Shimura Danzō's Response

In the dim Root base, curses rang out from time to time.

"Damn Uchiha Itachi! Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

"No, the Kotoamatsukami Mangekyo has fallen back into the hands of the Uchiha Clan—who knows what those wicked Uchiha will do!"

"And now the evil Uchiha Clan has another Mangekyo wielder... I need to inform Hiruzen first! It's all because of his inaction as Hokage that the Uchiha have grown so strong!"

This was Shimura Danzō's old trick. As a black glove, he sometimes slipped up, and when that happened, the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had to come clean up his mess.

After all, Danzō and Root held plenty of dirt on the Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Hokage, couldn't afford to ignore his reputation like Danzō, the Darkness of Konoha.

So no matter what, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never let Danzō fall.

If Root's secrets leaked, the one truly screwed wouldn't be Danzō—someone already in the cesspit doesn't care about getting dirtier; only the spotless fear the filth.

But this time, the slip-up was huge. An Uchiha Itachi who'd awakened the Mangekyo and obtained Shisui's Kotoamatsukami—who knew what he might be thinking?

Though Itachi had once been as easy to manipulate as Shisui, Shisui's death had clearly shaken him, even triggering the Mangekyo.

—Everyone knew that Uchiha with the Mangekyo were unhinged. Who could say if this guy's nature had twisted, driving him to destroy Konoha outright?

With Itachi's standing in the Uchiha Clan and his Mangekyo-level power, he really could bring down the village!

"Sir, a reply from Orochimaru!"

Just as Danzō was about to head off to find Hiruzen, a Root Ninja appeared, kneeling low with a scroll held up in his palm.

A reply from Orochimaru? Danzō paused briefly, a reckless idea rising in his mind.

Going to Hiruzen for help dealing with the Uchiha would be an admission of incompetence, and he'd have to give up any hope of getting Shisui's Kotoamatsukami Mangekyo.

Not only that, but if a fight with the Uchiha broke out, his Root would be sent to the front lines immediately. Given the Uchiha Clan's current strength, even if Konoha could crush them, Root would likely be left with few survivors.

On the other hand, if he pretended nothing had happened and the Uchiha rebelled, Hiruzen and Konoha's ninja would handle the suppression, and Root wouldn't have to lift a finger.

Danzō didn't understand Itachi's mindset. Projecting his own paranoia, he assumed Itachi had gone rogue and was probably already rallying the Uchiha to overthrow the village and seize power.

"The only problem is, Itachi might lead the Uchiha to attack Root first. Before Konoha's reinforcements arrive, Root could be wiped out!"

"Better... I take some elite Root members and head straight for Orochimaru. Even if the rest of Root's ninja are all killed, it won't truly cripple the foundation."

In the original story, Danzō's Root seemed all-powerful, but in truth, its core members numbered only seventeen.

The official databook The Book of Formation stated that Konoha's Anbu had seventy members: one captain, one vice-captain, and four squads of seventeen each.

Danzō's Root was essentially one of those squads, led by him with four teams totaling seventeen people—minus Danzō himself, only sixteen were officially on the roster.

Of course, Danzō had long exceeded that number with extra recruits, but he couldn't poach geniuses from Konoha's clans or even regular village ninja. He could only train orphans.

And the talent of those orphans was predictable. Only the sixteen official Root members were true elites; the rest were cannon fodder.

Losing that fodder stung, but it preserved the seeds for a comeback.

Unfolding the intelligence scroll, Danzō glanced at it and was mildly surprised. Orochimaru had invited him to discuss things in person at his base?

Was this a pillow arriving just as he felt sleepy? Though Danzō and Orochimaru had long colluded, the latter had never let him near his base before.

Could it be a trap? The thought circled Danzō's mind, then he shook his head. He knew Orochimaru well—despite past conflicts, the man valued practical gains above all.

And Danzō's Root could offer plenty: intelligence sharing, rare experimental subjects, generous funding, and cutting-edge equipment—all enough to keep Orochimaru cooperating happily.

In the original story, Orochimaru even crafted Danzō a Cthulhu-esque Qilin Arm covered in eyes. Never mind how much Orochimaru fleeced him for that arm; the sheer number of revival charges made the old geezer Danzō far more troublesome.

That Orochimaru went to such lengths showed how much he valued Danzō as a rich, gullible investor.

Given all the funds, subjects, and equipment Danzō had funneled to Orochimaru over the years, he doubted the man would be foolish enough to offend his cash cow.

Besides, the thing Orochimaru coveted most from Root was probably the former Wood Release Experiment Subject Kano. Now that even that subject had been taken, Orochimaru had no reason to cause trouble.

Once decided, Danzō moved fast. Within minutes, he'd gathered Root's core members and slipped out of Konoha.

At that moment, in Orochimaru's Base, two figures were chatting idly.

"Will Shimura Danzō come?"

"He will. That's how he always is—once he messes up and things blow up, he hides and lets the whole village take the fall for him."

"Knowing him, after losing the eye, he'll suspect Uchiha Itachi is about to attack Konoha. He'll pull Root's ninja out as fast as he can."

"At a time like this, your base is a perfect hideout. If the Third Hokage asks, Danzō can claim he was investigating you, a rogue nin—even without the Hokage's permission."