Naruto :Madam, You Don’t Want Anything To Happen To Sasuke, Right?

Because this is Konoha.

And Konoha is where Sarutobi Hiruzen resides.

In Konoha, even if Kakashi were to make everything he knows public, it wouldn't cause much of a stir.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's influence in the village is simply too vast.

Any turbulence would be smothered before it could grow. The moment something started to ferment, it would be curbed immediately.

If Kakashi wanted to truly break the stalemate—or even take down Hiruzen—he'd need help from outside the village.

And the only outsider he could think of… was Uchiha Haru.

"So, Uchiha Haru had already calculated that this day would come," Kakashi murmured, half-squinting, unease creeping through his heart.

He hadn't wanted to compromise in front of Haru. But now, it seemed he had no choice.

Finally, he let out a long breath. "After we returned to Konoha, the Third Hokage already suspected us. I noticed more than once that Anbu were monitoring our movements."

"The same thing happened to Kurenai."

"I suspect… it was Asuma who leaked the information."

That day, only three people had heard what Haru said.

Kakashi, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi.

Kakashi would never sell himself out. And between Kurenai and Asuma… Kakashi believed the leak came from Asuma. That's what led to the Anbu tailing them.

It wasn't that Kakashi distrusted Asuma—it was just that, comparatively speaking, Asuma was far more likely to let something slip.

After all, he was the son of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

They say no one understands a son better than his father.

And with the Third Hokage's manipulative nature, squeezing the truth from Asuma wouldn't be difficult.

Uchiha Haru agreed with Kakashi's assessment.

He too believed Asuma was the one who leaked the information.

"And then what happened?" Haru asked calmly.

Just hearing a few words—truthful or not—had triggered such a large-scale reaction from Sarutobi Hiruzen?

That level of sensitivity bordered on paranoia. It was like he was desperate to hide something… terrified of being found out.

But the old man forgot one thing: the more you try to hide something, the more obvious it becomes.

Overreacting only made others more suspicious.

Maybe before, Kakashi had only half-believed Haru's words.

But seeing how aggressively Hiruzen responded, that half-doubt was replaced by near certainty.

Seven parts belief. Three parts doubt.

There was no way he could drop the investigation now.

Kakashi continued. "Because I was always being watched by the Anbu, I couldn't start investigating right away."

"So I bided my time and kept acting as usual."

"Did the Third Hokage buy it?" Haru asked.

"Of course not. With his temperament, he never trusts anyone fully."

Kakashi sighed. "So I lived as if nothing had changed. Pretending. Until one day, the Third Hokage called me in and asked me directly—whether I knew anything."

"He was testing you."

"Exactly."

"What did you say?"

"Of course I had to admit it. He already knew everything. If I denied it or pretended ignorance, it would only increase his suspicion. All my efforts to feign normalcy would have been for nothing."

"And with the Third Hokage's style, anyone who's not in his circle of trust… they get sidelined. Pushed out of power, excluded from intel. Some even disappear—killed in the shadows."

"It's a deadly trap. And the only way to survive it is to tell the truth."

"Smart," Haru nodded in approval, then smoothly shifted the conversation. "But even if that was your answer, it wouldn't have erased Sarutobi Hiruzen's suspicion entirely."

"No," Kakashi admitted, glancing at Haru. He was starting to truly admire the Uchiha's insight. "You've seen through the old man too well. Every step accounted for. I've worked in the Anbu under Hiruzen for years, and even I can't read him like you do."

"He asked me," Kakashi continued, "what I thought after hearing what you said. Whether I believed it."

"And?" Haru asked, clearly intrigued.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kakashi—it was like watching a duel between two masters. One attacking with cunning, hidden blades; the other on the defensive, navigating through a maze of traps and deceptions.

Every word Hiruzen said carried double meanings. Every question was a landmine.

It was up to Kakashi to tiptoe around them.

"I told him I believed it."

Haru's eyes gleamed with appreciation. "Smart."

At that time, even if you said you didn't believe it at all, not even a mid-level Konoha shinobi would buy it—let alone Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The only way to gain his trust was to tell the truth—at least some of it. That way, Sarutobi Hiruzen would believe you weren't hiding anything.

But even a simple sentence like "I believed him" was filled with risk.

Of course, saying you believe someone wasn't the final answer—it was only the first step toward convincing Sarutobi Hiruzen. What mattered more was everything that followed. If you could explain yourself, you passed. If you stumbled, you'd fall straight into a trap.

Even now, Kakashi still breaks into a cold sweat just thinking about that moment.

It was a razor's edge.

"I said I believed him at the time," Kakashi recalled, his tone calm, "but I also admitted to having doubts. Then I told him I felt ashamed for even entertaining those thoughts."

"I told him I should never have doubted my Hokage just because of something an outsider said."

"Then he asked me if I had talked to Asuma or Kurenai Yuhi about it—what they said about the matter."

Uchiha Haru nodded silently.

Sarutobi Hiruzen really was a cunning old fox.

It's easy for one person to lie. But when multiple people are involved? Much harder. Flaws become visible.

The highest form of lying is mixing truth with falsehood—half and half—so people can't separate one from the other.

On this point alone, Kakashi had clearly mastered the art.

But that still wasn't enough to convince Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He needed corroboration.

Haru was still curious—under such heavy suspicion, how did Kakashi get through it?

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, his expression tinged with unease, and said, "Fortunately, before any of this happened, Kurenai Yuhi had secretly evaded the Anbu and met with me in private. We had already coordinated our stories—gone over every single detail."

"So when the questions came, I didn't panic."

"I stuck to the story we had agreed on. I said I hadn't discussed it with Asuma, because they were too close. But I had talked it over with Kurenai Yuhi."

"Then he asked, 'What did Kurenai say?'"

"I told him Kurenai scolded me—said a Konoha ninja shouldn't ever doubt his Hokage. I told him it was at that moment I realized how wrong I'd been."

Kakashi's gaze darkened.

"Then he gave me this long, deep look. It felt like he could see through everything—straight to the deepest parts of my mind. It made my skin crawl."

"He asked one more time: 'Is there anything else you want to explain?'"

"I said, 'No.'"

"Then he clapped his hands and laughed loudly. And from behind a screen, an Anbu brought Kurenai Yuhi into the room."

"He had already interrogated her beforehand!"

"What a trap!"

"If even one part of what I said had differed from what Kurenai or Asuma said—even slightly—I wouldn't have made it out."

Haru looked at Kakashi, a strange mix of awe and wariness in his eyes.

"Yeah." Kakashi nodded. "After that, he started to trust me—just a little."

"But it was never the same as before I went to see Lady Tsunade."

"After that, he pretended to pull back all the Anbu surveillance, but in reality, he assigned even stealthier shinobi to monitor me. Only after they found nothing for a while did he truly stand down."

"That was when I really started my investigation."

Just the prelude alone had been so dangerous.

Finding any hard evidence wasn't just difficult—it was terrifying. The malice hidden behind Sarutobi Hiruzen's warm smile was shocking.

With such layers of schemes and suspicion, it was no wonder he'd ruled Konoha for decades.

"Eventually," Kakashi said, voice low, "I found too many suspicious threads."

"I realized the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen... he's far from a simple man."

"The first thing I investigated was my father's death."

Kakashi's expression hardened.

"For me, that was the most important thing."

"To save his teammates, my father abandoned the mission. And what did he get in return? Accusation. Hatred. From the entire village."

"Even the two shinobi he saved turned against him. But the Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen—just stood by and let it happen."

"Oh, what a kind and wise leader."

Kakashi's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Then came the Fourth Hokage's death. Everyone in Konoha knows the Uchiha clan's Sharingan can control Tailed Beasts."

"But on the night the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha, the Uchiha were ordered to do nothing. To stand on the sidelines and watch the village burn."

"Sure, the order came from the village's top brass. But does anyone really believe Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't know?"

"This order directly led to the death of my sensei, the Fourth Hokage."

"After that, the Uchiha were accused of betrayal—of inaction when the village was in peril. And who stepped up to take control again?"

"The retired Third Hokage."

"He became the biggest winner in the whole tragedy."

"That's when I began to understand."

"My father—Konoha's White Fang—was once considered the most likely next Hokage. He was a hero."

"My teacher became the Fourth Hokage."

"Meanwhile, the three Sannin—Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade—all left Konoha, one after another."

"All these events were major losses to the village."

"But not for Sarutobi Hiruzen."

"No—for him, it was consolidation. The removal of every possible threat to his power."

"Every rival, every rising star... gone."

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This Week Bonus Chapter - 200 Power stones

2nd Bonus Chapter - 400 Power Stones

3rd Bonus Chapter - 600 Power Stones

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