Danzo stood rigidly at the far end of the briefing hall, where torchlight cast hard shadows across her face. Her narrowed eyes gleamed with cold calculation as she addressed Sarutobi Hiruzen sharply.
"Hiruzen!"
Her tone sliced through the silence between them. "Another group of Uchiha and Senju have left the village. The news from the Land of Whirlpools has likely reached them."
Sarutobi barely lifted his gaze at first. The furrow in his brow deepened slowly as he processed her words. If it had been only the Senju involved, he might have dismissed the matter entirely-irrelevant, even. The Senju had long outlived their usefulness.
"They hold some shallow prestige in the village," he said, his fingers tapping once against the armrest of the chair. "That's the extent of their value now."
Danzo stood perfectly straight. Her features remained composed, but behind her calm demeanor simmered impatience-and calculation. Her chin scar caught the light in one thin reflection.
"But if the Uchiha are involved," Hiruzen continued, "then it's another matter entirely."
His expression darkened. "They're strong enough to become troublesome-and their defection could fracture Konoha's foundation."
He stood and walked slowly toward the center of the room, hands clasped behind his back. He had worked tirelessly for years to lead this village forward. He considered his efforts justified-even noble. Few questioned his leadership aloud anymore, but certain clans whispered instead of speaking up directly... and several had stopped acknowledging his decrees outright.
Danzo folded her arms beneath her cloak and watched him pace. "It's already begun," she warned flatly. "More clans are mimicking their attitude-taking orders in name only while holding their own councils in secret."
Hiruzen stopped moving. He turned back to her with mild exasperation in his eyes-already expecting the direction this was heading.
"We planned for this," Danzo reminded him. "And the Whirlpool Country offers us the perfect justification for war."
"Yes." He nodded once, slowly. "We'll neutralize these threats on two fronts."
"Their sealing techniques are vital," she said. "We must secure them before anyone else gets involved."
"We will." Hiruzen stepped closer and took her hand without hesitation, squeezing gently. "Don't worry-this outcome might actually serve us better in the end."
Danzo narrowed her eyes but didn't pull away.
"What about our timeline?" he asked after several seconds. "How many have defected?"
"Roughly thirty Uchiha," she replied, "all ranked Chunin or higher. The Senju numbers are greater-a hundred total-but most are Genin."
"Acceptable losses," he replied without hesitation.
His confidence irked her slightly-but she hid it well under another practiced nod.
"The Whirlpool Country will fall," Hiruzen said, "and with it, those tied to its legacy-along with any future opposition inside Konoha."
Danzo's eyes lit faintly with realization as she saw where he was heading.
"The Uchiha's Fire against Water," she said aloud, "and the Senju's pitiful Water Style won't be enough to shift the tide."
She stepped closer to him with firm strides. "With those two groups crushed at once... the rest of our enemies will fall like leaves in autumn."
Hiruzen chuckled and stroked his beard approvingly.
"After that," he said, "we'll make sure every remaining dissident falls back in line."
Danzo wanted to sneer-but instead she tilted her head and gave him another saccharine smile.
"You're so bad."
"Do you like it then?"
"Mm."
They leaned close together under flickering lamplight-two figures smiling over their shared plan.
Behind Hiruzen's back, Danzo's eyes narrowed slightly again.
-
Meanwhile, Uzumaki Yusuke returned to his homeland with Kakuzu at his heels. One looked sullen while the other wore the faintest smile. Akira squinted from across the courtyard as he approached them both directly.
"You look like someone told you the world was ending," Akira said without preamble.
Kakuzu straightened slightly and bowed. "It happened after Yusuke-sama found out the truth."
Akira glanced at the older man and raised one brow when he noticed his empty hands. "You didn't find what I asked for?"
"No," Kakuzu replied sharply. "I chased down that swordsman-Xiguashan Puffer Demon-but he didn't have any special blade on him either."
Akira rubbed his jaw thoughtfully before looking back at Yusuke with narrowed eyes. "Could be they created those blades after stealing our sealing formulas..."
He didn't finish that thought aloud and turned away from them instead, eyes scanning the horizon momentarily before returning to Kakuzu again.
"You did well regardless. If we hold out this time, I'll leave Whirlpool finances in your hands from now on."
Kakuzu's hands clenched briefly out of rare satisfaction before he bowed again in gratitude.
"Do you want me on standby now?" he asked calmly.
Akira gave him a dry look before laughing under his breath once. "What? The bounties weren't impressive enough?"
"There's no end to how much money I want," Kakuzu said without hesitation.
Akira waved him off toward the front line. "Go then-but hang back unless they break through defense lines."
"Yes sir!"
Once Kakuzu disappeared over the ridge, Akira glanced sideways at Yusuke again, still staring into nothing at the edge of the temple steps.
"You look like someone just spit on everything you ever built," Akira said as he came to sit beside him.
"It wasn't just betrayal by Konoha…" Yusuke finally spoke-and then slammed one hand against the stone beside him, teeth clenched tightly.
"It was betrayal by Konoha."
There was conflict burning behind every word now-his shoulders stiffened, chest tight as he turned toward Akira with red-rimmed eyes.
"That village belongs to your clan-Senju-and mine! It carries our history-our unity! My niece married into it… and my daughter! And this is how they repay us?!"
Akira listened without interrupting. He knew Yusuke well enough not to dampen that fire until it was spent on its own.
"If that's how it is," Akira finally said, standing again slowly, "should we take our revenge on them?"
Yusuke looked up with disbelief-something in that calm tone cutting deeper than rage ever could.
"Ah?"
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