Danzō's Invitation

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Just then, a round of applause came from nearby, and Yu's heart jolted.

He turned to look and saw that, at some point, a man had appeared beneath a nearby tree. He wore a white kimono, had a bandage over his right eye and a cross-shaped scar on his chin, and leaned on a cane.

"Decisive. Efficient."

"You didn't hesitate for a moment when you killed them."

"Yakushi Hane, you really were born to be a ninja."

Having witnessed Yu swiftly kill the two Root Chunin, the man who had suddenly appeared remained expressionless, though his tone suggested he was praising him.

Shimura Danzō!

Yu's pupils contracted at the sight of him.

"That was a splendid fight..."

"Even though I already thought highly of you, I didn't expect to have underestimated your abilities."

Standing nearby, Danzō praised him with a faint, peaceful smile, as if the two dead men before him weren't his subordinates but merely two useless pawns.

If they didn't know his true nature, most people would probably think he was some kind-hearted benefactor. But Yu, who had seen the original story, could easily make out the intense possessiveness and ambition in his eyes.

"This is bad... I didn't expect Danzō to come in person."

His expression didn't change, but a storm was already raging inside Yu.

The aura radiating from Danzō made it clear that he was a Kage Level figure.

He wasn't among the very strongest at that level, but his strength still far surpassed that of any ordinary Jonin.

Yu still had other trump cards, but his chakra level had only just broken through to the Chunin rank. He had no confidence at all about facing Danzō.

"Yakushi Hane, join my Root. You'll have far more opportunities to improve there than in any other department."

Looking at Yu, Danzō got straight to the point. "My organization is missing a genius ninja like you, one who combines combat and medical skills."

After years of growth,

Danzō's Root had gradually absorbed many of Konoha's skilled shinobi. It even included members of secret-technique clans, such as the Aburame Clan and the Yamanaka Clan.

Danzō had even planned to infiltrate the Uchiha Clan, Konoha's greatest noble clan, in hopes of getting his hands on the power of the Sharingan.

After seeing Yu display his monstrous talent during the graduation exam and defeat Uchiha Shisui yesterday in the Hokage's office,

Danzō had become like a vicious shark that had caught the scent of blood, setting his sights on the promising young genius.

"I'm very sorry, Lord Danzō."

"I'm in a hurry to meet the Third Hokage."

Faced with Danzō's invitation, Yu didn't explicitly refuse.

But Yu had no liking for someone like Danzō, who was always going on about doing everything for Konoha while acting on the darkness in his heart.

In the original story, when Danzō sealed himself away, intending to die alongside Sasuke,

it seemed that many people thought the character had been redeemed, but Yu didn't agree.

As the saying went, Konoha had been at peace until Danzō destroyed it. That wasn't just an empty rumor.

Someone like Danzō might truly have believed he was acting for Konoha, but he had used so many filthy methods, and so many innocent people had become his experimental subjects and sacrifices.

Even Nagato and Yahiko, who had sincerely hoped for peace, had been pushed into darkness after Danzō sabotaged them for his own selfish ends.

Though Danzō and the Third Hokage had been comrades in the same squad when they were young, he had repeatedly sent people to stage coups and assassinate the Third Hokage for the sake of his own ambitions.

Could someone like that, who had done all those things, really be redeemed by saying he had acted for Konoha?

No matter how noble his goals might sound, at his core, he was still an evil, despicable figure who relied on vile methods. That was Yu's assessment of Danzō.

Yu had never considered himself a good person either, but he had always despised people like Danzō, who stopped at nothing to achieve their goals while dressing it all up in high-minded rhetoric.

"Heh, don't be so quick to refuse."

Seeing that Yu hadn't accepted his invitation, Danzō didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "You were adopted by Yakushi Nonō, weren't you?"

"Your superb Medical Ninjutsu shows that you've inherited and surpassed her talent for it."

"But you might not know that your adoptive mother, Nonō, once served in my Root."

"She was my finest intelligence and medical ninja, and she even served as the head of Konoha's medical unit."

Before Danzō could finish speaking, Yu's amber eyes narrowed slightly.

Of course, Yu knew about Yakushi Nonō's past, but he didn't know why Danzō had brought it up now.

Yu studied the man before him, known as the Darkness of the Shinobi World, as if trying to discern something from his expression.

"From the look on your face... it seems you aren't surprised by what I've told you?"

When he brought up Yakushi Nonō's past and saw that Yu's expression hadn't changed as he expected, Danzō's exposed left eye turned a little more sinister.

"But it doesn't matter. I'm sure there'll be a chance for us to work together in the future."

Danzō soon smiled again. "I'll be waiting for you in Root, because..."

"From your eyes, I can tell that we're the same kind of person."

"Hehehehe..."

Leaving behind a sinister laugh, Danzō turned and walked away.

"Take these two pieces of trash with you, too..."

"Root doesn't need useless trash who can't even deal with a kid fresh out of the Ninja Academy."

As he passed the bodies of the two Root Chunin, Danzō gave the order indifferently.

Two more Root shinobi immediately appeared from the trees on either side. They picked up the bodies of the men Yu had killed with his Chakra Scalpel, then vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

Danzō and I... are we really the same kind of person?

Yu quietly watched Danzō's retreating back, turning his words over in his mind. A scornful smile curled his lips.

It was common knowledge that the world of Naruto's shinobi, with its wars and killings, had produced many troubled young people with damaged hearts who were liable to stray down the wrong path.

Gaara, Kimimaro, and Yakushi Kabuto were all examples. Each was a gifted genius, but also a troubled ninja burdened by pain, loneliness, confusion, and uncertainty.

If Yu hadn't been a transmigrator with a firmly established worldview of his own,

Danzō or Orochimaru might have lured him down a path of no return with a little manipulation and brainwashing.

But unfortunately, in this world, aside from the people he cherished, Yu would never be swayed by anyone else's words.