Why?!
Even though the blood-red Susanoo mercilessly and savagely beat Danzo, making every cell in his body endure tremendous pain that would have broken an ordinary person, he had still managed to bear it through the sheer force of his resilient "Root" will.
Even when the truth about his Hashirama Cells and Sharingan implants came to light, causing his "contributions" to Konoha—secretly made through years of painstaking effort—to be misunderstood, and permanently costing him the chance to earn the villagers' approval and become Hokage, Danzo gritted his teeth and endured that too.
The torment of his body! The shattering of his dream!
But none of it could break the "Root" will in Danzo's heart. Convinced that everything he had done was for Konoha, he continued to endure his hardships and scheme for a way to escape.
Only I, Shimura Danzo, can lead Konoha to its peak...
But!
Sarutobi Hiruzen's punch, which struck him squarely in the head without holding back, completely shattered the supposedly unbreakable resolve in Shimura Danzo's heart.
Why was Sarutobi Hiruzen attacking him now?!
Scheming against the White Fang, conducting human experiments, oppressing the shinobi clans, even sending people to assassinate Sarutobi Hiruzen...
He had done so much for Konoha over the years, yet Sarutobi Hiruzen had always understood the "Root" will that drove him...
If Shimura Danzo hadn't been just a tiny bit "slower" back then, there was no way Sarutobi Hiruzen would have become the Third Hokage!
The betrayal of a dear friend!
Compared with the double blow of physical pain and a shattered dream, this betrayal of their bond threw the "Darkness of the Ninja World" into disarray.
At that moment, Shimura Danzo had even forgotten to conceal himself. Aside from the Hand Seals he had performed through sheer muscle memory, he had abandoned