Shocking Secret

The sudden appearance of a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God seal made it unnecessary to guess who was already nearby.

However, the Flying Thunder God technique failed this time; with Oboro by his side, the Magic-Sealing Domain was no mere decoration.

Kei kicked the kunai away and sighed inwardly.

They say the Yellow Flash, famous throughout the ninja world for his speed, always arrives at the critical moment. But in Kei's view, that saying is wrong.

If you asked Kei, Minato Namikaze was a man who relied entirely on his looks and lacked any sense of timing—he never showed up when he should, and always popped up when he shouldn't.

If Minato had arrived just a little earlier, while Danzo and Kei were still in a standoff, and provided a way for both sides to back down, everyone would have been grateful to him, and many innocent lives would have been spared.

Yet, Minato had to be just that bit too late.

Looking at that annoying kunai, Kei thought to himself, Sooner or later, I'll have your whole family meet an untimely end, Minato. Do you really think you can just barge into my business?

Some people are born with a reason to die; this murky world has no room for their self-righteous clarity.

Moreover, they were always so terribly ill-timed.

Kei ignored the kunai, acting as if it hadn't happened. I've already killed a whole field of people; now is the time for the harvest. What business is it of yours to interfere, Minato?

If I let you enter the fray now, what kind of fool would that make me?

Ignoring the Minato who might appear at any moment, Kei continued to address Danzo.

"So, Mr. Danzo, I will give you three sentences. Please give me a reason not to kill you."

Watching the kunai get kicked away, Danzo's hope flickered between rising and shattering.

Since the kunai had been thrown here, Minato couldn't be far off.

But watching the seal on the kunai fail, Danzo understood that Kei would not spare him just because Minato had arrived.

There was truly no way to end this peacefully.

However, Danzo did not know that Kei had never intended to kill him from the very beginning.

It wasn't that Danzo couldn't die, but if he died now, his legacy would fall to the Hokage, and the years of accumulation within Root would not fall into Kei's hands at all.

And Sarutobi, who was relatively familiar with Root, would certainly take over the organization immediately, which would be equivalent to aiding the enemy.

Kei wouldn't do something that offered no benefits, especially something that harmed others without benefiting himself.

Kei's plan was to keep Danzo alive to coerce and lure benefits out of him, while simultaneously obtaining leverage to make it easier to fleece him in the future.

A living Danzo is a good Danzo.

If Danzo were to die, who else could constantly bleed Sarutobi dry and hold him back?

Are we supposed to rely on those two clowns, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu?

Those two "Sleeping Dragons and Young Phoenixes" of Konoha were only effective when they had a backbone to lead them; without Danzo, their little tricks were nothing more than an annoyance.

Danzo was their golden goose.

Looking at it this way, was there any opponent more reliable than Danzo?

Therefore, Danzo had to live.

Of course, this was predicated on Danzo handing over something that satisfied Kei.

And so, a shakedown began.

Silence, deathly silence—a silence truly created by the dead.

From the moment Kei seized the initiative, Danzo finally shed his arrogance.

He knew he had never been a smart man, and the greatest virtue that had kept him alive until now was his willingness to use his limited wisdom to repeatedly ponder a problem.

It was just that years of smooth sailing had made Danzo gradually arrogant, but the moment he faced life and death, the now-humbled Danzo finally regained his greatest strength.

He began to think while remaining silent, trying his best to consider every possibility.

If things didn't go as he expected, he had to see if they were going as his opponent expected.

Time ticked away, and Kei did not appear anxious.

Danzo understood: it seemed Uchiha Kei didn't care if he was stalling for time. Thus, the Minato Namikaze who was far away yet close at hand posed no threat to Kei at all.

Thinking about it, that made sense. Everyone said Minato was a candidate for Hokage, but there was no official certification; it was just something everyone said, and the Third Hokage hadn't refuted it.

In the end, it was just a private consensus, an unspoken rule that didn't count for much.

Stripped of that status, Minato was just a Jonin of Konoha. Konoha had hundreds, perhaps thousands of people with that status, and Minato was merely one of the standouts among them—nothing special.

Since Uchiha Kei had the confidence not to give Minato face, Danzo knew that continuing to stall would only make him look undignified.

Danzo finally decided on the card he would play. Now, it was Danzo's turn.

The first card: probing.

"Killing a big figure will bring you unexpected trouble, Kei-kun."

Danzo didn't expect a single empty sentence to eliminate Kei's murderous intent, but in a game of shogi, one doesn't lead with the General.

He started with a cliché probe.

Kei was somewhat disappointed—disappointed by Danzo's lack of appreciation. He was truly afraid that Danzo wouldn't understand the situation and wouldn't even be able to provide a single reason why he shouldn't be killed.

That would be too difficult for me; would I have to find an excuse to let him go when the time comes?

That would be too shameful, something Qi absolutely could not do.

Perhaps some people are just born to die!

Qi could only keep a straight face and continue to pressure Danzo.

"That's the first sentence!"

His voice was gloomy, like a countdown to death.

Danzo played along, panicking, "I am willing to hand over all the ninjutsu of Root, the ninja files, and all the intelligence Root has gathered over these many years!"

Seeing Danzo's flustered state, Qi was satisfied; Danzo was indeed afraid of death after all. A little intimidation and he had already spilled everything—Qi gave himself a mental pat on the back.

But it wasn't enough. Although Danzo's offering was substantial and had already met Qi's initial expectations, the fact that Danzo had surrendered so much with only his second sentence meant this clearly wasn't his full hand. He could still squeeze him a bit more; he might be able to extort even more.

"That's the second sentence!"

Qi was already secretly delighted, but he had to pretend to be indifferent as he continued to apply pressure.

Who would have thought that Danzo would suddenly move, dragging his injured body to strike with lethal intent? Yet, it wasn't aimed at Qi, but suddenly at his own subordinates.

The few remaining ninjas, already heavily wounded and bound by the Cursed Seal of Individual Curse Eradication, had no power to resist Danzo at all.

They stood motionless like lambs to the slaughter, letting Danzo massacre them.

Qi was stunned for a moment, but he didn't let his men attack Danzo; he wanted to see what exactly Danzo was planning.

After his subordinates were dead, Danzo took no further action, instead silently activating the Cursed Seal of Individual Curse Eradication, ensuring that the deceased Root members could never have their secrets pried from their corpses by ninjutsu.

Only then did he grin and say.

"Then let me tell you my greatest secret, Qi. Back then, it wasn't the Second Hokage who stayed behind to cover the retreat of Sarutobi and the rest of us Hokage guards that allowed us to escape; it was us who abandoned the Second Hokage to save our own lives."

"()!" What!