Konohagakure...
A bright full moon hung high in the dark sky, its light spilling across the streets.
"Stop! Who's there?" A shinobi on patrol suddenly grew alert and looked ahead.
"It's me."
The sound of footsteps stopped. Shimura Danzō turned around in the shadows, his face gloomy.
"I'm terribly sorry, Elder Danzō!" The patrolling shinobi was horrified, his face turning deathly pale. He'd actually offended one of the people in Konohagakure you absolutely did not want to cross!
You could survive offending the Hokage, but people who offended Danzō were said to disappear without a trace.
What had he done to deserve this?
"It's fine. Carry on with your patrol."
Danzō glanced at the patrolling shinobi. Trash. He was just an ordinary shinobi, with no value at all to Root.
Then Danzō turned and continued toward the Hokage's office, leaving the shaken patroller behind.
The Hokage's office was brightly lit. The Shinobi World had been unsettled lately, and there were many matters that needed attention.
Danzō pushed open the door and, by the candlelight, looked toward the Third Hokage, who was hunched over his paperwork.
Sarutobi, you've gotten so old without even realizing it.
"What is it, Danzō?" Hiruzen Sarutobi set aside his paperwork and looked up.
Danzō was always like this, seeking him out in the dead of night for long talks that lasted until dawn. Most of the time, they ended on bad terms.
"You've heard about what happened in the Land of Rain, Hiruzen." Danzō sat down nearby and asked with his eyes closed.
"Mm."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, filled with emotion. "I never thought that old Hanzo would be killed by a young man.
"I still remember clearly how he led the Rain Ninja against us, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Iron all at