[Otogakure, Shimura Compound]
"This is also an opportunity", Danzo spoke, "Contracts could fetch us billions of Ryo, and they offered two S-rank jutsu in exchange. Sunagakure has a lot to offer to the Shimura clan. Most of our clansmen are strong but lack high-level jutsu to fully exploit their chakra reserves"
"What kind of weapon do they seek?"
"Sound vibration scrolls"
"No. They can't have them. Although it is not easy to reverse engineer, it could..."
"Turn the tides in the battle, break the status quo that shielded our village in the past three years, and put Sunagakure on a pedestal. I know all of this. However, they have offered something we cannot refuse"
"What would it be? We already showed our pacifist position - well, officially, nobody knows our doings in the dark, the supply routes plundered and information leaked from our spies. At least, we have not favoured any village. All suffered at our hands. If we show preferential treatment to Sunagakure, it could break the balance we worked so hard to create"
"This is getting out of hand. Hiruzen has aged twenty years in three, his fights against the raikage getting bloodier with every second that passes. Geniuses are dying here and there. Iwagakure has lost more than 60% of its jonins in just three years! Although we should rejoice, at this point, there will be nothing left in this forsaken continent"
"Is it not a good thing?", Harumi asked, "Our plan is working pretty well. The position of Otogakure has risen and we are not necessarily much weaker than the major hidden villages at this point"
Danzo nodded: "Exactly. We are growing too strong, and at some point, the other villages will turn their attention to us. Now is the perfect timing, as they don't have the capacities to do so. Sunagakure proposed an alliance, which I am planning on accepting. It comes with a seat at the Kage Summit which is going to happen in the land of Iron"
"In other words, allying with Sunagakure would put us as a major hidden village. With some manipulation and careful positioning, we could even become 'victorious' of a conflict we shaped in the shadows, and joined at the end", Harumi muttered, "But won't revealing ourselves cause issues? Both of us are hosting beasts that belonged to Iwagakure and Kumogakure at some point"
"This is exactly why they will not attack us. I know Hiruzen, he will beg for peace and the threat of us allying with Konoha is too strong. Iwagakure and Kumogakure might lose their standing, and be wiped out if we decide to. For three years, the hidden villages have consumed their reserves, lost their funds and men in a meaningless war. For three years, we have prospered. It is obvious that the birth of a new player would change everything"
"What about Amegakure? They, too, have risen in the midst of chaos, an unwanted variable in our plans", Harumi spoke, "Won't their presence undermine us? They, too, could shift the balance if they want too. Essentially, they are in the same position as us, although weaker"
Danzo smiled: "I planned to show everyone our strength. I was planning of taking you and Yukiko to the land of rain, along with a dozen elite jonins from the Kenjutsu Corps. A dramatic entrance just popped in my head"
"Father!", Juuni, his eldest son, shouted as he exclaimed: "Look! I mastered the vacuum shuriken"
In his hands, circular wind embraced the shuriken in a shaky form. It was rough, unskilled, and pitiful, but it showed the foundations of the jutsu that had allowed Danzo to rise to fame.
Danzo smiled, and rushed towards him: "You...You truly are my son! Strong, talented! I hope you will teach it to your brothers once they grow up!"
Juuni showed a great smile: "Of course! In the future, we will be heroes, just like you! And I will be Otokage!"
From a distance, Harumi was fulfilled. The scene of her family...It was too precious.
"When do we depart?"
"This afternoon", Danzo spoke, "After I inform the rest of the elders. Although it is just formal, I am still interested in their opinion. Rin and Hiroto have shown tremendous support, and if they believe against it, I might reconsider my plan"
Harumi shook her head: "You are too kind to them...but I guess this is the reason why everyone approves of you, Otokage-sama"
Teased, Danzo pinched her nose: "Stop calling me that. And let's go to the ramen place Juuni loves so much. It might be our last meal together in a while"
Harumi nodded.
It might be their last meal together forever.
Hanzo was not called 'semi-god' for no reason. He was a formidable foe, and even if Danzo seemed confident, he was a monstrous existence.