Chapter 36: Danzo in a Foul Mood
"So… that's it? It's over just like that?!"
Nara Shikaku stared in disbelief at the Hidden Cloud ninja packing up and retreating. He was still trying to wrap his head around the situation. With the Cloud Village's notoriously aggressive attitude, their sudden withdrawal was baffling. Could this be a trap?
"What else did you expect?" Sakura replied with a shrug. Then she revealed the truth. "A few falling meteors wouldn't scare them off. But I passed along a message—if they continue to act stubbornly, the next meteor will fall directly over their village."
"Ah, that explains it," Shikaku nodded in realization. No wonder they pulled back. If meteors really started dropping on Hidden Cloud, the whole village would be obliterated.
In fact, Sakura had held back. The meteors she summoned were all relatively small. If she had wanted, she could have dropped something like the one Madara summoned during the Fourth Great Ninja War in the original timeline. In that case, not a single Cloud ninja would've made it out alive.
But that wasn't Sakura's goal. She didn't want to kill them—only to intimidate them. The smaller meteors were just enough to make her point.
After thinking for a moment, Sakura raised her right hand and made a beckoning motion toward the crater where the last meteor had landed. From the pit, a basketball-sized chunk of ore floated up and flew straight into her hand.
"What's that?" everyone asked, confused by her sudden action.
"Space Iron," Sakura said as she tapped the metallic-looking rock, its surface glinting with a faint shimmer. She hadn't expected this extra bonus—it was a pleasant surprise.
"This is the space iron? I hear it's especially prized in the Land of Iron," Kakashi observed. "But it'll still need repeated forging to refine. There are too many impurities in its current state for weapon crafting."
Kakashi spoke from experience. His father, Sakumo Hatake—the White Fang of Konoha—was a legendary swordsman feared across the ninja world. Few shinobi had such reputations that other villages issued official orders allowing missions to be abandoned without penalty if they encountered him.
Although Kakashi was more renowned for his ninjutsu now, he had trained in swordsmanship during his childhood. He understood which materials made for great blades.
"I figured as much. But I don't actually know how to forge metal," Sakura admitted. With a snap of her fingers, she summoned a sphere of flame using the Reality Stone and enveloped the meteorite in it, letting it float beside her and burn steadily. Oddly enough, no one around her could feel any heat radiating from the fire.
"Would a long-duration burn like this help remove the impurities?"
"Konoha's Ten Clan are the Fire Nation's largest weapon merchants—and the village's primary weapons supplier. Once you're back, you could ask them to forge you a weapon using this," Shikaku suggested.
Space iron was rare and valuable. Even master craftsmen would gladly forge it into something powerful without charging a single ryo. For many of them, creating a legendary weapon was a lifelong dream.
"The Ten Clan, huh? Got it!"
Sakura immediately thought of Tenten from the original timeline—the so-called "rich girl" of the village, whose battle style reminded many of a second Konan. While other ninjas rationed chakra, Tenten flung explosive tags like they were confetti. Her extravagance could probably make even Kakuzu cry.
While everything was proceeding smoothly on Sakura's end, back in the village of Konoha… someone wasn't having such a good day.
In the dark, shadowy Root base, Danzo sat on a chair, his figure cloaked in gloom. The entire hideout radiated a lifeless, oppressive aura—it was as if no one here was truly alive.
"What's going on with the Uchiha clan these past few days?"
Danzo's voice rang out, filled with anger. As someone who had sworn to carry out the Second Hokage's will by wiping out the Uchiha completely, he had been overjoyed watching relations between Konoha and the Uchiha deteriorate under his schemes. It had made him so pleased he'd been eating more than usual.
But suddenly, in just a few days, the Uchiha's behavior had shifted dramatically, almost erratically, and it left Danzo feeling suffocated with frustration. He itched to launch an extermination campaign immediately.
"Reporting, Danzo-sama—based on intel from our agents within the Uchiha, several days ago, Uchiha Fugaku secretly convened a meeting with the clan members loyal to his faction. The very next day, the clan's attitude shifted completely. Unfortunately, we have no informants within that faction, so we don't know what was discussed at the meeting."
The Root operative reporting this showed no emotion. Through his mask, only a pair of lifeless eyes could be seen.
"Investigate immediately. We can't afford to take the evil Uchiha lightly!" Danzo snapped, thudding his cane against the floor in irritation. The village's increasingly friendly stance toward the Uchiha had only worsened his mood.
"Yes, Danzo-sama." The operative hesitated, then added, "There may be one thing… I suspect it's connected to the Uchiha's sudden change."
"Oh?" Danzo perked up. He needed answers—fast. Whatever was influencing the Uchiha had to be dealt with immediately. He couldn't allow them to continue gaining ground.
"The night before Fugaku's clan meeting, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and a young girl accompanied Uchiha Sasuke to the Uchiha compound. According to our intel, that girl has recently been visiting the Third Hokage's office frequently. When the Hyuga clan head's daughter was kidnapped, she's the one who intercepted the Cloud ninja. Moreover, after she and the Third visited the Hyuga clan, they changed their stance to support the Third's hardline position against the Cloud's provocation."
"That girl… her name is Haruno Sakura, isn't it?"
Danzo's eyes narrowed as he recalled. He'd heard her name during the incident when the Hidden Cloud tried to kidnap the Hyuga heiress. He'd looked into her briefly due to her unusual kekkei genkai, but when he saw she spent her days loitering in the kitchens, and the Cloud issue demanded his full attention, he lost interest.
Now, to his surprise, the Uchiha's situation was somehow tied to her.
"Where is she now?" he asked, a glint of killing intent flashing in his eyes.
"According to the latest intel, she's left the village with Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy, and Uchiha Shisui. Their destination is the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning."
"Send a team—immediately. Kill her."
Danzo's face was icy cold. He didn't care if Sakura was truly involved or not. His policy had always been: Better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one threat slip through.
"Do not engage Hatake Kakashi and the others unless absolutely necessary. Focus on eliminating Haruno Sakura. If there's an opportunity, retrieve Uchiha Shisui's eyes—and Hatake Kakashi's left eye as well."
Greed sparkled in Danzo's eyes. The Sharingan... He had coveted it for a long time—especially Shisui's.