-before sasuke's return to Konoha.
-Danzo POV
I do not have much time left.
That should not come as a surprise. I am old. How many more years will I last? Five? Ten? I would be lucky if my life lasted for twenty more years. Konoha must last much longer than I will.
ROOT serves to protect Konoha. It is the shadow behind the flame. If we do not sabotage our enemies, if we do not prevent them growing stronger then us then they will eliminate us without a shred of hesitation.
Kumogakure believed us to be weak. We proved them wrong and showed the world we are strong. In the aftermath of that war we have gained three geniuses beyond peer.
Haruno Sakura. A genius in medical ninjutsu, her healing seal is a revolutionary breakthrough, allowing shinobi to continue fighting despite heavy injuries. Allowing our soldiers to survive even the most grievous of wounds.
Hinata Hyuga. Quite possibly the most dangerous of the three. Her ranged capabilities allow her to eliminate any target within her gargantuan field of vision. She is an assassin without equal. Her close quarters capabilities close any weakness she may have had. The ability to deploy shadow clones for assassinations gives our village the ability to eliminate almost any enemy shinobi, including S-Rank shinobi, so long as their current location is known to us.
Sasuke Uchiha. His Eternal Mangekyou makes him the biggest asset Konoha currently holds. His proficiency with the abilities of his Mangekyou have started to rival even those of his brother. Whilst his Susanoo lags behind the expertise of his brother, the expertise with which he wields the black flames have long since eclipsed those of Itachi. He is ruthless, unafraid of any actions necessary to earn victory.
Of the three Sasuke Uchiha is without a doubt the most qualified to lead ROOT after I perish. I will have to insist for him to begin attending our village's strategy meetings, the lessons he will learn from witnessing them will certainly prove themselves invaluable.
The only issue is my arm and the sharingan inside of it. If he were to learn of them and our involvement in the massacre then he would almost certainly leave the village. From his demeanour it is safe to infer that he is as of yet unaware.
One option is to keep hiding the arm and the sharingan, but that would weaken our village. This makes it unacceptable. The strength of our village must be preserved, else our enemies succeed when they pounce at the first sign of weakness.
I require a method to both secure him as a successor and grant him the hashirama cells and the sharingan. Kotoamatsukami is not an acceptable compromise, it may compromise his decision making if I were to use it to force his acceptance.
There is the option of surrendering to him. A gamble. Sasuke may just eliminate me and then simply leave the village afterwards.
I begin tapping my cane on the floor, thinking. If he were susceptible to bribery then he wouldn't even be a candidate for ROOT leadership, as such that option is also promptly tabled.
Introducing ROOT would not have worked even if he were unaware of my affiliation with it. He would easily discover it and it may just as easily make him leave the village.
I stop my tapping. The best option is to make him part of ROOT at first, unaware of my involvement in the massacre. Once he has committed to both ROOT and the village then I can surrender myself to him. That would both bind him closer to the village and to ROOT. His ruthlessness and practical mindset will accept leadership of ROOT afterwards.
It is settled. I must continue providing him with opportunities to weaken our enemies. If he proves himself amenable then he will slowly but surely bind himself closer to me and the village.
I smile. Soon a new age will come for our village. One in which our enemies will exist no longer. Where our survival and prosperity will be without question. I hope that I will live long enough to see it, long enough to witness the beginning of our golden age.
—
AN : This interlude is shorter than usual but there wasn't anything else that came to mind to add here.
What do you think of this arc? Hope you have enjoyed it :).
The next arc should have more action hopefully. There really wasn't any way Danzo would have lived through that arrow if caught without Izanagi. Deidara has no reason not to just fly, never land, and just carpet bomb everyone's ass.