Danzo, You're in Trouble!

A cool breeze carried a promise; the autumn moon stretched endlessly.

As the last golden rays of dusk faded away, the atmosphere on Konoha's main street beneath the bright moon grew increasingly tense.

Hundreds of Uchiha with scarlet eyes wore expressions of disdain. Shimura Danzō, who had stood on the moral high ground, was no longer as righteous as before.

Thinking back to his heyday as the "Darkness of the Ninja World," he had turned the clouds with one hand and the rain with the other, making the White Fang of Konoha vanish with a laugh.

On the Night of the Nine-Tails, he had gone alone and cowed the Uchiha into not daring to move a muscle.

How had things suddenly come to this...

Though Danzō had complete confidence in his ability to manipulate people, faced with the many red-eyed youths before him, fierce as wolves and tigers, he couldn't help feeling the melancholy of a hero past his prime.

"Jin!"

After getting a clearer grasp of the situation, Shimura Danzō understood that this man wasn't like those fools from before, who would lay down their lives for him after a few casual words. His tone softened by a few degrees.

"Since you Uchiha insist they're spies, then please withdraw for now. Once Root has investigated what happened here, I'll report back to Lord Hokage!"

Fine...

After all, as a dignified Hokage Assistant and a man with the illustrious title of "Darkness of the Ninja World," Shimura Danzō felt he was already showing this man plenty of respect.

"Hah—ptooey!"

Shimura Danzō's response was a mouthful of phlegm, spat without the slightest hesitation right onto him.

"Sorry, my throat's been a little sore lately."

The mockery on Uchiha Jin's face showed that he wasn't the least bit sorry. Before the other man could react, he spoke again.

"You just said 'your Root.' So you're that so-called 'Darkness of the Ninja World,' Shimura Danzō, right?"

"You..."

Uchiha Jin's earlier insult and his deliberately obvious question enraged Danzō once more.

If not for the increasingly blinding glow of those scarlet eyes in front of him, Shimura Danzō would have had Root fight Uchiha Jin to the death right then and there.

Breathe...

Don't get angry. If you get sick from anger, there'll be no one to take your place!

"Uchiha Jin!"

Silently repeating words to soothe himself, Shimura Danzō raised his head again, stuck under someone else's roof, and looked at Uchiha Jin with a cold expression.

"Do you know who I am? Do you know what you're doing right now?"

"Who are you? I'm so scared..."

Uchiha Jin impatiently dug at his ear again, the mockery in his eyes growing more pronounced.

"I'm the leader of Root and Konoha's Hokage Assistant! Whatever misunderstanding there may be between us, I hope you think carefully before doing something you'll regret. Your Uchiha clansmen still have to live in Konoha."

He'd delivered such a cowardly message in such a forceful tone, but that was already the limit of what their Lord Danzō could manage.

Looking back over all the years, only Danzō had ever bullied others. He had never felt as stifled as he did today.

Even when he'd tried to assassinate Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, he hadn't been as passive as he was now, let alone when facing a "wicked Uchiha" brat like Jin.

Bowing his head to a brat was humiliating, but it was still better than falling out with the Uchiha and sacrificing most of Root's foundation. He might even end up losing his chance to become Konoha's future Hokage here.

It just wasn't worth it!

What was wrong with being a little cowardly? After all these years following Sarutobi Hiruzen around, learning this particular skill ought to have come naturally.

Shimura Danzō steeled himself while staring straight at Uchiha Jin with a stubborn gaze, holding on to the last shred of his dignity.

"Giving in already?"

A smile curled Jin's lips, though he felt a strange sensation in his heart.

That's right.

Today's barbecue gathering hadn't been a spur-of-the-moment idea. Even this route had been carefully planned by Jin long ago.

Anyone looking down at all of Konoha from above would have seen clearly that the Uchiha Clan Compound, Akimichi BBQ House, and Root's headquarters all lay in a straight line.

So naturally, Root, which had been keeping the Uchiha under constant surveillance, couldn't have missed the Uchiha Clan's conspicuous forced march.

And with Shimura Danzō's devious nature, how could he possibly stay put and wait to die? No matter what, he'd come out to make trouble.

It was just that Uchiha Jin hadn't expected Shimura Danzō to look down on the Uchiha Clan so much—to think that a few men disguised as Anbu could get them under his thumb.

All he could say was...

Fugaku... you really are a damn fool!

(Far away at the compound, having tea with Uchiha Setsuna, Fugaku: Achoo...)

But actually, Fugaku wasn't entirely to blame. They should blame Konoha for always producing this sort of uniquely brainless fool.

Like Kagami Uchiha, Sakumo Hatake, Yakushi Nonō, Shisui, Itachi...

Forget it!

Still fuming, Uchiha Jin shifted his gaze back to Danzō. The other man seemed to think he'd intimidated Jin and was now turning to leave.

Whoosh!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...

With a slight wave of Uchiha Jin's right hand, Uchiha Habara led more than twenty jonin to block Danzō's way.

"Uchiha Jin, are you really going to kill me?"

Shimura Danzō's expression turned terribly grim. He turned back and shouted angrily at Jin. Then, after spotting Shisui not far away, he added, "Shisui, is the Uchiha Clan planning to rebel against the village?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shisui, who had been lying on the ground in miserable defeat, vanished. The next moment, he appeared beside Jin and pleaded, "Jin, things are already complicated enough today. Don't make this worse!"

Caught between the village and his clan, Shisui felt that accusing the Root members of being spies had already put him in a difficult position. If he also had to attack a Hokage Assistant under these circumstances...

Smack!

Uchiha Jin answered with a swift kick. Then a cold message appeared in Shisui's mind.

"Next time, call me Great-Granduncle!"

"Also, if you interrupt again, I'll sacrifice you first, then kill Danzō and that Root trash. For now, just watch how I deal with him!"

"Hmph!"

Seeing Shisui lying on the ground again, Uchiha Jin turned back to Shimura Danzō, who seemed to have regained some of his momentum.

"Didn't you just say you're the leader of Root and Konoha's Hokage Assistant?"

"I am indeed Shimura Danzō. Uchiha Jin, don't bring ruin upon yourself. Young man, wise up!"

Seeing Shisui's spineless behavior, Shimura Danzō grew even more uneasy, but his tone remained forceful and authoritative.

"Then it's settled!"

Uchiha Jin looked the bandage-wrapped, sinister old man up and down, then spoke with an approving look.

"So it really is you... Shimura Danzō!"

"What are you trying to do?"

For some reason, Uchiha Jin's affected, utterly unconvincing act only made Shimura Danzō feel more and more uneasy.

"Habara!"

At Uchiha Jin's call, Uchiha Habara, dressed in a white kimono, stepped forward and bowed.

"Yes!"

"Do you know Shimura Danzō?"

"Yes. He's Konoha's former Hokage Assistant and the head of the disbanded Root organization. He should currently be confined to the Shimura Clan Grounds by the Third Hokage."

"Good!"

Uchiha Jin and Uchiha Habara's back-and-forth exchange made Danzō's already uneasy heart sink even further. Was this guy planning to...

"How dare you..."

"Danzō, you're in trouble!"

Before Shimura Danzō could finish speaking, Uchiha Jin interrupted him once more. He then waved to the Uchiha shinobi and ordered, "Shimura Danzō violated the confinement order and left the Shimura Clan Grounds without authorization. He is also suspected of conspiring with spies from an enemy nation and attempting to murder an Uchiha elder. Police Force, to me!"

"Seize the suspect, Shimura Danzō, and take him back to the Police Force for questioning. Anyone who dares to interfere will be killed without exception!"