, her loyal assistant, stood nearby, holding TonTon in her hands, their eyes meeting briefly in a shared sense of helplessness. TonTon let out a gentle "buhi" sound, attempting to offer a suggestion to Shizune.

Shizune nodded in acknowledgment, her gaze filled with concern as she looked up towards Tsunade. With a soft, compassionate tone, she urged her not to blame herself or drown in sorrow. "Don't blame yourself, Tsunade-sama. No one can predict what happens. There's no need to be-"

Boom! Suddenly, an explosive sound shattered the suffocating silence. Tsunade's fist crashed down upon her desk, splitting it in half, causing Shizune and TonTon to tremble in shock and fear. "Buhi?!"

The sight of Tsunade's unleashed rage was jarring, her furious growl punctuating the air.

"Sadness has no place here," Tsunade's voice resonated with a seething growl as she swept aside the remnants of the shattered table, her words dripping with raw anger.

Caught off guard by Tsunade's outburst, Shizune stood frozen in place, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Summoning her courage, she mustered the strength to ask the question that hung heavily in the air. "Tsunade-sama," she stammered, "are you still angry?"

Tsunade's glare pierced through Shizune, her voice laced with determination as she responded with a firm tone. "Is there a need to ask?" she retorted, her frustration palpable.

Shizune seemed to understand, her voice trembling as she uttered her thoughts. "But Tsunade-sama," she said weakly, "You already went and smashed his base. Wasn't that... enough?"

Tsunade growled in response, her anger undeterred. "Enough? That base was nothing more than a surface with no important core," she spat, frustration evident in her every word. "It didn't even scratch his skin, let alone break his bones. That dirty old man didn't even have the audacity to show up, and he was probably secretly watching through some damn crystal ball, treating me like a mere venting monkey while I smashed his establishment."

"Uh…" Shizune's voice wavered as she offered a feeble reminder. "At least… After the joint suppression from the Hyuga, Inuzaka, Aburame, and Sarutobi clans, the advisors finally compromised and delegated some authority in the meeting, didn't they? That's a happy thing, isn't it?"

Tsunade slumped back in her chair, exhaustion etched onto her face as her hand rubbed her throbbing temple. "I can't bring myself to be happy, Shizune," she confessed wearily. "Exchanging the life of another for a mere exchange of political benefits… but the lives that were lost can never be brought back. No amount of benefits can change the fact that a loyal Jonin sacrificed herself due to my lacking grasp over Konoha's situation."

Shizune's voice carried empathy as she tried to console her mentor. "Tsunade-sama, you have done remarkably well as Hokage already, especially considering you haven't held the position for long. It's impossible to grasp everything, especially with others constantly obstructing your path."

Tsunade cursed under her breath, her frustration simmering beneath the surface. "Damn those dirty old fogeys," she muttered resentfully.

Peeking at Tsunade from the corner of her eye, Shizune sensed her anger beginning to subside. Gathering her courage once again, she broached the next pressing matter. "What should we do with Team 8, Tsunade-sama? Should we assign another Jonin instructor?"

Tsunade fell into a contemplative silence, her brow furrowing as she weighed her options. After a moment, she shook her head, a somber expression adorning her face. "No, let them rest for a while," she replied, her voice filled with concern. "It's too dangerous to send them on another mission at the moment. Danzo hasn't given up yet. Even now, he refuses to admit he was wrong, claiming that the Aburame boy is dangerous and that he was acting in Konoha's best interest."

Confusion etched across Shizune's face as she questioned, "Shino Aburame? Dangerous? How?"

Tsunade sighed, her weariness seeping into her voice. "The dirty old man didn't say," she admitted, her frustration evident. "But it's undoubtedly one of his excuses. It's clear that he has seen something in the Aburame boy and wants to control him. Before making a decision, we'll have to screen our men carefully, lest we let that man mix in. Find a trustworthy Jonin to guide Team 8. It can be an idle one or one from Anbu, or even from the clans, it matters not, as long as it doesn't belong to that dirty old man. Shizune, I'll leave it to you."

Shizune nodded, her shoulders slumping with a mix of weariness and determination. With a helpless sigh, she accepted the weight of the task before her.

After a momentary silence, Tsunade's eyes bore into Shizune, her voice tinged with frustration as she demanded an update on the investigation. "Shizune, how are the results? What did the Anbu find?"

Shizune nodded solemnly before delivering her report. "The Anbu returned from the investigation of the village, but they found no evidence beyond what Team Asuma brought back."

Tsunade's confusion laced her words as she questioned the lack of evidence. "No evidence? There should be at least one living witness, shouldn't there?"

Shizune's silence hung in the air for a moment before she responded, her voice heavy with a troubling revelation. "The entire village was thoroughly searched, but there were no signs of any surviving inhabitants."

Furrowing her brow, Tsunade pressed for an explanation. "What do you mean? I distinctly remember Shikamaru reporting that there were survivors requiring relocation."

Shizune's voice carried a mix of distress and perplexity. "By the time the Anbu arrived, there was no one left. The villagers had vanished without a trace, and even the neighboring villages yielded no leads."

Tsunade's frown deepened as she pondered the situation. "What about the nearby forest? I recall a Konoha medical ninja residing there according to the medical department's records."

Shizune shook her head, her voice tinged with a heavy sense of foreboding. "The forest was decimated, razed to the ground. No signs of life were detected, and the medical ninja is missing."

"Tsk." A frustrated click of her tongue escaped Tsunade's lips as she stood abruptly, biting her lower lip in agitation. "That dirty old man, as clean as ever. He better not let me catch his tail, because unlike the Sandaime, I won't hesitate to smash him once I do."

With purpose in her stride, Tsunade made her way toward the office door, intending to leave. Shizune hurriedly followed, her confusion evident in her voice. "Eh? Tsunade-sama, where are you going? You still have work to do."

Tsunade replied with unwavering determination, her tone firm. "The desk is broken, Shizune. I can't work like this."

A mix of shock and disbelief colored Shizune's exclamation. "EHHH?! Is that the real reason Tsunade-sama smashed the desk? Wait! Tsunade-sama, come back!"

With Shizune hot on her heels, Tsunade briskly made her escape from the confines of her duties, driven by a relentless pursuit to uncover the truth and confront the manipulative forces at play… definitely not because she wanted to find a place to stretch her hands and release steam.

Meanwhile, another exchange happened in the depths of the dark underground Root base.

Danzo sat in silence, his eyes closed as he contemplated the shadows that surrounded him. A solitary candle flickered nearby, casting eerie light upon the figures kneeling in the darkness.

One shadowy figure emerged, silently approaching Danzo and kneeling before him, clad in a light-colored hooded jacket and an Anbu mask. Danzo's voice cut through the stillness, steady and unwavering. "How are the investigations proceeding?"

The subordinate's voice was laced with a sense of grim determination as he reported the findings. "There are no traces of survivors or witnesses. Our own men have vanished without a trace, denying us any chance of gathering intelligence from their remains. Not only that, the creatures and critters in the area were also cleaned. Even the smallest hints of blood and signs of struggle have been meticulously eradicated. Apart from the lifeless body delivered by the Ino-Shika-Cho squad, which conveniently framed us as the culprits, there is no other evidence or data regarding the target's abilities or the identity of their mysterious assailants."

Danzo's eye snapped open, his hoarse chuckle permeating the chamber, an undercurrent of anger underscoring his tone. "Good. Very good. After decades, it seems someone finally turned the tables on me, using me as their scapegoat. Well played indeed."

His single visible eye narrowed as it locked onto his subordinate, his voice turning cold. "Where is Torune?"

The subordinate hesitated briefly before answering, his voice tinged with concern. "We have yet to receive any news of his return. Root members were dispatched to search for him, but even they lost contact. It appears that another force is targeting us, one with superior counter-intelligence. As for the missing Root members, I fear..."

The subordinate's words trailed off, their implications hanging heavily in the air. Danzo's fists clenched in anger, his voice lowering to a growl. "Such exquisite methods. I underestimated the Aburame boy. Perhaps, he may even have an unknown force behind him. But this old man has decades of experience, and the game has only just begun…"

As for the useless chess pieces who had gone missing...

With a swift gesture, Danzo extinguished the candle flame, plunging the chamber into darkness. The absence of light drowned the chamber with darkness, mirroring the fate of his expendable pawns, the emotionless shadows that lurked menacingly around him.