Chapter 9: Danzo Played for a Fool
"Lord Danzo, my real body is right at the spot where the first explosion tag went off."
"So it really was you who caused that commotion just now."
"Yes, Lord Danzo. I didn't want my shadow clone to be wiped out by Root's shinobi before it could even speak. Please forgive me."
"Boy, I advise you not to think about struggling. This place is full of Root shinobi. Even if you want to set up an ambush, there's no chance. Don't ruin the rare trust I'm giving you!" Danzo seemed to be warning Uchiha Akira.
In truth, this was Danzo deliberately loosening Akira's guard—making it clear that he was wary, so that Akira would relax. After all, if a man about to surrender found his enemy trusting him completely, he'd suspect something.
Sure enough, Danzo noticed Akira's expression ease a little. Kid, you're still too green.
"I know my situation. I won't do anything reckless. In that case, Lord Danzo, I will release the shadow clone now. I'll be waiting for you up ahead, and I hope you'll keep your promise."
With that, he dispelled the clone.
"Lord Danzo, are we really going?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't we? Just a brat from the Uchiha—what tricks could he possibly pull?"
"Yes, sir." Root operatives never questioned Danzo's orders.
In just a few flickers, the group arrived at Akira's location.
There, Uchiha Akira sat casually on a rock, with a forced but fawning smile on his face.
Danzo didn't care about smiles—what mattered was getting those Mangekyō Sharingan. He wouldn't have minded sacrificing even Hiruzen's wife for them, though Biwako had already died in the Nine-Tails' attack.
"All right, take out the goods for the trade. Once the exchange is complete, I'll spare your life. Don't tell me, after leading us in circles, you've been lying all along."
"Not at all, Lord Danzo. I do have Mangekyō Sharingan, but I demand we trade outside the village. Inside, there are barriers everywhere. If you go back on your word, who could I complain to?"
"Hmph, at least you've got some sense. After all this effort, of course we'll leave the village."
"Exactly, Lord Danzo."
A little closer… just a little closer. Activate the Mangekyō technique! Akira inched within thirty meters of Danzo. The closer the better—his control over his left eye's dojutsu was still rough, and distance mattered.
"Stop there. Keep your distance," Danzo ordered cautiously. He didn't know why Akira, in his true body, was acting braver than before, but he wasn't taking chances.
"I've got sensory ninjutsu. I know this is your real body—don't try anything foolish," Danzo warned again, careful not to push Akira into desperation.
"Elder Danzo, there's still one thing I don't quite understand. I hope you can clear it up for me."
"What is it? As long as it's not a Konoha secret, I can tell you." Not that it matters—you'll be dead soon anyway.
"Well then—" Suddenly, Akira released a Fire Style jutsu toward the sky: "Fire Style—Dragon Flame Song Technique!"
"What the hell are you doing, brat?" The flames soared harmlessly upward, but such an action was nothing less than provocation. If not for the upward aim, Root shinobi would've reflexively attacked.
Then Akira shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Why did Elder Danzo steal Elder Koharu's bra and panties?! Do you have some thoughts about Elder Koharu?!"
"Damn it! He used the fire jutsu to break the soundproof barrier!" Only then did Danzo realize he had been set up just to be humiliated. Rage boiled inside him.
"You little brat—you dare ruin my reputation?!" Danzo roared. "So the Mangekyō was a fake after all?!"
"Elder Danzo, I don't understand what you mean. But if Elder Koharu finds out you stole her underwear, you're in real trouble!" By now, the sleeping villagers nearby had begun lighting lamps one after another, woken by Akira's deafening voice.
"Seize him! Now!" Danzo was livid. If rumors of him stealing Koharu's underwear spread by tomorrow, how could he ever become Hokage?
Such malice! Unforgivable!
"Elder Danzo, I really do have Mangekyō Sharingan." Akira then pulled out the eyeball Fugaku had recently given him.
"Lord Danzo, it's really a Sharingan. Whether it's Mangekyō or not, I can't sense," the sensory shinobi beside him confirmed.
Danzo instantly changed expressions. "If you truly have Mangekyō Sharingan, boy, then should we still consider a trade?"
If Danzo never learned face-changing arts, I wouldn't believe it, Akira thought bitterly.
Caught between shock and delight, Danzo didn't notice Akira edging closer. Root operatives had absolute confidence they could stop any attack anyway.
"Got you!" Akira's left eye spun open. "Spatial Severance!"
With all his preparation, Akira opened a space gate that sliced past Danzo's bandaged arm—
"Ahhh!" Danzo howled. He reacted fast enough to keep his life, but lost a massive chunk of flesh near his shoulder.
The space gate had opened too quickly and too narrowly for him to defend.
"Protect Lord Danzo!" Root shinobi immediately closed in.
"No matter. I don't know what that ranged technique was, but you won't get another chance. Uchiha Akira, was that your trump card? Hmph—pitiful struggle!" Danzo tried to act unfazed, though he trembled from the pain. In front of his subordinates, he couldn't show weakness.
"Capture him! Dead or alive—I'll make him regret ever being born!"
"Earth Style—Earth Flow Wall!" Akira used his only Earth Style jutsu, raising four stone walls to block their view. He tossed down a smoke bomb, activated his Mangekyō, and slipped into another space.
"Farewell, old fool," he spat a curse before vanishing.
"Not good, my lord—Uchiha Akira has vanished from my sensory field!" When the smoke cleared, he was gone without a trace.
"Damn brat! Search! Search everywhere! I refuse to believe he can escape Konoha itself!"
Danzo was on the brink of madness—wounded, humiliated, played for a fool from start to finish. And worst of all, the Mangekyō Sharingan he craved had disappeared along with Akira.
"Uchiha Akira—I'll see you dead!"