Main World.
Autumn, Year 21 of Konoha.
Konoha, Root base.
Deep underground, in a secret chamber protected by layers of seals and barriers, Shimura Danzō sat cross-legged on a stone platform, his eyes closed. His breathing was steady and his face calm, but his brows occasionally creased slightly, as though he were experiencing some intense scene in his dreams. Both his eyes were there-whole and intact, the eyes of a shinobi in his prime.
He was only in his early twenties, at an age when both ambition and physical strength were at their peak. His hair was jet-black and his features sharply defined. There were no bandages, no walking stick, only eyelids that occasionally trembled slightly and a faint, almost imperceptible smile of satisfaction at the corners of his mouth.
He was dreaming.
A very, very beautiful dream.
In his dream, he was the Third Hokage.
Not the "temporary acting Hokage" appointed by Tobirama Senju, not the "rightful" position Hiruzen Sarutobi had taken, but the true, undisputed Third Hokage, the one everyone wanted. Wearing the Hokage hat and a white Hokage Ceremonial Robe, he stood on the rooftop of the Hokage Building, looking down over all of Konoha. Countless lights spread out beneath his feet like a glittering river of stars.
His policies were called the "Danzo Model."
Power was highly centralized in the Hokage, and thought was tightly controlled. The Anbu, Konoha Military Police Force, Mission Assignment Department, Resource Allocation Department-all important departments fell directly under the Hokage's jurisdiction. The great clans could retain their clan compounds and their legacies, but they could not interfere in the village administration. Mission assignments, preferential resource allocations, and promotion channels were all centrally managed by the Hokage Office.
"This is what Konoha needs most."
He told himself in the dream.
"The age