Root Office.
Though well past fifty, Shimura Danzō still moved with the sharpness of a much younger man. He handled almost everything personally.
"Ryoma," he said, flipping through a scroll. "Has the Uchiha relocation been completed?"
The Nine-Tails Rebellion had been blamed on the Nine-Tails' rampage, but the moment a massive Sharingan appeared in the beast's eyes, suspicion fell squarely on the Uchiha clan.
At Konoha's recent reconstruction meeting, Danzō had pushed to move the clan from the heart of the village to the southwest outskirts—and to place them under constant ANBU surveillance.
It was a political exile.A stripping of trust.
Danzō's own prejudice was obvious…But the relocation had been approved by the entire Konoha leadership, including Hiruzen Sarutobi.Danzō alone could never have forced it through.
Aburame Ryoma, cloaked in a black coat, stepped inside. "It's mostly done."
"What about their reaction?" Danzō asked.
"Hostile. No one wanted to move. Several clashes broke out, but Clan Head Fugaku stopped them."
The smile that appeared on Danzō's normally stiff face was twisted—almost joyful.
Everything was proceeding perfectly.
He owed a small thanks to the mysterious figure who had controlled the Nine-Tails. Without that disaster, he never could've pushed the Uchiha all the way to Konoha's edge.
"The Uchiha clan is a powder keg now," he murmured. "I look forward to the day it detonates."
His right hand drifted to his bandaged arm.
Hashirama cells.Wood Release.
If he could acquire more Sharingan… he would become unstoppable. He could even defeat Hiruzen. And when that happened, the Hokage's seat would finally be in reach.
Suppressing the Uchiha wasn't just following his teacher Tobirama's doctrine.Danzō wanted the Sharingan for himself—had coveted it for years.
Wood Release and the Sharingan were the legacies of Hashirama and Madara.Their power had overshadowed every other shinobi in history.
"But why…"Danzō's grip tightened around the scroll.
The Nine-Tails Rebellion had driven the Uchiha from the center of power.And the young Fourth Hokage, Minato, had died.
Two excellent outcomes—yet things still hadn't gone his way.
He never imagined he'd have to watch Hiruzen Sarutobi become Hokage twice in one lifetime.
It made him sick.
"Fortunately, Hiruzen won't stay Hokage long," Danzō muttered. "As long as I obtain the Sharingan before the Fifth Hokage is chosen, everything will fall back into place."
Hiruzen had only returned because the village was in crisis.Once things stabilized, a new Hokage would be selected.
How long could Hiruzen last?A year?Less?He was old. Death could take him any day now.
That thought calmed Danzō considerably.
"Lord Danzō!"
Another Root operative flashed into the room. "A is missing. We can't find him anywhere."
Danzō's smile froze.
"A"—Yamato—was the only surviving success of the Wood Release experiments.He was unbelievably valuable.
Not just as a future loyal Wood Release subordinate…But as a weapon to shock Hiruzen with at the right moment.
Danzō had imagined that moment for years.
But now it was gone.
If Yamato fell into Hiruzen's hands, the Wood Release experiments—his experiments with Orochimaru—would be exposed.He would be handing Hiruzen the perfect leash to control him.
"Say that again," Danzō growled.
"A disappeared last night," the agent said. "Root operatives searched all night. No trace. He most likely left Konoha."
"A full-grown boy vanishing under your noses?!"Danzō exploded."Useless! All of you—useless trash!"
He had placed Yamato at the training base for two reasons:first, so he could practice Wood Release undisturbed…and second, so Root operatives could watch him constantly.
He had believed it was secure.
He'd been wrong.
Danzō seethed in impotent fury.But emotion was pointless; Root members were conditioned to ignore his outbursts.
"Where is Orochimaru?" Danzō finally asked, voice lowering to a cold rasp.
Nominally, Orochimaru was still a Root operative and served as his personal asset alongside Aburame Ryoma.And yet he hadn't appeared today.
"Orochimaru is conducting experiments at his residence," Ryoma replied.
"Investigate his home. Search for any trace of A."
Danzō didn't trust Orochimaru—not really.There were only a handful of people in Konoha capable of outmaneuvering Root.
Orochimaru was one of them.
Ryoma, however, was perfect for the job.His Aburame lineage made him one of the strongest sensory and tracking operatives alive.If anyone could investigate Orochimaru without being noticed, it was him.
Ninja Academy
Haruya yawned.
The practical ninja classes were fine.But the theory lessons?
Agony.
Two things dominated the curriculum:the lineage of the Hokage, and the Will of Fire.
And the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was the absolute centerpiece.
Haruya suspected Hiruzen had written the textbook himself—because it painted him as the strongest Hokage in history.
Which made no sense.
Hiruzen had known Hashirama and Tobirama personally.He'd trained under Tobirama.How could he accept a title surpassing his own teachers?
After some thought, Haruya reached the obvious conclusion:political branding.The stronger the Hokage seemed, the stronger the authority of the office.
He glanced sideways at Uchiha Itachi.
The boy was listening with perfect focus.
So this was the beginning of the Will of Fire aura that practically radiated from him in the original timeline.
According to the "script," Itachi had:• killed on the battlefield at age four,• graduated at seven,• awakened the Sharingan at eight,• joined ANBU at eleven,• awakened Mangekyō Sharingan,• and at thirteen… wiped out his own clan.
A brutal, "legendary" life.
Haruya didn't particularly like Itachi, but he definitely wasn't going to ignore the opportunity for Fate Points.
Recruit him as a subordinate? Absolutely not.Too dangerous.
If a man could murder his own parents for the village, he would have no problem stabbing Haruya in the back someday.
But someone else could take him.
Itachi's first major fate node was joining ANBU.Haruya wanted to steer him toward someone who loved collecting orphans.
Not Nonou Yakushi.Orochimaru.
Not for charity—but for entertainment.
Once Itachi unlocked Mangekyō and fought Orochimaru, the sparks would be spectacular.
"…What is it?"Itachi shivered suddenly, glancing at his desk partner.
"Nothing," Haruya said with an innocent smile. "How about I treat you to dinner after school?"
"No, thank you."Itachi's tone was polite, but distant.
As a prodigy of the Uchiha, he was precocious, quiet, and not great with casual conversation.And in his view, he and Haruya had nothing to talk about.
If he had spare time, he'd rather find Shisui and discuss "grown-up" topics.
Like the Will of Fire.