In front of the Hokage's office building, Shimura Danzō pulled his clothes tighter around himself. The rain seemed to have grown heavier in the few short minutes it had taken him to come downstairs.
He closed his eyes, and the scene from moments ago surfaced again-
Seeing the worry on his face, Hiruzen Sarutobi had simply held out his hand. "If you're worried, go take a look. Leave the paperwork to me."
He had taken over all the official work, his pen flying across the pages as misery filled his face. But just as Danzo was closing the door, he had suddenly called out, "Danzo."
Suppressing his unease, Danzo had raised his eyes and met Hiruzen Sarutobi's foolish face, his eyes brimming with trust.
"I'm counting on you to look after Longjian. Hurry back. I really can't manage without you (handling the paperwork)."
...Idiot. You just want me back quickly so I can help with the paperwork.
Shimura Danzō rubbed his hands together and opened his umbrella. Hiruzen Sarutobi's pained expression had soothed his unease a little.
But an inexplicable twinge of guilt had also crept into his heart, growing ever stronger as he recalled the trust in Hiruzen's final glance.
He sorted through what little conscience he had left. Though he had selfish motives for testing Longjian's trustworthiness, he was also genuinely eliminating a potential threat to Konoha's stability. That hardly counted as betrayal.
Still, he had resorted to wordplay and verbal deception-the very methods he so often used against other villages.
People could learn and imitate well enough to deceive others perfectly, but they could never deceive themselves.
His purpose, his true feelings-all of it lay naked before his conscience, ready to challenge him at any moment.
Shimura Danzō felt a pang of distress. It was different from