"Cooperate?"
Danzo looked at the Fox before him.
It wasn't that Danzo hadn't considered targeting Fox, but he had never succeeded.
First, because Fox's strength increased too rapidly. One moment he was a Jōnin, then before you knew it, he was at Kage-level, and now his strength could overpower a Tailed Beast. Targeting Fox now seemed unwise.
Second, because Fox was, on the track of being unscrupulous, on par with Danzo himself. The methods Danzo used against Hatake Sakumo and Tsunade were useless against Fox.
Danzo knew Fox's true identity. From what Danzo knew, Fox had no less than seven or eight lovers. He couldn't possibly kill all eight at once. Killing one or two, Fox would probably only be sad for one night. Killing three or five would only enrage Fox, making it not worth the loss.
An Anbu ninja who was both powerful and unscrupulous was simply flawless.
Danzo's eyes flickered. "Fox, how do you propose we cooperate?"
Yōkō said, "Lord Danzo, you must know that I wanted to obtain the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage-sama. However, the Hokage-sama refused my request. The Scroll of Seals is very important to me. Just like Orochimaru wanted the Scroll of Seals, I urgently desire it as well. When a ninja's strength grows to a certain level, ordinary jutsu become somewhat inadequate. Forbidden jutsu are the ladder for further improvement. I wonder what I can offer you, Lord Danzo, in exchange for the Scroll of Seals."
Danzo understood and relaxed slightly.
So that's it. Fox, like Orochimaru, has begun pursuing the top-tier power of the ninja world. Wood Release is not enough to satisfy Fox's ambition. He has touched the limits of Wood Release and now wants more.
Danzo said, "I am not an old fossil like Sarutobi Hiruzen. It's not impossible for you to get the Scroll of Seals from me..."
Danzo stared at Fox, remembering the previous times he had sought the Mangekyō, only to be thwarted by Fox. His tone grew increasingly unpleasant.
Seeming to guess what Danzo was thinking, Yōkō explained, "Lord Danzo, the minor conflicts we had before were all because of Lord Yellow Dog. There were some misunderstandings between Advisor Shinnosuke and you. As Advisor Shinnosuke's subordinate, of course I had to help resolve the advisor's troubles. Now that Lord Shinnosuke has unfortunately sacrificed himself, I believe those misunderstandings can be cleared up. In fact, there is no real conflict between us, is there?"
Danzo thought to himself, That's a decent explanation. It holds up.
Over the past few years, Danzo's setbacks had all come from the expansion of Sarutobi Shinnosuke's faction. Shinnosuke went from Anbu Battalion Commander to Deputy Head, from Deputy Head to Head, and from Head to Advisor. Konoha's power was like a six-inch cake; the more Shinnosuke took, the more others had to give up. Danzo was the one who had to give up the most.
Fox, as Shinnosuke's number one confidant, had targeted him at every turn. Now that Shinnosuke was dead, Fox was looking for a new partner. And the power Danzo had lost, Hiruzen was unwilling to return to him.
Danzo said, "The matter of Shinnosuke is in the past. He, at least, dared to take responsibility and was more willing to sacrifice for Konoha than the likes of Orochimaru or Jiraiya. My demand is simple: Tobi's Mangekyō Sharingan. Bring it to me, and I will give you Konoha's Scroll of Seals."
Yōkō thought, You old thief, still coveting the Mangekyō. He glanced at Otsu, Uchiha Mizukiku, standing behind Danzo. Instead of wanting Tobi's Mangekyō, you should focus on scheming against this traitor Uchiha Mizukiku. You might get a Mangekyō faster that way.
Yōkō pretended to be very troubled. "Lord Danzo, you know that Tobi comes and goes freely; he's very difficult to capture. Moreover, he is an important subordinate of Uchiha Madara. On my way here, I anticipated your conditions, Lord Danzo, and thought you might want a Mangekyō. To deal with someone like Tobi who moves freely, we must attack what he is forced to protect, not letting him run around. That is to say, we must strike at Uchiha Madara himself. That way, Tobi can only stay and guard Madara, giving us a chance to kill him."
Danzo nodded. "Indeed."
Yōkō continued, "Not to be arrogant, but right now, even if I can't fight Uchiha Madara to a standstill, I can hold my own against him for a short time. But I cannot free my hands to deal with Tobi. Lord Danzo, how about this: I hold off Uchiha Madara, and you take Tobi's Mangekyō?"
Danzo frowned.
Fox's assessment didn't seem wrong. He wasn't boasting; this seemed like the method with the highest chance of success.
Danzo didn't agree immediately. Instead, he said, "Fox, first investigate Tobi's intelligence, how to obtain the Mangekyō. We can discuss it further after that."
Yōkō knew Danzo was shrewd and wouldn't fall for it easily. He didn't say anything more and left the Root base.
Danzo watched Fox's retreating back, noting that he didn't use the Flying Thunder God.
Then he mentally scoffed. The Flying Thunder God requires space-time ninjutsu talent and precise spatial control. Even if Fox obtained the technique, how could he learn it in a day or two?
The next day, Yōkō arrived at the Anbu headquarters and entered the Head of Anbu's office.
This office had once belonged to Danzo, later to Sarutobi Shinnosuke, and now it belonged to him.
The entire Anbu was under his control.
The bits of sand that Hiruzen and Danzo had sprinkled in were all within Yōkō's grasp.
Just as Hiruzen used Konoha's greater good to demand sacrifices from ninja, Yōkō could easily use the Anbu's rules to control or eliminate any subordinate.
As easy as drinking water.
In just two days, those grains of sand had already felt the mountain-like pressure emanating from the new Head.
Yakushi Nonō, wearing her Snow Rabbit mask, entered the Head of Anbu's office.
Yakushi Nonō placed a scroll on the desk. "Head, this is the intelligence summary from Iwagakure. I have made contact with the intelligence chief in Iwagakure. With this, contact has been re-established with the intelligence chiefs of all the ninja villages."
Yōkō looked at the scroll as Yakushi Nonō explained beside him.
"Lord Fox, after you killed three Kumo-nin executives in the Land of Hot Water, the ninja world has fallen into an eerie quiet. For the other villages, a terrifying deterrence has emerged. Uchiha Madara's rogue ninja organization deters Konoha, so Konoha dares not act recklessly. You, Lord Fox, deter the other villages, as no village wants to see their Tailed Beast killed. After Kumogakure suffered heavy losses, forces within Iwagakure are growing restless. Many Jōnin are demanding a sneak attack on Kumogakure. However, Iwagakure also participated in the operation that killed Advisor Shinnosuke. Ōnoki is worried that Konoha will retaliate against them. So, for now, the various parties are in a state of deterrence balance. The Guardian Ninja of our vassal states are temporarily safe."
Yōkō nodded. "How can we tell Ōnoki to feel free to deal with Kumogakure, that I absolutely will not take the opportunity to cause trouble?"
Yakushi Nonō shook her head. "No matter what we say, Ōnoki won't believe it. It will only make him more vigilant."
Yōkō thought, They are all old foxes. Danzo is an old fox, and Ōnoki is an old fox too.
He gestured for Yakushi Nonō to come around the desk to his side.
Why bother studying a few middle-aged, greasy men? The great beauty is right in front of me.
Wrapping his arm around Yakushi Nonō's waist, feeling the curve of her hips, Yōkō said, "There's no need to use your disguise secret technique when you're back in the village. Aside from wearing the mask, there's no need to alter your figure."
Yakushi Nonō cupped Yōkō's face, looking into his pitch-black eyes through the mask.
She finally didn't have to follow Danzo's or the village's orders, didn't have to run around everywhere. She could finally return to the orphanage to see the children regularly.
All of this was because of the man before her.
This man always gave her a sense of security. Her efforts were all worth it.
"Come to my orphanage tonight, okay..."
"Tonight? I don't think that's necessary."
Yakushi Nonō's heart tightened.
With her observational skills, she had long seen that the other assistant, Purple Cat, had a deep relationship with Fox.
So, in the end, I'm still not as important as Purple Cat, who has been with Fox the longest?
She immediately adjusted her mindset and her breathing.
In the Anbu, such jealous emotions were laughable.
Yōkō continued to feel the curve of Yakushi Nonō's waist and hips. "I can't wait until tonight. I need to deal with one of Danzo's spies first. You go wait in the adjoining suite restroom. I'll be there shortly."
Yakushi Nonō let out a soft hum and walked towards the side restroom.
Yōkō picked up the scroll. After analyzing it, he decided to seek Hippo's opinion on whether to eliminate this spy.
Hippo was now more useful to him than even White Ram.
White Ram had been with him for too long and had become a bit too... 'good', unlike Hippo, who was truly Konoha's moral floor.
Over half an hour later, Yakushi Nonō left the office and saw Purple Cat, who was preparing to report.
Yakushi Nonō thought of the traces of other women in Fox's restroom... From her, right? Purple Cat...
Purple Cat visibly held her breath, extremely wary of this suddenly appeared second assistant, Snow Rabbit.
***
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