[Land of Fire, Konohagakure]
"Danzo-sama"
Pain surged through my head like a hammer repeatedly hitting my skull, as I was trying to process the lifetime of memories of DanzôShimura.
Heir of the Shimura clan, Danzo's father and grandfather died on the battlefields.
His last mission had been fatal. After the second Hokage Tobirama died, sacrificing himself for the next generation, Iwagakure and Kumogakure formed an alliance, pressuring Konohagakure. Danzo had thus formed an elite team of jonin ANBU on the spot, and fought a deadly battle against Iwagakure's vanguard, a heroic act he had accepted to earn reputation. In his heart, he thought that his achievements might get him some chances to become the Third Hokage, since Tobirama could not decide his successor by himself, the approval of the Fire Daimyo necessary for this feat.
What a fool.
If anything, Danzo fooled himself. His mindset focused on earning political power, whereas he should have pursued individual power.
Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, Minato, Tsunade, Naruto, Kakashi...
Each Hokage in history possessed some unexplainable talent in addition to their personal charisma.
Danzo stood no chance. He possessed no kekkei gekkai, no overwhelming proficiency in fuinjutsu and more importantly, had no particular talent besides his above-average ninjutsu.
He was not weak.
He was one of the few elite jonins of the leaf.
But he was just an elite jonin.
"Danzo-sama", the voice persisted, this time louder. It belonged to Torifu Akimichi, his teammate. He had been part of the elite squad that assisted Tobirama in the skirmishes against the Iwagakure village, and witnessed Hiruzen's nomination.
"What is it, Torifu?", I answered in a grave voice
"Hokage-sama has summoned you. He heard of your recovery, and wanted to reward you for your heroism", Torifu said in a light voice, not aware that the acknowledgement of Hiruzen as Hokage would have probably crushed the original Danzo.
I, however, harbored no such petty thoughts.
The Hokage seat mattered little.
In face of the dangers coming to this world, the title of Hokage did not matter.
What I needed was power.
"Thank you, Torifu. I will take my leave", I muttered as I disappeared in a flash, smiling slightly at the surprising agility and ease with which I moved.
Although I was just an elite jonin at this point, this feeling of supernatural strength, awareness and power engraved in my body was just...exciting.
Only now did I realize that I had become Danzo.
He might not be the ideal host, but he was by any means decent. I was only 20 at this point, possessed elite jonin strength, and brimmed with potential. I was probably one of the strongest wind ninjutsu specialist, possessed jonin-level taijutsu and kenjutsu, and though I was lacking an arsenal of genjutsu and fuinjutsu and a trump card, it was nothing time could not solve. Plus, I possessed the Shimura clan, its wealth and its heirlooms.
As long as I played my cards right, I could probably extend my influence and invest it in a virtuous cycle that would allow me to get stronger...
Now, I only needed to conduct business with my former friend, Hiruzen.
A life-threatening sacrifice should surely be rewarded by a couple millions of ryo, shouldn't it?