Pot Kage Enters the Fray

Uchiha Arashi had the good fortune to witness one of Danzo's spectacular changes of expression.

The old man, who was known for his gloom and ruthlessness, wore quite the fascinating expression now. There was excitement, anticipation, and fear... Fear? Was he afraid of the Third Hokage?

Uchiha Arashi found it rather interesting. It had never occurred to him before.

After a very obvious internal struggle, Danzo's expression returned to calm.

Honestly, if he hadn't kept his Sharingan active the whole time, he might not have caught so many details. He had to admit, the Pot Kage was quite deep and calculating; he'd just barely managed to keep his expression unchanged.

"What kind of person do you take me for? I fully support Hiruzen as Hokage. I am a Konoha Ninja, and everything I do is for Konoha! You think you can make me betray Konoha? Forget it!"

Danzo pointed at the Masked Man's nose and scolded him.

To be fair, Danzo wasn't lying when he said everything he did was for Konoha. Or rather, from Danzo's perspective, that was what he truly believed.

He never thought he was harming Konoha.

That was how a villain should be: unwavering in his convictions. What was the point of redeeming himself at the drop of a hat? A good villain stuck to his path until the bitter end.

"Lord Danzo, you've misunderstood. Helping you become Hokage doesn't mean you have to betray Konoha. If you believe you could do a better job, why not become Hokage yourself? The Third is too old and too weak. If he keeps the position, he'll only lead Konoha into a desperate situation. If you truly love Konoha and want what's best for it, then you should step in and turn things around at this critical moment, just as you did when you decisively went after the Uchiha."

The Masked Man smiled as he spoke.

He was an Uchiha, but that didn't stop him from using the Uchiha as an example. And as an Uchiha, what was wrong with talking about his own clan?

"Enough. I will never do such a thing. We can discuss anything else, but this is out of the question! Leave. Now. I can pretend you were never here. Otherwise, Root isn't a public restroom. You can't come and go as you please."

Danzo snorted and slowly closed his eyes.

At the same time, he raised his right hand. Four Sealing Jutsu diagrams appeared abruptly at the Masked Man's feet.

Danzo only needed to keep channeling chakra for the Sealing Jutsu to activate.

Of course, Uchiha Arashi had noticed the traps in the room long ago. He'd only dared to say so much to Danzo because he was confident he could escape.

"All right, all right. I'll stop."

The Masked Man raised both hands, signaling for Danzo to calm down.

"But my offer still stands. If you change your mind, Lord Danzo, you can contact me anytime... You can reach me through the Ninja Cat Clan. But please don't try to go after the Ninja Cat Clan. You know better than I do how vengeful and troublesome those little fellows can be.

"If—just if—I'm willing to cooperate and let Anbu take a few losses, that should be enough to damage the Third's standing to some extent.

"Then you could step in, seize on some of my connections, and have an explanation for both the village and the outside world. You'd even boost your reputation in the village. As long as the Third's standing keeps falling while yours keeps rising, you could make a few arrangements with the Daimyo at the right time. Becoming Hokage wouldn't be all that difficult.

"Of course, that's only a suggestion. Whether you do it is entirely up to you, Lord Danzo."

The Masked Man left a scroll behind, then opened Kamui. His body turned into a whirlpool and disappeared.

The room fell silent. Danzo stood there alone, breathing heavily. He wanted to stop himself from looking at the scroll, but in the end, he couldn't resist his desire and slowly reached out for it.

How could someone who'd grown accustomed to taking the crooked path and become dependent on it ever walk the straight and narrow? It was simply impossible.

After leaving Root's headquarters, Uchiha Arashi walked down the street, recalling Danzo's reaction. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

If Danzo were truly someone willing and determined to follow the straight path, he would openly compete with the Third and make his ideals known to everyone.

In fact, he'd had the chance.

All he had to do was serve the Third as a proper adviser after he took office and earn the village's approval. Then he would have had a chance at receiving the appointment as Fourth Hokage.

Unfortunately, Danzo couldn't take that route. With his gloomy nature, he could only ever think of one crooked path after another. Even when the right path lay in front of him, he'd find all kinds of reasons to convince himself to abandon it. That was simply how his personality worked. It wasn't something he could change so easily.

That was why Arashi was certain Danzo would come to him.

There were three reasons for cooperating with Danzo.

"First, it'll let me further infiltrate Konoha and use my influence to sway the Konoha High Command."

Back at the bookstore, Uchiha Arashi finally explained his plan to Izumi.

"Will he really do what you said?"

"He definitely will. This is his best opportunity."

Uchiha Arashi replied confidently.

"Second, it'll drive a wedge between the members of the Konoha High Command. Danzo may be ruthless and gloomy by nature, but he still has plenty of supporters. Many members of Root are the children of ninja clans. If those clans were completely indifferent to him, or even hated him, do you think Danzo could force their children to join Root?"

"Maybe he could force the smaller clans, but it would be difficult with any clan of even moderate size..."

Izumi thought for a moment before answering.

"Not difficult. Impossible. If those clans go to the Third, then even if it's only to maintain stability in the village, he'll have to stop Danzo. All of Danzo's power comes from the Third. If the Third stops supporting him, he won't be able to accomplish anything."

"I understand. What's the third reason?"

"I haven't figured that one out yet..."

"Huh?"

Izumi stared at him, wide-eyed and bewildered.

"What? There's no need to be surprised. 'There are three reasons' sounds better. Just pretend you believe me."

Uchiha Arashi said with a perfectly straight face, not the least bit ashamed.

"You..."

Izumi caught on and realized Uchiha Arashi had been teasing her. She raised a hand and swung at him.

Uchiha Arashi hurriedly dodged.

The two of them started fooling around in the bookstore.

In the middle of their play, a meow suddenly rang out.

"Arashi, I've brought you a letter!"

It was the same familiar cat, carrying a small bag on its back as it emerged from the shadows.

The two of them stopped at once.

"See? What did I tell you? Danzo couldn't resist an offer like this."

Uchiha Arashi took a scroll from the bag and opened it. His smile grew wider, and he handed the scroll to Izumi.

"Danzo's taken the bait."