Blazing brilliance

Konoha, the temporary Hokage tent.

Having narrowly escaped death in the Land of Iron, Danzo now held his cane in his left hand.

His right eye and right arm had been replaced with an artificial eye and a prosthetic arm, both wrapped tightly in bandages to keep people from talking.

The Daimyo had just sent a letter, and its contents did not bode well for him.

It read:

Danzo, frankly, your performance at the Five Kage Summit left me utterly disappointed. But I appointed you Hokage myself. Dismissing you immediately would be admitting that I am a poor judge of character. You have one hundred days to turn things around and put Konoha back on track. Otherwise, I will choose another Hokage!

After reading it, Danzo set the letter alight with a candle, his gaze dark. "A pity I no longer have my right eye with Kotoamatsukami. Otherwise, I could use it to deal with the Daimyo..."

After burning the letter, Danzo pondered for a long time. Then he summoned the man overseeing Konoha's reconstruction, asked about the village's progress, and added a requirement to construct the Sixth Hokage Rock.

"Well..." The supervisor voiced his concerns. "Although the village has received reconstruction funds from the Land of Fire, the work is enormous, and public sentiment is still unsettled. Wouldn't renovating Hokage Rock at a time like this be... inappropriate?"

He watched Danzo's expression, choosing his words with extreme care.

But Danzo had, after all, managed to usurp the Hokage position. He could hardly lack even that much patience.

He spoke with an air of solemn conviction. "Whenever a new Hokage takes office, Hokage Rock is renovated to signify a fresh beginning. With the village in ruins and everything awaiting reconstruction, a new Hokage Rock is all the more necessary as a pillar of spiritual support for the people..."

"Well..." The supervisor wanted to say more, but when he saw the cold eyes behind the masks of the Root members on either side, he hurriedly said, "That does seem reasonable!"

Danzo said, "Then begin at once on a Hokage Rock carved in my likeness! From the materials and procedures to the manpower, everything must be submitted for my approval!"

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

After the supervisor withdrew, Danzo lifted the tent flap. His exposed left eye stared at the cliff bearing Hokage Rock beyond the ruins.

"My august likeness as Hokage will finally be revealed to the world..."

Even he found his narrow escape from the Land of Iron almost unbelievable.

Looking back on it still filled him with dread. For several days, he had been unable to sleep or eat in peace.

Returning to his chair, he gripped his cane tightly. "So close. I had only just secured the Hokage position, and all my efforts nearly came to nothing. To think Naruto Uzumaki's strength had reached such a level. The Rinnegan's boost to his power is unprecedented. Had I foreseen this, I should have found some way to obtain Nagato's eyes back in Amegakure..."

The loss of his right eye and right arm had also robbed him of his means of survival.

Now, wherever he went, large numbers of Root elites guarded the area within a hundred paces. The Anbu members originally responsible for village security had all been replaced with Root's eyes and ears.

At dusk, Terai returned covered in wounds. Danzo had sent him to hunt down Kabuto Yakushi on the eve of the Five Kage Summit.

Terai said, "Lord Danzo, I found him, but his strength far exceeded what our intelligence indicated..."

Danzo frowned. "Far exceeded our intelligence? Then how did you survive?"

"To tell you the truth, he seemed to have deliberately spared my life..."

Hiss! For an instant, snake's vertical pupils flashed in Terai's eyes!

Snap! Danzo's gaze sharpened. He suddenly dropped his cane, sprang from his seat, and seized Terai by the throat...!

"Aaargh...!!!"

A white snake emerged from Terai's mouth with a scroll clenched in its jaws, and he fell to the ground, dead...

Danzo bent down, picked up the scroll, and opened it. His eyes flashed as he read its contents!

"Lord Danzo..."

"Dispose of Terai's body."

"Yes."

"Also, I must leave the village for a while. This is strictly confidential. No one must be alerted...!"

"But as Hokage, your duties in the village..."

"My 'double' will handle them!"

For a schemer constantly targeted by others, a double was naturally indispensable. Everything from his build and appearance to his words and mannerisms had been rigorously vetted. Even a jōnin would struggle to tell them apart.

Danzo added, "He may be a double, but none of the pomp befitting a Hokage can be omitted. Otherwise, it will arouse suspicion. The Daimyo is already putting pressure on me. At this critical juncture, nothing else can go wrong."

"What about your personal guards?"

Danzo's personal guards, Fū and Torune, had both died at Naruto's hands...

After a moment's thought, someone came to mind. "Recall Ryoma..."

"Senior Aburame Ryoma!?" Awe appeared on the face of the white-clad Root member.

Aburame Ryoma was one of the Aburame Clan's foremost experts. In the early days, when Orochimaru served Root, he had partnered with Ryoma [in Naruto's orphanage arc, the man standing behind Danzo alongside Orochimaru was Ryoma].

After night fell and all the arrangements were made, Danzo dressed entirely in black, concealed his face, and quietly left the village.

Before leaving, he looked back at the cliff bearing Hokage Rock and murmured, "By the time I return, my likeness on Hokage Rock should be complete. My era is finally about to begin..."

Danzo turned and disappeared into the night.

The long night stretched on, darkness intertwining.

The Akatsuki Hideout, in the southern Land of Fire.

"Ugh..." Sasuke woke.

"Sasuke..." Karin beamed.

"You're awake..." The masked Obito sat above them, propping his cheek on one hand.

As Sasuke's muddled consciousness cleared, he asked, "Where's Naruto?"

Obito said, "After an exchange with the Raikage, he left the Land of Iron safely..."

Thud!

Sasuke slammed his fist against the stone platform!

"Damn it! Naruto's power has already reached this level...!"

Obito said, "Sasuke, there's no need to lose heart. Your power had already awakened considerably toward the end of your fight with him. If Naruto hadn't obtained Nagato's eyes, he wouldn't have beaten you so easily."

Sasuke said coldly, "Hmph! I don't need childish excuses to comfort me!"

Obito prompted him. "Then what do you intend to do? If you go to Konoha for revenge as you are, the result won't change..."

The desire to grow stronger surged in Sasuke's eyes. "I want Itachi's eyes transplanted into me...!"

"Oh?" Obito's gaze shifted slightly, and he dropped down from his perch.

"So you've finally come around?"

"I want enough power to crush Naruto and crush Konoha. Nothing more!!"

Obito gave Sasuke a long look. "Come with me..."

Outside the Land of Iron, in a cave hidden among the mountains.

Bzz! Naruto's right eye slowly opened, revealing four sharply angled, curved tomoe-the Mangekyō Sharingan that had originally belonged to Shisui Uchiha!

"Naruto-kun, how does it feel?"

Orochimaru, who had personally performed Naruto's transplant, asked with a smile.

Naruto said, "The darkness looks a little clearer to me now..."

Orochimaru said, "Kotoamatsukami is a very unusual dōjutsu. Without Hashirama cells, it can only be activated once every ten-odd years. But Naruto-kun, you belong to the Uzumaki Clan, distant relatives of the Senju. You won't need to wait that long. The interval between uses should be about half a month. The risk of blindness still exists, however..."

Naruto asked pointedly, "Orochimaru, aren't you afraid I'll use this dōjutsu on you?"

Orochimaru replied knowingly, "Heh heh... If you truly intended to use it on me, why bother telling me? Besides, with this dōjutsu, even if you did, I wouldn't notice, would I?"

Naruto withdrew his gaze.

Konan stepped forward and asked, "We've accomplished our objective. Shall we return to Amegakure?"

"..." Naruto's gaze was deep.

At present, Akatsuki was planning to hunt the Eight-Tails.

The Raikage had also rushed off through the night to rescue him.

That man was probably in grave danger.

Even now, Naruto could not forget the sight of that man defending his comrades to his dying breath...

"To make our next moves easier, we should increase our numbers as much as possible..."

Konan asked, "Are we going to recruit people once we return to Amegakure?"

Naruto half-covered his right eye. "There's a man I want to do everything I can to save and bring over to our side..."

Konan asked, "Who do you mean?"

Naruto's eyes blazed. "One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the wielder of the great sword Samehada-Kisame Hoshigaki!"