Danzo Strikes Back

In the dim underground chamber, a single oil lamp flickered. Its yellow light cast long shadows across the walls.

Shimura Danzō stood in the center, leaning on his cane.

Before him, twelve Root ninja knelt on one knee.

They were the last loyal hounds he had left. Some had escaped being absorbed into the Anbu because they had been away on long-term infiltration missions. Others were pieces Danzo had deliberately kept hidden.

Danzo's face was grim, his voice hoarse.

"You should all know what's happened in Konoha these past two days."

His gaze swept over them.

"That senile fool Hiruzen has let others lead him by the nose."

"At this rate, Konoha will be ruined by his hand sooner or later."

He paused, then slammed his cane against the floor.

Thud!

"But I haven't lost yet."

Danzo's voice turned cold.

"Find whoever spread that rumor and tear out the mastermind by the roots..."

"Then power in Konoha will return to our hands."

One Root member raised his head.

His name was Kiyomizu Kensuke. In his early thirties and an Elite Jōnin, he was one of Danzo's most capable captains.

"Lord Danzo."

Kiyomizu Kensuke spoke in a low voice.

"Where should we start?"

Danzo gave a cold snort.

"Those leaflets couldn't have appeared out of thin air."

"Someone must have seen something."

He took two steps forward, leaning on his cane.

"Find the people who saw how the leaflets got into those rooms, and we'll know who's spreading the rumor."

"The leaflets appeared in each clan's homes at night."

"I want you to investigate anyone who was out working at night."

"One of them must have seen how the leaflets got inside."

Danzo's gaze sharpened.

"This must be done in secret."

"No one can know."

"Whatever you find, return here before dawn."

"Yes!" the twelve Root members answered in unison.

Then they vanished soundlessly into the night.

Late at night, Konoha's streets were deserted. Only the occasional bark of a dog broke the silence.

The Root members split up and slipped into three districts.

They worked quickly. Before dawn, they had seized more than a dozen villagers who had been out at night.

Some were dead-drunk patrons; others were peddlers returning home late.

All of them were taken to a secret Root hideout.

The interrogation room was dark. Instruments of torture hung on the walls, dark red blood stained the floor, and the air smelled of rust.

Shimura Danzō oversaw the interrogations himself.

The first villager was brought in.

He was a drunkard in his forties, reeking of alcohol, his eyes unfocused.

Danzo got straight to the point. "Did you see anything the night the leaflets appeared?"

The drunkard shook his head. "No... didn't see anything..."

Danzo narrowed his eyes.

"Use genjutsu."

The Root ninja beside him nodded and formed hand seals.

A moment later, the drunkard's eyes grew even hazier, but he kept repeating the same words: "Didn't see... didn't see anything..."

Danzo frowned.

"Next."

The second, the third, the fourth...

They interrogated eight people in a row.

There were peddlers returning home late and elderly villagers who had gotten up to use the toilet. However they questioned them, even under genjutsu, the answer was the same: they had seen nothing.

Nothing at all.

Danzo's expression grew darker. His fingers tightened around his cane.

"The ninth."

Two Root ninja dragged in a middle-aged man.

He wore an izakaya apron stained with grease, and his body trembled.

His name was Sato Ichiro. He was an izakaya cook.

The moment he saw Danzo, his legs nearly gave out.

"M-my lord... I didn't do anything..."

Danzo ignored his plea. "Where were you the night the leaflets appeared?"

Sato Ichiro answered shakily, "I-I was working at the izakaya... I didn't get off until late..."

"Did you see anything unusual on your way home?"

Sato Ichiro froze. His eyes shifted as though he were trying to remember something.

Danzo stared hard at him.

Suddenly, Sato Ichiro jolted.

"I... I remember!"

His voice shook.

"I'd had too much to drink that night... When I was taking a piss in an alley, I saw a cat..."

Danzo narrowed his eyes.

"A cat?"

"Yes, a cat!"

Sato Ichiro grew more animated as he spoke.

"It had a little bamboo tube around its neck!"

"I thought it was strange... Why would a cat be delivering a letter?"

Danzo's pupils contracted.

He rose, crossed to Sato Ichiro in one stride, and seized him by the collar.

"Are you sure it was a cat?"

Urgency crept into Danzo's voice.

Sato Ichiro went pale with fright and nodded quickly.

"I-I'm sure! I couldn't have mistaken it! It was a cat!"

Danzo stared at him for two seconds.

Then he let go and waved a hand.

"Take him away."

The Root members nodded, knocked Sato Ichiro unconscious, and dragged him away.

Danzo turned, his voice icy.

"Keep him under guard. Not a word of this gets out."

"Continue."

The tenth villager was brought in.

He was a thin, small man in his fifties, with clouded eyes.

Danzo wasted no time. "Did you see anything that night?"

The old man shrank back. "I... I think I saw a cat too..."

Danzo's eyes lit up at once.

"What kind of cat?"

The old man frowned, trying to remember. "It had a piece of paper in its mouth... It jumped onto my neighbor's windowsill..."

"I thought someone's pet was causing trouble, so I didn't pay it any mind..."

Danzo smiled, coldly.

"So that's it..."

He waved a hand.

"Take him away."

The smile made the old man's skin crawl, but before he could say anything, he was dragged off.

Danzo paced around the interrogation room.

A cat.

A ninja cat.

In Konoha, only the Uchiha Clan excelled at commanding ninja cats.

"Uchiha En..."

Danzo ground out the name through clenched teeth.

"You forced me out of office at the Clan Leaders' Meeting by day, then sent ninja cats to spread rumors by night..."

"Well played."

His voice carried barely restrained fury.

"Unfortunately for you, this old man caught your trail."

Kiyomizu Kensuke stepped forward. "Lord Danzo, what do we do next?"

Danzo snorted, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

"Now that we know the Uchiha are behind this, we might as well go all the way."

Leaning on his cane, he walked to the table.

"Uchiha En is the head of the Uchiha Clan. He's the one holding those remnants together."

"Take him down, and the rest of the Uchiha will fall apart. We can do whatever we want with them."

Kiyomizu Kensuke frowned. "Lord Danzo, should we gather more men?"

Danzo shook his head.

"No need for that trouble."

His gaze filled with confidence.

"I handled Shisui Uchiha, a veteran Mangekyō user."

"Uchiha En has only just awakened his Mangekyō. He'll be even easier."

"At the right time and place, with overwhelming numbers of Elite Jōnin closing in for the kill..."

"He won't escape even if he sprouts wings."

Kiyomizu Kensuke nodded.

Danzo continued, "Have our people secretly watch the Uchiha Clan's compound. Learn Uchiha En's routine."

"When he leaves, when he returns, which routes he takes, how many people accompany him..."

"We need to know all of it."

"And when the time comes..."

Danzo gripped his cane tighter.

"We must kill him in a single strike."

Kiyomizu Kensuke bowed his head. "Yes!"

The twelve Root members vanished soundlessly into the darkness once more.