Naruto: The Outsider's Resolve

[Captain Usoland]

Huh, now that is one major butterfly!

I wonder, does Danzo already have the eye implanted under his bandages yet?
Or does he have Hashirama's arm attached yet? (Without the eyes from the massacre on it)

If not, then it might get tricky for the Uchiha. But they could have reached out to the Hyuga ahead of time to scan Danzo before announcing their claim in front of the other clans.

Hiruzen knows Root exists, they could search the base with regular Anbu and a Uchiha & Hyuga to scan for anything suspicious.

 

[The Radiance]

Guess they took his letter's warning very seriously after all.

 

[MrRobot]

Fugaku pulled up his cards, I wonder if he eventually will become Hokage, he was a candidate.

 

[Fiction]

In the early morning, with dew still fresh on leaves and mist lingering in the air, Takuma stood in the small farm field that had been overtaken by weeds from the lack of care. Slowly and deliberately, he practiced his hook kick. But his body moved on its own as his mind was elsewhere.

Yesterday, he had received Maruboshi's letter and had found the earth-shattering news.

The Uchiha Clan had accused Shimura Danzo of Bloodline Theft.

The letter was fairly short, without extensive information regarding the incident, but Takuma could fill in the gap.

Maruboshi had said that Uchiha had recently lost a clan member, and their eyes had gone missing. The news floating around didn't mention the shinobi's name, but Maruboshi discovered that the Uchiha clan had recently lost Jonin Uchiha Shisui. Even without Maruboshi's deduction, Takuma would've assumed the dead to be Uchiha Shisui.

It meant that Shisui had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan.

He ignored the goosebumps on his arms and continued to kick forth.

Takuma realized that he was the reason why the Uchiha clan had accused Danzo of the bloodline theft. His letter to Mikoto had been largely focused on Danzo as the biggest threat to the Uchiha clan. It had been particularly harsh on the man to ensure that Mikoto would understand that the clan needed to beware of the man and his diabolical machinations.

Despite the restlessness in his heart that had kept sleep away from him last night, Takuma was glad that the Uchiha clan had taken the step. Their very public accusation would bring the spotlight on Danzo, binding his hands to an extent, preventing him from making drastic moves behind the scenes—moves like dooming the Uchiha clan.

His letter had definitely thrown Shisui and Itachi under the bus, but in Takuma's view, it had to be done. By revealing their backdoor dealings, he had made it so that the two would suffer the ire of their clan, for they had betrayed the clan even if it was for the good of the clan and village—Shisui was already dead, and people's opinion mellowed out when judging the dead, but Itachi was still alive. Takuma couldn't say what steps the Uchiha clan would take against Itachi.

Takuma couldn't ease his restlessness by throwing himself into training. The anxiety overflowed in his heart. He stopped kicking and sat on the ground with his head between his hands.

His letter to Mikoto wasn't well thought of. He was aware of the radical consequences his letter could cause, and he had deliberately ignored everything so that Mikoto would know what was coming so she could at least protect herself.

By revealing that one of the village elders like Shimura Danzo, who was openly known for his Anti-Uchiha position, had gone ahead and stolen an eye or a pair of eyes from Uchiha Shisui—a pair of the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan—the Uchiha clan which was already dissatisfied with the village, they could be pushed over the edge and outright launch their coup against the Hidden Leaf.

Not to mention, now that the Uchiha knew that Shisui and Itachi had already communicated the clan's plans to overthrow the current administration to the 'enemy,' they would be wound up tighter than ever, ready to pounce at anything that smelled slightly as a danger to the clan.

Takuma knew that he had poured fuel all over the village and had thrown a match into the mess to light the fires of unrest all over the Hidden Leaf.

He didn't regret his letter to Mikoto, but the thoughts of 'What-If' plagued his mind. He had lost hours on end simply worrying, filled with anxiety, about the gravity of his actions. He had sought to protect Mikoto from a horrifying future that he knew was coming, but in doing so, he might have pushed her into another future drowning deep in danger.

'What have I—'

"Is everything alright?"

Takuma flinched and jumped up to his feet on pure instinct. He was so deep into his thoughts that he didn't notice someone walk behind him. With chakra flowing through his left arm and the right hand in his weapons pouch, he turned to face the voice, ready to attack whoever it was.

A few steps away from him stood Tokubetsu Jonin Benzou from Hidden Steam.

"Easy there, no need to be so jumpy," Benzou stepped back, his hands raised in defense while showing that he didn't mean any harm.

Takuma immediately eased up and went into an apology. "I'm sorry about that. You took me by surprise," he said. "How may I help you, Tokubetsu Jonin Benzou?"

"I noticed you and came to see if something was wrong," said Benzou. "May I sit with you?"

Takuma hesitated. There was a delicate balance in how Takuma needed to interact with Benzou. He needed to be respectful as Benzou was a Tokubetsu Jonin, but he couldn't be too reverential as Benzou wasn't Hidden Leaf shinobi as such, he didn't have any authority over Takuma.

"Please," Takuma motioned, and the two sat down together.

"May I ask what troubles you?" asked Benzou.

"Some trouble at home," said Takuma.

"Family?"

"I'm an orphan, sir."

"Well, hello, fellow orphan," Benzou smiled.

"I'm sorry for your loss," said Takuma.

"Thank you, but it's been too long."

Takuma nodded. "What brings you here, sir? Early morning training?"

Benzou chuckled. "It's a fault of mine, but I'm not an early riser. I couldn't sleep last night and thought perhaps an early morning walk would do me some good."

Takuma could wholeheartedly relate. "Something stressing you, sir? Is it the gold mine situation?"

Benzou glanced at Takuma for a moment before nodding.

"It was my first time seeing the gold mines. I was surprised by the large pit," said Takuma.

"Hmm, did your team bring back the news?" Benzou asked, surprised.

"Yes, sir."

"What a coincidence."

Takuma gave a brief smile before saying, "If I'm not overstepping my boundaries, may I ask what the leadership's current position is towards the jonin occupying the gold mines? They don't tell genin like us much."

"We want to take back the mines, but we don't have the resources to defend it. Because of its value, there's no doubt the enemy would attack it again. By simply attempting to take over, we risk losing people and then more while defending the mine from subsequent attacks," said Benzou.

Takuma was surprised. He truly didn't expect Benzou to answer, and he was simply making conversation. It seemed that the issue was bearing down on Benzou more than what Takuma was thinking.

He wanted to suggest that Hidden Leaf could help defend the mine, but he remembered the conversation he had with Kameko and Iori at the gold mines. There was a chance that the Hidden Steam feared that Hidden Leaf would want a cut.

"… Then how about you make it so that there's no need to defend the gold mines," said Takuma.

Benzou looked at Takuma in confusion. "What might you mean?"

"Destroy the infrastructure, fill up the holes, free the miners—make it so they can't pick up the shovel and start digging. Revert the entire operation to a state where the enemy will have to bring in manpower and investment to rebuild the infrastructure and reintroduce their labor into the mines to make it functional. And if they do try to rebuild, it will take time, and we can use that time to harass them and hinder their progress, wasting their time and resources," Takuma said nonchalantly.

"What!?" Benzou looked shocked. "How could we destroy the mine which provides the country with wealth?!"

Takuma shrugged. "It's not doing that right now. Right now, the gold mines are funding the enemy's war coffers while the Land of Hot Waters is not only not getting anything, but you are losing every day through opportunity cost. You can always rebuild after the war is over, but you cannot take back what the enemy has already stolen."

From where Takuma stood, the gold mine was a past asset that had turned into a current liability. To him, it was clear that the best course of action of the least pain was to destroy the liability. If the higher-ups couldn't balance the equation with the gold mine on it—then it was better if they took it out of the equation completely.

"You can even reduce the risk of fatality that comes with taking over the mine. The solution is already there," Takuma said.

Benzou stared at Takuma wordlessly.

Takuma continued, "There's an open valley which is a potential corridor into either territory. Use it as bait. Make it a decoy to lure away the troops from the gold mines, which are relatively close by, and when they're weak, hit the mine hard and fast so they don't know what hit them.

"It's the type of bait-and-switch I like," Takuma smiled.

Takuma looked at Benzou, and he could see the conflict on the man's face. He knew where it was coming from; his time as the leader of the Narcotics Taskforce and the politics of it all had taught him a lot.

He stood up to leave.

"I understand, sir, that this idea won't be accepted with open arms, and some might dislike you for suggesting it. But this is a war on your nation, sir. I believe it's your duty to try everything in your power, even if it means getting burned a little," said Takuma. "And you know…"

Benzou looked up.

Takuma smiled, "If this goes through well, you will be showered with praise, and your country will be grateful to you. It's simple risk and reward, sir…. I will take my leave now.

"Have a good day, sir."


———
.


Takuma sat on the floor of the living room of his house in Camp Banana. He groaned in discomfort as he followed the passive mix of chakra move through his body. It wasn't something he had ever felt before Daiki had taught him the trick. As he focused on the natural flow to reduce the mix, he felt uncomfortable—as though he was doing something extremely wrong.

"Is it supposed to feel like this?" Takuma asked Daiki, who was nearby doing the dumbbell press exercise.

"What does it feel like?"

"Like I'm doing something I shouldn't be."

"You are doing something you shouldn't be, my friend. Keep going," said Daiki.

Takuma grunted as he slowly tried to limit the passive mix. It was a difficult task as a moment of lapse would either have the flow return straight to normal or dip down into dangerous territory. He couldn't push harder because of the apparent death scenario through Type-2 chakra exhaustion.

It was very delicate work. He could tell that this would've been easier if his chakra control was better and how this could be used as an exercise to improve chakra control. A bad exercise as the risk to reward ratio was terrible.

"It becomes much easier after practice," said Daiki.

"I know, I'm not complaining."

"If you say so."

Takuma chuckled with hints of irritation. "Shit!" he yelled when he lost focus, and the passive flow went back to normal. He knew that he was nowhere close to being able to use chakra masking in the field. It took too much of his focus to keep it up.

Takuma stood up and stretched his legs. He wanted to take a break and see what his water clone was doing in his room.

They suddenly heard a shout from outside their house.

"Takuma! Daiki!"

The two looked at each other, knowing who it was.

Takuma stepped out of the front door and opened it to see Anko standing in front of the building with an umbrella to shield her from the drizzle that had been pouring for hours.

"What?" he asked.

"Get ready and meet me at the house near the t-section in ten minutes. Bring Daiki with you," said Anko. "Emergency meeting."

"What's it about?"

Takuma looked back to see Daiki towering behind him.

Anko replied,

"The gold mines."





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[Fiction]

Palpable tension was something Anko had long grown used to in her life; she had been part of many a mission where a lot more than a wad of cash was at stake. Worrying about upcoming missions, spending days reviewing the briefs, and thinking if her team for the mission would scheme to secretly get rid of her because of her association with the snake traitor—that was all a regular part of her life.

But now she found herself leading a team on a mission where a lot more was at stake. There was a real risk that at least one of them would not come out of it alive because of the nature of the mission. She hadn't ever led a team on something as important as the upcoming mission—and she worried as most of her team wasn't as experienced as she would've liked them to be.

"We have received the orders to take back the gold mines," Anko broke the silence in the room. "A portion of Camp Banana will stay to defend the base, but a majority will move to raid the gold mines."

She paused to take in their reactions.

Kameko had her resting frowny face, Rikku was staring at her with a serious expression, Iori stared at her ink-stained hands, Daiki looked openly worried, and Takuma didn't show much except for the fact that he was listening.

"When do we leave?" asked Kameko.

"A week from today. Be ready to sit in multiple briefings in the following week. There's a lot of moving parts involved, and everyone needs to be on point," said Anko.

"Will our two jonin be joining us at the gold mine?" asked Takuma.

Anko nodded. "Yes, both of them will be joining us."

"Two of our jonin against five of their jonin doesn't seem like a balanced mix," said Takuma.

His words brought a pause to the room, letting the sound of rain fill up the silence. Anko felt their eyes shift to her, seeking the answer to a very important question. She could see the worry shoot up their faces; even the stoic Kameko was fiddling with the hilt of her sword.

She answered, "We have a plan. I'm sure all of you remember the valley we visited during the supply run. Three days from today, a mix of Hidden Leaf and Hidden Steam troops will move and create a faux camp at the valley's base.

"The plan is to scare the enemy forces into thinking we are using the valley as an entry point. They would react by moving their troops around and creating a defensive camp of their own to counteract ours. Because we have the element of surprise and lead preparation time, the enemy would need to scramble to pull together enough forces for a quick response—the gold mines' proximity will ensure that at least two jonin will be relocated from the mines to the valley."

"A bait-and-switch?" Takuma said, a smile growing on his face.

"You could say that," said Anko.

Anko was well familiar with her team members' files.

Iori, as a fuin-nin, had sparse field experience. Daiki had a considerable amount, but most of it was tracking civilian bandit groups. Kameko was strong, but her file reflected a lack of missions that would help her prepare for a chaotic clash between two large shinobi groups.

As for the other two, Anko wasn't worried about them. Rikku, who was older than Anko, had enough real field experience to handle herself in a high-stress scenario. As for Takuma, she didn't need to look at his file to tell that he would be fine—she had spent enough time with him, observing him, to know that he might as well thrive in the situation— he was even smiling just now.

'What a freak,' she thought.

Anko continued, "Usually, after taking the mines, we would need to keep it protected, but that's not the case here. The higher-ups have decided to destroy the mines to avoid devoting manpower while ensuring the enemy can't exploit the mine. Our mission is to go in, clean out the enemy, clear out the miners, and destroy the mines before leaving."

Anko wholeheartedly supported the decision, and she had to give it to Hidden Steam's Benzou for advocating the idea. She didn't think that wimp had the balls for it. Anko knew Toridasu had been displeased because he had been tasked by people in the village to get a supply of gold from the mines for the Hidden Leaf in exchange for protecting the mines. Now that Hidden Steam had decided to blow it all up, the plan had gone obsolete. She didn't like all these backroom dealings the higher-ups were doing; she wanted no hand in it and was glad that it went to the shitter.

"We will be thoroughly brushing up on our team training, starting tomorrow first thing in the morning," Anko said. "No fucking around, got it?"

She looked at both Kameko and Takuma. They didn't get along, but she wanted to clarify that she wouldn't take any petty infighting on the field. Looking at it statistically, there was a significant chance that at least one of her genin wouldn't make it out alive.

She wanted to keep that number to only one.


———
.


Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't having a good month. He looked at his smoking pipe that had thrice the amount of tobacco he usually smoked, and the increased amount did absolutely nothing for his stress. He took another puff regardless.

It was far too late in the night, and he was stuck in his office. After decades of being the Hidden Leaf's Hokage, he had devised systems and office practices that had ensured he could leave office at healthy times in the evening—but all of that had seemingly turned moot recently as he and his old body had to start his day early and forced to end his work late every night.

The very formally written scrolls on his table made it so tonight was no different. The scrolls were official and openly public support for the Uchiha clan in their bloodline theft accusation against Danzo.

The Hyuga and the Uchiha clans had never gotten along since the inception of the Hidden Leaf village due to their rivalry over being part of the Three Great Dojutsu. Moreover, they were by far the two most powerful clans in the Hidden Leaf and had gone back and forth through the years to take the top spot. Only once in a blue moon did the two agree with each other on any matter, which also happened after some biting back and forth.

But the moment the Uchiha clan accused Danzo, the Hyuga clan announced their complete support for the Uchiha clan. It was perhaps for the few times in decades that the two clans had stood on the same side without any secret motives.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise to Hiruzen that they joined hands as the laws pertaining to bloodline theft were made by the Uchiha and Hyuga as they were the biggest Hidden Leaf clans with kekkei genkai—and it was not only crucial for them, but for the village and the nation that their lineages were protected.

However, after decades of seeing them fight, Hiruzen couldn't help but be amazed by their solidarity.

The two most powerful clans joining hands was headache-inducing, but the Hyuga clan wasn't the only one to announce their support.

The triad of Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans had taken Uchiha's side. The three Hiden clans of the Hidden Leaf were worried that if someone was bold enough to commit bloodline theft, then their Hiden jutsu were the clear next target. They couldn't allow this to become a damaging precedent. In the same vein, the Aburame clan, which was infamous for not taking sides during conflicts—and had been accused of being fence sitters—also had thrown in their support for Uchiha so early in the matter.

There were open support letters from minor clans like the Fuma and Taketori clans, who were allied clans of Uchiha and Hyuga, respectively. While many minor clans refrained from saying anything, surely because of Danzo's influence, there were some others who showed their support for the Uchiha.

Even Hiruzen himself wasn't left untouched.

He looked down at the Sarutobi clan's letter of support urging him to bring the matter to justice.

He had taken the position of the Sarutobi clan head very young, since before he was named Hokage, and had retained the position for decades. But he had promptly passed it to the younger generation when he had stepped down as the Hokage and passed the office to Minato.

Hiruzen was aware that the Sarutobi clan was planning to show their support openly, and despite having considerable influence over clan matters, there was nothing Hiruzen could do about it. He only wished he could've convinced them to stay their hand for a few more days.

He was left with the aftermath.

How was he supposed to proceed when his own clan was supporting one side? He couldn't even blame them because they were right, even without having the complete information—he knew who was to blame because he knew the entire truth.

Hiruzen closed his eyes and gave his weight to his chair.

He had known Danzo since they were children. Back then, there was no shinobi academy, and they were the first generation of shinobi trained by the Hidden Leaf as a new shinobi village. Their education was overseen by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, himself. Hiruzen knew that their teacher had used them as his test subjects to finalize the structure of the first shinobi academy. He was proud of his involvement in a project that now spread all around the Land of Fire and grew the young future into capable shinobi.

Because of the training under Tobirama, he and Danzo had spent much time together from the time before they received their forehead protectors and became shinobi to fighting side-by-side in a war. They had spent more time than today's three-genin jonin-led cell did—that formula was a refinement of the five-genin jonin-led cell system developed by Tobirama.

Their teacher had truly used them as experiments.

Hiruzen looked up at the framed portrait of the Second Hokage hanging among the four Hokage portraits.

To him, Senju Tobirama was his teacher first,the Hokage second.

Hiruzen pulled him out of nostalgic memories.

He had entrusted his back to Danzo. He trusted the man to protect his life if it ever fell in danger during the war. That trust was the reason why when Tobirama had declared Hiruzen the Third Hokage amidst the First Shinobi War and before his untimely death—Hiruzen had asked Danzo to be his right-hand man.

Danzo had been the Jonin Commander of the Hidden Leaf for years before he stepped down to create and set up the department today known as ANBU. The current ANBU hated the man, and it had changed a lot through the decades, but the current ANBU standard operating procedure, playbook, and training systems all stemmed from the work Danzo had done during its foundational years.

Perhaps it was when Danzo started working on ANBU that cracks emerged in their relationship.

Hiruzen couldn't even remember it anymore; it had been so long, but they argued about something they couldn't agree upon. After that argument, the things they agreed on began to dwindle, and their arguments rose. Somewhere along the line, Hiruzen couldn't call Danzo his friend. They argued, disagreed, and fought too much to be friends. He couldn't recall when the last time was that they had talked about something that had nothing to do with village matters.

Despite being unable to call him a friend, Hiruzen still trusted Danzo as a comrade. He was still someone who cared about Hidden Leaf and someone who was very good at their job. Hiruzen had continued to cherish Danzo as an important shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.

But if Hiruzen had to choose when things went beyond the point of no return…

It would be the creation of ROOT.

Yes… Hiruzen smiled bitterly.

The day Danzo had offered to take over the burden of the darkness from him was the day they both knew that they could never go back.

"Ichi," Hiruzen called as he set down his pipe.

As though appearing from nowhere, a masked shinobi kneeled before his table.

"Yes, Lord Hokage," said Ichi.

"Have you found him?" asked Hiruzen.

"Yes."

Hiruzen closed his eyes for a moment. "He refuses to come here?" he asked.

"Yes."

Hiruzen heaved a sigh.

"I remember now, I remember what this reminds me of." A chuckle of pure bitterness and sorrow escaped Hiruzen. "Do you know what it is, Ichi? You were there."

Ichi didn't reply.

"This reminds me of Orochimaru. He, too, refused my summons because he knew he couldn't be here. Now Danzo refuses my summons..."

Hiruzen's wrinkled face twitched as he grabbed the shoulders of his chair, cracking the wood under his grip.

Ichi tensed up when a wave of pure, unadulterated chakra flooded the room, shaking the windows—shaking the entire building. He looked up at Hiruzen with worry in his eyes behind the mask.

For a moment, it seemed that the building would collapse under the pressure.

"I truly thought he wouldn't turn his back on the village. What an old fool I am."

Hiruzen took a deep breath, and the pressure from the chakra let up as though it was not there.

"Any word from the ANBU commander?" asked Hiruzen.

Ichi replied, "They are ready to execute the first wave of raids."

"Tell them to go ahead with their plan when we reach Danzo," said Hiruzen. Ichi stood up to leave, but Hiruzen stopped him. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but is Uchiha Itachi still under Hatake's team."

"…Last I heard that is true," said Ichi.

Hiruzen didn't blame Ichi for not knowing. The Hokage's ANBU operated separately from the Department of ANBU. The latter was stringent with information to even their own.

"Tell the ANBU commander to send me Hatake and his team along with Uchiha Itachi if he's not on the team anymore." Hiruzen sensed Ichi's reluctance and confusion. "It will be good to have a Uchiha and the Sharingan to be there when I meet Danzo. I can't bring Uchiha Fugaku with me, and he might not trust my words, he might not trust his son, but he will trust Hatake."

Ichi looked like he wanted to say something, but he disappeared without saying a thing.

Hiruzen stood up from his chair.

It was truly time for him to talk to his former friend


———
.

AN: Danzo being a former jonin commander and the creator of ANBU is not canon. I created that because I had to create a journey for Danzo from being Tobirama's student alongside Hiruzen to becoming the figure he is right now.

And I thought the person who operated ROOT would be the perfect person to create Hidden Leaf's ANBU. It oddly fits and allows Danzo actual experience to later set up ROOT.

Tobirama used his own students as test subjects and used his findings to create the shinobi academy and three-man cell (with the fourth leader member)— and similarly, Danzo used ANBU as his first draft to later develop and create ROOT.

It wraps up quite neatly if you ask me.​

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[Captain Usoland]

Huh, I wonder if Daiki will get credit for the "Destroy the mines" Idea.
Thanks for the chapter!

Edit: Looks not. Shame, that might have helped get him a promotion if it goes well!

Huh, and it looks like things are really heating up in the Hidden Leaf! Danzo won't have any time to do his behind-the-scenes machinations, since Hiruzen, Kakashi, and Itachi are about to go and wipe Root out!
No massacre in this timeline folks!

 

[Fiction]

Under the cover of night, Hiruzen stood in front of the gratings that blocked off the entrance to the sewer system of a city not far from the Hidden Leaf.

"They have built a base in the sewers?" he asked.

"Yes, Lord Hokage," answered one of the ANBU-nin beside him.

"I shouldn't be surprised," said Hiruzen, gazing into the darkness his eyes couldn't peer through, "but I assumed he would choose a nicer base for his hiding place. His penchant for comfort and cleanliness has been clear as he has climbed up in the years." Hiruzen was the same; his old bones demanded clean surroundings and a comfortable chair to sit in.

"What is the possibility of stealth?" Hiruzen asked for the sake of asking.

"Close to nil… none," the ANBU-nin corrected himself.

"Let's proceed then. I shouldn't keep him waiting." Hiruzen understood his old friend well enough that if Danzo were indeed hiding in the base, he wouldn't run away without a conversation. He smiled bitterly. It also meant that Danzo was confident in his ability to escape.

An ANBU-nin stepped forth while unsheathing his sword. In the blink of an eye, the sword returned to the scabbard after imperceptible slashes. There was no commotion; the air itself didn't move as cuts appeared in the iron bars, and a portion of grating fell away, detached from the rest.

Hiruzen rolled his shoulders, feeling the weight of his armor as he stepped into the sewers. The shinobi gear had come a long way since his hay days. The young people these days wore their thinner chain mails and flak jackets—he stuck to his plate armor; he liked the slight weightiness. He was too old to learn new tricks.

The corridors of the sewer were grimy, with water and gunk flowing in between. Hiruzen had to physically stop himself from recoiling at the rotten smell that permeated the entire area. Perhaps this was why Danzo had chosen this base, so Hiruzen would have to walk through this mess to meet him.

"Which direction?" Hiruzen turned to ask the Hyuga among the ANBU-nin.

"Something is blocking my eyes, which means someone is trying to hide something," said the Hyuga ANBU-nin as he stepped ahead of the group of shinobi to lead the way.

There was no hiding from the Hyuga and their Byakugan. Through the years, some fuinjutsu seals had been developed to stop the Byakugan's vision, but because Byakugan was needed to test those seals and the Hyuga had ensured that none of their clan members would ever help in creating something that would give up their Dojutsu's advantage—the anti-Byakugan seals weren't very good. The best ones could block the Byakugan's vision, but when the all-seeing eye encountered something it couldn't perceive, it clearly indicated that someone was trying to hide from them.

There were ways to evade the Byakugan, but that had more to do with tricking the Hyuga, who used the Byakugan, than the eyes themselves.

The small company of shinobi walked through the sewers, where the silence was only interrupted by the flow of water and the squeaks of rats. The silence was then shattered with bright flashes of fire and lightning.

"Incoming," the calm voice of a sensory-nin alerted the group.

Hiruzen didn't need to take a single step as ANBU-nin stepped before him to protect him. Hiruzen gazed ahead in the sewer, and the light from the ninjutsu flooding the tunnels showed him the enemies. Masked shinobi who looked no different from the Hidden Leaf ANBU were attacking them,

'What's the point of all of this?' he thought with a sigh.

The flurry of ninjutsu in the constrained space ruthlessly stripped away the bricks on the walls, and the entire structure shook. The people living above the ground would probably be startled by the sudden earthquake assaulting their homes and buildings.

Hiruzen raised his hands to weave hand seals to perform a jutsu before the jonin around him erased the part of the city from existence. But before he could even mix chakra, Danzo's ROOT shinobi dropped to the ground like flies, like someone had cut the marionette strings from a puppet. Even the ANBU-nin protecting him were confused by the sudden change in the situation.

"We should move onwards."

Hiruzen turned back to look at the ANBU-nin standing in the very back. The fires from the destruction cast a light on his front, and Hiruzen could see the two Sharingan rotating in the man's eyes.

It was Uchiha Itachi.

'Genjutsu…' Hiruzen guessed. 'What terrifying power… and so young.' Hiruzen was envious and glad that the Uchiha clan had produced such a youth. But what Hiruzen valued more in the young man wasn't his talent but the Will of Fire that burned brightly within.

Itachi reminded Hiruzen so much of the father when the current Uchiha clan head was young.

Hiruzen recalled the day Fugaku had informed him that he had named his youngest son after Hiruzen's father, Sarutobi Sasuke, in hopes that little Sasuke would grow to be just as strong as a shinobi. He shook his head. Time and circumstance had changed the man, and Hiruzen knew he was partly to blame. Hiruzen wondered in worry if Shisui's death would change Itachi the same way Fugaku had changed.

"Let's move," Hiruzen said after the fuin-nin sealed the ROOT-nin so they would still be there after they returned. There was information to be extracted from Danzo's pawns.

They encountered more resistance, but they couldn't stop the Hokage's party for long. It wasn't surprising. Hiruzen knew Danzo wouldn't use his best men to buy time. All of this kerfuffle was simply an annoying game to drag the affair out more than it needed to.

"Was the city informed to clear out the area above?" asked Hiruzen.

Ichi replied, "Yes, Lord Hokage. The collateral damage will be the lowest if the situation springs out of control."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Hiruzen said.

They soon reached the entrance of the underground bunker built well beneath the city, where no normal person would stumble unless they were searching for the location. The heavy metal door was covered in fuinjutsu seals, protecting the bunker from intruders.

"Stand back," Hiruzen said as he stepped forth.

He weaved hand seals and clapped his hands together for jutsu formula seals to spread out in the air before white smoke puffed out and a black bo-staff with gold ends of great thickness and length appeared in his arms.

Summoning Jutsu: Monkey King

Transformation: Adamantine Staff

"—Has getting older given you dementia that you have forgotten your manners, Hiruzen!? Summoning me directly in this form—" The deep voice of Monkey King Enma immediately admonished his long-time friend and summoner.

The surrounding ANBU-nin gazed at the staff in shock and awe. It was the Third Hokage's weapon of choice, whose heavy use through the decades of warfare had contributed to the legend of the 'God of Shinobi.'

Hiruzen smiled apologetically. "Apologies, my dear friend. I require your help, and this day has already been too long for me…"

"—What is the problem, Hiruzen?—" asked Enma with a hint of concern for his friend.

"Danzo," was all Hiruzen said.

"—… I see—" Enma replied. For a moment, the ANBU-nin sensed that the Hokage's summon was looking at them. "—I never liked that man. I warned you to be careful, and yet my sage advice fell like stone on your deaf ears!—"

"Yes, and I shall resolve that today, dear friend," said Hiruzen.

Enma hummed.

Hiruzen turned to the ANBU-nin. "I care for no one less, but we can't let Danzo escape. We must catch him today; cripple him if you must, but don't kill him."

He turned to the bunker door. He lifted the bo-staff, and the weight strained his arms and body. He had used Enma's weight to great advantage in his youth, but it had become a burden with his aging body. His golden years of taijutsu and bukijutsu had long past after all.

But whatever he had now was more than enough.

He dug his feet into the ground and struck the bunker door with Enma. The adamantine staff was akin to Vajra—unbreakable and unstoppable. The fuinjutsu seals protecting the door were shredded and destroyed by pure unadulterated force. The metal groaned as the door bent at the point of impact, but the bo-staff could tear through the metal, the door came off its hinges, blasting it back into the wall behind.

Hiruzen exhaled deeply and stepped into the bunker where a receiving party of masked ROOT-nin awaited him.

"I will say this only once: surrender and step aside, and I will let you live. Get in my way, and I will gut you where you stand." Hiruzen slammed the bo-staff on the ground, his bloodlust and chakra mixing together to create an oppressive environment.

The ROOT-nin stepped back, drawing their weapons in defense. Hiruzen could smell the fear lingering in the air, but seeing they refused to surrender, there was only one response.

"Death it is," said Hiruzen, his eyes losing their luster. He ignored the calls of his ANBU guard and stepped forth.

Two ROOT-nin charged him. Hiruzen swung his bo-staff as they struck out with their swords, their strikes boosted by bukijutsu.

'Danzo trained them well, but…'

"—Weak!—"

They were nothing when compared to Enma.

The bo-staff extended its length at the last moment, sweeping the ROOT-nin in one stroke, smashing them into the walls. Hiruzen raised the bo-staff high and slammed it on the ground— the entire bunker shook as if hit with a high-magnitude earthquake.

Hiruzen took out four shurikens and threw them at the ROOT-nin. A split second after they took to flight, the four shurikens turned into eight… sixteen… thirty-two… sixty-four, and barraged the ROOT-nin, who had limited space to dodge and could only defend them head-on.

Hiruzen threw his bo-staff toward the ROOT-nin on the left while he rushed to the left. Enma transformed back into his original body and jumped on the group of ROOT-nin with the ferocity of the monkey king.

On Hiruzen's side, a ROOT-nin weaved hand seals for a ninjutsu.

'Boar, tiger, snake, tiger… Fire-Release.'

The first few hand seals reflected in Hiruzen's eyes.

He deduced the ninjutsu… and moved to counterattack. Hiruzen's hands moved faster than the ROOT-nin and completed his ninjutsu a split second before the ROOT-nin despite starting considerably later.

A stream of water slammed into the jet of flames and extinguished the fire before it could even pick up significant heat. Steam sprayed out of impact, and the ROOT-nin squinted his eyes, trying to peer through only to see Hiruzen breaching his personal space with a kunai.

He tried to parry, but Hiruzen's strike was a feint.

The second kunai strike went through the ROOT-nin's chest and heart, passing clean through the body. The kunai appeared out from the body with the Hokage's arm deep in the ROOT-nin's body. Hiruzen watched the light leave the ROOT-nin's eyes before pulling his arm out of the body.

He turned to face another ROOT-nin. Before the masked shinobi could react, Hiruzen weaved one-handed hand seals as he pulled the sword from the man he had just killed.

The ROOT-nin flinched and jumped up—but it was too late as two earthen spikes shot up from the ground, tearing through the metal floor; they went clean through the man's legs, fixing them to the ground. A split second later, Hiruzen drove the sword through the man's heart.

Hiruzen pushed the dead man to the side and, without even looking, shot his arm to the side and tightened his claw grip.

The space, which had been empty a moment before, shimmered, and another ROOT-nin became visible. Hiruzen lifted the man in the air, and as he stared into the ROOT-nin's eyes, Hiruzen tightened his grip and crushed the man's neck with one hand.

Without a word, Hiruzen dropped another body to the ground.

He looked to the other side of the bunker, where Enma had literally ripped a man's body into pieces and was pummeling another one into the ground.

In the half minute, they had entered the bunker if, including Enma's contribution, six men had died due to Hiruzen while his ANBU guard had been only left with two ROOT-nin to contest against.

His skin was wrinkled, his back was crooked, there was barely any muscle on his body—he very much looked like a sickly old man. But with three dead men laying at his feet, his arm dripping from someone else' blood and not a sign of exertion on his body—there was no denying it…

Sarutobi Hiruzen was still one of the deadliest shinobi on the planet.

---

NEW COVER
By — Kodah
Instagram @Kodah.art




​

---

Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to Patreón [fictiononlyreader]. Link here and in signature.
Note: All the chapters will eventually be posted on public forums.

 

[J.I.M.S]

As for Takuma, she didn't need to look at his file to tell that he would be fine—she had spent enough time with him, observing him, to know that he might as well thrive in the situation— he was even smiling just now.

'What a freak,' she thought.

Click to shrink...

Oy oy it's because now Takuma has a possible future in with regards to the war plans. Yes siree, he's not (I repeat, not!) an adrenaline junky hungry for war merits! If I repeat it enough I might actually believe it.

It was truly time for him to talk to his former friend

Click to shrink...

Wonder if Danzo is gonna go out the way of the White Fang. Or take this as an opportunity to go missing nin and start hitting and running the other villages. Guy does what he thinks is best for the village.

He was too old to learn new tricks.

Click to shrink...

Says the man known as the Professor. Lol

Damn the art is nice. Like the dead/numb vibe he gives off from the eyes and posture. Him chiefing while on the job is hilarious. The itty bit on his left shoulder looks like what I imagine his street looks like. Not sure what the bit by his left hand is, my guess is it relating to Maruboshi.

 

[K.St0ne]

What's with different village Takuma in cover art?

 

[Tomthebomb]

False flag op maybe?

 

[The Radiance]

Sarutobi Hiruzen was still one of the deadliest shinobi on the planet.

Click to shrink...

Him and every other Hokage. Kage level ninja are terrifying.

NEW COVER

Click to shrink...

Congrats on the new cover. It looks really cool. And I can definitely see the Overworked MC right there.

 

[Captain Usoland]

Hmm, I can't recall. Did the MC put on the outfit of another village when he was sneaking back from the Hidden Frost mission? I can't think of any other time he had to pretend to be from another village.

Thanks for the chapter! Looks like Root is getting cleared out.

Great cover art! I don't know why, but the MC looks like Okkotsu Yuta to me

 

[Fiction]

What's with different village Takuma in cover art?

Click to shrink...

That is Hidden Steam's insignia ( / / / ).
As for why Takuma's wearing it. I don't consider the reasoning spoiler and I have briefly mentioned it before. But I will also be mentioning it in a future chapter—which is why I will be putting the reason down below in the spoiler shadows.

Spoiler: Reason behind Takuma wearing a different shinobi uniform in the cover artwork

Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud are in proxy war through Hidden Steam and Hidden Frost. Both sides know the situation, but they can't be seen as participating in "active war" against each other, and officially, they're only participating through support—which is Hidden Leaf is operating under Hidden Steam uniform. Now there are different levels for proxy war, just in this one, they're not avoiding being seen actively supplying their shinobi, even though they're doing so.

 

[Fiction]

Hmm, I can't recall. Did the MC put on the outfit of another village when he was sneaking back from the Hidden Frost mission? I can't think of any other time he had to pretend to be from another village.

Thanks for the chapter! Looks like Root is getting cleared out.

Great cover art! I don't know why, but the MC looks like Okkotsu Yuta to me

Click to shrink...

That is Hidden Steam's insignia ( / / / ).
As for why Takuma's wearing it. I don't consider the reasoning spoiler and I have briefly mentioned it before. But I will also be mentioning it in a future chapter—which is why I will be putting the reason down below in the spoiler shadows.

Spoiler: Reason behind Takuma wearing a different shinobi uniform in the cover artwork

Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud are in proxy war through Hidden Steam and Hidden Frost. Both sides know the situation, but they can't be seen as participating in "active war" against each other, and officially, they're only participating through support—which is Hidden Leaf is operating under Hidden Steam uniform. Now there are different levels for proxy war, just in this one, they're not avoiding being seen actively supplying their shinobi, even though they're doing so.

As for Takuma's similarity to Okkotsu Yuta— Takuma is based on him. The previous cover was an image of Okkotsu Yuta. His tired and dull eyes really clicked for me when I thought of Takuma—and Kodah did an excellent job replicating it in his art.

 

[Artemis]

That art is super cool. Also some great chapters. Thanks for writing!

 

[Bête Noire]

Huh, when I imagined surgical scars, the idea of incredibly obvious stitching wasn't what came to mind.

 

[Fiction]

Huh, when I imagined surgical scars, the idea of incredibly obvious stitching wasn't what came to mind.

Click to shrink...

Neither did I, but it's Kodah's way to show excessive scarring. It's to gets the point across.
I like it, it's charming in a way.

 

[Kloudianorici]

NEW COVER
By — Kodah

Click to shrink...

Did he mean to make him look like Yuta Okkotsu from Jujutsu Kaisen? Cause that is very close appearance wise, down to the sloped hairstyle and dead looking eyes.

 

[MrRobot]

He kinda does trough what is most telling is that well hel looks older here since you know he is spposed to be 14 at most.

 

[J.I.M.S]

As for Takuma's similarity to Okkotsu Yuta— Takuma is based on him.

Click to shrink...

Did he mean to make him look like Yuta Okkotsu from Jujutsu Kaisen? Cause that is very close appearance wise, down to the sloped hairstyle and dead looking eyes.

Click to shrink...

Yes it looks to be the case

 

[Ziel]

Love the new cover. Definitely sells his vibe. And I can see why Anko would find him grinning weird when he's normally B| face all the time.

Remind me - did he get the mouth scar during the root assassination attempt? Or is it another Ring scar?

 

[aomeng]

just caught up, and i wanna say that i really appreciated the kahona vice arc. ya dont get much of that crime writing in fanfiction but its my favorite stuff in general fiction.

 

[Fiction]

With Enma, back on his shoulder in his bo-staff form, Hiruzen led the group through the bunker. There were a few traps that Hiruzen crushed on first notice, but no more ROOT-nin popped up to stop him.

Hiruzen could tell that it was time for him to meet Danzo.

"Don't forget my words," he reminded his guard.

They soon reached the core of the large underground bunker, where both the Hyuga and the sensory-nin in the group informed them that Danzo was behind the door before them. Hiruzen didn't bother waiting and slammed the metal door down.

Standing on the other side of the corridor was Danzo, alone without any guards, as though he was leisurely waiting for them to arrive.

Hiruzen scowled at him as his former friend, but before he could speak, mini-crossbow turrets mounted on the walls around the room shot multiple kunai with explosive tags on their tails at Hiruzen and the ground.

Hiruzen flicked his wrist, and a gust of sharp wind pulsated outwards, blowing away the kunai barrage and cutting every single explosive tag in half, forcibly rendering them defused.

"Is that all, or do you have more juvenile mechanisms to throw at me?" Hiruzen asked, slamming the bo-staff down and shaking the floor.

"They were a welcome for you, Hiruzen. This is the first time you have ever visited one of my homes. A bit too late though," Danzo said calmly as his eye drifted over the ANBU guard behind Hiruzen. He lingered on Itachi standing in the back. "And I see you have brought companions."

Hiruzen noticed Danzo still had his two eyes, black pupils in both.

'He hasn't transplanted Shisui's eyes then,' he concluded.

There was a reason why a clan like the Uchiha, who were so fiercely protective about their dojutsu, had allowed an outsider to retain and wield one of their precious eyes. Hatake Kakashi had obtained the eye that had given him the moniker the Copy Ninja from his friend and teammate who had died during the Third Shinobi World War—and everyone, including the man himself expected the Uchiha to come knocking on his door so much so that Kakashi had taken the initiative to visit the Uchiha to return the eye.

But contrary to everyone's expectations, the Uchiha clan had allowed Kakashi to retain and wield their eyes. It was an absurdly shocking incident that had been on everyone's lips for months; everyone aware of the matter could only speculate why the Uchiha would do so.

Hiruzen himself couldn't understand the reasoning. What was the ploy? He had initially thought that the Uchiha clan was trying to gain Kakashi's favor and bring him under their umbrella—but he disposed of that idea faster than it rose—even the Uchiha wouldn't use their precious Sharingan as a bargaining tool.

He found the truth later through his successor, Minato, Kakashi's jonin teacher.

Uchiha wanted to know how the Sharingan would react and function in the possession of someone who lacked their bloodline. Like all the kekkei genkai-possessing clans, the Uchiha wished to study their dojutsu further and boldly used the situation with Kakashi as a way to do that. It was a risky move, but it paid dividends as they found a lot more about the Sharingan.

When transplanted into someone who lacked the Uchiha bloodline, the Sharingan remained activated. Kakashi had tried to solve the problem as the Sharingan drained his chakra constantly, restricting his other abilities due to the ever-present load on his chakra reserves, making chakra resource management an altogether new challenge.

It wasn't a problem with talent as Kakashi knew how to use the Sharingan better than the majority of the Uchiha clan—something the latter would never admit as the truth displeased them.

Seeing Danzo without the red in his pupils meant he hadn't yet transplanted Shisui's eyes.

'We must catch him alive to locate the eyes,' Hiruzen thought.

"Why did you do it, Danzo?" he asked with the feeling of sorrow in his heart. "You sacrificed a young man's life with boundless potential… for what? So, an old man like you could have a second wind? You sacrificed the village's future so you could hoard more power?"

"I don't know what you're trying to insinuate, Lord Hokage," Danzo said, eyeing the ANBU-nin who entered and spread out in the wide corridor. Against Hiruzen and his guard, he stood alone.

Hiruzen sighed in disappointment. "Only you knew the truth. It could have only been you. I blame myself for trusting you with the information. You are a disgrace to the village, to our teacher, and to the Will of Fire."

"Your anger has blinded you, Hiruzen. I wasn't the only one to know, was I? There was another one." Danzo's eyes briefly lingered on Itachi. "Maybe a genius got envious and sought to gain more power."

Hiruzen glanced at Itachi. The young Uchiha looked like he wanted to jump at Danzo and shred him into pieces.

"Your means, your way of dealing with problems that plagued the village and the nation… was necessary," Hiruzen started, gazing at Danzo with a somber tone. "They kept us safe, and I and the village were grateful for it—"

Danzo scoffed.

Hiruzen continued, "So I allowed you to operate as you wished. Perhaps it was because you produced results, or maybe it was because our friendship blinded me that I granted you autonomy"— Danzo's brown knitted together—"but you should've known better than anyone what would happen the moment you turned your weapons against our own—it's your responsibility to deal with threats like yourself currently." He sighed. "I blame myself for this situation. I pushed the darkness onto you when you offered to bear it. I should have considered it more; I should have known that, given your history, it would turn out like this…

"Power corrupted you, Danzo. I imagine our teacher saw this coming, so he made me the Hokage rather than you. He was wiser than both of us combined…"

Hiruzen gazed at Danzo. The man he knew always hid his emotions. No matter the situation, Danzo would conceal his thoughts and schemes behind the cold, stone exterior. That's what made him the dangerous shinobi and strategist he was.

But Hiruzen knew Danzo better than most people—he knew where it hurt the most.

"…You are correct. It is your fault, Hiruzen," Danzo stood there just as calm as before, his voice flat and controlled, but if the venom in his eyes was any indication, Hiruzen knew his words had gotten through. "Everything I did was because of you. All my actions were in the hopes you didn't ruin the village our teacher helped build. If you wish to shoulder the blame, then feel free to do as you forced me to take the actions I did."

"How much are you going to disgrace yourself, Danzo? At least be honorable to take responsibility for your actions," Hiruzen said, exasperated.

Danzo shook his head.

"Don't try to twist my words, Hiruzen. I know what I did, but you forced my hand. You were leading the Hidden Leaf into weakness," he said with a hint of anger. "It all started after the Second War, your policies and decisions slowly began to soften. Your iron rule became more malleable. It wasn't obvious then, but with hindsight, I could see that the once fierce Third Hokage had reached the tail end of his prime.

A mocking smile appeared on his face. "I always wonder what was the catalyst. If one was to ask me, it was the Slug Princess' downfall. Tell me, Hiruzen—did seeing your student suffer because of the war crack your shinobi heart?"

"Danzo," Hiruzen warned.

Danzo continued unperturbed. "That softness of yours was why the Hidden Stone and the Fence-Sitter Onoki dared to declare war against us, which led to the Third War. Your weakness let the smaller powers in and outside our borders dare to harbor even thoughts of rebellion. Oniki saw your weakness and sought to take advantage. Your weakness was the reason why Hidden Cloud and that generation of Raikage dared to enter the war because they didn't see us as strong enough to fend off two nations

"Would they have thought that when the First Hokage founded the village? Would they have dared when the Second Hokage led our glorious village into prominence? Would they have dared it when the Hiruzen of old was keeping everyone under his heel?"

The memories drove away Hiruzen. He was as naïve as any youngster in his youth. Power was the truth; power was absolute. He didn't understand what the Hidden Leaf stood for, what the Hokage's true duty was supposed to be. It was training his dear students that led him to enlightenment. It was from seeing their growth, their potential, their brightness— that he understood the Will of Fire.

'You're so blind, my old friend,' he thought.

"I was happy when you decided to step down as the Hokage and passed the hat on to Namikaze. We never agreed on many things, but I understood why you chose him," said Danzo, surprising Hiruzen.

"Namikaze was such a force to be reckoned with during the Third War that an unwilling Onoki was forced to sign the peace treaty—that was the dominance that a Hokage should have. I had liked the young Orochimaru with his mind, ability, and zeal— but Namikaze was a better choice. He even had the jinchuriki under his control. A truly shrewd hand to marry the jinchuriki just like the First Hokage; I'm still surprised that Jiraya was the one to train him."

Hiruzen felt a bad taste in his mouth as Minato's memory was tarnished right in front of him.

"I pity you, Danzo. You can't help but see everyone as tools and pawns," he said.

"Keep it to yourself," said Danzo. He continued, "I had high hopes that the young Namikaze would lead the Hidden Leaf to its previous heights under his reign—but tragedy struck…" Danzo heaved a sigh as though feeling remorse.

The Nine-Tails incident. The tragedy had killed shinobi and civilians alike. The incident had taken away his wife from Hiruzen, the Hokage from the village, and countless loved ones from the people who were fortunate to survive.

"But the true tragedy was when you re-instated yourself as the Hokage," Danzo said. "When the village desperately needed strong leadership to keep it together and put forward a powerful front for the world to see while it repaired itself and regained strength—you failed the village. You couldn't control Orochimaru, you let the Uchiha step all over you, even the pathetic Hidden Frost had the gall to betray us and join hands with Hidden Cloud.

"Without my work, keeping everyone in check, you would've made a mockery of the Hokage. Without me, you would've long ruined the Hidden Leaf. You speak of the Will of Fire. I'm the roots that feeds the great tree. I ensured it would flourish even if it meant stealing the nutrients from others who rely on the same ground. I have done more for the future than you."

Danzo raised his hand to point at Hiruzen,

"I respected the man who was titled 'God of Shinobi'… that man is dead because you, Sarutobi Hiruzen, are no longer him. You aren't even the pale shadow of the man," Danzo said.

Hiruzen took in a deep breath before picking up his bo-staff.

"Shisui's death was good for the village's future?" he asked.

Danzo spoke as though it was obvious. "The last time a Uchiha had that much power, we almost lost the entire village if not for the First Hokage, who we also almost lost because of him. As the teacher once said: that clan is cursed, and they will ruin the village if not kept in check."

Hiruzen closed his eyes for a moment but when he opened his eyes, the anger mixed in with the chakra pushed against the walls of the chamber. Everyone looked nervously at Hiruzen.

"If you want the Sarutobi Hiruzen of the old, then that's who you will get."

He would end this twisted fire that threatened the tree.





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[Fiction]

As Hiruzen took a step to push off the ground to dart toward Hiruzen, multiple ROOT-nin appeared from within the walls. Unfazed, Hiruzen ignored them all, aware of their presence all along. They had a Hyuga and a sensory-nin; an ambush was nigh impossible.

He was only focused on Danzo, leaving everything else to his ANBU-guard.

Hiruzen raised his bo-staff over his head and swung it down at Danzo, who calmly raised his cane and struck the bo-staff from the side. Hiruzen's face twitched when an overwhelming force forcibly changed the trajectory. The cane shattered at first contact, but the bo-staff missed the target, cracking the ground beside Danzo's feet. He remained calm as ice as the narrow space was plunged into a hostile battle.

Danzo stared down at Hiruzen. One moment, his eyes were tranquil as an undisturbed lake surface, but they flickered with killing intent in the same split second as he thrusted the broken end of the cane into Hiruzen's chest. Hiruzen effortlessly parried the broken cane with a kunai and struck a counter-attack in the same movement. Danzo side-stepped the kunai. Smoke puffed from within his sleeve, and a tanto blade slid out into his hand. He swung it down towards the base of Hiruzen's neck, who once again parried the blade.

Instead of building pressure, Hiruzen took a step back with his hands moving up to weave hand seals.

Danzo reacted by moving away from Hiruzen to create the most space. As he took a step back, the bo-staff transformed back into Enma with a large puff of smoke, and the Monkey King grabbed onto Danzo from behind and held him in place.

"Got you, you back-stabbing hyena," Enma said, baring his sharp teeth at Danzo.

Thick currents of lightning sparked around Hiruzen's arm as he pointed two fingers at Danzo.

Not a muscle changed on Danzo's face as the lethal lightning from a B-rank jutsu reflected in his eyes. He watched the jutsu, knowing that Enma would have to free his hold not to get caught, but also realized that with the experience, coordination, and trust between the two, it would be too late for Danzo to do anything by the time Enma freed him.

The lightning currents grew in speed and volume. The moment Hiruzen stiffened his arm, Danzo knew Hiruzen couldn't hold the jutsu any longer.

Danzo relaxed his body within Enma's grasp before pushing chakra through his body to create a sudden spike of power. Monkey King Enma was known to be indestructible and unstoppable—which meant he had extremely high endurance—but in no way did that mean he couldn't be moved around.

Danzo lifted Enma and flipped them both so Enma's back now faced Hiruzen.

The timing was perfect, as Hiruzen could neither cancel the jutsu nor could he hold it any longer. Hiruzen raised his arm and thrust it towards the ceiling for a brutal arc of lightning to jolt out and rip through the metal, concrete, and the tons of ground above them.

The entire bunker shook in a terrifying manner. The metal around them groaned, signaling that the jutsu had caused immense structural damage. The light bulbs illuminating the space, half of which had already shattered from the fighting, all went down, plunging the entire room into darkness.

Everyone, ANBU and ROOT alike, paused for a moment as everyone understood that a massive weight of the ground above them could come crashing down at them at any moment. Their abilities made it so there was a high chance of survival even if the bunker caved, but no one was going to take a chance against nature itself, trying to bury them alive.

A strong gust of wind blasted into the room, and Enma was thrown back, forced to release Danzo because of the ninjutsu. Enma, uninjured, stamped his feet to the ground to stop and roared at Danzo.

Hiruzen strained his ears. He heard the muffled sound of Danzo's slippers and a flutter of his clothes. Danzo was on the move. He asked Enma to follow, and they jumped down into a narrow tunnel. The tunnel stretched in one direction with a light at the end.

"We must hurry," Enma said as he hurried along the tunnel.

Hiruzen nodded and followed Enma but stopped after a few steps.

"Wait," he said, his voice echoing in the narrow space.

Hiruzen turned back towards the dead-end side of the tunnel. His fingers twitched as he breathed out a shaky breath. He joined his hand to create a release hand seal. The genjutsu shattered, and the dead-end suddenly extended into a tunnel going in the opposite direction. He could even pick up faint sounds from Danzo's sandals.

"Crafty bastard, we almost fell for it," Enma spat and stepped into the other direction when Hiruzen put a hand on his shoulder. Enma was shocked and blurted the first thought that came into his mind. "Are you letting him go!? I harshly disagree, Hiruzen! You must see through your old friendship for what all the man has done."

Hiruzen didn't reply. His eyes were trained on the tunnel bent to the side, blocking his view of the end. His breaths turned deep as chakra bubbled inside his body. More chakra than he had ever actively produced in years flowed through his chakra pathway network like a flood—the last time he had mixed this much chakra was years ago when he had tried to apprehend Orochimaru.

His bony fingers weaved a hand seal, and the chakra obeyed his command.

Fire Release: Fire Dragon Jutsu

Like a spark dropping on gasoline, fire for the B-rank jutsu erupted from Hiruzen's mouth in the shape of the dragon. The tunnel was too narrow to contain the flames, and the fire dug into the walls to make space for the dragon that refused to be contained, scorching and incinerating anything and everything in its way.

The Sarutobi clan were known for their affinity to Fire-Style ninjutsu much like the Uchiha. Hiruzen shared his clan's affinity, but unlike his clan members or those of the Uchiha clan, he was the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, the God of Shinobi, the Professor who had mastered all nature transformation.

He pushed the B-rank jutsu beyond what most people could even master through their lifetimes. The fire burned hotter, and the dragon grew longer. It couldn't even be called a B-rank ninjutsu as it approached the destructive capability of an A-rank ninjutsu.

But it wasn't enough.

Hiruzen weaved more hand seals.

Combination jutsu was the skill-extensive technique of mixing two compatible ninjutsu into one to produce a much stronger ninjutsu. It was performed by two people, as one person could only perform a jutsu at a time. Hiruzen wasn't those people. He could actively perform two ninjutsu at a time—he could simultaneously cast two B-rank ninjutsu at a time with ease… given the right conditions, he could even do it with two A-rank jutsu.

As though someone had turned the fuel injector dial to eleven, the flames burned even hotter, jumping several levels hotter, and the fire erupted in volume, pushing against the tunnel even harder, turning some of the soil into molten lava.

The indestructible Monkey King Enma stepped back as the sheer heat from the flames began to sting his skin and singe his fur.

Combination Ninjutsu: Wind Augmentation: Fire Release: Heavenly Fire Dragon Jutsu


———
.


Danzo escaped into the tunnel after taking advantage of the sudden blackout in the corridor to cast a genjutsu. He didn't expect the genjutsu to stop Hiruzen for long, but he expected it to hold long enough for him to escape.

It would have been wiser, and the logical decision to escape in the wind before Hiruzen even had the opportunity to send summons for him—but he wished to see him in the eye as he said his piece. It was his selfish desire to tell Hiruzen how and why they had arrived at the present.

The moment Uchiha Shisui had escaped from his ambush alive, he knew there was a chance that the news would reach the Uchiha clan and the entire village. It was a risk he had considered and had taken measures to reduce risk, but Uchiha Shisui had proven to be a troublesome adversary who had not only escaped alive but killed more than three-quarters of the finest ROOT-nin he had chosen for the mission.

It was a beyond-expensive operation—but it was worth it for the safety of Hidden Leaf. He couldn't let the cursed Uchiha, who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, threaten the village. As long as Uchiha Shisui was sent to the afterlife, he wouldn't have minded the deaths of all involved in the operation.

What he didn't expect was the Uchiha clan accusing him of stealing both of Shisui's eyes. He had only managed to get his hand on one of the eyes. Shisui had escaped with his other eye—which Danzo deeply regretted.

Either the Uchiha were not telling the truth, or they indeed didn't have the second eye. Danzo wondered why for both options. Did they want Hiruzen to believe that the second eye was destroyed so he wouldn't be threatened by them—or did the Uchiha clan truly didn't possess the second eye?

What Shisui had done after his escape was a mystery that couldn't be solved by anyone but the man himself.

Seeing that Hiruzen had brought the young Uchiha prodigy along with him, he tested to see if Uchiha Itachi knew something—but other than hatred and anger, the boy didn't give anything that would tell Danzo what had happened to the second eye.

Danzo felt the genjutsu he had laid down shatter.

It was much faster than he had anticipated. Father time hadn't been kind to him.

He picked up his speed and headed towards one of the exits. They had built an underground branching maze with dead-ends and false-openings, filled with deadly traps, and only ROOT-nin knew the correct path to the true secret exit. He had noticed Hiruzen had brought a Hyuga along, which was an annoyance, but he had instructed his ROOT-nin to kill or at least occupy the Hyuga so his Byakugan wouldn't be used to track him down.

As long as he lost Hiruzen and his summon, he would be able to escape.

Danzo had raised his hands to weave hand seals to create clones to jerk the tail of his scent, when he felt a faint rumble beneath his feet. He glanced up as dust fell from the ceiling of the tunnel. He glanced back—for a moment, he saw nothing of concern—but then things changed. The temperature rose, and then he felt the heat arrive on his skin, and before he could genuinely react, a dragon's head made of fire hounded after, drowning everything behind it in fire.

He immediately used the Body Flicker Jutsu to shoot forward so as not to get eaten by the flames. He judged that he could keep ahead of the flames—but the moment that thought struck, the volume of flames rose, the fire grew hotter, and he could feel the intense heat assaulting his flames.

In an instant, he realized he wouldn't be able to stay ahead.

'Not even trying to take me alive now, are you, Hiruzen?'

Danzo jumped up towards the ceiling with lightning-quick hand seals and burrowed upward into the ground. He could no longer exit through the exit—creating a new emergency exit was the only option.

He never underestimated Hiruzen's power. The man was stronger than him from the day they had met as little babies. The gap had only increased as they grew and Hiruzen came into as the God of Shinobi, a perfected living weapon of mass destruction. But Danzo didn't think that Hiruzen would try to kill him—he was more valuable alive than dead. His ROOT network itself was enough reason for his capture because without him, it would take Hidden Leaf a decade to dismantle his operation.

The moment he breached the ground, the intense, pressured flames rose behind him, chasing after him as he hastily burrowed up. It didn't take long for Danzo to gather that the flames were faster than him, and he was bound to be enveloped in them.

He focused on every tenketsu in his body and released chakra to create a pseudo-protective layer to protect himself. It was not Hyuga's Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven—but it was the best option while he continued to burrow to the top so he could escape as soon as possible.

The flames enveloped him, burning away the chakra layer that Danzo continuously replenished. The fire burned his skin, the air burned, his lungs burned, and his eyes blurred until he was functionally blind, forcing him to close then— the ground around him heated, interfering with his ninjutsu that he was using to burrow up. He gritted his teeth as the fire ate at him.

He only took a breath when he emerged above ground and jumped out of the flames, rolling on the ground to put them out and extinguishing them with a burst of chakra from every tenketsu to snuff them out.

The smell of burnt hair and skin overwhelmed his senses as he got up to his feet to walk away.

'Where is he?'

He hadn't taken the risk of meeting Hiruzen without thought. He had an escape plan with contingencies set up to avoid capture.

"Surrender or die."

Danzo stopped as the words reached his buzzing ears.

He stopped and turned back to see Hiruzen with his bo-staff.





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[Fiction]

Hiruzen and Danzo faced each other on the outskirts of the town. Danzo's clothes were in tatters, his skin was singed, and his hair was frizzled from the fire. Hiruzen looked down on him, looking ready to strike at the moment's notice.

"Surrender, Danzo," Hiruzen said.

Danzo's body was hunched; his chest heaved as he stared at Hiruzen. He scoffed and stood straighter with a grimace on his face.

"You know better than anyone what would happen if I returned to the village with you," said Danzo.

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "Tell me where the eyes are, and I will keep the Uchiha away. You'll be punished, but it will be according to the village's laws," he said.

"Not this time, you can't. The Uchiha will kill me even with your protection," said Danzo, sneering. There was a cold light in his eyes. "Even if you somehow manage to keep me safe, the village laws will leave me crippled and caged not to see the sun ever again…I'd rather die."

Hiruzen knew Danzo's words held true. The moment Uchiha got Shisui's eyes back, they would assassinate Danzo, and Hiruzen understood how hard it would be to keep them from doing it. And with how many clans and influential people stood against Danzo, even if Hiruzen managed to keep Uchiha away, there was a high chance of the death penalty or being crippled and imprisoned in Danzo's future.

"I don't have the confidence to take you alive, Danzo. I will kill you if I think you might escape. You die either way. So how about coming back to the village and make things right if that's the last thing you do," he said.

Danzo laughed loudly as though hearing a joke, surprising Hiruzen.

"I would rather die here than return the accursed eye, Hiruzen. The torturers will break me to get the location—you know they will fail—but I have no desire to go through it, so you might as well end me here," Danzo cracked his neck. He then declared, "But beware Hiruzen. If this is to be my last action, then it will indeed be for the village's betterment… it will be to kill you so another can take your place as the Hokage."

Hiruzen's heart grew heavy. He was no stranger to death and death threats, but it was the first time someone from his own village had expressed such hatred for his position as the Hokage. Many disagreed with him, argued against his decisions, but no one had gone far as to say that his death would benefit the village.

"…Then make it a reality, Danzo," Hiruzen slammed his bo-staff to the ground. "If you believe your death is inevitable, do what you believe will benefit the village. Take me out and ensure the Uchiha will never get their stolen eyes back….

"If you can do it, that is," Hiruzen dared.

Danzo eyed Hiruzen with suspicion; Hiruzen could tell that Danzo was considering every word and intention behind his words. After a moment, Danzo shrugged his overshirt off his shoulder, leaving his upper body bare.

"If only you showed this type of behavior as the Hokage." Danzo raised his hands to form hand seals.

Hiruzen raised his hands, too, as his eyes followed Danzo's hands.

'Summoning Jutsu?' Hiruzen's fingers twitched. 'He's summoning Baku?'

Baku was Danzo's personal summon, just as Enma was Hiruzen's.

Danzo used Baku to boost his Wind-Style ninjutsu. Knowing that, Hiruzen went for a Fire-Style jutsu to take advantage of the Wind-Style combinations he had seen Danzo and Baku use in combat.

But before Danzo could finish the Summoning Jutsu, the space behind him twisted, and a hand appeared out of nowhere, resting on Danzo's shoulder, who flinched and twisted back with a kunai in hand.

The kunai passed through a man who suddenly stood behind Danzo as though the man was a ghost.

"Rude, aren't you," said the man in a deep, gruff voice.

Hiruzen stared in shock. He saw the space twist into a vortex that seemed to spit out a man. Not only that, but Danzo's attack phased through the man.

'A Space-Time ninjutsu?' Hiruzen mused as he wondered about the man's identity.

The man had an orange mask with stripes that only had one eye hole; his hair extended beyond his shoulders, and he was dressed from top to bottom without a hint of skin showing.

"—Hiruzen—" Enma called out.

"I know, my friend," Hiruzen picked up the bo-staff in response. It was pure intuition, but Hiruzen could sense danger oozing out of the man. This was not someone to be trifled with. Unlike both he and Danzo, the man was in his prime.

The man looked up at Hiruzen, who froze up when he saw the red Sharingan gazing at him from within the mask.

"An Uchiha?" he muttered.

"The Uchiha," the man replied.

Hiruzen was taken aback, and before he could speak, something flew past him that sent the coldest chill up his spine. On pure instinct, he jumped to the side even though it had already passed him by. The 'thing' was a mass of jet-black flames that struck Danzo right in the chest.

Hiruzen felt his heart leap from the gut-wrenching scream from Danzo as the black fire burst, spreading on his body.

However, the next second, the ominous jet-black flames fell to the ground as if detached from Danzo, who kept screaming in agony. That itself lasted another second as the man and Danzo were sucked into the vortex that distorted space.

Hiruzen looked back to see Itachi kneeling beside the hole in the ground with a hand over his eye. There was blood on his face and hand, his breathing labored, and…

Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock.

… pinwheels spinning in Itachi's scarlet eyes that burned with hatred.


———
.


Danzo woke up with a start and heaved a noisy breath as his arms immediately went to his chest. His body is covered in bandages and unfamiliar clothes. He winced as pain assaulted his body, but he found that he could move. Danzo ignored the pain and immediately took note of his surroundings. He was in a fairly small room with a bed, wall cabinet, and two chairs on a tiny circular table.

He immediately got up, and with his eyes on the door, he went to the cabinet. He saw some basic medical supplies; he grabbed some of them and stored them in the satchel he made from the bedsheet. Danzo then broke the legs of the table and chairs to construct makeshift weapons.

The door was simply a curtain, saving Danzo the effort of opening it stealthily. Judging from the rough walls and the material, he was underground. As he made his way through the corridor silently, he recalled his latest memories.

He was facing Hiruzen when black flames hit him. They burned hotter than any ninjutsu he had ever faced. He didn't know how much time had passed and what treatment he was given, but he didn't need to look down at his bandages to know that his wounds were already bleeding.

The corridor was fairly short with two more rooms other than his own. He could see trees and long grass out the entrance of the cave corridor with a loud sound of rushing water. Sticking close to the walls, Danzo peered out of the entrance and saw a sprawling jungle stretching to the horizon. The sound of water was a waterfall a small distance beside the cave entrance.

Danzo closed his eyes. In his condition, when he had no idea where he was, getting to a place of safety would be a challenging task.

He knew who brought him here and wasn't stoked about being in the company.

"Isn't it rude to leave without bidding farewell to the host? I feel I deserve a thank you."

Danzo frowned and looked to his side.

The so-called Uchiha Madara, dressed in his full attire and mask, stood on the opposite side of the cave entrance with his hands behind his back, facing Danzo.

Danzo resisted the urge to lean against the wall. He couldn't afford to look weak in front of this man.

"I have no intention to thank you after what happened," Danzo spat.

"Oh? Why is that?" asked Madara.

"I hired Akatsuki as an escape plan, but you almost let me die."

"Please don't force your inability on us. You told us to wait for you at the planned exit point, but then you decided to come out from a different place altogether. You should be grateful we were on the lookout and got to you in time. Without us, you would have been a dead man," said Madara.

Danzo silently gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected Hiruzen to take such drastic actions.

"… The black flames, what were they?" asked Danzo.

"An Uchiha among the ANBU." Madara then raised his hand and pointed it at his eye.

Danzo's breathing hitched. He had seen the ANBU along with Hiruzen, and there was only one Uchiha among them; he recognized the mask and, thus, the man behind it.

Uchiha Itachi.

'The special black flames… it has to be the Mangekyo Sharingan.'

Danzo felt his heart sink. He had just got rid of Uchiha Shisui so the Uchiha clan wouldn't have the Mangekyo Sharingan, and yet now, they had another one among them.

It was a problem, but Danzo put it behind his mind for the moment.

He turned to Madara.

"Now that the Darkness of the Shinobi is out from under the Fire," the man smiled, his cold eye slowly spinning ominously, "We, Akatsuki, look forward to our continued relationship…"

The man was much more dangerous than most threats Danzo had faced in his long life.

"I hope you won't disappoint," said Danzo.

For the first time in decades, Danzo had brand new opportunities to exploit and new threats to thwart. The man might be dangerous, but with his current situation, he needed to take the risk if he wanted to make his goal come true.

He was exiled… but one day, he would return home.

Until that day he would bide his time and prepare.





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