When Did I Ever Act?

Madara Uchiha?

Had he really shown up right after I mentioned him?

Danzo's face stiffened in an instant. He quickly turned around and looked behind him!

Sure enough,

in the corner of the tea room,

a black-robed man wearing an orange, single-eyed mask appeared in a black vortex!

Beneath his mask, a red light glimmered.

That was... the Mangekyō Sharingan!

It was that man!

At that moment,

Utatane Koharu, seated across from Danzo, had naturally seen the scene as well.

After hearing those words and seeing those blood-red eyes, her face changed dramatically. The teacup in her hand fell straight to the floor!

The wooden cup hit the ground, and tea spread across the floor, soaking her clothes.

But Utatane Koharu couldn't spare a thought for any of that.

Her face filled with horror as she stared at the Masked Man before her. Trembling with disbelief, she stammered:

"U-Uchiha Madara?"

"Could you really be... Uchiha Madara, the man Lord Hashirama, the First, defeated all those years ago?"

Utatane Koharu repeated the name, unable to believe it.

A name that rang like thunder!

"...Oh?"

Hearing the startled voice,

Masked Man Madara Uchiha finally glanced up at Utatane Koharu. Then he spoke in a low, indifferent voice:

"Tch... Danzo, you've actually got a visitor for once..."

"In that case, I can't stay long..."

As soon as he finished speaking,

a blood-red light flashed in the Masked Man's right eye!

Without another word, he activated the Mangekyō Sharingan's genjutsu!

An invisible wave of chakra surged forth!

Utatane Koharu's pupils, which had been filled with fear, turned utterly hollow in an instant. She lost consciousness completely.

The look of horror on her face froze there, too.

She didn't move again.

The next moment, a black kunai appeared in the Masked Man's hand.

Seeing this,

Shimura Danzo's face changed dramatically!

What was going on?

Why had this guy suddenly gone straight for the kill?

Damn it! Hadn't they always worked together just fine before?

Danzo gritted his teeth and demanded loudly:

"W-Wait!"

"Uchiha Madara! What are you doing?"

"Whatever's between us has nothing to do with Koharu, does it?"

Danzo quickly rose to his feet, his expression grim, and stepped in front of Utatane Koharu.

He didn't have any particular fondness for Utatane Koharu, but this was his private tea room, after all.

If Koharu died here, there was no way he could escape blame!

Right now, Shimura Danzo didn't want to take the fall for this!

"..."

After hearing Danzo out, the Masked Man stopped.

Then he turned to Danzo, narrowed his eyes as the Mangekyō Sharingan glimmered, and said in a low, cold voice:

"You have a point. I'll let her... live a little longer."

"Now,"

"it's time we had a proper talk about what's between us—"

"Danzo."

...Phew.

Hearing that, Danzo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

When he'd seen the Masked Man's imposing entrance, he'd honestly feared that this Uchiha Madara might start killing everyone in sight.

If that had happened,

he would've had no choice but to use the Sharingan he'd been keeping hidden...

He might have won, but it would've been a terrible loss.

So it was better that they hadn't fought.

Danzo still had a dream he hadn't fulfilled.

The Hokage Position.

That obsession had haunted him for decades. It was the greatest hurdle in Danzo's heart, even now.

So until he became Hokage, Danzo wouldn't take any risks.

He especially couldn't use that Sharingan lightly.

Now,

since this Uchiha Madara hadn't gone berserk and started killing people, there was still room for them to talk...

With that in mind,

Shimura Danzo calmed himself and quickly began to think.

If this guy had come back, it meant he still had reason to cooperate with the Leaf Village.

Maybe he could use this conversation to demand the Sharingan payment from their previous deal.

At the very least, he could make Sharingan part of the terms for this new cooperation.

He could make Madara hand over some Sharingan, then work with him.

In short—

he had to find a way to get his hands on some Sharingan from this guy first!

That was it.

After quickly thinking it through, Danzo lifted his eyes to the Masked Man, ready to speak.

But

before he could open his mouth,

Uchiha Madara suddenly spoke first.

His eyes narrowed as he fixed Danzo with a chilling stare. His voice was low and cold:

"About the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan—"

"Shimura Danzo, there's something you need to tell me, isn't there?"

"Tell me how you plotted to use that guy to take all the Sharingan from me..."

"Tell me everything. Don't leave anything out."

"...Huh?"

What?

Shimura Danzo blinked, momentarily stunned. Then his eyes widened,

and a thousand questions popped into his head!

Wait, wait, wait, wait!

Had something gone wrong here...?

What was going on?

Uchiha Madara was actually asking him about the Sharingan?

He was the one who wanted Sharingan from Madara, damn it!

Madara had taken all of them before, and now he'd come here just to turn around and accuse Danzo?

Danzo was completely dumbfounded.

Silence.

A silence so heavy it felt frozen.

After the Masked Man finished speaking,

the entire tea room fell so quiet that even the air seemed to have stopped moving.

After a long while,

Danzo finally came to his senses. He gritted his teeth and looked up at the Masked Man, his voice low and heavy:

"Uchiha Madara!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"That night, the members of Root saw you leave the Leaf Village with Uchiha Itachi!"

"What do you mean, coming here now and asking me about the Sharingan?"

As he spoke,

the more Danzo thought about it, the angrier he became, and the more heated his voice grew.

His old face was practically red with anger.

But

when he heard that,

Masked Man Madara Uchiha clearly didn't believe him. He only gave a cold laugh and said:

"Heh,"

"Quite the performance, Danzo!"

"I was misled by your scheme back then, and now you're trying to fool me with the same pathetic tricks—"

At that, Danzo's throat tightened.

When did I ever act?

Wasn't the one putting on an act you, Lord Uchiha Madara?

Danzo looked utterly aggrieved.