Assassination Contract

At that moment, Sora Uchiha spoke up, successfully drawing the attention of the other three men present.

Momosuke was a little surprised, since Sora hadn't mentioned this to him after returning yesterday. But his attention wasn't on that now. Instead, a smile crept across his face, as if to say, See? Even if I agreed, it wouldn't matter. The Anbu already snatched him up.

Danzo's expression flickered with surprise for a moment, then gradually darkened. Clearly, he hadn't known about any of this.

The decision to have Sora Uchiha join the Anbu had only been made after Minato returned yesterday. In fact, Minato was bringing it up in the Hokage's office right now.

"I imagine Assistant Danzo wouldn't try to take someone from the Anbu, would he?" Sora said with an innocent look, as if he hadn't even noticed the gloom on Danzo's face.

Then he added, "The Anbu are one of Konoha's pillars. I've admired them for a long time."

At this point, there was practically no chance of getting Sora into Root.

Danzo had originally expected one of two outcomes.

First, Sora Uchiha would join Root. That would be ideal; Danzo was confident he could brainwash him into becoming one of his own.

Second, Momosuke would refuse—or rather... the Uchiha would refuse. That outcome would be even better. In fact, he'd been looking forward to it more. His efforts to make things difficult for the Uchiha had reached a bottleneck, and a refusal would give him the perfect opportunity to suppress them again.

But he hadn't expected Minato Namikaze to "snatch" Sora away from him the moment he returned yesterday.

If he still insisted on taking Sora, it would make his ulterior motives obvious.

But as the "Darkness of the Shinobi World," Danzo had a mind as deep as the sea.

It took only a moment for him to regain his composure. "The Anbu are naturally an important foundation of Konoha. Since you've joined them, serve them well. That will be your way of giving back to Konoha."

"That's right, that's right. Sora, did you hear that? Assistant Danzo is teaching you a lesson. You should remember it well."

"Absolutely." Sora Uchiha wore the innocent expression of a child. He pressed a clenched fist to his chest, his gaze resolute. "Everything for Konoha."

"By the way, Assistant Danzo, the plan I mentioned earlier still stands. Why not choose someone else from the Uchiha clan to join Root?" Momosuke added, twisting the knife to deliberately provoke Danzo.

"No need. Joining the Anbu or joining Root is much the same. They both share the same origins." Danzo wore a smile that didn't reach his eyes and slowly rose to his feet.

Ryoma sprang up at once, sharp-eyed, and took the coat from the stand to drape it over Danzo's shoulders.

"I have matters to attend to at Root, so I won't stay any longer."

"Since you're so busy, Assistant Danzo, I won't see you out." Momosuke lifted his teacup and gently blew on the steam. "You're welcome to visit anytime."

Danzo said nothing and walked straight out, with Ryoma following close behind.

After leaving the Uchiha compound, Danzo glanced back at the small courtyard. Autumn was settling in. The leaves of the paulownia tree outside the yard drifted down, covering the roof tiles in gold.

His eyes gradually turned cold. An inscrutable, dark glint flickered in them as he glanced at Ryoma beside him and spoke in a low voice:

"Sora Uchiha is quite impressive. If he has a future ahead of him, he might become an unpredictable factor."

Ryoma understood at once from Danzo's look. He lowered his head slightly and replied respectfully, "Understood. I'll take care of it immediately."

Then he leaped onto the eaves and sped toward the Konoha Gate...

Danzo's expression was inscrutable. An unseen darkness slowly stained his scarlet heart.

Caw, caw—

A black raven circled overhead, letting out a sharp cry that sent a chill through the air, as if warning that something was about to happen.

Danzo held out his hand, and the raven landed on his palm. Its dark eyes darted from side to side, reflecting his fearsome, aged face.

"The Uchiha..." He stroked the raven's head with a finger, murmuring softly.

Since Sora Uchiha had refused to join Root, there was no need for him to remain alive.

It was a case of prospering with me or perishing against me.

The raven's little head kept turning. Suddenly, it took fright, seeming to sense the icy presence beside it, and tried to fly away.

"Caw—"

The next moment, blood sprayed everywhere. Pure black feathers drifted on the wind like a fall of dark snow.

The Land of Rain, Amegakure,

Tall gray industrial towers and pipelines sprawled wildly throughout the village.

It rained all year here. For a full three hundred days, rain battered the village; on the remaining sixty-odd days, the sky was still covered in dark clouds.

An oppressive atmosphere hung over the entire village.

A man wearing a raincoat and sunglasses trudged through the mud and arrived at this shinobi village.

Rain pattered down. Industrial waste slid from the tower pipes onto the concrete, and the air was thick with the smell of rust.

"Stop!" Two Amegakure guards at the village entrance blocked his way.

"Your purpose?"

"Employment," the man replied coolly, then took out a shinobi identification plate to show who he was.

The two exchanged a glance and recognized the plate as belonging to the Land of Fire.

"Hand over your weapons. We'll hold them for you."

The man nodded and handed over the Kunai he carried.

"Just one Kunai?"

"Yes."

The guards searched him and, after confirming he had no other weapons, let him through.

After the man left, one guard muttered, "These days, there are actually shinobi who carry only one weapon..."

An hour later,

Ryoma Aburame successfully entered a building in Amegakure and sat cross-legged.

Across from him sat a stern, imposing middle-aged man with half of his long black hair hanging loose, a resolute face, keen eyes, and a red battle robe.

He was the hero idolized by many in Amegakure, the shinobi known as the demigod—Hanzo of the Salamander.

"Interesting. Konoha is asking us to assassinate someone again." Hanzo took a sip of tea and scrutinized Ryoma.

Under that imposing gaze, Ryoma felt immense pressure. No wonder he's called a demigod.

"As I recall, your assassination business doesn't care where a client comes from," Hanzo said calmly.

"Right, then. Tell me, who's the target this time?"

"Sora Uchiha of Konoha," Ryoma replied.

Hanzo considered this, then laughed, his eyes full of mockery. "Ha! The Third Shinobi War is upon us, and Konoha is still fighting among itself."

"We don't ask why, who's right or wrong, or where the client comes from," Ryoma reminded him.

"Hmm... Let's talk about payment," Hanzo said, narrowing his eyes like an old fox.

"Five million ryo."

"Twenty million," Hanzo replied flatly.

Ryoma furrowed his brows. The minimum reward for an S-Rank Mission was one million, which meant Hanzo was asking for enough to post twenty S-Rank Missions.

"Ten million."

Hanzo scoffed, then casually said to the attendant beside him, "See him out."

Ryoma's expression changed. He hadn't expected Hanzo to refuse to bargain at all. He quickly said, "Fine. Twenty million."

"Twenty million was the price a moment ago. Now it's thirty million," Hanzo said nonchalantly.

"You!" Ryoma couldn't help rising to his feet.

Hanzo shot him a sidelong glance, and in an instant, immense pressure bore down on him.

After a long while...

"Fine."

"The terms."

Ryoma silently took out a card, then another.

"There are twenty million on this one. The remaining ten million will be paid once the mission is complete."

"Take care."

Behind him, Hanzo's hearty laughter rang out.