Repaying kindness with enmity was simply Danzo's way.
In his mind, being rescued was something he deserved. Even if everyone had died for his sake, that too was perfectly reasonable.
Inside the command room, Danzo—now missing one arm—sat with bloodshot eyes. His wound still ached, and it was that pain that fueled his rage, pushing him toward madness.
That arm had been severed on the orders of Elder Homura.
Clearly, something had gone wrong during the negotiations, which must have driven Homura to lash out in frustration. But when Danzo returned, no one had told him the details of what had gone down.
So he focused all his suspicion and blame on Hatake Sakumo.
"And another thing—explain exactly how you survived. Otherwise, how am I supposed to know you're really Sakumo Hatake? What if you're some spy sent by Sunagakure?"
"Until your identity is confirmed, I have every reason to keep you under surveillance..."
A benefactor? There was no such thing in Danzo's world.
He truly believed he had crawled out from Sakumo's corpse. In his mind, there was no way anyone could have survived that situation.
Sakumo's face was pale as a sheet.
On the way back, not once had he imagined he'd be treated like this. He hadn't expected Danzo to thank him. He didn't expect any gratitude at all.
But what he never could've predicted... was that Danzo would use him as a scapegoat to cover up his own incompetence.
Everything I did... what was it for?
A hero of Konoha?
Sakumo almost laughed aloud. The movement tugged at his injuries, and a mouthful of blood burst from his lips.
The other shinobi present felt deeply aggrieved on his behalf. Some even looked outright furious.
That man was their hero.
Yet the number of people who dared speak up in his defense could be counted on one hand. And Sakumo just shook his head at them.
At this point, there was nothing left he wanted to argue. Nothing worth proving.
It was only now that he seemed to understand what Senju Yukika had said.
Yeah... he had already done more than enough for Konoha. He didn't owe anyone anything.
Maybe it was time to start thinking about how he wanted to live going forward.
"That's enough."
The only one who refused to remain silent—was Yukika.
His gaze toward Danzo was icy cold, and his face burned with visible anger.
But inside? Inside, Yukika was secretly pleased.
Danzo, desperate to find someone to take the fall, had gone mad.
And he had no idea that his current behavior was doing exactly what Yukika wanted—pushing Sakumo right into the arms of the Senju.
Sure, he could have used Sakumo's life as leverage to force him into allegiance. But if Sakumo joined willingly? He'd be far more useful.
"Sakumo-senpai was rescued by me and Orochimaru-sensei. As for how? You don't need to know—that's classified."
"I can vouch for his identity. When that short blade shines once more, you won't even have the right to doubt him."
"And as for your surveillance..."
Yukika tilted his head, smirking in contempt. "Go ahead. Try it."
He supported Sakumo and slowly helped him out of the command room.
Danzo's face was twisted with fury. He wanted nothing more than to order Yukika's immediate arrest and execution.
But he knew—deep down—that even if he gave the order, no one would obey it.
After all, this kid had just saved their lives not long ago.
And the more he thought about that, the more infuriated Danzo became.
Senju Yukika. That brat had only saved other people. If he had gone just a bit further, led his forces deeper...
Then maybe the Shimura clan could've been saved too.
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