"There might be a third option though it largely depends on how far the Third Hokage is willing to protect Shimura Danzo." Shiki spoke.
"If we accuse Danzo, submit all the evidence, but entrust the judgment to the Hokage without trying to force any particular resolution . . . Does Mito-sama believe the Third will sacrifice his right hand in this situation?" The boy suggested.
"Hm . . ." Mito fell into thought.
The Uzumaki matriarch could naturally see what Shiki was trying to get at.
If, in such a situation, Hiruzen tried to cover for Danzo, he would likely be able to save his life and just deliver some seemingly heavy handed but mostly symbolic judgement.
At the same time however, his own credibility in the eyes of the various clan leaders and other high ranking shinobi would take a huge hit.
"With war coming, there are excuses the Monkey can make to preserve Danzo's life. This would be a problem if we're trying to actually get rid of his little friend but if we go by your suggestion, this will only increase our chances of success." Mito spoke.
"Not to mention that a Danzo managing to survive such accusations would be desperate to mount a counterattack, that fool can be very patient for a lot of things but tends to be rash at critical moments, a flaw ever since he was a little brat." She further added.
As expected of an old hand at the game, Mito had taken Shiki's suggestion and was already expanding into a more elaborate plan to thoroughly screw over the Hokage faction.
"We would need to coordinate with our allies for this to work. Make them push hard enough for execution to seem genuine but not so hard as to force the Hokage's hand." The boy commented.
"Mhm. I'll take care of it." The Uzumaki matriarch nodded in reply.
'Lately, Mito-sama seems more willing to let Konoha at large suffer a little more if it can rid us of our foes.' Shiki internally noted his mistress' continuing change over time but made no comment.
"Should we strike the bases before or after accusing Danzo?" He then inquired.
Doing it beforehand would definitely be considered overstepping but delaying it until after would give Danzo an opportunity to erase evidence.
'If we go after Danzo right away I also won't be able to pin my infiltration of the Hyuga clan on him.' The boy thought to himself.
'Maybe I should . . .' He began considering but Mito's voice took him out of his thoughts.
"We'll do it beforehand. It is safer and this bit of overstepping will ease the pressure on the Monkey, making it easier for him to make the choice of saving that brat Danzo from his well deserved heavy punishment." The Uzumaki matriarch decided.
The conversation was all but over however, firming his resolve and trusting in his bond with Mito, Shiki decided to run his plan for the Hyuga by her.
"Mito-sama, there is something else . . ."
*
A few hours later, Mito pondered on the last bits of her conversation with her ward, shaking her head with exasperation even as love and care shone in her eyes.
"To think he had been planning something so outrageous all this time . . ." The Uzumaki matriarch muttered to herself.
While the boy's progressively obvious lack of care towards Konoha and its people did worry her, it did not surprise her.
She knew he only cared as he did because of her feelings but, despite knowing she wanted to protect the village even if it carried a great deal of corruption, Shiki was still willing to share a plan that would harm the village for his benefit.
That trust, the boy's belief that she would never turn her back on him regardless, the love and care he had towards her . . .
Mito found her feelings for Shiki growing even stronger, despite her disapproval of his intentions.
Still, despite this disapproval, she was willing to look the other way, even help him despite such an action being exactly what she despised Hiruzen for doing, even if their motivations were worlds apart.
But the Uzumaki matriarch never had to do it.
Simply because Shiki, despite his obvious desire and ambition, was willing to give up on the plan for her sake, to spare her feelings and protect her integrity.
"You truly are my shining star . . ." The redhead went to sleep dreaming of the boy that changed her life.
*
Wandering through the village in stealth, Shiki bore a ponderous expression on his face.
'Oh well . . . Some things simply don't pan out.' He casually thought to himself.
Mito still cared a lot for the village and, when he realized his actions would step on her feelings even if she would ultimately still support him, the boy had not hesitated on giving up on his plan for the Hyuga.
'It's not like it is absolutely necessary anyways.' Shiki comforted himself.
That said, it was not like he was completely out of options.
If, for example, the Ryumyaku really allowed one to travel into a parallel world's future instead of his own future, then the world's Hyuga clan was fair game was it not?
Even in the worst case scenario, the Hyuga's secret which Shiki assumed was a sort of Byakugan Vessel, was just an inferior version of the Tenseigan Vessel in the Moon.
As such, even if it required more time and preparation, the boy would not be really taking a loss.
With all these considerations floating around in his mind, Shiki felt far more at ease with his decision to lay his plans towards the Hyuga clan to rest.
Even without these alternatives, he would have still done it for Mito's sake but this way, felt a whole lot better about it.
'It is just a matter of patience and I certainly have that.' The boy thought to himself.
*
Days passed and while Shiki gathered more details for an assault on the Root bases with the most valuable assets for their purposes, Mito went about setting up a way for them and their allies to communicate freely and with secrecy in order to organize.
Regarding the matter of communication, Shiki remembered the Genjutsu Communication used by Kara in Boruto.
It allowed them to project their images across great distances for meetings.
Before that, there was the Akatsuki's Magic Lantern Body Jutsu which allowed users to emit thoughtwaves converted into chakra which Nagato could pick up, acting as a sort of control tower, gathering the "thought bodies" of the various members for a meeting.
Although correlation was never mentioned as far as Shiki knew, he did believe the rings worn by the Akatsuki Members played a part in this jutsu's use hence the organization's emphasis on their retrieval upon a member's death.
When the boy mentioned these concepts to Mito, the redhead believed she could set up something similar by means of Fuinjutsu and had been attempting to develop such a thing.
There was no need to hurry at the moment though.
Shiki saw no signs that the bases would be moved or their contents would be lost anytime soon and so, Mito had made the decision to delay action until the arrival of her Jinchuuriki successor.
This was to prevent her from being targeted en route from Uzushio to Konoha as a form of reprisal.
It was very unlikely but there was no reason not to play it safe and so, things settled into a momentary lull.
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -