Susanoo!

Danzo hearing the Third Hokage's words, Danzo's expression shifted from indignation to astonishment:

"Hiruzen, you..."

The Third Hokage raised his hand, stopping him from saying what he was about to say.

He looked at Danzo and sighed deeply:

"Although I don't understand why that child would put on such a thick mask from such a young age."

It's unclear what that child was thinking...

Over the years, I've tried countless times to understand him through his eyes, but most of the time, I haven't.

The Third Hokage paused for a moment, then his voice suddenly became firm:

"But there's one point where our views differ."

He slowly walked to his desk, turning his gaze to the window, towards the direction of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Scattered lights had already appeared there, twinkling quietly in the night.

Even if his initial intentions weren't pure, even if at the beginning he deliberately befriended those around him and put on that carefree act for some purpose.

But after spending his days with his companions and all those who genuinely cared for him, the child had unknowingly developed a deep affection for them.

The Third Hokage turned to face Danzo, his old friend with whom he had known and fought for decades, and solemnly spoke in his aged yet incredibly resolute voice:

"This is the conclusion I've reached after observing and probing that child's every word and action countless times over the past ten years."

The Third Hokage looked at Danzo and said softly:

"That child was by no means a cold-hearted person; beneath his mask was a sincere heart."

He values his relationships with others more than you think.

Danzo listened with a gloomy expression to the Third Hokage Hokage's heartfelt words, and then spoke with deep disappointment:

"... You really are as naive as ever, hopelessly so."

He turned around, his back to the Third Hokage, and said coldly:

"I still stand by my opinion, Uchiha Kuro... that brat has never had any of those so-called bonds you speak of!"

Egoists like this are definitely not the kind of people Konoha needs!

Looking at his aged back, the Third Hokage said in a deep voice:

No matter what you say, my mind will not change.

"That child... will become an excellent Kage. That's my judgment as the Third Hokage."

Danzo's hand was already on the doorknob.

His body froze the moment he heard the word "Hokage".

A deep, dark shadow flashed in the only eye that was visible outside the bandage—the left eye.

He didn't turn around, but instead, in a hoarse voice, he growled out his last words:

"Hiruzen, one day you'll regret this!!"

"Bang!!"

The door was slammed shut.

The echoes of that sound reverberated in the corridor, followed by Danzo's heavy, hurried footsteps gradually Danzo into the distance.

Danzo didn't see Sarutobi Hiruzen's final expression.

And in the future, we probably won't see it again...

The Land of Rice Fields, the temporary base of the Root.

Danzo slowly pulled his thoughts away from that gloomy evening eight years ago and refocused on the tall and upright Uchiha Kuro in front of him.

He is no longer the boy who gave him a standard smile in the corridor, but whose eyes were full of wariness and fear.

Standing before him was an Uchiha who had shed all pretense, his Sharingan brimming with undisguised killing intent.

"It seems... I was wrong, Hiruzen."

Danzo felt Koto's cold gaze and silently murmured to himself:

"Your judgment is correct; this kid wearing a mask is indeed someone who values relationships."

"But precisely because of this, he is now a threat that must be eliminated, for Konoha and for you!"

The night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre Danzo massacre involuntarily surfaced in Danzo's mind.

In the Uchiha Clan Compound, during his final confrontation with Hiruzen, at the moment Hiruzen swung his Adamantine Staff to deliver the fatal blow...

What surged in his cloudy, aged eyes was not anger, but a pain and struggle that seemed to tear him apart from the inside out...

Danzo slowly closed his one-eyed eye.

When it opened its eyes again, there was no longer any reminiscence or wavering in them, only a deep sense of resolve.

"Consider it repaying this favor. Let me eliminate this scourge for you and Konoha in the end!"

"Wearing... a mask?"

Koko repeated Danzo's words, then lowered his head.

A few strands of black hair fell from his forehead, obscuring half of his profile.

His voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself:

"Looks like I couldn't hide it from you, you old fox."

Although he said that, there was little surprise in Kou's tone.

After all, as he gradually grew into a truly capable ninja, he slowly realized the futility of his initial pretentious acting.

At best, he could only fool that idiot Obito; he couldn't possibly fool those old foxes who had been tempered in the arena of power and on the battlefield for decades.

He had long suspected that Danzo and the Third Hokage had seen through his disguise.

Deep down in some corner of my heart, this was also one of the reasons why I chose to leave Konoha in the first place.

Thinking of this, Kou slowly raised his head, his Sharingan glowing with a cold and eerie red light in the dim light.

He looked at Danzo before him, his voice hoarse yet calm, as if stating a fact unrelated to emotion:

"Looks like I have another reason to kill you."

Danzo did not respond to Kou's words.

He simply raised his hand in silence and began to untangle the bandages wrapped around his body, one loop at a time.

Kou coldly watched his actions, without making the slightest attempt to stop him.

A mocking smile slowly curved the corners of his lips:

"Do you know why I didn't act the moment I found out you were hiding in this hideout?"

Kou did not wait for Danzo's response, nor did he need Danzo.

The three Tomo in his eyes began to spin faster and faster, driven by his pupil power.

Until they approach each other, connect, and twist into a complex, eerie Mangekyo pattern.

Because I want you to experience... true despair!

That kind of despair—even if you try your best, even if you struggle like a stray dog in your death throes, it's all in vain, you can't do anything...!

Kou whispered hoarsely, and under the urging of his pupil power, a terrifying pressure suddenly exploded from his body!

Blue Chakra, materialized, condensed and took shape beside him!

First came the outline of the ribs, then the entire sternum, and then a thick, skeletal arm that could envelop the entire person.

The azure skull, composed entirely of pure eye power, slowly emerged beside Kou!

The walls of this base began to crack under the crushing pressure!

Fine cracks spread outwards from the center of the tap in all directions, even causing the miner's lamp hanging from the ceiling to tremble slightly.

Danzo at the blue skeleton slowly taking shape beside him, and the pupil in his single eye suddenly contracted:

"That's... Susanoo!!"