"Lord Danzō, what is it you want with me?"

In a forest on the outskirts of Konoha, Aburame Shibi stared at the man before him with an ugly expression.

The Aburame clan might not rank among Konoha’s absolute top-tier noble clans, but they were still a respected house with real strength and a name no one could ignore.

Because of that, Shibi had access to quite a lot of information.

And precisely because he knew so much, he understood very clearly what sort of person the old bastard standing before him really was.

Danzō was the head of Root, Konoha’s most secretive organization.

And the things he had done could only be described as vile.

No one knew how many of their own people he had gone after under the excuse of suspicion—and plenty of them had been innocent.

Worse still, the man had even tried to assassinate the Hokage.

That went beyond anything Shibi had once believed possible.

Even if that particular story was only a rumor, he was more inclined to believe it was true.

Because if there was anyone in Konoha capable of doing something like that, it was Danzō.

Most importantly, this was far from the first time Danzō had come to the Aburame clan asking for people.

Shibi had long since reached the point where he was furious but powerless.

And now Danzō had come to him again.

Even though the old man had not yet said anything outright, Shibi had already guessed what he wanted.

The thought alone filled him with rage.

"The reason I came is actually very simple."

Danzō could see the dissatisfaction in Shibi’s eyes, but he did not care in the slightest.

Plenty of people in Konoha hated him.

But none of them dared oppose him.

That was enough.

"Root is expanding. That is hardly a secret. After all, the ANBU is doing the same thing.

"So I need more people. More strength. Only then can Root better protect Konoha.

"And given the good cooperative relationship between us, I hope you’ll think it over properly. This is something that benefits everyone."

A good cooperative relationship?

Benefits everyone?

The moment he heard those words, Shibi’s expression turned even uglier.

He truly could not fathom how shameless this man had become.

He did not believe, not even for an instant, that there had ever been any so-called good relationship between himself and Danzō.

From beginning to end, Danzō had only ever used the power in his hands to pressure him, forcing him to make choices he never wanted to make.

Aburame Ryūma had been taken from the clan in exactly that way.

That incident had left a knot of resentment in Shibi’s heart for a very long time.

Now that genius of the clan almost never returned home.

There was barely any contact left with the family.

No one even knew whether he was truly alive or dead.

What could be more infuriating than that?

And because of that, Shibi had engraved Danzō’s name into his memory for the rest of his life.

"My apologies, Lord Danzō, but the clan does not currently have that many suitable people to spare."

Even though he hated Danzō to the bone, Shibi also knew there was no way he could openly fight this man.

So he could only suppress his emotions and speak with strained patience.

He truly did not want to hand a single more clansman over to Danzō.

That was his duty to the clan—

and to himself.

"Not enough people?" Danzō repeated, his face instantly darkening. "Aburame Shibi, I hope you think carefully before you answer. I am not asking for your opinion. I am merely informing you."

"But—"

Shibi had barely opened his mouth when Danzō cut him off.

Turning away, the old man began walking forward, speaking as he did so.

His cold voice pierced straight through Shibi’s ears and into his chest.

"I’ll give you three days to think.

"You have only three days.

"And if, when those three days are up, you still fail to give me an acceptable answer..."

At that point, Danzō paused slightly.

Then he turned his head just enough to glance back at Shibi, his gaze utterly indifferent, before finishing in a slow, deliberate tone,

"...then I will take action myself.

"And when that happens, the consequences will be yours to bear."

With that, he turned and left without another word.

The next second, several black-clad, masked shinobi silently appeared behind him.

They all looked at Shibi once, then turned and followed Danzō away.

Shibi’s face had gone pale.

That had been a naked threat.

And worse, it was one he could not afford to ignore.

His heart burned with fury, but there was nothing he could do.

Because the man he faced was a brute who had never possessed even the slightest sense of loyalty to his own village.

And that brute was one of Konoha’s upper echelon, holding power far beyond what ordinary people could resist.

He could fight back.

But the price of that resistance would be unimaginable.

Most of all, he knew that behind Danzō stood someone even more dangerous.

The Hokage.

"...Damn it."

With a helpless sigh, Shibi turned and left as well.

He hated Danzō.

But hatred meant nothing when one was powerless.

No matter how secretive Root was, there was one truth that could not be changed:

it existed under the Hokage’s authority.

That was iron law.

And now Shibi found that his hatred had begun to spread toward Hiruzen as well.

If not for Hiruzen’s silent consent, how could Danzō possibly be this brazen?

After all, Danzō had already been stripped of his post once before.

And now he had returned.

If not for Hiruzen, how could that have happened?

Now Konoha had begun reaching directly into the great clans.

That was already a violation of the ninja world’s unspoken rules.

But Shibi had no way out.

None at all.

Because the Hokage was there.

Because Hiruzen Sarutobi was there.

If he had any other choice, he would never accept any of this.

"I doubt I’m the only one who feels this way... Konoha..."

Alone with his anger, Shibi walked toward the center of the village, his heart full of bitterness.

At the same time, he had already started thinking through possible candidates.

Yet the more he thought about it, the more disgusted he felt.

No matter whom he chose, that clansman’s fate would already be sealed.

As he walked, he gradually noticed that Konoha felt different from usual.

Whether civilians or shinobi, people all over the streets were holding large sheets of paper and reading them with surprising focus.

That level of absorption struck him as bizarre.

What exactly was going on?

"Maybe I should look into it first."

Shibi made up his mind almost immediately.

Right now, he would much rather distract himself with something else than keep dwelling on Danzō and the sickening issue of whom to sacrifice.

"Newspaper? What is that?"

After using his kikaichū to gather some information, the look on Shibi’s face turned odd.

Because from what he had learned, in the space of a single morning, something entirely new had appeared in Konoha.

And from the sound of it, this thing was not only new—it was interesting.

It supposedly contained all sorts of useful and fascinating information.

That alone had already triggered a rush of purchases and eager reading throughout the village.

What exactly had been written inside to produce such a reaction?

With that thought, Shibi simply bought a copy for himself.

Only then did he finally understand what this "newspaper" really was.

"...Does this count as some kind of alternative bulletin?"

He raised a brow at the bold, heavy black title.

But the moment he flipped to the first real article, his whole body froze.

Orochimaru?

And this was listed as information specially provided by the ANBU?

What the hell was this supposed to be?

His reaction was only natural.

Was Orochimaru’s case really the sort of thing that could be casually put in print?

As a clan head, he knew perfectly well just how many sensitive matters were tied to Orochimaru’s name.

This was classified information.

And not just any classified information—it involved the darkest side of Konoha.

No matter how one looked at it, it absolutely should not have been handled so publicly.

"Just what are they trying to do... unless..."

Shibi’s gaze sharpened.

He immediately began reading the entire article at speed.

As a veteran shinobi, his reading and processing speed had been honed by years of missions.

He finished the piece in very little time.

And by the time he reached the end, one thought kept repeating in his mind.

Has Konoha’s leadership gone mad? 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The article was entirely about Orochimaru.

And, to be fair, it was written in a fairly objective tone.

But between the lines, it clearly suggested something else:

someone had been standing behind Orochimaru.

And what did that mean?

It meant someone was using this article to attack Hiruzen and his faction.

And what was worse, Shibi could already tell Hiruzen would not dare ban this newspaper lightly.

Not only did the ANBU openly stand behind it—

behind the ANBU stood the youngest Fourth Hokage.

If things escalated into an open rupture, the one that would suffer in the end would be Konoha itself.

Still, one thing had become unmistakably clear to him.

The struggle inside Konoha had become vicious.

Not just vicious in intensity—

but increasingly creative in form.

Earlier, the conflict between the Fourth Hokage’s side, represented by the ANBU, and the Third Hokage’s side had already erupted across the village over the question of who should bear responsibility for Orochimaru.

Later, that uproar had quieted, and many had assumed it was over.

But now, the ANBU had struck again with an entirely new method.

"Truly impressive."

Shibi shook his head.

He had meant to continue and see what else the paper contained—

but suddenly he stopped.

ANBU.

The Fourth Hokage.

Opposition to the Third Hokage.

Those thoughts began rapidly connecting in his mind.

And once they formed, they spread like a seed taking root.

For generations, the Aburame clan had maintained neutrality.

Put kindly, they could be said to stand by a principle of refusing to back any one side too easily.

Put bluntly, they had never possessed strong principles of their own in such matters.

They only ever leaned toward whoever was most likely to win.

Strictly speaking, that was not wrong.

Every clan had its own way of surviving.

Was the same not true of the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans?

They always claimed not to involve themselves in factional struggles.

But in practice, they often played both sides even more thoroughly than the Aburame did.

They placed people in both camps.

Then, when one side finally emerged victorious, they could always wrap their actions in some respectable phrase like "preparing in advance for future work needs."

In doing so, they smoothed the transition and protected themselves.

Shibi had always disliked choosing sides.

More than that, he feared it.

Because he knew exactly how much strength his clan actually possessed.

If they chose correctly, they might gain enormous rewards.

But if they chose wrong—

everything could be lost in a single move.

The Aburame were not a top-tier great clan.

They did not possess overwhelming prestige.

They truly could not afford that kind of gamble.

But now, Shibi felt he had reached the point where he had no choice but to think about it seriously.

"The Third Hokage’s indulgence toward Danzō has already caused unimaginable harm to clans like ours.

"And worst of all, he has begun breaking the rules of the ninja world outright by forcing his hand into the internal affairs of the clans.

"If this continues, no one can say where it will end."

Head lowered as if merely reading the newspaper, Shibi’s mind was in fact racing.

As clan head, he could not fully grasp what kind of impact the thing in his hands might one day have on the entire ninja world.

But he could clearly see what it would do inside the village.

And for him, that was enough.

Because that alone was enough to shape a decision that would benefit his clan.

For example...

"It seems this time I really will have to choose a side."

The thought grew stronger and stronger.

Especially when he imagined continuing to sit idle while one talented clansman after another was dragged away—

disappearing into places from which they never returned—

only to be reduced to something no longer fully human, never again able to live in peace.

At that thought, Shibi clenched his teeth hard.

His mind was made up.

Compared to Hiruzen’s current cold-blooded handling of things, why shouldn’t he lean toward his former teammate, Namikaze Minato?

Minato was a man who valued bonds and loyalty.

Following him would be far preferable to remaining under Hiruzen, even if Hiruzen still currently held the actual authority of the Hokage.

But what of that?

By law and legitimacy, this was Minato Namikaze’s era.

Hiruzen was only an acting Hokage.

"That leaves me no choice. Since you’ve forced this far, don’t blame me for what comes next."

At that moment, Shibi knew exactly what he intended to do.

He turned and headed toward his clan compound at once.

There were still details to think through.

Even after deciding, some steps needed to be carefully planned before he moved.

But one thing was already certain.

He had chosen Namikaze Minato’s side.

And he was far from alone.

Among the smaller clans who had suffered under Danzō’s pressure, many found themselves reaching the same conclusion after picking up the newspaper in bitterness and despair.

Rather than continue enduring endless suppression, unable even to openly denounce Hiruzen and Danzō for crossing the line, why not gamble once?

The ANBU, at least, offered a possible shelter.

...

"Minister, the results are in."

At noon, saya and Ayame hurried into Hikaru’s office carrying the first report.

Both of them looked visibly excited.

Even without seeing the numbers, Hikaru could already guess from their expressions that the outcome had to be a good one.

Of course, he had never believed it would go badly in the first place.

After all, newspapers were something this world had never seen before.

And the way he had introduced them really did amount to a kind of dimensionality-reduction strike.

Especially since he came from an age of information overload, he naturally understood how to seize attention even without having formally studied journalism.

This first issue had been laid out almost entirely according to his own thinking.

And his goal had been simple:

grab the reader by the throat and refuse to let go.

Orochimaru—was that not enough to spark interest?

An ANBU operative’s personal account—was that not enough to hook all those already curious about the ANBU?

First-hand news from the outside world—was that not enough to satisfy people’s curiosity and sense of comparison?

Beyond that, he had also quietly woven in praise for the ANBU, attacks on opponents, and the subtle suggestion that it was because the ANBU did their job well that the people could live in peace.

In short, Hikaru had stuffed in everything he thought could be effective.

At least he still had some restraint.

He had not gone so far as to use ridiculous shock-value headlines.

Even so, the content covered nearly every angle.

He truly could not imagine people failing to find it interesting.

"Judging from your faces, I’d say the results aren’t bad," Hikaru said with a small smile. "Give me the figures. Let me enjoy the surprise too."

"We printed fifty thousand copies," saya said, her face glowing with pride. "And in just one morning, we’ve already sold twenty thousand!"

"And this still isn’t peak time," Ayame added, calmer than saya but no less excited. "At noon and into the afternoon, the numbers will probably rise even higher."

Hearing the figures, Hikaru did a quick calculation in his head and nodded.

Konoha’s permanent population was around one hundred fifty thousand.

Printing fifty thousand copies might sound conservative at first—

but that was only if one ignored all the obvious factors.

Children.

The elderly.

Shinobi out on missions.

Those stationed long-term at the borders.

And of course, the small minority who could not read.

Konoha’s literacy rate was indeed high, but no place had perfect literacy.

He also had to consider deliberate sabotage from Hiruzen’s side, where some people might avoid buying the paper on purpose.

And beyond that, one purchased copy would often be shared by several readers.

Taking all of that into account, fifty thousand copies for initial distribution inside Konoha was actually a very reasonable number.

And now twenty thousand of them were already gone by midday—

despite the fact that morning had not even been the prime sales window.

Most people were hurrying off to work.

Others had just finished shifts or returned from missions and wanted only to go home and rest.

Naturally, they would not all stop immediately to buy a paper.

But once noon passed, and once those people settled down or heard about the newspaper from others—

their purchasing power would kick in as well.

At that thought, Hikaru’s satisfaction deepened.

Cultural influence and control over public opinion depended above all on wide dissemination.

And for a newspaper, the first true sign of that dissemination was its sales.

The more individual households bought it, the more likely the ideas Hikaru wanted spread would settle into every layer of the village.

That said, Hikaru remained calm.

This was only Konoha.

The result was worth being pleased about, but only to a point.

"Very good. Keep going."

He smiled and nodded, then his expression gradually turned serious.

"But this still isn’t enough. What I want is for the Ninja World Daily to truly live up to its name and spread across the entire ninja world.

"Our performance right now is solid, but it’s only the beginning. The challenges ahead will be much greater."

"Yes, Minister!" the two answered in unison, their excitement immediately reined back in.

"Since it’s doing well in Konoha, we can begin gradually expanding into the rest of the Land of Fire," Hikaru said after a moment’s thought.

"Pay attention to quality. Better fewer stories than filler.

"Remember, the Third Hokage’s side is watching us.

"I have no intention of turning this into a gift for them. That would make us look incompetent.

"Also, keep an eye on cost control. Our budget is sufficient for now, but that doesn’t mean we can waste it.

"And push forward on advertising contracts as well. As for prices, we can negotiate those slowly over time. Understood?"

"Yes, Minister."

Seeing saya and Ayame respond so seriously, Hikaru smiled again.

He might not have been harboring especially dramatic thoughts, but there was no denying it:

having beautiful young women gathered around him at work was still far more pleasant than being surrounded by a bunch of men.

Hikaru was not someone with any interest in "locking down men."

He was straight.

He preferred the natural pull between man and woman.

As for the two in front of him, he figured it would be better to let things develop naturally.

Perhaps one day, an answer would emerge on its own.

"All right. That’s enough about that for now."

He lifted his head and looked at them both, then after a brief pause, said quietly,

"Everyone else, out. Don’t let anyone come near."

The moment the words left his mouth, faint sounds stirred throughout the office.

But just as quickly, they disappeared.

His sudden move made both young women tense instinctively.

Clearing the hidden ANBU guards and meeting them alone like this could only mean one thing:

something important was coming.

"I know you have questions," Hikaru said calmly. "But before I say anything, I need your word on something."

His tone sharpened, becoming far more severe than either saya or Ayame had ever heard from him.

"What I’m about to give you must never be spoken of to anyone else.

"If I discover that either of you has failed in that, then I can promise you this—there are things I can do that are even worse than Danzō.

"I don’t enjoy forcing people with violence, especially not those close to me.

"But what I’ve found this time is too important.

"Can you do it?

"Can I trust you?"

...

Around midday, Aburame Shibi quietly made his way toward the Hokage Monument.

His destination was clear.

He was heading for ANBU headquarters.

As one of Konoha’s most formidable forces, the ANBU naturally maintained extremely strong secrecy measures.

Not even the Byakugan of the Hyūga clan would necessarily be able to locate it.

But Konoha still possessed many clans with their own unique means.

Some could track by scent, like the Inuzuka.

Others, like the Aburame, could use tiny insects to search out hidden locations.

In truth, Shibi did not want to do this.

He knew that sneaking in like this might very well anger the ANBU.

But after returning home that morning and discussing matters with the clan elders, the conclusion had been clear:

he had to stay cautious.

They could not afford to openly challenge Danzō.

Especially not while Danzō stood under Hiruzen’s shelter.

In the original course of things, Danzō had once dared to demand Aburame Shino in front of Shibi himself.

That alone said enough about how far his arrogance had reached under Hiruzen’s protection.

Back then, if not for Aburame Torune stepping forward to take Shino’s place and follow the path once walked by his own father, Aburame Shikuro, one of the future Konoha Twelve would likely have vanished before anyone ever knew his name.

Right now, Shino was still barely one or two years old.

Naturally, he could not have faced such a thing yet.

But Danzō’s recklessness had still already reached terrifying new heights.

Now that he had regained control of Root—and of an expanded Root, no less—it was as though he had gotten rich overnight.

There was no way a man like that would restrain himself.

Nor would he ever want to.

Faced with someone like that, Shibi had to proceed very carefully.

Even if he worried that by doing so he might end up offending the ANBU and being hated by both sides, there was no better option.

Because if he openly slapped Danzō—or even Hiruzen—in the face, then no amount of ANBU protection would necessarily save him.

"This is the place. From here on, I have to get in quietly."

Standing before a crowded street, Shibi knew that one more step would take him into territory monitored by the ANBU.

And once he crossed that line in secret, there would be no turning back.

Even so, he gritted his teeth and slipped forward.

The moment he truly entered the zone, however, danger hit him like a blade.

"Secret Technique: Insect Wall!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he activated the kikaichū within his body, creating a shield of insects around himself.

At almost the same instant, an orange fireball slammed toward his position.

Countless insects were incinerated before they could even shriek.

Thin wisps of smoke rose all around him.

The solid black wall made entirely of insects had been burned clean through in one section, leaving a hollow gap.

"...Scorch Release?"

Shibi’s eyes narrowed.

He had fought in the Third Shinobi War, on the front lines in the Land of Rivers against Sunagakure’s harassment forces.

So he had indeed seen Scorch Release before.

But the woman from Suna who wielded that kekkei genkai had long since died in Kirigakure.

And she had no children, meaning that bloodline ought to have effectively died out.

Yet now, here within Konoha’s ANBU, someone else had used that exact power.

"Insect techniques? You’re from the Aburame clan?"

A woman’s voice reached him.

"Yes," Shibi answered with a bitter shake of his head. "I’m from the Aburame."

"Why did you do this? You know the consequences, don’t you?"

The woman’s voice drew closer, and several more ANBU operatives appeared around him as well.

At that moment, Shibi could not help wondering if perhaps he had gone soft after too many years as clan head.

He had only just entered and already been caught.

"I know," he said, face ugly. "But I had no choice."

"I see."

The female ANBU had now stepped directly in front of him.

Then she suddenly seemed to pause.

"You’re... here to see the Minister?"

"Yes."

The instant he realized he had been recognized, Shibi only felt more miserable.

"I’m sorry. But this really is important."

"I understand. Relax. There are no outsiders here. You don’t need to look so tense."

"...Is that so?"

"Clan Head, this is the ANBU."

...

Inside the Minister’s office, Hikaru looked at saya and Ayame, both of whom still had their eyes closed.

Sensing the constantly shifting chakra within them, he finally let out a quiet breath of relief.

Giving chakra fruits to others to consume had been an extremely risky choice.

The first concern, naturally, was exposure.

Even though Hikaru had prepared the excuse that these were some rare items he had discovered by chance, the explanation would never stand up to real scrutiny.

He was not afraid of trouble—at least not yet.

Until the Ōtsutsuki descended from the heavens or the dead crawled out from underground, he was still fully capable of dominating the world of the living.

But once his secrets truly came to light, the chaos they could trigger would be impossible to predict.

The second concern was the fruits’ actual effect on other people.

Hikaru genuinely did not know.

Because all of these fruits had been cultivated by him and used by him.

Would they work on others at all?

And if they did, would the effects be the same?

What if they produced a backlash instead?

Those were all things he had needed to think through.

The safest method would have been to use condemned prisoners for the experiment.

But the cost of cultivating each fruit was too high.

Hikaru truly did not want to waste that much time.

"So long as the flame of life doesn’t go out, I can save them."

That had been the resolve with which he gave the fruits to saya and Ayame.

And because of that, he had kept his own chakra in motion the entire time.

The moment anything went wrong, he had been prepared to intervene and save them.

Fortunately, the result was far better than he had hoped.

His fruits absolutely could be used by others.

And the effects appeared to be fundamentally the same.

The only difference was that digesting the fruit and fully comprehending the changes it brought seemed to take them rather longer than it did him.

Otherwise, everything was moving in a positive direction.

More importantly—

Hikaru had discovered that the fruits he gave out seemed to produce an even more interesting effect as well...

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