You Say Danzo is Dead? No, He's Alive and Well

"Shimura Danzo?"

Hearing this name, a look of confusion crossed Black Zetsu's yin-yang face. His raspy voice carried a hint of bewilderment: "Lord Madara, have you... misremembered? Wasn't that old man already blown into a 'firework' by your own hand in Amegakure?"

Indeed.

That night, the light from the Devastating Planetary Destruction had illuminated the entire Land of Rain.

Shimura Danzo, along with the elite Root operatives he brought, should theoretically not have had even a scrap left behind in that devastating explosion. Sending a letter to a dead man? That did not sound like something the meticulous Uchiha Madara would do.

Lin Feng sat on the stone chair, watching Black Zetsu's confused expression, the playful curve of his lips deepening.

"Black Zetsu, your vision is still too narrow."

Lin Feng slowly raised his hand, palm upward, and a strange glow of chakra began to condense.

"For a true ruler, death is never the end."

"Besides, if a useful pawn like Danzo were to be destroyed just like that, wouldn't it be a waste?"

As he spoke, Lin Feng's thoughts stirred, and he opened the system's storage space.

In the previous battle settlement, in addition to Rinnegan proficiency, he had also obtained an extremely special reward—[S-rank Forbidden Tool: Human Puppet: Rebirth Core].

This was an evil tool capable of using the target's residual biological tissue, combined with puppetry and Yin-Yang Release, to perfectly reshape a "living puppet." Although it lacked a soul, it could perfectly replicate the chakra fluctuations, appearance, and even some muscle memory of the deceased.

"Come out."

Following Lin Feng's whisper, the ground in front of him suddenly cracked open.

A pale body, similar to White Zetsu, slowly rose. Immediately after, Lin Feng took a smear of flesh and blood he had collected when he gouged out Danzo's right eye that day, along with the [Rebirth Core] emitting a ghostly light, and pressed them directly into the chest of the body.

Hum—!

Eerie chakra fluctuations spread instantly.

The pale body began to writhe and deform violently. Its skin quickly lost the luster of a plant, becoming rough and dull. The iconic cross-shaped scar appeared on its chin, thick bandages were wrapped around its right eye, and it even mimicked that sinister, decaying temperament of someone who had held a high position for years with uncanny accuracy.

In just a few breaths.

The "Shimura Danzo" who should have been smashed to pieces was now standing alive before Black Zetsu!

Black Zetsu widened his yellow eye, his face full of disbelief: "This... this is..."

As the manifestation of Kaguya's will, he considered himself to have seen countless ninjutsu, but this method of fabricating a "dead man" out of thin air still left him shocked. This was not merely a Transformation Technique; the chakra flowing within this body, and even that nauseating, cold aura, were exactly the same as the original Danzo!

"This is the 'gift' I want to send to Konoha."

Lin Feng stood up and walked in front of the "new Danzo," as if admiring a perfect work of art.

"The real Danzo is indeed dead, thoroughly dead."

"But Konoha doesn't know, the Third doesn't know, and Namikaze Minato doesn't know."

"As long as he appears in the Root base, as long as he can still sit in that chair and issue orders, he is Shimura Danzo."

Lin Feng reached out and gently patted the "Danzo" on the shoulder.

The puppet, which had been expressionless, suddenly knelt on one knee, its voice raspy and respectful: "Lord Madara."

"Listen." Lin Feng looked down at him, his tone indifferent. "From today on, you are the 'Root' of Konoha."

"I want you to return to Konoha and regain control of the Root. Use your extreme excuse of 'for the sake of Konoha' to question Minato's decisions, to provoke the nerves of every clan, and to create endless trouble for that soon-to-be Fourth Hokage."

"Remember, your mission is not to kill, but to—stall."

"Stall Konoha's progress, let them fall into a quagmire of internal strife, leaving them no time to care about the Land of Rain, and even less time to care about the growth of the Akatsuki."

The "new Danzo" bowed his head deeply: "As you command."

Black Zetsu felt a chill run down his spine.

Too ruthless.

This "resurrection of the dead" trick was practically treating Konoha like a backyard to play in.

Namikaze Minato probably never dreamed that his greatest political rival in the future, that "ninja of darkness" who stabbed him in the back, had actually been a marionette in Uchiha Madara's hands all along!

Is there anything more satisfying than having the enemy's second-in-command be your own mole?

If there is, it's that this mole is also an absolutely loyal, tireless puppet that doesn't fear death even when taking the fall!

"Take him back, Black Zetsu."

Lin Feng waved his hand and sat back into the shadows. "Deliver this letter to him; the act must be complete. By the way, help me enjoy the wonderful expression on that old man Third's face when he sees his old friend return."

"Understood, Lord Madara."

Black Zetsu let out a sinister laugh, his body slowly sinking into the ground.

And that "Danzo," also expressionless, turned around, leaning on a cane he had acquired from somewhere, and walked into the darkness with that arrogant, self-important gait.

Land of Fire, Konoha Hidden Village.

Konoha was still brightly lit at night, but a stifling atmosphere permeated the air.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sat in his office, puffing on his pipe, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

In recent days, bad news had arrived one after another.

The intelligence network in Amegakure had been completely severed, and the Anbu sent there had vanished like a stone cast into the sea, with no further word.

What unsettled him even more was that Danzo had gone missing.

That old man had taken a large number of Root elites and left the village without authorization, claiming to be on some secret mission, only to never return. There was no sign of him, dead or alive.

"Hiruzen."

The door was pushed open, and the two advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, walked in, their expressions equally grim.

"Is there still no news of Danzo? The Feudal Lord is already pressing for the schedule of the Hokage succession ceremony. If the leader of Root is absent..."

"Wait a little longer." Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and set down his pipe. "I have a bad premonition..."

Just then.

An Anbu ninja wearing a mask suddenly appeared in the center of the room like a ghost, his voice urgent:

"Lord Third! We have a situation!"

"Speak!"

"Root... the gates to the Root base have opened!" The Anbu's voice trembled slightly. "Someone saw... saw Lord Danzo return!"

"What?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over with a loud crash.

He returned?

That old man, had he really returned?

Deep beneath Konoha lay the Root base.

It never saw the light of day, and the air was thick with dampness and the smell of mold.

Ever since Danzo went missing, the remaining Root members had been in a state of panic, with rumors of disbandment already beginning to circulate.

However, at this moment.

That heavy, long-sealed iron door slowly creaked open, accompanied by a teeth-gritting screech of friction.

Clack, clack, clack.

The crisp sound of a cane echoed through the deathly silent corridor.

Every Root ninja instinctively held their breath, hundreds of eyes fixed intently on the doorway.

From the shadows, a familiar figure slowly emerged.

Half of his face was wrapped in bandages, his single eye as sinister as a hawk's, and he radiated that suffocating, terrifying pressure unique to the "Darkness of the Shinobi."

He stopped, his single eye sweeping coldly across the room; wherever his gaze fell, no one dared to meet it.

"What is this?"

That hoarse, cold voice, as if rising from the depths of hell, rang out.

"This old man merely went out to handle some private business, and you have already lost your composure?"

Thud!

A Root squad leader's legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees, cold sweat soaking his back. "Lord... Lord Danzo! You... you have returned!"

Whoosh!

The next second, every ninja in the base knelt on one knee in unison, heads bowed low, the sound of their voices shaking the dust from the ceiling:

"Welcome back, Lord Danzo!!"

"Danzo" watched this scene with an expressionless face, his fingers hidden within his sleeves twitching slightly, as if adjusting to this new body.

Is this the taste of power?

Is this the Root of Konoha?

How truly wonderful!

In the depths of his heart, he let out a cold laugh that only he could hear.

"Rise."

He walked past the crowd, headed straight for the chair that symbolized supreme authority, and slowly sat down.

"Pass the order."

"From this moment on, Root is under martial law."

"Furthermore..."

A strange light flashed in his single eye—it was the first command Lin Feng had bestowed upon him.

"Gather all intelligence regarding Namikaze Minato. Even if it's just what he had for breakfast today, I want to know."

"It is time for the sky over Konoha to change."

"After all, I am a strong contender for the position of the new Hokage!"

That night.

The darkness beneath Konoha bared its fangs once more.

Only this time, the master controlling those fangs was no longer acting for the "Root" of Konoha, but for the "God" who stood atop the tower in the Land of Rain, looking down upon all living things.