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Hiruzen sighs audibly.
It seems like no matter what he does, problems arise everywhere.
Any concerns about a war with Iwa have been essentially stamped out now that it’s become very obvious that someone (Uchiha Sasuke) will do everything in his power to avoid one. Hiruzen only wishes that they knew more about him, that he’d come back to his village so they could at least try and gauge his loyalties.
All they have to go off of so far are the words of the few who’ve interacted with him, which is a number that’s growing every day. Even Orochimaru, who doesn’t spend much time going on lengthy missions unless he needs something (he much prefers researching and, as long as it doesn’t get out of hand, Hiruzen is happy to oblige) has spotted him. Orochimaru had come back… subdued.
Hiruzen doesn’t know how to feel and Orochimaru certainly isn’t saying anything about it.
First, it was Minato, who had been completely unwilling to offer any information about their mystery Uchiha other than the rudimentary things, now Orochimaru. To make matters worse, the Uchiha are pulling away from the council, which he had expected, but they’re taking many of the other influential clans with them!
Hiruzen knows that he’s governing on borrowed time. He should have stepped down last year, but with concerns about the war, he simply wasn’t able to. With those concerns abated, he’s been making the arrangements for a successor. The issue is there’s no one who he truly feels is ready to take up the hat, even with the preparations and education they’d have to undergo in order for the transfer to take place.
Ideally, Tsunade would take his place, but she’s swamped with her work at the hospital and there isn’t anyone who can take her place there, not yet anyway. Not many Shinobi have the drive to become a medic-nin and it isn’t exactly an encouraged profession, much to Tsunade’s ire.
Next would be Orochimaru, and a few years ago, he would’ve been the perfect candidate. Unfortunately, public opinion of him has only been dropping in recent months so he can’t imagine that choice going over very well. Part of him wants to hand him the hat anyway as a last hurrah as Hokage, but his time for hurrahs and rebellion has long since passed. He does feel a pang of sympathy for Orochimaru, who Hiruzen knows was interested in the Hokage position.
He would be good at it too. He’s easily able to communicate with people politely and is exceptionally good at wading through difficult situations both politically and otherwise. The issue is that the reason he’s so good at those things is because of the way his mind works. So yes, he’s able to come across as sociable if he wants to, but he tends to view most social interactions as a challenge to be won or an experiment to complete. That and he hardly ever bothers with social niceties regardless of how good he is at it.
Hiruzen is hesitant to put him in a position where he would need to pretend to be something he isn’t, presumably for most of the remainder of his life. Orochimaru is only in his 20s and he’s strong enough that it wouldn’t be odd to assume that he has a long life ahead of him.
Hiruzen sits back with a sigh and spares a thought to having someone else do this for him. But no, no one can truly understand the position of a Kage other than a Kage, so it has to be him who picks.
He decides to table these thoughts for now. It’s quite late, nearly 8 pm, and he’d like to get home to his wife whom he hasn’t seen in a while.
He’s just about to leave when a stranger appears in his room.
No, not a stranger. Uchiha Sasuke.
Hiruzen briefly spares a thought to the hows and whys of the Uchiha’s sudden appearance, but he soon finds himself completely paralyzed.
“Sarutobi Hiruzen, you have failed in your duties to the village by allowing for Danzou’s continued existence despite what you know of him and his activities.”
Fuck.
“Dispose of him, or I will, and it will not be an honourable death.”
And he’s gone before Hiruzen is allowed another thought. The paralysis fades and he alerts his guard.
They drop into the room and, once he explains what occurred, all of ANBU is on guard and searching the streets.
So much for seeing his wife.
The trial is public, there’s no way it couldn’t be. People would have questions but no answers, Clan Heads would be furious with the Hokage for wanting to brush something so major under the rug, and there would be calls for a new Hokage (which were there already, but the voices behind them have gotten louder).
Shimura Danzou was trialled and now awaits an execution date for bloodline theft, treason, unlawful experimentation, multiple counts of kidnapping, and child endangerment.
Danzou is not one to be unprepared, however.
When the date is decided for the middle of June, he vanishes.
Months of searching come up empty, renewed outrage is sparked throughout civilians and shinobi alike, and Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, announces that he will begin the process of choosing a successor.
Meanwhile, deep in the caves of Iwagakure, a pair of mismatched eyes land on their target.
Shimura Danzou, from a bunker on the border of the Land of Bears, glances up.
“Found you,” Uchiha Sasuke whispers.
The body is dumped on the doorstep of the T&I Department in Konoha, eyes gouged.
Retribution, Uchiha Fugaku thinks.