Danzo: It's him! (Fourth Update)

The next day, Tsunade, disillusioned with Konoha's politics, left Konoha with Shizune, the niece of Dan Katō. At the same time, Minazuki Kokona finished her training under Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade has left," Minazuki Kokona said coldly.

"Yeah. You can leave too, if you want. I don't want my revenge to drag anyone else into this." Uchiha Chiba sat on the mountainside, looking down at Konoha. This was where Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara had once stood together, gazing out over the village.

"Never mind me. I still don't know much about you, so what do you mean by revenge?" Minazuki Kokona let her white hair fall behind her and sat down beside Chiba.

Uchiha Chiba told the girl beside him how he had been hunted during the Second Shinobi World War, how Danzo's men had dragged Katsuzuki of the Salamander into the affair, and everything else.

"Hmm... Danzo? What are you planning to do next? Your enemy is in the shadows, while we're out in the open. If he discovers who you are... we could be in trouble." Minazuki Kokona still sounded as cold as ever.

Uchiha Chiba fell silent for a while.

Then,

he said, "I plan to stick with my teacher, Orochimaru, for now... That way, even if Danzo finds out who I am, I won't be caught up in his schemes. Everyone in the village with half a brain knows I'm an Uchiha who's close to Konoha. If I died, not only would Konoha be unhappy, but the Uchiha Clan wouldn't let anyone take my body. They'd definitely cause an uproar in Konoha..."

Minazuki Kokona blinked.

She reached out.

Her pale fingers brushed Chiba's neck.

"Ice Release: Glacier Crystal."

An icy crystal necklace appeared around Uchiha Chiba's neck. He reached out and touched it. It wasn't as cold as he'd expected; it felt more like crystal.

"What's this?" Uchiha Chiba asked, puzzled.

"My Kekkei Genkai... If the necklace breaks, a layer of ice will wrap around you. It's a way to protect your life." Minazuki Kokona turned her head, her tone unchanged.

"By the way, if you want to, you can leave." Uchiha Chiba suddenly remembered something. He'd been recovering from his injuries, and Minazuki Kokona had always been by Teacher Tsunade's side. He'd almost forgotten about the girl.

Then,

Minazuki Kokona sighed.

She glanced at Uchiha Chiba and spoke slowly. "Are you an idiot? I'm your slave. The mark is still on my shoulder. Unless it disappears, I'll die if I leave you."

In truth, she wouldn't die. As long as Uchiha Chiba wasn't angry or resentful about her leaving, the slave mark was almost no different from that of an ordinary person. The specific reason had already been explained a few chapters ago...

"Oh, right! I forgot... So, where's my Blood Clone?" Uchiha Chiba suddenly remembered that this really had happened.

"Oh, I have it." Minazuki Kokona held out her hand. A ring bearing the image of a blood-red rose rested on her right middle finger.

"Your Blood Clone can't talk, so I turned him into a ring. That way, he can move around freely." Minazuki Kokona explained.

Uchiha Chiba blinked.

"Really?"

In fact, Chiba wasn't trying to retrieve his Blood Clone. He'd used up all his stored blood in his fight with the Third Kazekage, so if he used the Blood Pact again, he could only summon the Blood Scythe at less than a tenth of its strength. But was that really how the Blood Pact was supposed to be used?

Inside Konoha,

underground,

at Root Headquarters,

a Root shinobi wearing a flower mask hurried along.

Bam!

Two shinobi collided head-on.

"Are you all right, Hanaju?" The male Root shinobi looked at the flower-masked shinobi she'd bumped into.

"I'm fine, don't worry. How is Lord Danzo?" Hanaju shook her head. A gentle female voice came from beneath the mask.

"Lord Danzo... He tore into our superior, Lord Garden. Now both Lord Garden and Lord Danzo are in a bad mood... Wait, why are you asking? You're not going to see Lord Danzo, are you? Hey! Hanaju, unless it's something really important, don't go. You might end up like that poor kid..." He frowned, genuinely not wanting to see such a gentle girl die here.

Hanaju nodded. "Don't worry..."

Everyone knew about the Anbu, which operated in the open. Only the great clans and some of the shinobi knew about Root. One was Konoha's light, the other its shadow. Everyone knew that joining the Anbu meant a bright future, while joining Root meant a bleak one. Root... was just Shimura Danzo's personal fiefdom. It was a prison... even more maddening than a real one.

Hanaju took a deep breath and descended the steps.

She came to the door of Danzo's office.

She reached out, hesitated for a moment, then knocked as if she'd finally made up her mind.

"Lord Danzo, I have important intelligence." Hanaju knelt outside the door.

Then,

the door opened.

"Speak..." Shimura Danzo looked down coldly at Hanaju, who knelt on the floor. It seemed he could tear the poor Root shinobi to pieces at any moment.

"Lord Danzo, we've finished investigating the matter you assigned us—the Three Sannin's student, Uchiha Chiba." Hanaju didn't dare look up. She spoke slowly, one step at a time.

"And? Don't waste my patience," Shimura Danzo said coolly.

"Uchiha Chiba is the Uchiha from Amegakure you were looking for, my lord. Our intelligence gathering revealed that the Root shinobi who died at the very beginning was the leader of his squad." Hanaju's heart pounded. She could feel the oppressive presence emanating from Shimura Danzo.

Slap!!!

Shimura Danzo slammed his hand on the desk and leapt to his feet!

"Wonderful... Simply wonderful. This means I can get my hands on that divine power... That power can only be mine." Shimura Danzo suddenly strode out of the office, leaving Hanaju behind, alone and bewildered.

Hanaju: Seriously, who knows what it's like to have a boss whose mood changes at the drop of a hat?!

That night,

Danzo called a Root meeting.

The huge round table could once seat thirteen, but now only eight people sat around it, including Shimura Danzo.

"Good evening~ What a shame you lot are still alive~" A long-haired, masked Root shinobi said theatrically. His codename was Viper.

"Shut up and get on with it... Lord Danzo, please give us our orders." Another flower-masked Root shinobi shook her head. This was Garden.

After a long while,

Shimura Danzo cleared his throat.

"I've gathered you here today for the same reason as before: the Uchiha from Amegakure. I now have conclusive information. He's the so-called Konoha hero who cut off one of the Third Kazekage's arms... Uchiha Chiba." A vicious glint flashed in Shimura Danzo's eyes.