Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou

Sunagakure.

Inside the office of the Kazekage, the atmosphere was unusually tense as the village elders gathered. Each elder's expression was grave.

"Everyone, the Third Kazekage has been missing for three days! Three whole days! No one in the entire Sunagakure has seen him!"

"According to intelligence, the disappearance of the Third Kazekage seems highly suspicious..."

The elders of the Sunagakure, each wrapped in white robes, looked extremely troubled, especially Chiyo and Ebizō, who were the most senior members present.

"Enough! Silence!"

With Chiyo's icy command, the room instantly fell silent. All eyes turned to the village's most authoritative elder.

Chiyo glanced coldly at everyone and said in a stern voice:

"It's only been three days, and you're already panicking like this. What if it were three months? Would the entire Sunagakure collapse into chaos? Considering the current state of the shinobi world, do you want the disappearance of the Third Kazekage to become public knowledge?"

"Ebizō, you will disguise yourself as the Kazekage for now to maintain order in the village. Ensure no one notices anything amiss. Meanwhile, I will arrange for people to secretly investigate the Kazekage's whereabouts."

"For now, all of you need to shut your mouths, stay in line, and dismiss yourselves!"

As Chiyo ended the meeting with her commanding tone, the office emptied, leaving only Chiyo and her younger brother Ebizō.

"Elder sister, there are too many suspicious points about the Kazekage's disappearance. It hasn't just been three days—it's been half a month already."

Ebizō's expression was heavy. As the one responsible for Sunagakure's intelligence and espionage operations, he held a critical position in the village.

Hearing her brother's words, Chiyo frowned and rubbed her temple, sighing deeply:

"These are troubled times. The Third Kazekage has been missing for so long—he's likely already met with misfortune."

Although she was reluctant to admit it, the grim reality was clear: a Kage missing for half a month without any news almost certainly meant the worst.

"The intelligence team has found no leads. If it's the work of enemy shinobi, then who is the most suspicious?"

Ebizō spoke with a furrowed brow. The plight of the Sunagakure was difficult to describe—losing their Kage without knowing whether he was dead or alive was an unprecedented humiliation.

After all, they were one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. The Kage was the symbol of their power, the pinnacle of the shinobi world. If word got out about this, the Sunagakure would be utterly disgraced.

"Who's the most suspicious?!"

Chiyo slammed the table in anger and roared:

"Who else could it be but Konoha?! The Land of Wind is barren and poor—what other country would bother targeting us? Meanwhile, the entire shinobi world is eyeing the Land of Fire like a piece of juicy meat, but no one dares to make a move.

If you were Konoha, facing such a siege, what would you do?"

Ebizō frowned at his elder sister's outburst. He knew of her deep-seated grudge against Konoha but in such a major matter...

Seeing his hesitation, Chiyo scoffed coldly and continued:

"Look at Konoha's recent maneuvers. Putting aside their frequent provocations against smaller villages, just take their internal strife plan in the Kumogakure. It's enough to see how dark Danzo Shimura's methods are.

Stirring up internal strife in both the Sunagakure and the Kumogakure, leaving only the Iwagakure and Kirigakure—who benefits the most from such chaos?"

Chiyo's analysis made Ebizō frown further, but he still shook his head and said:

"Elder sister, the most important thing right now is to stabilize the village. We can't afford to let this news leak. If it does, our village will fall into chaos before anything else."

While the two were discussing how to stabilize the village, a figure suddenly appeared before Chiyo.

"Chiyo-sama, we've received intelligence from one of our spies in the Land of Fire, delivered just before their death!"

A scroll marked with the word "Secret" was handed over. As the figure retreated, Chiyo opened the scroll, her expression instantly darkening.

Seeing this, Ebizō couldn't help but frown. "Has something major happened in the shinobi world?"

Chiyo took a deep breath, then tossed the scroll over.

"The intelligence came too late!"

Her words echoed in the room as Ebizō read the scroll. His face immediately turned grim.

The contents of the message were brief but dire:

[Urgent! Konoha's Third Hokage, to secure the Hokage selection process, seeks to provoke a shinobi world war. He has secretly ordered spies to manipulate our village's shinobi and conspire to assassinate the Third Kazekage. Warn the Kazekage immediately!]

It was a short message, but had it arrived earlier, they could have warned the Third Kazekage to take precautions.

"Konoha! This must be the work of Danzo Shimura and his Root division, lurking in the shadows!"

Chiyo slammed the table in fury. Danzo's infamy as the embodiment of Konoha's darkness was well-known throughout the shinobi world. His recent schemes, such as the internal strife in the Land of Lightning, only solidified his reputation.

"What a cunning plan! No wonder White Fang is dead. Hiruzen Sarutobi truly knows no limits!"

Chiyo's anger was mixed with a deep sense of fear.

"Is there even a need to doubt? First, Konoha's White Fang mysteriously dies, and we thought it was a good thing. But now we see it's all part of Konoha's filthy schemes. To secure the Hokage position, they're willing to provoke a shinobi world war!"

The reasoning was too convincing for Chiyo and Ebizō to doubt. If Konoha could kill an elite like White Fang, then plotting a war seemed entirely plausible. After all, with the current tensions in the shinobi world, war seemed inevitable.

The Kumogakure's internal strife and the Sunagakure's missing Kazekage left both villages in turmoil. With just two villages left standing strong, Konoha could dominate them one by one.

"Elder sister, we cannot be careless. If the Kazekage's disappearance is truly connected to Konoha, then it's almost certain that the Third Kazekage has already been killed!"

Ebizō spoke with a somber tone, voicing the harsh reality they didn't want to face. A Kage being assassinated was a humiliation unparalleled in the shinobi world.

Suppressing her fury, Chiyo lowered her voice and said:

"Seal off all information immediately. Then secretly contact the Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure!"

Ebizō sighed deeply, a worried look on his face. "I'm afraid this news won't stay hidden for long. Based on recent intelligence, one of Konoha's Sannin, Tsunade, has officially reclaimed the Senju name. It's clear she's preparing to vie for the position of Fourth Hokage."

Ebizō's words carried an unspoken fear: it wasn't just about keeping the secret—Konoha might deliberately leak the news. If that happened, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Chiyo understood this all too well. She scoffed and said:

"All the major villages in the shinobi world are holding back their anger. No one wants to be the first to start a war. But if it comes down to it, we'll drag the entire shinobi world into chaos!"

Her voice turned cold and ruthless as she continued:

"When the time comes, we'll bring the flames of war directly to the Land of Fire!"

This decision left even Ebizō with a heavy heart.

Although the Great Shinobi Nations had already fought two world wars, they had always restrained themselves from bringing the battles into their own countries. Instead, the wars were fought in smaller nations, turning them into battlegrounds.

But if the fighting reached the homelands of the Great Nations, it would escalate into a full-scale invasion—triggering a ferocious counterstrike.

...

Meanwhile, in Konoha, the village basked in its status as the strongest of the Five Great Nations. The current Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, enjoyed unprecedented prestige.

Having led Konoha to victory in both the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, he was revered by the village. Even the recent White Fang incident was widely believed to be the work of spies, absolving the Hokage of any blame.

"Hiruzen, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naiko, has been successfully sealed. I propose handing her over to Root."

In the Hokage's office, Danzo Shimura spoke with a face full of greed, making yet another bold demand of Hiruzen.

However, for once, Hiruzen, who usually indulged Danzo, frowned and replied calmly:

"Danzo, I am the Hokage. The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki will not be handed over to you."

"Hiruzen, you—!"

Danzo's frustration was palpable. Years of Hiruzen's leniency had made him blind to his overreach.

"And Uzumaki Naiko has just felt the sunlight of Konoha. She is no longer suited to return to the darkness."

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. When it came to controlling ninjas, he had never approved of the methods used by Root.

Emotionless tools are merely suppressed temporarily. How could a person's heart be devoid of feelings? Once those feelings emerge, they might very well cause a backlash.

He preferred to wield weapons himself, ensuring their absolute loyalty to him.

Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen reject his request, Shimura Danzo's face was full of frustration. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Hiruzen, there's still one ultimate weapon. Lady Mito has passed away, and that weapon now roams freely, beyond our control. What's worse, it's getting too close to the Uchiha."

"Hiruzen! Aren't you afraid that one day the evil Uchiha will seize control of that weapon and bring disaster to the village?"

Shimura Danzo was now targeting Uzumaki Kushina.

If Uzumaki Mito were still alive, Sarutobi Hiruzen would naturally reject him without hesitation. But now, with the mountain that once weighed on them gone, Hiruzen frowned and hesitated. In the end, he still shook his head and said firmly:

"Danzo, I warn you not to act recklessly. Lady Mito may be gone, but Senju Tsunade is still here. If your actions cause unrest in the village, you will be the one to bear the blame!"

Under Sarutobi Hiruzen's warning gaze, Shimura Danzo scoffed coldly in his heart. The same old routine.

After all that talk, wasn't he just saying that as long as they could stabilize Tsunade and avoid causing unrest in the village, it could be done?

Hearing this, Danzo's expression gradually calmed. He nodded and said seriously:

"Hiruzen, rest assured. I will not bring unrest to the village. But if the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has a conflict on the border or with ninjas from other nations, causing a diplomatic incident under the current circumstances…"

The probing tone in Danzo's words made Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes flash with a glimmer of light. Lowering his Hokage hat, he didn't reply but instead waved his hand and said:

"Danzo, go take care of Root."

At this moment, although Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was hidden, a smile appeared on Shimura Danzo's face.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had tacitly approved of his proposal.

In the event of a conflict between two nations, even if Tsunade bore the Senju name, how could she easily protect Kushina? Regardless of success or failure, they would seize the initiative.

One cannot deny the cold nature of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo as high-ranking officials. Uzumaki Mito had just passed away, and they were already scheming to reclaim what they believed to be their weapon.

Just like in the original story, when Minato Namikaze, who sacrificed himself for the village, had just died, they immediately laid out Naruto's path.

Politics has never been about mercy.

As Shimura Danzo left, Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly raised his head. Through the window, he gazed at the Hokage Rock and let out a long, melancholic sigh.

"All of this is for Konoha. If the strongest weapon of the village falls into the hands of evil, it will only bring chaos. Tsunade may not, but she and her clan are too close to the Uchiha."

Looking at the portraits of the First and Second Hokage hanging on the office wall, Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed a weary, contemplative expression.

His whole life had been dedicated to Konoha.

If Danzo truly acted, in the end, it would still fall to him to mediate between both sides and smoothly bring the weapon into their possession.

Politics has never been about right or wrong—only differing positions.

From the perspective of the Third Hokage, if a weapon as powerful as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki wasn't under his control, how could he still be called the Hokage?

 From the perspective of the Senju clan, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was captured by their clan leader, and the Jinchuriki was also the clan leader's wife. Now passing it down to their descendants—wasn't that the rightful thing to do?

 Ultimately, in this world of ninjas, where power reigns supreme, everything boils down to strength!

If the Third Hokage could easily suppress the Tailed Beasts, none of this would be an issue.

...

The Senju Clan.

Compared to the joy of the Hokage leadership at regaining control of half of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the Senju clan was immersed in grief.

The wife of the First Hokage, Uzumaki Mito, had passed away. After the death of the Second Hokage, this woman had taken up the responsibility of protecting the Senju clan. But in the final days of winter, she was gone.

"Lady Tsunade, today in the Hokage's office, Shimura Danzo made plans to deal with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki…"

Inside a room, a middle-aged ninja named Senju Muko reported the news. Sitting in the clan leader's seat, Tsunade nodded indifferently.

"Such an old trick—using external pressure to force us to lose Kushina."

Tsunade's calm demeanor made Senju Muko frown slightly. With a serious tone, he said:

"Lady Tsunade, our people in the Anbu heard this firsthand. This is not false. We cannot let our guard down."

The Senju clan, having produced two Hokages, naturally still had some influence in the Anbu. They couldn't be completely excluded.

However, hearing Senju Muko's concerns, Tsunade scoffed.

"Don't worry. I know my teacher better than you do. Do you think today's information got back to us because we discovered it?"

Senju Muko was stunned for a moment. Then, as if realizing something, he exclaimed in shock:

"Lady Tsunade, are you saying this was deliberately leaked by the Third Hokage?"

Tsunade scoffed and said disdainfully:

"It's my teacher's usual tactic. To put it bluntly, he's telling us that some of Konoha's leadership is dissatisfied with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki being with the Senju clan. But as Hokage, he has to consider the bigger picture, so it's also a warning!"

By now, Tsunade had matured greatly. Both her mindset and strength had undergone a complete transformation.

"My teacher is warning us not to get too close to the Uchiha, especially with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. What he needs is a stable Konoha."

Tsunade understood her hypocritical teacher, the Third Hokage, all too well. Shimura Danzo was forever the black-gloved enforcer, while Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu served as his left and right arms.

After hearing Tsunade's analysis, Senju Muko gasped in shock. If this were true, then even their people within the Anbu...

As fear flickered in his eyes, Tsunade shook her head calmly.

"My teacher's political maneuvering is unmatched. The strength of the major clans has been constantly weakened while other clans are supported in their place. At the same time, he garners the support of civilian ninjas.

In over twenty years, how could he possibly leave us any room to maneuver?"

At this point, Tsunade rubbed her forehead and laughed mockingly. "The pettiness of the weak is always the same."