Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's candid gaze, Shimura Danzō's lingering displeasure quickly faded, and he pursed his lips.
"I feel like you're getting better and better at backing down. You used to argue with me all the time."
He pulled open a drawer and rummaged through the old belongings lying in slight disarray inside.
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced over, spotted quite a few yellowed leaves, and remarked casually, "I'm not as clever as you. I have to admit that much."
"Hmph. Your greatest improvement these past few years has been developing some self-awareness."
Shimura Danzō pressed his lips together to keep the corners from rising, then opened an old-looking scroll.
Hiruzen Sarutobi moved his chair closer, looking like an obedient student ready to listen. But when his gaze fell on the scroll, the familiar handwriting stirred his heart.
"This is..."
"Something Teacher Tobirama left behind."
Shimura Danzō carefully ran his fingers over the scroll, looked at the [Shinobi World Unification Plan] written on it, and began slowly. (See Chapter 48 for details.)
"Teacher Tobirama drew up this plan many years ago, but the situation in the shinobi world at the time prevented him from developing it in detail."
"Although much of its content is no longer suited to the present day, we can still use the overall framework. And some of the backup plans apply even to our current circumstances."
Hiruzen Sarutobi studied it intently, picking out [Backup plan], [Backup plan, second iteration]... [Backup plan, Nth iteration] from the densely packed writing.
"...That's certainly Teacher Tobirama's style." He couldn't hold back a smile, his face filled with nostalgia. Tobirama Senju had always been exceptionally skilled at drawing up plans.
Shimura Danzō carefully put it away, then took out two more scrolls, one large and one small.
He opened the large scroll first. It