Danzo: How Could Someone Be So Vile?

"You..." Danzo turned an enraged glare on Setsuna, only to be seized by him again the next moment. "You what?!"

This time, however, Setsuna did not kill his best friend again in front of the Third Hokage. Instead, he stepped forward to claim credit, lifting Danzo by the back of his collar like a puppy. "Lord Hokage, I caught another spy from an enemy village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not know whether to laugh or cry. Setsuna had caught two spies so far: one was Jiraiya, and the other was Danzo. Perhaps Danzo should just give his position as Root's leader to Setsuna.

Setsuna continued, "Not only did he send people to arrest me in the middle of the night, he even claimed to be one of Konoha's higher-ups. Yet he does not even know the contents of the Will of Fire. Spies these days are truly unprofessional."

The Third Hokage snorted in displeasure. "Someone who does not even know the contents of the Will of Fire indeed should not be here."

Danzo's face was full of humiliation. Hiruzen had seen him at his most pathetic—it was simply the worst nightmare of his life. Even more infuriatingly, Hiruzen was still mocking him at a time like this.

"Hiruzen!" Danzo ground out through clenched teeth.

"Hmph. I'll settle your matter with you later." The Third Hokage still wanted to consider the bigger picture. He turned to Setsuna with a gentle expression. "Setsuna, you have misunderstood. He really is one of Konoha's higher-ups, and he is also the Hokage's advisor personally appointed by me."

Setsuna frowned slightly, feigning confusion. "Then why did he send people to arrest me in the middle of the night?"

Hiruzen did his best to cover for Danzo. "He probably wanted to recruit you into Root. This department is Konoha's sword against the outside world and is generally unknown to others. He acted at night to preserve its secrecy. His methods may have been somewhat rough, though, and he did not consider your own wishes."

"I see." Setsuna nodded thoughtfully. "Since Lord Hokage says so, I will forgive him as long as he sincerely apologizes to me."

"Me, apologize?" Danzo trembled with agitation. This brat had beaten him into this state, killed him more than a dozen times in succession, and wasted two of his important trump cards. Now he actually had the nerve to demand an apology?

"Oh? You are unwilling?" Setsuna's voice was calm, but to Danzo's ears, it sounded like the whisper of death.

Remembering the dozen or so times he had been killed, Danzo truly did not dare gamble. If this brat went mad, he might really kill him regardless of Hiruzen.

There is no need to argue with a madman. Danzo hypnotized himself and spoke with difficulty. "I was wrong. I apologize to you."

The Third Hokage stared in astonishment. He had been thinking about how to soothe Danzo. Given Danzo's personality, he should never have bowed his head and apologized—but he had actually yielded.

"So reasoning with Danzo is useless; only fists work?" The Third Hokage's eyes lit up. Though he had always been tolerant of Danzo, he was sometimes troubled by some of his old friend's extreme actions.

Setsuna making Danzo yield had undoubtedly opened the door to a New World for him.

After hearing Danzo's humiliation-filled apology, Setsuna clicked his tongue twice, then said righteously, "Also, you will be responsible for repairing and compensating for the streets damaged during our battle."

"Fine." Danzo agreed readily. Compared to the face he had lost, compensation and repairs were trivial matters.

"Hmph. If you disturb my rest at night again, I will not be as easy to talk to as I was today." Setsuna tossed Danzo aside like garbage, then looked at the Third Hokage. "Lord Hokage, there is still something I want to say. This Hokage advisor has serious problems with both his work ability and work attitude. It would be one thing if he were merely weak, but as the Hokage's advisor, he does not even understand your Will of Fire. That is truly terrible!"

The Third Hokage could not stop the corners of his mouth from rising. Though he often tolerated Danzo's extreme behavior, he had indeed wanted to give this old friend a warning. What Setsuna said suited him perfectly, especially since he had used the Will of Fire, Hiruzen's proudest creation.

Danzo was so furious that even his lips trembled. He shakily pointed at Setsuna with a trembling finger, his eyes wide as though he might faint at any moment.

Too vile. How could someone be this vile?

He had already apologized, yet Setsuna was still slandering him.

Setsuna ignored Danzo's reaction and bowed to the Third Hokage. "Lord Hokage, I will return to rest now."

With that, Setsuna quickly vanished into the forest.

Seeing that Setsuna had already left while Danzo was still pointing with a trembling hand in the direction he had gone, the Third Hokage imitated Setsuna's mockery. "Being weak is one thing, but having problems with your thinking is not good."

Danzo was furious. "If I had not made the wrong strategic decision at the start and tried to capture him, allowing him to get close, then as a Taijutsu ninja, he would never have caught me in his entire life!"

The Third Hokage did not doubt that. Even the Third Raikage could not have so easily crushed Danzo. Still, that did not stop him from mocking him verbally. "I only saw the result, which was that you were defeated by a Genin."

Danzo nearly crushed his teeth, but he could not refute it and could only change the subject. "Hiruzen, I think this brat is far too extreme. He does not even listen to a Konoha higher-up like me, and his ideas are overly radical as well. He will inevitably become a great threat to Konoha in the future."

The Third Hokage sneered. "He does not listen to you, but what about you? Have you listened to me, the Hokage? I should have told you not to use those methods of yours on him."

Danzo could not help being hypocritical. "How are those the same?"

The Third Hokage said calmly, "I do not think there is any difference. At the very least, that child has a profound understanding of the Will of Fire. He is far better than you, the Hokage's advisor."

Danzo's facial muscles twitched slightly. Did Hiruzen think he was one of those children at the academy?

The Third Hokage took a deep breath. "We will set aside the matter of you defying my orders for now. Let me ask you: was the technique you used to revive yourself the Uchiha Clan's Izanagi?"

Danzo nodded silently. He was not surprised by this. Even he knew about Izanagi, so given Hiruzen's control over the village, it was not strange that he knew this secret.

"And was Kagami's death related to you?" After saying that, the Third Hokage stared fixedly into Danzo's eyes.

"You suspect me?" Danzo met the Third Hokage's cold gaze.

The Third Hokage said in a deep voice, "Then tell me, where did the Sharingan you used to activate Izanagi come from?"

For a moment, the atmosphere in the forest turned murderous, and even the temperature seemed to drop considerably.

Danzo took a deep breath. "They were indeed his eyes, but he gave them to me with his own hands."

The Third Hokage frowned. "Are you telling the truth?"

Danzo said coldly, "Like our teacher, I believe the Uchiha are an inherently evil clan. But Kagami was someone even our teacher acknowledged, so naturally I held no prejudice against him. Kagami also knew what we thought of the Uchiha. He wanted to become a bridge between Konoha and the Uchiha. If he were still alive, he might truly have succeeded."

"But he died during that mission. Before his death, he gave his eyes to me and hoped that my views of the Uchiha could change."

The Third Hokage continued, "Why did he not use Izanagi himself?"

Danzo explained, "He told me that using this technique required possessing the power of both the Uchiha and the Senju Clan. I only began researching the transplantation of the First Hokage's cells in order to inherit his will."

"This technique has such a restriction?" The Third Hokage frowned slightly. Though he had heard of this technique, he did not understand it well. He could only warn him, "I will believe you this time. But Konoha's spear must never be pointed inward!"

Danzo's face darkened. "I want Konoha to be strong even more than you do."