Black Rose

Sarutobi Hiruzen was more composed than Guo Wang had imagined. Three days had passed since the Raikage mobilized, yet the order to summon Root still had not come down.

Since that was the case, taking advantage of his free time, Guo Wang strolled through the most powerful village in this world, posing as Danzo.

"Dan... Danzo-sama..."

When the owner of a ninja tool shop looked up and saw the face of the person coming to pay, he retreated two steps instantly, his face turning deathly pale, as if he had seen some terrifying monster.

"Seal these up with a scroll."

As the training base for Konoha Anbu, Root possessed the best ninja tools and hidden weapons in all of Konoha. However, Guo Wang wanted to understand the customs and habits of this world, so he picked out some strange-looking implements and added a sealing scroll.

Come to think of it, although the refinement of energy like Chakra was relatively simple, its level was not low. It could not only be converted into natural energies like earth, wind, water, fire, and lightning, but could also manipulate Space-Time.

This sealing scroll was similar to the incredibly precious storage caves in the Dao Realm. Although one still needed to carry objects of a certain volume, it was accessible to the general public, which was far better than those three religious holy lands that guarded their secrets like precious brooms. Whoever spread this technology must have accumulated immense merit.

"Yes, yes, yes, it is ready, Danzo-sama."

The shopkeeper hurriedly sealed the implements into the scroll and respectfully handed it to Guo Wang.

"How much?"

"No, how could I accept your money, sir? You are a hero of Konoha, to be able to come..."

Seeing the fearful expression on the shopkeeper's face, Guo Wang couldn't help but sigh at Danzo's reputation. Just how unpopular was he? Even worse than Orochimaru, whom he had mocked.

"I asked, how much!"

After uttering this sentence again in a cold, sharp tone, the shopkeeper trembled all over and subconsciously blurted out a number.

"Six thousand eight hundred ryo."

After paying, Guo Wang left the ninja tool shop with the sealing scroll. The eateries and restaurants on both sides had few customers. After all, it was wartime; ninjas were either busy fighting on the front lines or improving their strength at training grounds. As for ordinary people who lacked a sense of security, most were huddled at home.

This was already considered quite lively.

Two years ago, during the most intense period of the war, one couldn't see a soul in the entire village.

In the Hokage Building, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched through a crystal ball as his old friend entered a roadside ramen shop with a calm expression, ate until he was satisfied, and walked out. He was so startled that his pipe fell out of his mouth.

"What's wrong?"

Just then, the two advisors walked in to report on the situation at the front lines and saw this scene.

"Have you ever seen Danzo go shopping?"

"Huh?"

Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Ever since the Land of Wind surrendered and re-established an alliance with Konoha, most of the main force of the Ino-Shika-Cho families, the backbone of the Hokage faction, had retreated from the front lines.

Today, the young, newly succeeded head of the Yamanaka clan had just received a batch of new flower seedlings. He was in high spirits, watering and pruning them with his new wife. Hearing the doorbell ring, he greeted the customer with a bright smile.

"Hello, guest, may I ask... you... Danzo-sama...!"

The exact same reaction made Guo Wang frown, scaring Inoichi Yamanaka into breaking out in a cold sweat.

"A bouquet of black roses, an order placed by Ryoma yesterday."

The young Yamanaka clan head never expected that Elder Danzo, who usually sent his subordinates to run errands, would actually come in person today. He, who wouldn't change his expression even when facing thousands of troops on the battlefield, couldn't help but feel afraid when meeting the old man's cold, piercing gaze.

"Inoichi, you are as clumsy as ever. Having spent so much time around that brat from the Nara Clan, you haven't shown any improvement at all."

As vassals of the Sarutobi clan during the Warring States period, Ino-Shika-Cho had always been firm supporters of the Hokage in Konoha. Danzo, as a fellow disciple of Sarutobi Hiruzen, could be said to have watched this generation of Ino-Shika-Cho grow up; the three of them, as mischievous children, had been disciplined by him more than once.

"You flatter me, Danzo-sama."

In the end, Madam Yamanaka came over to break the tension. With a gentle smile, she skillfully handed a bouquet of black roses, which had been prepared on the flower rack, to Guo Wang.

"Come to think of it, another child also ordered black roses and just picked them up before you arrived, sir."

"A child, I see."

Searching through Danzo's memories, Guo Wang understood the identity of that person.

After all, in all of Konoha, only he liked these black roses that symbolized ominousness and the aura of death.

"Hiruzen, it seems Danzo is ready to go to the battlefield."

In the Hokage Building, Mitokado Homura saw Guo Wang take the black roses from the flower shop, adjusted his glasses, and said with a hint of emotion.

"Yes, for the sake of Konoha, he will make any sacrifice. This is the Will of Fire that we inherited from our teacher."

Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up his pipe and took a deep drag.

"It is I, the Hokage, who has failed Danzo. Every time, I have to let him stand in the most dangerous position."

Among the disciples of Senju Tobirama, only Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo were at the Kage level. With the generals unable to move lightly, the latter always replaced the Hokage to go to the most difficult battlefields.

Precisely because of this, the bond between the two was exceptionally deep.

Memorial Stone!

Looking at the ten-year-old child in front of him, Danzo recalled his companion from his youth—the one who was cheerful but had a delicate mind.

"Is that Shisui!"

Just recently, on the battlefield in the Land of Water, the son of Kagami Uchiha—that is, the father of Shisui Uchiha—had died at the hands of the Third Mizukage. When he received the news, Danzo was stirring up trouble in the Land of Rain, and he had truly grieved for a while back then.

"Greetings, Lord Danzo."

Shisui was a sensible child, and a few years ago, in order to look after the grandson of an old friend, Danzo had even made an exception to his prejudices and wanted to bring him into Root.

It was a pity that his father had a conservative personality, and to avoid Shisui being caught in the painful position between the village and his clan, he had declined Danzo's "kindness."

"The flowers are quite nice. If Kagami knew of this in the afterlife, he would surely be proud of having a grandson like you."

"It was my father's wish. He told me not to forget to bring a flower for Grandfather before I head to the battlefield. Besides, compared to my father, I am merely an insignificant genin in the village."

Guo Wang placed the Black Rose in his hand side-by-side with Shisui's bouquet, and with his back turned to the youth, a flash of scarlet suddenly crossed his eyes.

"Do you know why Kagami liked such ominous flowers?"

"Please enlighten me, Lord Danzo."

Just as Shisui waited for the answer, Guo Wang turned around, and the youth clearly saw the scarlet pupils in this elder's eyes, as well as... a Four-Diamond Prism pattern, consisting of six equal petals arranged in a circle around a central black dot.

"Because the Black Rose represents the power of your grandfather's Mangekyo."