Kakashi's Sharingan

After parting ways with Zetsu, Sasori, and Hidan, Orochimaru immediately changed course and entered the Land of Fire. He then sent a message to contact Danzo, asking to meet face-to-face.

In Konoha, Danzo had not been in a particularly good mood lately.

After the Uchiha Clan massacre, Hiruzen Sarutobi dismantled the Police Force's duties one by one and distributed them among the families aligned with the Hokage. Danzo did not have the slightest chance to get his hands on any of it.

And that was not all. Hiruzen Sarutobi further restricted Root's recruitment of new members, while its operating funds dwindled month by month, as though he intended to grind Root into the dirt.

Though Danzo was furious, adhering to the principle that a wise man did not fight when the odds were against him, he very cleverly reduced the frequency of Root's operations. He even wisely made himself disappear from every advisory council meeting, using displays of weakness to dispel Hiruzen Sarutobi's wariness.

Had it been anyone else, Danzo would not have dared do this, because it could easily have put him in an even more passive position, perhaps even condemned him beyond redemption. But Hiruzen Sarutobi was an extremely sentimental man who cherished old ties, was he not?

Sure enough, once Danzo cowardly tucked his head into his shell, Hiruzen Sarutobi truly did not press any further.

"Lord Danzo!"

That day, Danzo was holed up in Root's underground headquarters when a Root Ninja came to deliver intelligence. "This information came from outside the village."

Danzo took it and read it, immediately understanding. After giving a few instructions, he turned and walked into the darkness.

As night fell, Danzo brought several trusted subordinates to a small valley ten miles outside the village. Before long, piercing snake hisses came from