Pot Kage Enters the Fray

Uchiha Arashi had the fortune of witnessing a masterclass in face-changing from Danzo.

The old man, always known for his gloomy and ruthless nature, wore an expression that was nothing short of spectacular: excitement, anticipation, fear... Fear? Was he afraid of the Third?

Uchiha Arashi found this quite interesting; it was a point he had never considered before.

After a period of clearly visible internal struggle, Danzo's expression returned to calm.

Honestly, if he hadn't kept his Sharingan active the entire time, he might not have caught so many details. One had to admit, the Pot Kage's composure was deep indeed; he had barely managed to keep his face from betraying him.

"What do you take me for? Hiruzen serving as Hokage is something I fully support. I am a Konoha ninja, and everything I do is for the sake of Konoha! You want me to betray Konoha? Don't even think about it!"

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

It must be said, Danzo's claim that everything he did was for Konoha wasn't entirely false—or rather, from Danzo's perspective, that was exactly what he believed.

He never considered himself to be harming Konoha.

A true villain must have such firm convictions; what's the point of constant redemption arcs? Walking a dark path to the very end is what makes a good villain.

"Lord Danzo misunderstands. Me helping you become Hokage doesn't mean you have to betray Konoha. Since you believe you can do a better job, why don't you become that Hokage? The Third is too old and too cowardly. If he stays in that position, he will only lead Konoha to a dead end. If you truly love Konoha and want what is best for it, then you should be the one to turn the tide at this moment—just like how you decisively took action against the Uchiha."

The Masked Man said with a smile.

Although he was an Uchiha, that didn't stop him from using the Uchiha as a talking point. Besides, as an Uchiha himself, was there anything wrong with him talking about his own clan?

"Say no more. I will absolutely never do such a thing. Anything else can be discussed, but this is non-negotiable! Leave now, go at once. I can pretend you were never here. Otherwise, Root is not a public restroom; this is not a place where you can come and go as you please."

Danzo let out a cold snort and slowly closed his eyes.

At the same time, he raised his right hand, and four sealing jutsu patterns suddenly appeared at the Masked Man's feet.

Danzo only needed to continue outputting chakra, and the sealing jutsu would activate immediately.

Of course, Uchiha Arashi had long since noticed the ambush in the room; he only dared to say so much to Danzo because he was confident he could escape.

"Alright, alright, I won't say another word."

The Masked Man raised his hands, signaling the other party to relax.

"But my suggestion still stands. If Lord Danzo changes his mind, you can contact me at any time... you can reach me through the Ninja Cat Clan. However, Lord Danzo, you must never attempt to lay a hand on the Ninja Cat Clan. You surely know better than I do just how vengeful and troublesome those little guys are."

"If—and I mean if—I were willing to cooperate and let the Anbu suffer some casualties, it should be able to strike a blow to the Third's prestige to a certain extent."

"When that time comes, you can take action, Lord Danzo. By capturing some of my tracks, you will have an explanation for both internal and external parties, and you can even boost your reputation in the village. As long as the Third's prestige continues to fall while yours rises, and you make the right moves with the Daimyo at the appropriate time, the position of Hokage won't be difficult to obtain at all."

"Of course, this is just a suggestion. Whether you do it or not is entirely up to your own thoughts, Lord Danzo."

The Masked Man set down a scroll, then activated Kamui, his body turning into a Vortex and disappearing.

The room fell silent instantly, leaving only Danzo standing in place, gasping for air. He desperately wanted to control himself and not look at the scroll, but in the end, he couldn't resist his desire and slowly reached out his hand.

"Those who are accustomed to walking crooked paths and have formed a path dependency—how could they ever walk the righteous path? Such a possibility simply does not exist."

Having left the headquarters of Root, Uchiha Arashi walked down the street, recalling Danzo's performance, his lips curling upward slightly.

If Danzo were truly a man willing to walk the righteous path and firm in doing so, he would have competed with the Third openly and made his ideals public.

In fact, he had had such an opportunity.

He only needed to assist the Third as a legitimate advisor after the Third took office and gain the recognition of the villagers; then, he would have had a chance to receive the appointment as the Fourth Hokage.

Unfortunately, that was a path Danzo could not take. With his naturally gloomy nature, he could only ever think of crooked paths. Even when the righteous path was right in front of him, he would use all sorts of reasons to convince himself to give it up. This was determined by his personality; it wasn't something easily changed.

Therefore, he was convinced that Danzo would come looking for him.

And there were three purposes for cooperating with Danzo.

"First, it allows me to further infiltrate the interior of Konoha and use my power to influence the high-level officials."

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

"Will he really do as you say?"

"He definitely will, because this is the best opportunity."

Uchiha Arashi said with great confidence.

"Secondly, it divides the relationships among the high-level officials of Konoha. Don't let Danzo's ruthless methods and gloomy nature fool you; in fact, he still has quite a few supporters. There are many members of ninja clans in his Root organization. If these clans felt nothing for him, or even detested him, do you think Danzo would have the ability to force their clansmen to join Root?"

"Small clans might be forced, but clans with even a little scale... it should be very difficult."

Izumi thought for a moment and said.

"It's not difficult; it's impossible. As long as these clans go to the Third, even if only to maintain the stability of the village, the Third would definitely stop Danzo. Danzo's power comes entirely from the Third; once the Third stops supporting him, he can accomplish nothing."

"I understand. And what is the third point?"

"I haven't thought of the third point yet..."

"Ah?"

Izumi widened her eyes, staring at him in astonishment.

"What's wrong? No need to be surprised. 'Three reasons' sounds better when spoken aloud; just take it as the truth."

Uchiha Arashi said righteously, without feeling a shred of shame.

"You guy..."

Izumi realized what was happening and sensed that Uchiha Arashi was teasing her on purpose, so she raised her hand and swatted at him.

Uchiha Arashi hurriedly dodged.

The two of them started messing around inside the bookstore.

Just as they were fooling around, a cat's meow suddenly rang out.

"Kid Arashi, I've come to deliver a letter for you!"

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

The two of them immediately stopped what they were doing.

"See? What did I tell you? Danzo simply couldn't resist such a temptation."

Uchiha Arashi took a scroll out of the small bag, opened it to take a look, and his smile grew even wider before he handed the scroll over to Izumi.

"Danzo has taken the bait."