There are four routes from the Land of Fire to flee abroad:
By sea to the Land of Water,
North to the Land of Lightning,
South to the Land of Wind,
West to the Land of Earth.
Ever since Shimura Danzō defected, Konoha's pursuit hasn't stopped.
Anbu, clan shinobi, the regular army… once they heard what he'd done, everyone was furious.
The village was founded by the First (and Uchiha Madara), and you desecrated his corpse—betraying master and ancestors!
In the human world there are two monstrous sins: kicking in a widow's door, and digging up a childless family's grave. Shimura Danzō did both. He's no longer a person—hit him hard.
…
After a "kind" visit with the weeping widow Tanaka at the village gate, Minato—under Kushina's murderous glare—declared:
"Rest assured—we will not let the villain Shimura Danzō go! Konoha's entire shinobi army will deploy to bring him to justice!"
"A Fiend Against the Way." That's how the New Konoha Times labeled Danzō—an assessment the Hokage's office affirmed.
Confucius's disciple Zigong once critiqued King Zhou of Shang: "Zhou's wickedness may not have been so extreme; the gentleman hates to lie in the low places where all the world's filth runs down." Translation: "Was King Zhou really that bad? Maybe not. He simply lost, so every chamber pot gets dumped on him. Moral: you may die, but you mustn't lose."
Webnovel authors love the line: "I won, so you can't call me a war criminal!"
…
Right now Danzō was exactly that: the loser with every pot on his head. Give the New Konoha Times cats two bowls of silvervine beer and they'll write millions of words on his sins:
From peeking at granny's bath at age three, to stabbing the Second in the back at thirty, to stealing a kid's lollipop at sixty—painting him into an ultimate archvillain.
If Danzō had time to stop and buy a paper mid-flight, he might die of rage.
"Is that me? It isn't me!!"
Not that he had time. He was like a stray dog, sprinting full tilt toward Uchiha Yorin—to be precise, toward the Land of Rain.
While shaking pursuit, his intel net and loyal lieutenants took heavy losses; his news grew dull and slow.
In his view, Amegakure was still under Hanzo's rule. If he ran to a great nation, he'd be used up and tossed. If he built from scratch, too slow—he couldn't outlast the Fourth.
The Land of Rain, though—just right in every dimension; Hanzo senile—Danzō figured he could sweet-talk Hanzo into being his second Hiruzen. From that base, he could counterstrike Konoha.
Best case, he'd eye the Hokage's seat again; worst case, he'd be lord of one village. That was the plan.
He didn't know the sky over the Rain had changed—Hanzo was history, and Amegakure had only one sun now: Uchiha Yorin.
Not that it mattered. The world had no place left for Shimura Danzō.
…
Shinobi travel fast. Even with detours, fights, decoys—three days and he hit the Rain's border.
"A few steps more to Ame, then…"
Still in a forward lean, he took a few more steps and stopped, cautious eyes narrowing into the rain.
A terrifying chakra pressure ahead.
Jiraiya? Tsunade? Orochimaru?
Hearing Yorin had gathered the Sannin spooked him—worsening his dread of the man.
But from the rain walked only one person.
Not the Sannin—Uchiha Yorin.
"Well, if it isn't Elder Danzō."
Yorin smiled—same light, teasing tone as ever.
"Few days and you've really… let yourself go."
Danzō: "Uchiha Yorin…"
If he still didn't grasp Yorin's role in the Fourth's plan, his years were for nothing.
Beside anger, he felt deep regret—and fear.
If time flowed backwards, he'd never have invited Yorin into Anbu.
Bringing a wolf into the house? Worse. It was handing the keys to the wolf.
He still wondered: how did Yorin turn Orochimaru against him?
With a virility tonic?
Too darkly funny.
Yorin: "That's why I say—old men who can't keep up should retire gracefully. Why stick your neck out and make it ugly for everyone?"
Danzō wanted to say, "Everything I did was for Konoha."
"An Uchiha like you could never understand my greatness." Or similar nonsense.
He didn't.
Waste of breath.
At the end, the master of word games chose silence—and to stand like a warrior.
"Lord Danzō!"
His Root diehards cried, "We'll cover you—please withdraw!"
Missing arms and legs, chakra spent—they still pressed to help him run.
Danzō refused.
Not out of love for subordinates—he knew, this time, he wouldn't escape.
So Shimura Danzō joined the hunt.
In the pounding rain, he drew a kunai and took a stance facing Yorin.
Yorin: "Yes—accept your fate head-on. That's the look, Danzō."
He slid his blades free—ready to go all-out and see him off.
Danzō: "Brat—think victory is yours? Such arrogance. Careful you don't die ugly."
Yorin: "Victory or defeat—we'll know if we fight."
He flowed into the Uchiha Two-Sword stance—at the same moment, the system chimed.
[Boss Quest · "Rot of Root" (You call yourself the Darkness of Shinobi? Then be buried in the dark.) Objective: Defeat Shimura Danzō. Reward: +1 Free Attribute Point.]