Danzo, Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Late night, Uchiha District.

After seeing Kurenai home, Uchiha Gen returned to his own residence alone. After all, they had just become intimate, and bringing her home to stay the night before even meeting her parents would leave a bad impression. If he brought her back now, Yuhi Shinku might show up on his doorstep the very next moment.

"Hah, it's time to teach our Lord Danzo a lesson or two. Oh, you foolish Danzo Shimura, tonight is destined to be one that this generation will never forget. For the rest of your life, you shall live in the fear dominated by Hiruzen Sarutobi!" Uchiha Gen changed into black night-gear and donned a fox mask identical to Azu's.

Konoha, the western edge of the Forest of Death, Root headquarters!

Danzo had poured his heart and soul into his Root, more so than he ever did for his own clan. This was precisely why the Shimura clan remained a second-rate family even with a Konoha elder in their ranks. They were much like the Inuzuka Clan in the original story, and perhaps even inferior in terms of secret techniques. After all, no matter how bold Danzo was, he wouldn't dare hand over the contents of the Scroll of Sealing to his own clansmen.

Even the strongest Hokage of all time, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wouldn't dare do something so blatant. The Scroll of Sealing was a treasure belonging to all of Konoha; although most of the techniques within were created by Senju Tobirama, there were also those created by other families or individuals, such as the Spirit Transformation Technique.

Even for a Hokage, there had to be a pretext to pass on forbidden techniques; handing them directly to family members to learn was simply too outrageous and self-serving. In the original story, Naruto Uzumaki being able to learn the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique from the Scroll of Sealing was only thanks to the Fourth Hokage's legacy. With the Fourth's contributions, it was more than enough to trade for a secret technique from the scroll for his son.

In this regard, one had to admire the keen eye of that old man, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The Multi-Shadow Clone Technique could be said to be a technique exclusive to Naruto; for Naruto himself, it was as perfect a match as Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique.

In the original story, rather than saying Naruto stole the Scroll of Sealing and learned the forbidden Multi-Shadow Clone Technique by chance, it was more like the Third Hokage had tailored this forbidden technique for him based on his own conditions. In that sense, the Third Hokage was actually quite good to Naruto.

However, his other maneuvers seemed absurd. On one hand, he kept Naruto's identity as the Fourth's orphan a secret, while on the other, he let the people of Konoha know he was the incarnation of the Nine-Tails. The problem was that, aside from the common folk, the high-ranking officials of Konoha, the major clans, and even enemy ninjas all knew Naruto's background. In such a situation, was this so-called "secrecy" only meant for the common villagers who harmed Naruto? What was the point?

Being called the Nine-Tails by villagers every day and subjected to all kinds of discrimination—unless an enemy spy was as incompetent as a fool, wouldn't everyone know Naruto's true identity? By this logic, the only purpose of those villagers who hurt Naruto was to serve as a foil! Their sinister faces served to highlight Hiruzen Sarutobi's benevolent smile. How could little Naruto withstand such a test? He would fall into the Third's embrace in no time.

Every seemingly irrational action was merely to satisfy the Third Hokage's selfish desires. After all, a deterrent weapon like the Nine-Tails was only safe if kept in his own hands. By enduring a few whispers from commoners, he secured the loyalty of a future powerhouse who could decide the course of a war; Hiruzen Sarutobi had made a killing. Everything was for the sake of Konoha (and his own self-interest).

However, come to think of it, Danzo's selfishness far exceeded that of the Third Hokage. Things like Hashirama Cells, secret clan techniques, human experimentation, and the Sharingan—as long as he felt they were good, he would drag them all back to Root. Yet, even under these circumstances, the Sarutobi clan behind the Third Hokage flourished with each passing day.

In contrast, Danzo didn't bring a single drop of profit back to his clan; instead, he expected his clan to subsidize his Root. If the Shimura clan hadn't been riding on Danzo's coattails and relying on the Third's relationship with Danzo to receive some care, they probably wouldn't even be considered a second-rate clan today.

In this respect, Danzo was much better than Hiruzen Sarutobi. No matter how dirty or despicable his methods were, as long as the spoils remained in Root, they would still belong to Konoha after Danzo died, having nothing to do with the Shimura clan.

But none of this mattered to him anymore. The decaying Konoha no longer had a ship that could carry the Uchiha.

If the Uchiha wanted to be great again, they had to start a new stove and be their own masters.

"Zhixiang, have your bugs keep a constant watch. Based on the intelligence Kurama Rokumo reported this afternoon, that guy has likely noticed!" Danzo's bandage-wrapped arm tightened in secret. Evil Uchiha, sooner or later, I will send you to meet Master Tobirama!

"Yes, Lord Danzo!" Aburame Zhixiang responded coldly.

For a freak like Uchiha Gen, Danzo dreamed of wiping him out, but the reality of his strength didn't allow it. This brought him back to the dilemma faced by the elderly Third Hokage, but unlike the Third, who cherished his reputation and knew how to let Danzo act as his black glove while he hid behind the scenes, Danzo was like a reckless youth. He charged forward, using any means to achieve his goals, all while lacking a broader perspective and acting without regard for consequences.

He hadn't thought much when he first manipulated Kurenai Yuhi to carry out the assassination, but now that he felt things were exposed, he began to panic. Looking at the original story, Danzo had done plenty of such things.

"Hello~ are you all waiting for me?"

In the gloomy Root base, a group of Root ninjas guarded Danzo. In the heavy atmosphere, the sudden appearance of a flippant male voice felt completely out of place.

"Who!!!"

"Where?"

"Protect Lord Danzo!!!"

"Hmph! Evil Uchiha brat, since you've come, why hide your head and show your tail!" Danzo goaded him, though his single eye contracted violently, betraying his inner turmoil.

"What kind of bullsh*t Uchiha? I have no idea what you're talking about. I only came to Root today to do three things: fairness, fairness, and more f*cking fairness! Back when we were all disciples of the Second Hokage, why did Hiruzen Sarutobi get to be Hokage, and you get to be the leader of Root, while we, the Utatane Clan, only got an elder position? This is what you call unfair!" Uchiha Gen spouted nonsense. Regardless, let Danzo say what he wanted; even if he knew he was Uchiha Gen, as long as he didn't admit it, what could anyone do to him?

After speaking, Uchiha Gen revealed his form. Before the Root members could react, an aura synthesized from millions of points of ocular power surged forth. A single glance was enough to freeze everyone present, including Danzo.

"Evil Uchiha brat, stop spreading rumors! What Utatane Clan? You haven't even changed your voice! State your terms. How do you want to handle this today?" Danzo stared at the man with the terrifying aura, his eyes wide with rage.