Chapter Fourteen: The Hokage's Attention

Konohagakure, the home of the Hokage, Hokage’s Office, late morning.

A middle-aged man with thick brows and a square, chiseled face, brimming with dignity, sat in the chair behind the expansive desk, his head bent over a pile of documents. The entire office was quiet and spacious, disturbed only by the occasional soft rasp of pen on paper.

He wore a crisp, well-fitted Konoha ninja uniform, a band of gleaming silver leaf-protector across his forehead. His attire differed subtly from the standard uniforms—more refined and elegant, though he did not wear the typical flak jacket of the Konoha ninja.

On a coat rack to the rear right of the desk hung the Hokage’s ceremonial cloak, white with red flame patterns along the hem, and in bold red calligraphy at the center: “Third Hokage.” Atop the rack rested the Hokage’s conical hat, its colors reversed—a red base with a white front, emblazoned with the red character for “Fire.”

The office itself was round, covering about one hundred and fifty square meters. To the left upon entering, a row of meticulously arranged file cabinets hugged the wall, holding recent documents. On the right wall, large framed portraits of the First and Second Hokage, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, hung in sequence.

Directly across from the entrance stood the massive Hokage desk, a three-and-a-half-meter-wide arc of solid wood. At the front of the desk hung a white curtain bearing a bold “Shadow” character, its hollow center marked with the red brushstroke symbol of the Hidden Leaf.

This man was none other than the current Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, Sarutobi Hiruzen, known throughout the ninja world as the “Professor” for his mastery of all standard jutsu.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had been born five years before the founding of Konoha and was just over forty—a man at the zenith of his vigor and experience.

This was not the Hiruzen of later years: gaunt, stooped, and white-haired, resembling a withered old monkey. No, now he was burly and robust, with broad, rounded shoulders and a prominent chest—simply sitting behind his desk, he seemed as solid and unyielding as an iron tower.

Suddenly, with a soft swish, an ANBU ninja wearing a feline mask appeared without warning. He bowed to the Third Hokage, presented a report, and briefly summarized its contents.

Hiruzen continued to go through his paperwork as he listened to the report. When he finished the document in hand, he picked up the intelligence file just submitted.

After hearing the short report, Hiruzen said nothing. With a casual wave of his right hand, he dismissed the ANBU.

The masked ANBU vanished as abruptly as he had arrived. From entry to exit, apart from his greeting and concise report, not a word was wasted; it was as if he had never been there at all.

Bright morning sunlight streamed through the huge windows behind the Hokage’s desk, bathing Hiruzen’s broad shoulders in gold. In this quiet, empty room, the occasional rustle of pages or scratch of a pen only served to emphasize the stillness.

Hiruzen stood from his comfortable chair and walked to the windows. From his equipment pouch, he drew out a pipe, lit it, and took a deep draw. His eyes wandered over the village beyond the glass, relaxing from the fatigue of long hours spent perusing documents, his mind turning over the key points highlighted in the intelligence report.

The Hokage’s office topped the Hokage residence, itself nestled at the focal point of Konoha’s fan-shaped layout, with the Hokage Monument rising behind. From the windows, the entire Hidden Leaf Village was laid out at his feet.

He reflected on the secret dossier just received—a confidential investigation into the ninja who had recently applied for the jonin exams. Unlike the public reports prepared for the tests, this was a document compiled by the ANBU directly under the Hokage’s command, far more detailed and thorough.

Beyond the usual background, jutsu specialties, mission records, and other conventional data, the file even included personal interests and common haunts of the candidates.

For instance, Kato Mikaze was noted as fond of bathing and frequenting a tavern named Kikukawa on Konoha’s commercial street.

Puffing on his pipe, Hiruzen gazed out the window, letting his eyes and mind rest as he pondered the items marked for special attention.

There were nine applicants for the jonin exams, all young talents cultivated by the Hidden Leaf, of an age with his own disciples—Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.

Two warranted particular scrutiny. One was an Uchiha from a branch family, named Uchiha Hachiyo, born in Year Eleven of Konoha, now twenty-five. The report noted his Sharingan had recently evolved to the three-tomoe form.

Since Uchiha Madara’s defection, the village leadership, from the Second Hokage Tobirama onward, had always kept a close watch on all Uchiha ninja.

The other was Kato Mikaze, from the small Kato clan, born in Year Thirteen, now twenty-three. He had mastered the clan’s secret, the Spirit Transformation Technique—one of only two in his generation to do so, the other being his elder brother, Kato Dan, who had become a jonin the previous year.

The Spirit Transformation Technique was an S-rank soul-related jutsu unique to the Kato clan. Hiruzen knew little of its practice beyond its effects, only that it was said to be extremely difficult and dangerous. His own teacher, Tobirama, had once asked to study it but had given up due to the risks. Tobirama had, however, developed several S-rank forbidden jutsu—now sealed in the Book of Seals—inspired by his research.

A ninja capable of such a mysterious and formidable jutsu surely deserved the Hokage’s special attention.

As Hiruzen mused, more details about Kato Mikaze surfaced in his memory.

The face of a spirited, handsome young man came to mind—a peer of Tsunade and Jiraiya, a classmate at the Academy, with short, pale blue hair, striking brows, and bright eyes. He was popular, far more so than Hiruzen’s own less fortunate disciples.

He recalled that Mikaze had been lively during his time at the Academy—if memory served, he’d even once confessed to Tsunade. Hiruzen chuckled inwardly at the thought: even a flat-chested kunoichi like Tsunade had so many admirers? If he remembered correctly, Jiraiya liked her too. Was it his age, or did he simply not understand the tastes of young people these days? After graduation, Mikaze had grown much steadier…

A charming, spirited youth, born to a minor clan loyal to Konoha from its earliest days, a graduate of the Academy and a friend to Tsunade—surely a fine inheritor of the Will of Fire…

Meanwhile, in a secret, shadowy base elsewhere in the village, another ninja of similar age to Hiruzen also received a similar intelligence report. This man, too, radiated the authority of a leader, but his expression was far colder and grimmer. His right eye and half his face were tightly bound in bandages. He was Shimura Danzo, elder of the Konoha Council and leader of the ANBU’s special black-ops unit, Root.

Danzo’s attention too was drawn to Kato Mikaze and his mastery of the S-rank Spirit Transformation Technique, but his primary focus—unsurprisingly—remained on the Uchiha candidate. As a member of the council, he felt the Uchiha deserved scrutiny beyond measure.

PS: The fledgling author humbly begs for your support, recommendations, and bookmarks.