"It will only bring greater disaster. It won't bring peace to the Ninja World."
Hashirama Senju gritted his teeth as he spoke.
Danzo merely sneered. "Who told you I was doing this for peace?"
Hashirama Senju froze.
"Your ideals are grand. Admirable, even."
"But they have nothing to do with me. Once I cast off my identity in Konoha's shadows, I was reborn."
"Since then, there has been only one thing I've wanted to do."
"To climb with everything I have, all the way to the top of the world, and stand above everyone else."
"The only thing a person can ever truly rely on is power."
Danzo spoke with a sigh.
He tilted his head back. The God Tree before him was growing taller and thicker, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Peace, happiness—things meant for all humanity have nothing to do with me."
"In the end, I'm just a selfish man!"
"I'll leave great deeds to great people like you."
"And I'll take care of everything you call vile, dark, filthy, and cruel."
Danzo lowered his gaze to Hashirama Senju, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"So, Lord Hashirama, what do you think of my philosophy?"
Hashirama Senju fell silent. After a long while, he forced out four words. "You've lost your mind."
"Lost my mind?"
"So what if I have?"
"If I hadn't, I would have died that day."
"If I hadn't, how could I have gained this power, stood before you, and looked down on the Ninja God himself?"
"How could I have watched the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path absorb the Nine-Tails, grow like this, and prepare to bloom?"
Danzo looked up again. The towering God Tree had pierced the clouds, and he couldn't help laughing.
Threads of light began to shine at its