Seeing his Root completely surrounded by Anbu, Shimura Danzo truly felt his blood run cold.
He had always known that between him and his old friend, Sarutobi Hiruzen, there was deep conflict. Their relationship had long rotted away under the weight of secrets, rivalries, and betrayals.
Especially since he had once even attempted to assassinate his old friend—
For a brief moment, an ugly suspicion flitted through his mind. Could it be that Hiruzen intended to use this very incident to eliminate him once and for all?
"Danzo, I know you resent Kakashi, but you're going too far now."
Hiruzen did not descend from above. He stood upon the Root headquarters' roofline, flanked by black-ops shinobi, his aged but firm gaze locked on Danzo. From that height, he looked like judgment itself.
"I don't want to see fellow Konoha shinobi slaughtering one another without reason. You should understand that."
'Understand? Damn hypocrite. Have you forgotten what Root exists for?'
Danzo bit down on his own retort. He knew very well that such words could never be spoken aloud. To admit Root's true role here would be to dig his own grave.
"What are you saying, Hiruzen? I hold no prejudice against Kakashi. He trespassed into Root's base!"
"Trespassed?"
Hiruzen shook his head, his voice heavy with authority.
"I summoned you earlier. Word reached me that you feigned absence. Kakashi entered only to find you, is that not correct?"
Danzo clenched his teeth. He didn't want to answer. What was Hiruzen scheming by pressing him like this in front of so many eyes?
Then his gaze flicked toward Kinoe, and then toward Hidezawa, standing like a shield before Kakashi and the others.
'Could it be… is this about showing him off? Testing me? That brat performed far too well in Sunagakure.'
"It seems the order transmission was… mistaken. This is the first I've heard of it."
Though his mind was whirring, Danzo's voice was steady, his rebuttal stubborn.
Hiruzen didn't allow him to redirect. "Let us put Kakashi aside for now. My summons concerned what comes next."
He adjusted the brim of his hat, then spoke with the weight of inevitability.
"You know well that Wood-style is a power the village has long coveted. We undertook dangerous experiments, risking scandal and failure, for even a fragment of it. And yet, you've hidden this power within Root. Tell me, Danzo—why?"
Danzo's stomach sank. So it had come to this, as he feared.
He forced calm, but the words came quickly, almost too quickly.
"I was protecting it. Nurturing it. I never intended to conceal anything from you, and surely such matters need not be reported every time!"
"But Danzo—"
The Third Hokage's voice cut like a kunai.
"The Jinchūriki is about to begin his schooling. For him, the sealing capacity of Wood-style will be invaluable to the safety of this village."
That was a blow Danzo could not parry.
Once the Jinchūriki was invoked, everything shifted. Truthfully, what in the shinobi world could outweigh the Jinchūriki? Yet without Kinoe's Wood-style, how could Danzo hope to keep that power under his control?
'So this is the game. Use Kakashi to force me into a corner, strip Kinoe from Root, and place him under Anbu. Hidezawa witnesses all this—he learns I must bend before the Hokage. And Hiruzen walks away with both Kinoe and my humiliation.'
His fists clenched until his knuckles whitened. It was only because he was not Hokage himself that he was being dragged around like this!
"So, Danzo, I will assign him to Anbu. Isn't Root, after all, a training ground for Anbu?"
Hiruzen's tone was measured, almost gentle.
"You have already sent many talents onward. Hidezawa is one such example. Now, I ask you to be magnanimous. To thank you for this contribution, I will wipe today's matter clean. Moreover, I can finally agree to that earlier request of yours."
That earlier request…
Danzo instantly understood. Contact between Hidezawa and Uzumaki Naruto. Yes, that had been the point of friction. But this? He had already lost Kinoe, and now Hiruzen dared to act magnanimous? Hypocrisy upon hypocrisy!
Anger burned in his one eye.
"Fine. Let it be as you say."
The words tore out, bitter as bile. Surrounded by Anbu on all sides, Danzo did not dare escalate further. What if Hiruzen truly seized this chance to dismantle Root entirely?
But still, he tried to salvage something. He pointed toward Hidezawa.
"However, I want a word with him alone. He came from Root. He is mine."
"Very well."
Hiruzen did not argue. But he did leave a reminder behind.
"We'll wait for him outside. Remember—he is Anbu now."
At his signal, the rooftop cleared. Anbu shadows flowed away, leaving only Danzo in the silent, gutted heart of Root.
It was, unmistakably, a snatch-and-grab.
"Hidezawa…"
Uzuki Yugao's face was pale. She tugged at Hidezawa's sleeve, unease written across her features. This was the first time she had witnessed such naked power struggles.
"Don't worry. Wait outside."
Hidezawa gently patted her shoulder, then stepped forward toward Danzo.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
As the chamber emptied, Danzo's mask cracked.
"Are you going to betray me like Kinoe? Do not forget—your orphanage director is waiting for funding. And do not forget, the Curse Seal on your body cannot be undone!"
'He's bluffing. Nono is in Iwagakure. And that Curse Seal? I tore it off long ago.'
Hidezawa scoffed inwardly, but on the surface he wore solemnity. He removed his mask, meeting Danzo's eye with seriousness.
"Danzo-sama, I haven't forgotten. I was only testing you earlier."
"Testing?"
Danzo almost laughed in disbelief. "You call aiding Kakashi a test?"
"That's right. A test."
Hidezawa's tone was firm.
"Danzo-sama wishes to become Hokage. That has always been my goal as well. Why else would I have sought you allies in Sunagakure, gifting you an opening to control them?"
For a rare moment, Danzo was at a loss. Put that way, the boy's actions did align.
"However," Hidezawa pressed on, "to be Hokage, you must have guards worthy of the title."
His gaze swept the Root shinobi present—mud-streaked, disheveled, still recovering from being dragged under by Earth Style ∙ Swamp of the Underworld.
His voice dropped, heavy with disdain.
"But I was disappointed. They could not even hold me. If true danger comes in the future, how can they hope to protect you, Danzo-sama?"
"What…?"
Aburame Tatsuma stiffened in shock. Any ordinary subordinate would have been executed on the spot for such words.
Yet Danzo only stared. Hidezawa's argument… it was perverse, but it fit. He was not a clan shinobi. He was Danzo's hand within Anbu. Why would such a weapon wreck Root without reason?
The explanation rang true.
'This boy… he may be the most loyal of them all.'
"I see."
Shimura Danzo gave a slow nod. "Perhaps I did misjudge you. Indeed, Root is lacking. They need harder training. A keener edge."
Hidezawa dipped his head in obedience, though inside, a chill ran through him for the shinobi around them. He could already imagine the "training" Danzo had in mind—merciless drills, conditioning until the body broke, until only tools remained.
But perhaps… when the day came, those tools could become his own to wield.
"Very well. Go. Do not keep the Hokage waiting outside."
Danzo's face was grim, but his tone had softened by a fraction.
"And never forget who you are."
Hidezawa bowed slightly. "Danzo-sama, I remember always: I am Root, I uphold your will, I act for Konoha."
That was the answer Danzo wanted to hear. Some of his tension eased. Today had already drained too much of his patience.
But high above, in the folds of a dimensional space, another observer watched silently. A masked man, unseen, studying.
"This boy… he is Uchiha Shisui's teammate?"
*****
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