Rain, Akatsuki, and Root

Shimura Danzō had not been in a particularly good mood lately.

Or rather, ever since he heard that Konoha had been attacked by the Four Great Shinobi Villages, Shimura Danzō's mood had remained exceptionally terrible.

He had originally been making a discreet visit to the Land of Rain and had met with Hanzō, that mysterious man. The two had chatted pleasantly about all manner of things. Whether an alliance was formed or not did not really matter, but at least they had established a relationship.

Danzo had never expected a few rounds of persuasion to make Salamander Hanzō, that old fox, relent. Salamander Hanzō, who had carved out the title of demigod amid the cracks between the three great shinobi villages and even maintained shinobi village rule within the Land of Rain, was certainly no easy opponent.

But just as they were happily exercising their mouths, the international situation underwent a dramatic upheaval, changing completely in the blink of an eye. Konoha's library had been jointly attacked by the Four Great Shinobi Villages, and Blut Vene and Blut Arterie were suspected of having been stolen. At the same time, it was said that an unknown shinobi village had joined forces to unleash a ninjutsu capable of altering the heavens in order to stop Konoha's pursuit.

It was said that a scene resembling the end of the world had appeared over Konoha that day. Though it was later claimed to have been a mirage, informed sources insisted that someone had guided the use of ninjutsu up there. It was absolutely not a natural phenomenon.

Danzo was left dumbfounded upon hearing this in the Land of Rain, wondering whether he had fallen behind the times or somehow ended up in some strange place.

Danzo had never even heard of such a thing. The Four Great Shinobi Villages must have gone all in together.

Of course, Danzo had not taken it too seriously at first. The Four Great Shinobi Villages had joined forces just to steal a library, exposing all their foundations and hidden spies in the process. Did that not mean Konoha would be free to act boldly from now on, no longer constrained by them?

Then Danzo discovered, to his even greater shock, that the damned library was not the surface-level Konoha library he remembered. It was the records section of Konoha's underground library, where countless ninjutsu, forbidden techniques, and secret techniques were stored. This meant that the research theories and ideas behind Blut Arterie and Blut Vene would also be exposed.

Simply having them stolen and used was not frightening. With the research concepts and ideas in hand, they could be Adjusted and modified at any time. But having the research concepts and specific development process stolen left Danzo completely numb. It was not as though he could not develop ninjutsu himself. Naturally, he understood how important concepts and guidance were to the process of developing ninjutsu.

In other words, not only would Konoha no longer possess any technological advantage, it was also highly likely that enemies would devise special counters against Blut Arterie and Blut Vene.

Until the situation was clarified, both Blut Arterie and Blut Vene had to be treated as ninjutsu of questionable reliability. They could only be sealed away when necessary.

But how were they supposed to seal them away? Go out and wait to be beaten?

And the repercussions of this matter were interconnected. Upon hearing of this disaster, Salamander Hanzō came calling that very night and expressed deep sympathy for Konoha's plight. As friendly neighboring nations, Hanzō felt that Amegakure could not simply stand by.

Since you have already been robbed anyway, why not give us another copy? The price is negotiable. If you will not give it to me, I will go to the Stone Ninja and Sand Ninja. Either way, I can get it. You decide.

Faced with such utterly shameless words, Shimura Danzō nearly failed to catch his breath.

But what else could he do?

The circumstances were stronger than the man. Shimura Danzō could only pull a bitter face and put his mouth to work, trying to appeal to Salamander Hanzō's emotions and reason, hoping Hanzō would stop clinging to his delusions and turn back before it was too late.

The problem was that reasoning required objective reality. Konoha was currently a complete mess, with rumors flying everywhere. Salamander Hanzō saw things clearly enough. Konoha might be wealthy and powerful, but he was merely surviving in the cracks. Could he not shop around?

Konoha was indeed the strongest in the world, but perhaps the Sand Ninja and Stone Ninja would offer a better price. Besides, Konoha's White Fang was dead now, and it could no longer find a Ninja to quietly dispose of him. If Konoha had the ability, then produce another White Fang and let him kill him. Otherwise, there was nothing to discuss. He would wait for the others to make their offers.

Shimura Danzō was thoroughly sickened by such brazen behavior.

What troubled him even more was that the longer he remained in the Land of Rain, the more bad news arrived one after another.

After a brief internal conflict and a short clash with the Stone Ninja, the Sand Ninja quickly selected a new Kazekage, suppressed all secondary contradictions, and announced that they would jointly develop a secret technique called Immovable Body with the Stone Ninja.

The Cloud Ninja announced independently that they had developed a reinforcement technique called Lightning Frenzy, capable of making ninjutsu extraordinarily powerful. This was a Cloud Ninja invention alone; any infringement would not be pursued as piracy. The Mist Village remained mysterious and announced nothing, yet somehow grew very close to the Cloud Ninja.

Developments from surrounding nations came one after another, and Salamander Hanzō's attitude became increasingly dismissive.

What angered Danzo even more was that he personally witnessed Sand Ninja and Stone Ninja shinobi beginning to station themselves in the Land of Rain. Danzo knew perfectly well that Salamander Hanzō had deliberately arranged for him to see it.

He wanted Danzo to understand that although Salamander Hanzō survived among the great nations, he was not begging on his knees. He had the ability and capital to stand up. It was precisely this provocation that made Danzo decide to abandon the Hanzō route.

Hanzō was a seasoned and prudent Ninja who seemed quite approachable, but being too seasoned and prudent meant haggling over every matter and constantly shopping around. Konoha had its pride as well. If Hanzō gave them some face, they could still talk. But now he would not even grant them that much, so there was no need to continue communicating.

On a stormy night, Shimura Danzō left Amegakure, as silently as he had come.

Salamander Hanzō did not think it was much of a problem. He and Shimura Danzō were like poles repelling one another, and he knew full well that Danzo could not endure such humiliation.

Besides, Hanzō had already considered the matter. Rather than adding flowers to brocade, it was better to offer charcoal in the snow. The two great shinobi villages were riddled with conflicts, while Konoha had uprooted a series of thorns and was clearly about to expand. It would be better to support the two great shinobi villages first.

His specialty was poison. In the rain-soaked Land of Rain, he could release poisonous gas into the rain clouds, and Konoha could practically declare itself finished and wait. As long as he delayed things for a while, he would gain sufficient political capital. Then he could decide whether to pledge allegiance to Konoha or the two shinobi villages. Those with ability always had choices.

But Hanzō did not know that Shimura Danzō had not chosen to leave the Land of Rain. Instead, he had turned toward an utterly unremarkable village.

According to Root's intelligence, the children Jiraiya had taken in during his spare time on the Land of Rain battlefield were here.

"...Are you Jiraiya's disciples?"

"You are...?"

"..."

Looking at the three scrawny little brats before him, Shimura Danzō did not think much of them.

These three children were precisely the sort Danzo disliked most. Two boys and one girl, only around ten years old, all of them looking innocent and ignorant.

Even when facing an unfamiliar Konoha Ninja like him, they showed little hostility. Instead, they looked at him with curiosity, seeming to hold a strange goodwill toward this foreign Ninja.

Children who had not received a full shinobi education were prone to such mistaken notions.

But that was also exactly why Danzo had come.

The Rinnegan, said to belong to a savior... Hmph, rumors are only rumors. In the end, it will still belong to Konoha. Let these little brats drive a stake into the Land of Rain.

After glancing at the red-haired boy shrinking at the very back and studying those spiral-filled eyes, Shimura Danzō pulled a cold smile onto his face, one that nevertheless carried a trace of genuine kindness.

It was a smile he had learned from Sosuke Aizen. It seemed distant and cold, yet held an icy sort of goodwill.

"I am a Ninja of Konoha. I heard that Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, has his personal disciples here, so I came specifically to take you back to Konoha."

"Huh? Eh? J-Jiraiya-sensei?"

The orange-haired boy leading the three children looked at Danzo in surprise and stammered, "But Jiraiya-sensei said we were not really his personal disciples. He only taught us a few things. He did not seem to say anything special..."

"Because you are from the Land of Rain, taking you to Konoha would have a major impact on him as well. But he insisted that he could bear that risk, so I came specifically to take you in."

Shimura Danzō spoke the lines he had carefully prepared to the three children. Sure enough, upon hearing that Jiraiya might be put in a difficult position, the three children hurriedly shook their heads.

"No, there is no need. We are fine here. It would be bad if we caused Jiraiya-sensei trouble."

"Jiraiya wants you to return because he has already made every preparation. So do you wish to go back to Konoha, or continue living in the Land of Rain?"

"...We want to save this country in the Land of Rain."

"Is that so... Then this is difficult. Jiraiya is truly looking forward to the three of you."

Looking at the three stubborn children, Shimura Danzō deliberately put on a troubled expression, then looked toward the children, who seemed somewhat dejected, as though he had found a compromise.

"Then let us use a compromise. Jiraiya-sama is indeed in a difficult position, but he cannot stop worrying about you. Perhaps only my method will work. We will teach you how Ninja survive, and afterward, you may call yourselves Jiraiya's disciples. How about it?"

"We...?"

"Yes, we."

In the torrential rain, Shimura Danzō smiled coldly as several black shadows slowly emerged behind him.

"Yahiko, Nagato, Konan. Are the three of you willing to become the Root of the Ninja World, burying yourselves deep beneath the ground for the great tree of world peace, nourishing it and sacrificing everything you have?"