[The light in Root's secret chamber seemed to dim further, as though the roiling demon at its center were swallowing it whole.]
["Hesitation. Doubt. Indecision."]
[Naraka's Clone twisted and shifted, his voice seeping into Danzo's mind drop by drop like deadly poison.]
["Danzo, you keep saying you do everything for Konoha, that you're willing to bear all its darkness."]
["But when it's time to sever the chains and clear away the greatest obstacle, you can't bring yourself to do it."]
["When Minato Namikaze died and Hiruzen Sarutobi announced his return, I told you to use the Death Paper to eliminate him."]
["But you insisted he couldn't interfere with our plans."]
[The dark shape lunged forward, almost touching Danzo's nose. The unseen pressure made the candles around them flicker.]
["And now the man sitting in the Hokage's seat—Hiruzen Sarutobi—has become the greatest obstacle to our plans!"]
["His so-called policy of leniency and his ridiculous Will of Fire bind your hands and feet like a spiderweb, leaving you to make these pitiful little moves underground!"]
[Naraka's voice rose sharply, charged with persuasion.]
["There's still time to fix this. Use the Death Paper and kill him now! Once Hiruzen Sarutobi is gone, you can become Hokage!"]
["Then all of Konoha's resources will be yours to command. You can invoke whatever noble cause you like and crush the Uchiha openly! That is the perfect path!"]
[Shimura Danzō's entire body went rigid at Naraka's words. His lone eye flew open, and he shot Naraka a piercing glare.]
[His thoughts drifted back to the distant past, to the border of the Land of Fire during the First Shinobi World War.]
[The scene on the Canopy Screen changed with them.]
[That day, an impenetrable leaden gray covered the sky above the Land of Fire, and cold rain fell without end.]
[The air reeked of smoke, blood, and churned earth. Cries of battle rang out without pause.]
[The young Shimura Danzō was breathing hard, blood still dripping from the Kunai in his hand.]
[Several of his Konoha comrades had fallen beside him, yet enemies kept pouring through the curtain of rain as though there were no end to them.]
[Their forehead protectors glinted in the dim light, their eyes as cold as the dismal weather.]
["Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" young Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted. A solid wall of earth surged from the mud, shielding Danzo from a dense volley of Shuriken fired at his flank.]
[But there were too many enemies. An enemy Jonin darted out of the shadows like a ghost, his Kunai aimed straight at the opening Danzo's exhaustion had left!]
[Shhk!]
[Shimura Danzō grunted. Agony shot through his calf, and blood gushed out, staining the muddy water beneath his feet red. He stumbled, almost dropping to one knee.]
[The Jonin moved in to deliver the killing blow.]
["Get away from him!"]
[The roar cracked through the air like thunder. It was Hiruzen Sarutobi!]
[With no time to form hand seals, he slammed his body into the Amegakure Shinobi and knocked him aside. Three Kunai from another enemy struck Hiruzen's back instead!]
[The Kunai sank deep into the muscles of his shoulder blade and side. The impact made Hiruzen Sarutobi sway, but he gritted his teeth and refused to give an inch.]
[He spun, sweeping his Adamantine Staff out with furious force. It sent the attacker and the enemy beside him flying, their fates unknown.]
[In a lull in the fighting, Hiruzen Sarutobi retreated to Danzo's side. He stood with his back to Danzo, watching the surrounding enemies. Rainwater mingled with the blood from his wounds and dripped down his armor.]
[He did not even turn to look at Shimura Danzō. His voice was hurried, but the concern in it was unmistakable:]
["Are you all right, Danzo?"]
[As he spoke, he freed one hand and reached back to help him up.]
[But Shimura Danzō smacked Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand away!]
["I don't need your help!" Danzo's voice was hoarse and hard with the pain in his leg. "Look after yourself, Hiruzen!"]
[Shimura Danzō fixed his eyes on the enemies gathering ahead, as though his moment of weakness and Hiruzen's rescue had never happened.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand paused in midair. Then he withdrew it as if nothing had happened and tightened his grip on the Adamantine Staff.]
[He said nothing more. He had long since grown used to Shimura Danzō's temperament.]
[The next instant, they moved together with perfect understanding.]
[Shimura Danzō fought through the searing pain in his leg and raced through hand seals. "Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!" Several compressed spheres of wind tore through the rain with a howl.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi completed his seals at almost the same moment. "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!" A colossal fire dragon roared forth and merged with the wind spheres. The wind fed the flames, turning them into a devastating firestorm that swallowed a broad swath of enemies in an instant.]
[Flame met rain, sending great clouds of white steam billowing upward.]
[And amid the hazy steam and ceaseless rain, the two stood back to back and faced the seemingly endless enemy once more.]
[The scene returned to Root's meeting room.]
[Shimura Danzō still could not bring himself to write on the Death Paper. Slowly, he clenched his fist until his nails nearly dug into his palm.]
[Kill Hiruzen? The man who had once taken Kunai in the back for him on the battlefield?]
[Naraka would never understand. Some bonds, however twisted, however cracked, however worn away by ambition and time,]
[remained buried deep in the bones and could not be easily severed.]
[Shimura Danzō's silence and distant expression did not escape Naraka.]
["Heh... heh heh heh..." A string of grating, cold laughter came from Naraka's dark shape.]
["What a sickening display of affection. Danzo, I gave you far too much credit."]
["So you're just like Hiruzen Sarutobi—a coward bound by worthless feelings!"]
["He dithers over the Uchiha because of some ridiculous bond with his comrades."]
["And you can't bring yourself to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi because of an old friendship?"]
["With so little resolve, how dare you speak of Root's darkness? How dare you dream of becoming the Hokage who rules Konoha?"]
["You and he are two sides of the same coin! Neither of you will ever amount to anything!"]
[Naraka's vicious mockery battered Shimura Danzō's resolve like a surging tide.]
[At last, Naraka seemed to lose the last of his patience. His entire dark form contracted toward its center, condensing into a sphere of deeper darkness.]
["Enough. Since you can't make this decision, I'll set things in motion myself."]
[Naraka's voice turned cold and final, with a cruelty all its own.]
["I'll give this tedious drama some suitably bloody fuel."]
["I'll use the blood of the Uchiha to burn away Hiruzen Sarutobi's naive fantasies—and the last of your useless hesitation!"]
["As for you," Naraka said, his will bearing down on Danzo, "all you need to do is cooperate with me at just the right moment."]
["Ready your Root, Danzo! A grand feast is about to begin!"]
[With those words, the dark shape vanished as though it had never been there. Only its unsettling whispers continued to echo.]
[And Shimura Danzō remained seated in the shadows, his face ashen, his fist clenched, conflicting emotions flickering in his lone eye.]
The scene on the Canopy Screen ended there.
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