"Three-Tomoe Sharingan?"
Danzo's eyes glinted sharply as he absorbed the news. His mind raced with calculations, schemes, and possibilities.
"Uchiha Itachi's potential is no less than Uchiha Shisui's," he murmured, almost to himself. "And he is the eldest son of Uchiha Fugaku. Perhaps… by leveraging Itachi, I can exert influence over the entire Uchiha Clan."
Decision made, Danzo carefully lifted a scroll from the table. The office was filled with stacks of intelligence reports collected by Root from every corner of the Ninja World. Under Danzo's command, Root did not limit its vigilance to Konoha; it monitored events across nations. Proactive control and timely elimination of threats were Danzo's hallmarks.
As he scanned the intelligence, his sharp eyes paused at key updates.
"The Land of Rain… the civil war has ended. The Daimyo has closed the Village… Hanzou has remained in seclusion for a long time, unseen."
"Ha!" Danzo slammed his hand against the table, his voice harsh. "Hanzou, that untrustworthy fool! I once aided him in eradicating the Akatsuki Organization, yet he broke our alliance. One day, I will go to Amegakure myself and collect what is owed."
He shifted to the next scroll. "The Land of Wind's Daimyo has again cut funding… The One-Tail Jinchuriki was attacked by an unknown, powerful enemy, lost control, and was brutally subdued and imprisoned by Kazekage Rasa."
"Rasa still refuses to yield… Let him fight as he will. His struggle will only show his weakness."
Danzo's fingers hovered over the next report. "An explosion occurred in the Earth Country. Witnesses initially claimed it was the work of Tsuchikage Ōnoki's disciple, Deidara, but they soon recanted. Curious…"
He paused, scanning the details with calculating eyes. "Yakushi Nono proves herself talented… as expected. Placing her in Iwagakure was an excellent decision."
The next file made him frown. "Traveler Miko… emotional interference makes her difficult to control. Too many secrets. She must be eliminated." Danzo marked her file with a deliberate 'X'.
"A mysterious ninja has infiltrated the Hidden Grass Village. Are the higher-ups aware it may be the work of Konoha?"
Danzo's lips curled. "Nonsense. Completely unfounded. Hidden Grass Village has always been opportunistic, prioritizing its own gains. Aligning with them only benefits Konoha. My words are vindicated."
Further reports arrived from the Land of Water. Spies had vanished under mysterious circumstances. Danzo mused, "A third party, perhaps. The Hidden Mist has become difficult to infiltrate—could they be plotting against Konoha?"
His fingers drummed against the table as he considered this. After long contemplation, he set the matter aside, unable to determine the cause.
Finally, he reached the last scroll. "A letter from the Land of Lightning…"
Danzo's sharp gaze scanned the contents. Hyuga Neji, a Byakugan prodigy, and Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, had formed a team and successfully completed a secret mission. They had been gifted the Amber Purifying Pot, a relic of considerable value.
"This child… not only a tool for power but a valued ninja of Kumogakure. Highly regarded by the Fourth Raikage…" Danzo's voice was quiet but edged with disdain. "The Raikage is reckless, yet he possesses one-third to one-fourth of my strategic foresight. Pity that his vision remains limited."
He shook his head. "Wood Release and Sharingan are invincible. Byakugan cultivation… a waste of resources. In the end, all this will amount to nothing."
After reviewing the intelligence, Danzo leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. He opened the Hidden Grass Village scroll and discarded it. The village had dared to accuse Konoha falsely—it would repay its debt in due time.
He tossed the Sunagakure scroll as well. Nominally, Sunagakure was Konoha's ally. Yet, with repeated funding cuts from its Daimyo and Rasa's focus on the One-Tail Jinchuriki, the village posed little threat. For now, this unreliable ally would cause Konoha no harm.
Danzo then reluctantly discarded the Hidden Mist scroll. The string of spy deaths suggested internal turmoil. Though curious, he refused to intervene directly. The Hidden Mist, notorious and unpredictable, could jeopardize even his well-laid plans. Danzo prioritized caution; Konoha's future was at stake, and personal risk was unacceptable.
Finally, two scrolls remained: one from Earth Country and one from the Land of Lightning.
"Who is responsible for the Land of Lightning?" Danzo's voice was cold and commanding.
A low voice responded. A figure emerged from the shadows—a man in a black cloak, sunglasses shielding his eyes, a purplish mark marring the right side of his face. Yume Ryuma.
Silent and preferring solitary work, Yume Ryuma excelled at controlling surveillance insects and possessed unparalleled infiltration skills. Within Root, he ranked second only to Danzo himself—a position of immense influence and authority. Yet at his core, he was just another tool, precise and efficient.
"You don't know?" Danzo's glare pierced the dim office.
"I do," Ryuma replied calmly, as though unaware of the anger radiating from Danzo. "Only Lord Danzo possesses the intellect to handle this."
Danzo's initial surprise gave way to recognition. "Perhaps I have been idle for too long. I almost forgot I had this trump card."
"Lord Danzo, you intend to activate it?" Ryuma asked, his tone steady.
The operative he referred to was invisible to the world—no name, no past, no future. Two years prior, Konoha had suffered a major intelligence failure during the Kumogakure envoy incident. Yume Ryuma had tracked Danzo's agent meticulously, knowing only fragments of their existence.
Danzo nodded. "Ryuma, gather a team of Root operatives. Infiltrate Kumogakure and rendezvous with 'Puppet.'"
He tossed Yakushi Nono's file onto the Land of Lightning scroll. "Yakushi Nono will accompany you to assist with your mission."
Ryuma's muscles tensed. "Sir… what are my orders?"
Danzo's eyes gleamed with precision. "Three objectives: First, incite conflict between Kumogakure and Iwagakure. Second, cleanse the Byakugan bloodline in Kumogakure. Third… Yakushi Nono cannot survive. Complete your mission and eliminate her."
Yume Ryuma absorbed the weight of the instructions, his calm exterior unshaken. Within Root, loyalty was absolute, and missions were executed without question. Yet even he recognized the magnitude of the task.
Danzo reclined in his chair, contemplating the unfolding chessboard of the Ninja World. Every nation, every clan, every exceptional ninja was a piece to manipulate, to control. In this shadow war, only those willing to act decisively could survive. And Danzo… would always remain several moves ahead.
---patreon (Obito_uchiha)