Danzo: For Leaf Village (o)

Leaf Village, in a dim underground chamber.

"Heh, that incomprehensible Will of Fire again!" An ominous old man with half his body wrapped in bandages sneered coldly as he looked at the document in his hand.

"Tsk, tsk, what astonishing talent! A civilian ninja who had only been enrolled for half a month actually defeated a teacher's son!" The ninja standing behind the grim old man had fluorescent light flickering in his snake-like eyes.

"If it were you, you should be able to do it too, right?" The bandaged old man turned around and asked indifferently, "Orochimaru?"

"Hehe." Orochimaru smiled without confirming or denying it, then met the other man's gaze. "Elder Danzō thinks highly of him? Do you want him to join Root?"

"Think highly of him?" Danzo snorted arrogantly. "Hmph, I would never think highly of someone Sarutobi thinks highly of!"

"Anyone who cannot be ruthless, no matter how talented, can never become a qualified ninja. Besides... hmph, hmph..."

Besides? It was really because of the Will of Fire, wasn't it... The corner of Orochimaru's lips curved slightly as he inwardly sneered.

He clearly remembered that when Danzo had reached for Jiraiya's disciple, his always indecisive teacher had acted with astonishing speed for once, decisively cutting off every branch Root had extended above ground. It had nearly driven someone to seek out his teacher for a fight.

Otherwise, how could Elder Danzō have possibly ignored the astounding talent Namikaze Minato had displayed?

Yet he could overlook even an attempt on his own life, while refusing to yield in the slightest when it came to the "Will of Fire"... A shadow flickered through Orochimaru's eyes as he sighed inwardly. Teacher, what exactly is the village to you?

The two men, each harboring different thoughts, sank the already silent underground chamber into dead stillness once more.

After a long while, Danzo finally set the document in his hand aside. "How have you considered the matter I mentioned to you last time?"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly. "I need time to think something like this through. After all, he is no easy opponent!"

"Indeed. Namikaze Minato and that Shimizu Soseki are merely insignificant figures poisoned by that bastard Sarutobi. The one truly worth watching is the man known as the White Fang of Leaf Village!"

"One weak Hokage is already more than enough. If the Fourth Hokage is also allowed to be that kind of weak, useless fool, Leaf Village will only be dragged into the abyss." Danzo grew more agitated as he spoke, his whole body seeming to radiate a "holy" light. "For Leaf Village, we must eliminate him (ˊ〇ˋ*)!"

Orochimaru beside him seemed dazzled by that "blinding" glow, and inwardly wondered, Does he really think he's doing this for Leaf Village?

Perhaps having vented all his dissatisfaction with the Third Hokage at once, Danzo calmed down again. "Since you came here, it means you have already made your decision. State your terms."

Orochimaru licked the corner of his lips and hissed, "I want the First Hokage's cells."

Danzo abruptly turned around, his cold gaze fixed on Orochimaru. "That experiment has already been halted. Surely you know that?"

Orochimaru smiled. "Elder Danzō, are you truly willing to give up the means to control the Nine-Tails? For Leaf Village, a few costs and sacrifices are worth it!"

Danzo was silent for a moment, then laughed mockingly. "I truly want to know what expression that bastard Sarutobi would wear if he learned that his most favored disciple is the same kind of person as me."

Orochimaru did not care about Danzo's mockery. He merely sighed. "Fate always leads people down different tributaries!"

Outside, Soseki and Asuma's battle surprised quite a few people, but that was all. Adults would not keep their eyes on children forever.

It seemed that peaceful life had returned to its proper course.

Ring, ring, ring.

"Class is finally over! Theory lessons are seriously super boring."

"Exactly! When are we having practical lessons?"

"Hey, hey, at least leave Teacher Yagami some dignity."

"I suppose so. Then let's go play. We can play that Violent Football Soseki told us about last time."

"Sure, sure! I want to be on Soseki's team."

"Damn it, you were on the Class Leader's team yesterday. Today should be our turn."

First-year classes were not particularly numerous, and there was enough time between adjacent classes for them to vent their excess energy.

Inside the classroom, Soseki watched the scene with a smile.

Clearly, his small-group strategy had begun to show results.

The herd mentality existed everywhere, especially during childhood, when one's mind had yet to mature.

Once he had established an image of being outstanding, dependable, and friendly, and branded himself with the label of perfection, these elementary students, who still knew little about interpersonal relationships, would naturally gather around him.

Of course, there were exceptions.

"Mizuki, aren't you coming to play with us?" Soseki smiled as he invited someone in the corner.

Though jealousy filled his heart, Mizuki did not dare openly challenge Soseki's authority in class, so he simply pretended not to hear him.

Yet that alone made many people unhappy.

"What kind of attitude is that, bastard? Soseki is talking to you!"

"You smug jerk, I really want to punch you!"

Mizuki had never expected that even such a subtle display of dissatisfaction would make him a target. At a loss, he hurriedly apologized, "S-sorry, I just don't feel very well. I didn't mean to..."

Hearing the grievance and resentment in Mizuki's voice, Soseki smoothed things over. "Don't be like this. We're all classmates. Classmates should look after and help one another."

As if he had not noticed anything unusual about Mizuki, Soseki looked at him with utmost "sincerity." "Mizuki, I'm truly sorry. I apologize to you on their behalf. But I can actually tell that you really want to join us, right? If you have any concerns, please tell me. After all, for people like us, aren't the only ones we can rely on the friends by our side?"

Mizuki's body trembled slightly, but he still did not lift his head.

Soseki did not mind. After speaking, he took the lead toward the door. However, as he passed Yūhi Kurenai's seat, he paused briefly and glanced in her direction.

"Kurenai, do you want to come with us?"

"Huh? Me?" Yūhi Kurenai was somewhat tempted, but after looking at the boys gathered around Soseki, she ultimately shook her head. "This is a sport for you boys. I won't be joining."

"Alright. Then next time, I'll design some games suitable for you girls as well." Soseki smiled as he walked out of the classroom, quietly pondering, I've confirmed it. Senior Shinku returned to the village yesterday after completing his mission. These next few days are his day off. It's about time to put the plan into action...

I just don't know how far the Psychological Suggestion has progressed. If it isn't enough in time, I may need to intensify things further...

"Soseki, what's wrong?" Seeing that Soseki seemed distracted, Asuma asked from beside him.

"Nothing. I merely noticed some... unfriendly gazes." Soseki did not reveal the slightest abnormality and simply turned to look behind him.

Asuma also turned his head and followed Soseki's gaze.

At that moment, outside a classroom two floors above them, several young boys who looked like delinquents were sitting on the railing and pointing at them.

"Those guys are Third Years, trash who like bullying newcomers." As the Hokage's son, his information channels were naturally far better than those of freshmen like Soseki.

"Bullying newcomers?" Soseki stroked his chin like a little adult.

"Quite a few Second Years have been bullied by them, but..." Asuma folded his arms and snorted disdainfully. "With me, Asuma Sarutobi, around, let those bastards try to provoke us!"

Indeed, few of those around them were afraid. Setting aside Asuma's status as the Hokage's son, the strength he and Soseki had displayed in their earlier battle alone far surpassed that of ordinary students.

"School Bullies?" Soseki gave those delinquents a meaningful look, then smiled and led everyone toward the training ground.

PS1: During Yakushi Kabuto's part of the story, the Third Shinobi World War was still underway, the Uchiha Clan had not yet been wiped out, and Danzo was already dressed like a bandaged man.

PS2: Although Danzo's assassination attempt in the anime took place after the Nine-Tails Rebellion, judging by how skillfully he backed down, this author believes there is reason to think it was not his first time. Incidentally, as the Third Hokage's close friend and rival, Danzo could not possibly have been unaware of the Third Hokage's strength. Yet in the anime, Danzo "naively" believed he could assassinate the Third Hokage with people like Yamato. If one considers the logic behind the characters' actions in a novel, there are two possibilities: first, Leaf Village had previously been too powerful and was constantly targeted, so the Third Hokage and Danzo deliberately acted as rivals in love and hate to create the illusion of internal strife and weakness; second, Danzo was constantly testing the Third Hokage's bottom line. But regardless of which possibility was true, it should still make sense that Danzo had prior assassination precedents.