Danzo's schemes

Konohagakure, Root base!

"Lord Danzo..."

A middle-aged ninja knelt on one knee in Root's dark, sinister underground base. A shaft of moonlight from some unknown source spilled down, making the surroundings seem even colder and gloomier.

Tap, tap, tap...

The sound of a cane striking the ground rang out as an old man slowly emerged from the darkness. Thick robes enveloped his body, and his head was wrapped in layers of bandages that even covered one eye.

At first glance, he looked like an old man who had once suffered grievous injuries and was now barely clinging to life.

But no one in the entire Shinobi World would underestimate this old man.

Shimura Danzō!

Assistant to the Hokage of Konohagakure!

Leader of Konoha's Root!

An ambitious schemer who would stop at nothing to become Hokage!

"Sarutobi has already appointed you to manage the Medical Emergency Response Unit?"

Shimura Danzō narrowed his exposed eye and spoke slowly. "Just you alone, Ao?"

"Elder Mitokado and Elder Utatane as well. The Hokage appointed me to assist the two elders."

"Another worthless balancing act. Sarutobi is as weak as ever!" Though Danzo's voice was quiet, it brooked no argument. "Do you understand your mission, Yashiro Ao?"

"Yes! I understand!"

"I will take control of the Medical Emergency Response Unit as quickly as possible, for Lord Danzo!"

"Good. You may leave!"

"Yes!"

Yashiro Ao quietly departed.

"Hmph! Hiruzen Sarutobi! Shihōin Naraku!"

Danzo tightened his grip on his cane, unceasing ambition flickering in his open eye.

"Root will return soon!"

Danzo had once controlled an armed organization in Konoha that belonged to him alone: Root!

Root acted cruelly and mercilessly. On the surface, every operation was for Konoha's development, but beneath it all, Danzo's own objectives were always instilled in them.

Because of this, Danzo had held a very high position in Konoha.

Later, because of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, Hiruzen Sarutobi had removed Danzo from office and forcibly ordered him to disband Root.

But apart from a handful, most of Root's members had returned to the ANBU. They still secretly served Danzo and waited for Root's restoration.

This time, Danzo had joined forces with Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu to nominate his subordinate Yashiro Ao as the head of the Medical Emergency Response Unit. He was not merely testing the waters, but also building up his strength.

Danzo swept his gaze over Root's silent, dark base, then slowly turned to leave.

"No one can stop my return!"

[Name: Shihōin Naraku]

[Sex: Male]

[Age: 26]

[Physique: A]

[Spirit: S+]

[Chakra reserves: A+ (Already exceeds those of 96 percent of ninja in the Shinobi World!)]

[Chakra attributes: Fire, wind, lightning, water, earth, yin, yang]

The attribute panel provided by the system gave Shihōin Naraku a rough understanding of his strength.

His current strength could be considered upper-tier not only in Konohagakure, but throughout the Shinobi World, though he was still far behind those at the very top.

"So from now on, to keep drawing prizes, I need to work hard to get promoted. No, that's not right. For Konohagakure, for the development of the Shinobi World, I need to work hard to get promoted!"

Deputy director of Konohagakure's Medical Department!

Deputy commander of Konohagakure's ANBU!

"Why are both of them deputy positions?"

Shihōin Naraku pondered the appointments made by Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The system, promotions, the ANBU, the Medical Department!

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, Danzo, Yashiro Ao!

Shihōin Naraku's thoughts gradually became clear. He had figured out the whole story.

"I thought they'd keep putting up with it!"

"In that case, our Lord Hokage doesn't actually want me to keep control of the Medical Emergency Response Unit either."

Naraku, who had just returned from the testing grounds, glanced back at the brightly lit Hokage building in the distance and smiled.

"Dango! Delicious three-color dango!"

"Would you care to come in for a drink, sir?"

"New ninja tools in stock! The finest kunai..."

Walking down the bustling shopping street, Shihōin Naraku was just about to get himself some dinner when he spotted someone coming from another direction.

"That direction... did he go to the Memorial Stone to pay his respects to Obito and Rin Nohara again?"

"Kakashi!"

Naraku strode over and called out.

Kakashi Hatake was so completely immersed in his own emotions that he failed to notice Shihōin Naraku's approach. Only when Naraku called out did he react.

"Oh, Naraku."

Naraku paid no mind to Kakashi Hatake's listless demeanor. "Come on, I've got something to tell you. You're paying."

"Huh?"

Confusion appeared in Kakashi Hatake's dead-fish eyes. "I'm very busy today."

Reaching out to touch a book in his pocket, Kakashi Hatake had absolutely no desire to pay.

He had spent ages in line today before finally getting his hands on the new edition of Icha Icha Paradise released by Lord Jiraiya. He was planning to go home and enjoy it.

"Busy?" Naraku looked scornful. "Someone was lining up before dawn to buy porn..."

"I'll pay!"

Kakashi Hatake immediately agreed to treat him.

Inside a quiet private room at an izakaya.

"You're coming to the ANBU?" Kakashi Hatake looked at Naraku. "You're certainly suited to being deputy commander, but what about the Medical Department?"

In Kakashi Hatake's view, Naraku was still best suited to overseeing Konoha's Medical Department.

"What? Worried I'll take your position as ANBU commander?"

"No."

Kakashi Hatake lowered his head in thought for a while, then spoke:

"What about the Medical Department, then? Who's taking over your position?"

"Yashiro Ao. Still, it counts as a promotion for me. I'm now deputy director of the Medical Department, and I oversee the corpse disposal and veterinary units."

"Why him? Could it be..."

Kakashi Hatake reacted quickly, immediately realizing what was wrong with the choice of Yashiro Ao.

"You're right."

Naraku nodded, confirming Kakashi Hatake's view. "That guy started out as a medical ninja too. He's got plenty of seniority."

But Yashiro Ao was a member of Root and one of Danzo's subordinates.

They both understood that although Root appeared to have disbanded and Danzo currently held no particular office, everyone knew what was happening behind the scenes.

Kakashi Hatake greatly disliked Danzo, as well as Root's methods.

Indeed, Kakashi Hatake had once been a member of Root himself.

He had even accepted Danzo's orders to assassinate Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. Of course, Kakashi had ultimately sided with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

That experience had also left Kakashi Hatake very familiar with Root.

He did not believe that disbanding Root would leave Danzo unable to control its former members.

"It's none of my business anyway." Kakashi yawned. "With you coming to the ANBU, you can save me quite a bit of trouble."

At the time, Kakashi Hatake was the ANBU commander. Apart from the Third Hokage, he held the greatest authority within the ANBU.

But Kakashi Hatake did not care about such things. Outside his regular missions and work, he would rather spend more of his free time reading.

"Nice idea, but forget it."

Looking at Kakashi's masked face, Naraku asked:

"I brought you here because I wanted to learn about the ANBU..."

"Oh, I see..."

Given Naraku's position, there really was nothing he could not be told, apart from a few particularly sensitive secrets.

Kakashi Hatake had no intention of hiding anything either. With more than a decade in the ANBU, few people could be said to understand the organization better than he did.