Danzo, Is Root Named Shimura?

Konoha.

Hokage Office Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in a broad wooden chair, a pipe that had accompanied the original owner for many years clenched between his teeth as he pored over documents.

There was a deep curiosity in his eyes.

Before he had read for long, the office doorknob was roughly twisted. Accompanied by a perfunctory knock that came almost simultaneously, a bandage-wrapped man leaning on a cane strode inside.

Shimura Danzō was holding back his anger.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had recently fallen seriously ill, bedridden with a high fever for several days and setting aside some of his work.

It had only been a few years since the Second Shinobi World War ended, and the village had yet to fully recover from the smoke of war...

Such behavior was far too lazy!

He, the Hokage's advisor, had to give him a proper warning!

Shimura Danzō had just habitually opened his mouth to call out Hiruzen's name, triggering the smooth little routine he had used for years.

Then he saw the other man suddenly raise his head, amusement in his eyes.

Shimura Danzō's heart tightened, and he instinctively stopped where he was.

What was going on?

Hiruzen Sarutobi, newly recovered from serious illness, seemed to have become younger. His posture and bearing were much straighter than before.

Was it an illusion?

"I was wondering who it was."

Hiruzen Sarutobi unhurriedly tapped his tobacco pipe against the edge of the desk. After a brief pause, he said, "So it was the Hokage..."

He deliberately stressed the final two words. "...advisor?"

Shimura Danzō's expression darkened.

During that pause, his emotions had actually risen with it.

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi had never addressed him by the title of Hokage's advisor.

So was there perhaps a possibility—a very small possibility, but one that ought to exist?

The Monkey finally understands that I'm the one best suited to be Hokage. Today, he'll pass the position on to me!

But once he emphasized the word "advisor," Shimura Danzō immediately realized that Hiruzen Sarutobi was expressing his dissatisfaction!

"Hiruzen..."

Shimura Danzō frowned, his fingers unconsciously tightening until the document pouch in his hand wrinkled slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean you've been doing quite well lately." Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled as if pleased. "Root has continued expanding. Its per-capita funding and equipment standards have both surpassed the Anbu..."

"You added trench coats to their uniforms and gave them masks fiercer in appearance than the Anbu's. As their advisor, your word is law to them..."

"Root of Konoha is named Shimura!"

Shimura Danzō's thoughts raced.

Something was wrong...

Nine parts out of ten, something was very wrong!

Logically, he was secretly conducting the banned Wood Release Experiment. Hiruzen Sarutobi should not be picking a fight with him right now.

At the very least, the Hokage should wait until he discovered it and confirmed that Danzo had produced results before trying to take the fruit born from that darkness, then giving him a punishment neither too severe nor too light.

During that process, even if the expansion of his personal authority exceeded the boundaries of a Hokage's advisor, it was still the payment he received for bearing that darkness.

That had been the tacit understanding between them for many years.

And now, Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to tear up that agreement?

Wasn't he afraid Danzo would stop working on Wood Release?

If he did it himself, as a branch beneath the light, would he dare shoulder that scapegoat's burden?

"Hiruzen, I'm doing this for Konoha!"

Shimura Danzō stressed loudly, "Root operates in the darkness, facing the cruelest environments and missions. Naturally, it needs large amounts of personnel and supplies!"

"As Hokage, what you should be considering is the village's future and the Shinobi World wars that will inevitably come, rather than nitpicking Root's little issues. This is meaningless infighting!"

At those words, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly rose and paced over to Shimura Danzō with his pipe in hand.

He gave him a disdainful smile right in his face, then exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

The pungent smoke made Shimura Danzō clench his fists at once!

This was far too humiliating!

Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi was Konoha's Hokage, he could not treat his advisor like this...

But the next words left this Darkness of the Shinobi World utterly stunned.

"You think I'm criticizing you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and firmly patted his old friend's shoulder. "I'm reminding you that you've taken the wrong path!"

Shimura Danzō knitted his brow. "What path have I taken wrong?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi made a rough sweep of his hand.

"Everyone knows you want to become Hokage, from the Five Great Hidden Villages down to obscure ninja tribes."

"But how can you become Hokage acting like this?"

"You always walk in darkness. As the head of a special department, you possess privileges that ordinary ninja fear."

"But the farther you go down this path, the farther you'll be from the Hokage position."

"For example, why did the Second Hokage have the Uchiha Clan take sole responsibility for the Military Police Force?"

Shimura Danzō's expression became extremely complicated.

How could he not understand that reasoning?

It was just that standing beneath the light had always been a privilege exclusive to Hiruzen Sarutobi among Konoha's powerful figures.

There could not be two suns in the sky.

So Shimura Danzō could only tighten his grip on the darkness in his hands...

After all, power in darkness was still power. No matter what, he was the Hokage's advisor, under one person and above ten thousand!

"Of course I know!"

Shimura Danzō spoke hoarsely. "What are you trying to say, Hiruzen? I willingly bear darkness for the village! Ninja must possess the conviction to sacrifice!"

"Let me ask you: do you want to become Hokage?" Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly smiled. "I'll only ask you this once, Danzo."

In the past, Shimura Danzō had believed that no one understood Hiruzen Sarutobi better than he did.

But today, he could not understand at all what the Hokage was trying to do...

Want to? How could I not want to? I think about it day and night. I think about it every single day. I even dream about it! I want to become that damned Hokage so badly!

But facing this Hiruzen Sarutobi, whom he could not read at all, the words were hard to say.

In his subconscious, the scene of Senju Tobirama asking who would stay behind to cover the retreat surfaced in his mind.

He had not dared raise his hand when it was time to cover the retreat...

Was he going to be too afraid to say he wanted to compete for the Hokage position too?

Thinking that, Shimura Danzō took a deep breath and stiffly forced out one word. "Yes!"

"Mm, you've improved compared to before." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded with a chuckle.

That tone left Shimura Danzō feeling deeply uncomfortable.

Do you think you understand me so well? Let me tell you, you don't understand me at all!

What's with that tone?

Do you think you're my superior?

Though he grumbled inwardly, he pricked up his ears and listened hard.

"If you want it, I can help you, but I won't simply name you as my successor."

"I should make that clear to you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to his seat and took a sip of hot tea. "In the past, I would officially endorse some of Root's actions for you."

Shimura Danzō's breathing unconsciously grew heavier as confusion arose in his heart.

Would Hiruzen Sarutobi actually take the blame for him?

Was the Shinobi World still created by the Sage of Six Paths?

Shimura Danzō impatiently waited for Hiruzen Sarutobi to continue, but Hiruzen Sarutobi leisurely drank his tea.

He glanced at Danzo and slightly raised his chin.

The meaning was clear: he had shown his sincerity.

Now...

It was Danzo's turn.

Shimura Danzō's mind spun rapidly.

Should he reveal the matter of that Wood Release Test Subject...

That was a precious Wood Release Ninja!

Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi's composed demeanor made it impossible for him to gauge the situation.

"At Orochimaru's request, I cooperated with him on several Wood Release Experiments."

Shimura Danzō carefully chose his words. "We paid a certain price, but the results were extremely encouraging. A test subject appeared who survived the intensity of the First Hokage's cells."

"I came today to tell you about this."

That was a lie.

He had come to berate Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi gestured for Shimura Danzō to sit and poured him a cup of tea.

He seemed completely unconcerned about Wood Release.

Shimura Danzō frowned slightly. That was Wood Release!

He could not help but calculate inwardly.

Was Hiruzen Sarutobi pretending not to care in order to drive down the price of his confession... or had he truly known all along?

The clear tea tasted bland in his mouth beneath the weight of his tangled thoughts.

As though he had not taken the Wood Release Experiment to heart at all, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and said, "Nothing else?"

"A few days ago, I asked the Aburame Clan for a talented ninja."

Shimura Danzō's tone gradually grew irritated.

"Hiruzen, does that even count as something? If I don't ask those arrogant Ninja Clans for people, how can Root have any combat power? How can we establish the Authority of the Hokage Faction!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed. "See? You're getting worked up again. We're old brothers, and it's been a long time since we sat down and had a proper chat. I'm concerned about your work and your life."

"These past years, it truly hasn't been easy for you."

Shimura Danzō sneered inwardly. Why was this Monkey suddenly playing the sentimental card?

Yet his tightly drawn deadpan face softened somewhat despite itself.

"Sometimes, when I see you cultivating armed forces in Root while doing your best to hide it from me..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly changed his tone. "I'm not angry. I just feel a little sorry for you."

"You know that you're not in the normal succession line for Hokage. Gathering these private troops, perhaps you were thinking that if I were gone one day, you could still try taking the path of an armed coup?"

"Aside from considering the village, when you began researching Lord Hashirama's cells, you wanted that power for yourself too, didn't you?"

"A fist is power. That's true. But if you equate those two things entirely in Konoha, you'll have strayed from the guidance Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama gave us..."

The atmosphere grew heavy.

When a Hokage pointed out that one of his subordinates harbored thoughts of seizing power by force, it was undoubtedly the harshest accusation possible.

And for Shimura Danzō, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to understand him a little too well...

The two drank tea in silence for a long time.

"I never thought that way." Shimura Danzō slowly spoke. "Hiruzen, just say what you intend to do."

"After all, you're the Hokage..."

But what he had not expected was that what came next was not Hiruzen Sarutobi's rebuke.

It was a promise.

"Danzo, in the honor of being Lord Tobirama's disciple, I promise you this: from now on, I will regard you as one of the official candidates for Hokage."

Those words carried tremendous weight.

So much so that Shimura Danzō urgently asked, "Hiruzen, do you mean that?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes and pointed behind him at the portrait of Senju Tobirama hanging on the office wall.

Shimura Danzō's heart instantly burned hot.

"Since you're taking the proper path, you must act beneath the sunlight, Danzo..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sipped his tea. "Keep a few capable men in Root. Hand the rest over to me for unified reassignment."

"Don't worry. I'll prepare an official post for you."

Here came the main point!

Shimura Danzō calculated rapidly in his heart.

Of course, he did not think Hiruzen Sarutobi had suddenly become kindhearted enough to pull him onto the proper path while still allowing him to retain so many men.

And this offer was actually quite fair.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi were a little more ruthless...

What waves could he, this so-called advisor and Root leader, stir up with the little strength in his hands?

Just the Third alone...

Shimura Danzō did not want to admit it, but the Monkey really could fight!

Ino-Shika-Cho, his three disciples, Hatake Sakumo, and the major Ninja Clans gathered beneath the Hokage's name...

Even the Uchiha Clan, if called upon to suppress him, would have to serve that damned Monkey with all their might!

As long as Hiruzen Sarutobi was alive, keeping Danzo in check was far too easy.

"Hiruzen, I still think Root..." Shimura Danzō took a deep breath, trying to bargain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an index finger, signaling him to be quiet. "Danzo, you need to consider this from the Hokage's position. If you were the Hokage, how would you deal with Root?"

Shimura Danzō fell silent.

In Konoha as it stood now, the Hokage's power was still far from absolute.

But for him, a Hokage advisor and Root leader whose position depended on Konoha's legal framework, it had seized him by the throat.

Besides, he had even used Lord Tobirama as a guarantee...

By openly laying out the matter of competing for the position of Hokage, he had promised him fair competition.

That carried enough weight.

"I understand."

Shimura Danzō placed a scroll on the table. "I'll also tell you about some of Orochimaru's affairs, Hiruzen..."

"I'll handle Root's affairs."

"But what you promised me..."

With that, he gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a deep look and strode toward the door.

After taking two steps out of the office,

Shimura Danzō looked at the open door, and something stirred in his heart.

Though unwilling, he still turned around and closed the door properly.

In the past...

He would never have closed the door for Monkey!

It would have been good enough if he had not slammed it!

But times had changed. The old fellow still deserved a little respect...

Shimura Danzō wore a sour expression as he turned back and shut the door.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled as he watched the door close, one brow lifting.

Clearly, he was not the original Hiruzen Sarutobi...

He had once been a seasoned government official named Yuan Fei. Just as his career had been advancing triumphantly, he had unfortunately become trapped by ALS.

All he could do was undergo treatment and browse historical trivia during his breaks to ease his mind.

A few days ago, who knew what the algorithm had been doing, but it had recommended him a video that used Naruto as a metaphor for history.

Though its content was a mixture of truth and nonsense, it made even someone who had never watched Naruto smile knowingly. He watched several in a row before drifting into a groggy sleep.

When Yuan Fei woke up, he discovered that he had come to this Shinobi World and become Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage!

This body was no longer young, yet it contained power far beyond anything he understood.

Besides.

Though he only knew scattered, uncertain fragments about this world's future,

he had a trump card to protect himself.

With a thought, a page of white paper with a red header appeared in his mind, its black characters solemn and clear.

[Authority], [Diplomacy], [Economy], [Education], [Military].

The five indicators stood side by side before him.

And after finishing his conversation with Shimura Danzō just now, a touch of gold quietly appeared at the base of the word "Authority."

Like a progress bar.

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