Land of Rice Fields, underground base.
Danzo crumpled the intelligence report in his hand into a ball and hurled it viciously at the wall.
The paper ball bounced off and rolled into a corner, where several identical balls had already piled up.
"Cangshu Qianyu." He forced the name through clenched teeth. "You again."
The ventilation ducts hummed, and candlelight cast shadows across his face. The light in his one eye was as cold as poisoned steel.
Tetsuya had failed. A pawn meticulously cultivated for five years, trained in Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags and Konoha's tactical system, had nearly driven Mei Terumi into a corner—only for it all to be ruined by that brat's wooden wall.
Not only Tetsuya, but of the twenty-three Root elites sent to Hidden Mist to coordinate the operation, fewer than ten had managed to retreat alive.
Twenty-three lives, traded for one wooden wall.
Danzo gripped the armrest tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"Every time, you ruin my plans."
He closed his eyes. In the darkness, a voice spoke to him: Sarutobi, do you see it? What exactly is that brat you protected so desperately? You protected him, yet he let Orochimaru kill you. Is this your so-called Will of Fire?
I will prove it.
Danzo opened his eyes.
"Pass the order," he said to the empty room. "Lie low for the time being. Suspend all infiltration operations against Konoha. Recover, replenish supplies, and build up our strength."
A quiet acknowledgment came from the shadows.
"And," Danzo paused, "continue gathering intelligence on Cangshu Qianyu. His abilities, his weaknesses, his relationships—find everything you can."
He fell silent for a moment.
"And... the power within him that belongs to Madara Uchiha."
The candle flame flickered. Danzo's face vanished into darkness.
Konoha, Qianyu's residence.
The moment Qianyu pushed open the