The air suddenly froze.
Danzō turned slowly, completely around.
At that moment, Owl felt the surrounding temperature drop by ten degrees.
It wasn't the pressure of chakra, but something more fundamental—the chill carried on the body of someone who wandered the depths of shadows, a coldness that even the sunlight could not warm.
"An explanation?"
Danzō repeated the word, a trace of fluctuation finally appearing in his voice, like an undercurrent beneath the ice.
"What explanation do you want me to give the Third Hokage?
An explanation for why I didn't lead you down to charge to your deaths?
An explanation for why I didn't use corpses to buy a few minutes of panic from Iwagakure?"
He stepped half a step forward, a distance that made the hair all over Owl's body stand on end.
"Or... are you going to give the explanation for me?"
Owl's breathing stalled.
"I..." He wanted to say something, but the words stuck in his throat.
"The crucial point?"
Danzō's voice dropped lower, so low it was almost a whisper, yet every word drove into the eardrums like an ice pick.
"What is the crucial point?
That the Lord Hokage's orders must be executed?
Or do you think... that I, Shimura Danzō, would defy the Hokage's orders?"
This question was far too heavy.
So heavy that Owl's back was instantly soaked in cold sweat.
Of course he dared not say "yes."
Yet he truly could not understand why Danzō was waiting.
Waiting for what?
Waiting for Iwagakure to break through the barrier?
Waiting for the Land of Whirlpools' barrier to collapse?
Waiting for a... "best timing" that no one could bear?
"This subordinate wouldn't dare."
Owl lowered his head, though the persistence in his voice had not completely died out.
"It's just... time and tide