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

"Danzo?"

Hearing the name, a trace of confusion appeared on Black Zetsu's split black-and-white face. His hoarse voice carried a hint of uncertainty. "Lord Madara, are you... sure you haven't got it wrong? Wasn't that old geezer blown to smithereens by your own hand in Amegakure, like a 'firework'?"

Indeed.

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

Shimura Danzō and the elite Root forces he had brought with him should, in theory, have been reduced to nothing in that devastating explosion. Sending a letter to a dead man? That didn't seem like something the all-knowing Uchiha Madara would do.

Lin Feng sat on the stone chair, watching Black Zetsu's confusion. The mocking curve of his lips deepened.

"Black Zetsu, your perspective is still far too narrow."

Lin Feng slowly raised his hand, palm up, as a strange glow of Chakra began to gather.

"For a true ruler, death has never been the end."

"Besides, it would be such a waste to destroy a useful pawn like Danzo."

As he spoke, Lin Feng focused his mind and opened the system's storage space.

In addition to his Rinnegan proficiency, he had received an extremely unusual reward after his previous battle: the [S-Rank Forbidden Tool: Human Puppet: Rebirth Core].

This sinister tool could use the target's remaining biological tissue, combined with the Puppet Technique and Yin-Yang Release, to perfectly recreate a "living puppet." It had no soul, but could flawlessly reproduce the target's Chakra signature, appearance, and even some of their muscle memory.

"Come out."

At Lin Feng's whispered command, the ground before him suddenly split open.

A pale body, resembling a White Zetsu, slowly rose from the earth. Then Lin Feng took the scrap of flesh that had gotten on him when he gouged out Danzo's right eye that day, along with the faintly glowing [Rebirth Core], and pressed them into the body's chest.

Buzz—!

A strange Chakra fluctuation spread instantly.

The pale body began to writhe and transform violently. Its skin quickly lost its plantlike sheen, turning rough and dull. The familiar cross-shaped scar appeared on its chin, and thick bandages wound around its right eye. Even the sinister, decaying air of someone long accustomed to power was imitated to perfection.

In just a few short breaths,

"Shimura Danzō," who should have been blown to pieces, stood alive before Black Zetsu!

Black Zetsu's yellow eye widened in disbelief. "This... this is..."

As a creation of Kaguya's will, he thought he had seen every kind of ninjutsu, but the ability to conjure a "dead man" out of thin air still shocked him. This wasn't merely the Transformation Technique. The Chakra flowing through the body, even that nauseatingly cold aura, was exactly the same as the original Danzo's!

"This is the 'gift' I'm sending to Konoha."

Lin Feng stood and walked over to the "new Danzo," as if admiring a perfect work of art.

"The real Danzo is indeed dead. Completely and utterly dead."

"But Konoha doesn't know. The Third Hokage doesn't know, and Namikaze Minato doesn't know either."

"As long as he appears at Root Base, as long as he can sit in that chair and give orders, he is Shimura Danzō."

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

The puppet, who had been expressionless until then, suddenly dropped to one knee. His voice was hoarse 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 take control of Root again. Use your extreme excuse of 'doing it for Konoha' to question Minato's decisions, stir up the nerves of the various clans, and cause endless trouble for the soon-to-be Fourth Hokage."

"Remember, your mission isn't to kill. It's to—stall."

"Stall Konoha, drag them into a mire of infighting, and leave them no time to concern themselves with the Land of Rain—or with the Akatsuki's growth."

"New Danzo" bowed his head deeply. "As you command."

Beside them, Black Zetsu felt a chill run down his spine.

How ruthless.

This trick of "bringing the dead back to life" was practically treating Konoha like a private garden to toy with.

Namikaze Minato would probably never dream that his greatest political rival in the future, the "Shinobi of Darkness" who stabbed him in the back, was already a puppet on Uchiha Madara's strings!

What could be more satisfying than having the enemy's second-in-command secretly working for you?

Having that spy be an absolutely loyal, tireless puppet who didn't fear taking the blame—or even dying!

"Take him back, Black Zetsu."

Lin Feng waved a hand and settled back into the shadows. "Deliver this letter to him. We need to make the act convincing. And while you're at it, let me enjoy the Third Hokage's expression when he sees his old friend return."

"Understood, Lord Madara."

Black Zetsu let out a sinister laugh and slowly sank underground.

The "Danzo" turned without a word, leaned on a cane that had appeared from who knew where, and strode into the darkness with an air of utter self-importance.

The Land of Fire, Konohagakure.

Konoha remained brightly lit that night, but the air was thick with unease.

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

Bad news had come one after another over the past few days.

The intelligence network in Amegakure had gone completely silent. The Anbu sent there had vanished without a trace.

Even more troubling, Danzo was missing.

That old geezer had left the village with a large force of Root, claiming he was going on some secret mission, and never returned. No one had seen him alive or dead.

"Hiruzen."

The door opened, and the two advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, walked in. Their expressions were just as grim.

"Any word from Danzo yet? The daimyo is already asking about the proceedings for the Hokage succession ceremony. If the Root leader is absent..."

"Let's wait a little longer." Hiruzen sighed and set down his pipe. "I have a bad feeling..."

Just then,

an Anbu Ninja wearing a mask suddenly appeared in the middle of the room like a ghost, his voice urgent.

"Third Lord! We have a situation!"

"Speak!"

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

"What?!"

Hiruzen sprang to his feet, knocking his chair to the ground with a loud crash.

He was back?

That old geezer had really returned?

Deep beneath Konoha, at Root Base.

The place was perpetually hidden from the sun, and the air was damp and musty.

Since Danzo's disappearance, the Root members left behind had grown restless. Rumors that the organization might be disbanded had even begun to spread.

But now,

the long-sealed, heavy iron door slowly creaked open with a grating screech.

Tap, tap, tap.

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

Every Root shinobi instinctively held their breath, hundreds of eyes fixed on the entrance.

A familiar figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

Bandages covered half his face, his single eye was as keen and sinister as an eagle's, and the suffocating, terrifying presence unique to the "Shinobi of Darkness" radiated from him.

He stopped and coldly surveyed the room with his single eye. No one dared meet his gaze.

"What's the matter?"

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

"Did you all lose your heads just because I went away to take care of some personal business?"

Thud!

A Root squad leader's knees gave way, and he dropped straight to the ground, cold sweat soaking his back. "L-Lord Danzo! You... you're back!"

In the next instant, every shinobi in the base dropped to one knee in unison, bowing their heads as their cries shook dust loose from the underground ceiling.

"Welcome back, Lord Danzo!!"

"Danzo" watched them expressionlessly, his fingers twitching slightly inside his sleeve, as if getting used to the new body.

So this was what power tasted like?

So this was Konoha's Root?

Wonderful!

Deep inside, he let out a cold laugh that only he could hear.

"Rise."

He walked past them and headed straight for the leader's chair, the symbol of absolute authority, then slowly sat down.

"Pass down my orders."

"Effective immediately, Root is under lockdown."

"And one more thing..."

An uncanny glint flashed in his single eye. It was the first order Lin Feng had given him.

"Gather every scrap of information about Namikaze Minato. I want to know even what he ate for breakfast today."

"It's time for Konoha's skies to change."

"I'm a strong contender for the next Hokage!"

That night,

the darkness beneath Konoha bared its fangs once more.

Only this time, the one controlling those fangs was no longer serving Konoha's "Root," but the "god" who looked down on all from atop a tower in the Land of Rain.