Darkness.
Cold, gritty, suffocating darkness.
That was the first thing he felt before memory returned like a slow-turning wheel: an office cubicle, glowing monitors, a late shift, and then—pain. A shudder. A darkness that was not sleep but something deeper.
And then, sound.
A drip of water. The scraping of stone. A low, rhythmic hum of air moving through scroll-lined tunnels.
His eyes opened.
Instead of the dying glow of computer screens, he found himself staring at a dim chamber lit by flickering torches. Their flames danced against stone walls etched with seals. His body felt heavy, old, yet powerful in a muted, restrained way.
He sat up.
A sharp jolt ran through him—memories that were not his, flooding like a river breaking a dam. Missions. War councils. The Third Hokage's reproachful eyes. A lifetime of shadows, of Root, of emotionless training. A lifetime walking the razor's edge between necessary evil and monstrous ambition.
His breath hitched.
"This… isn't real." His voice came out rough, aged.
But the face reflected in the polished metal plate across the chamber was unmistakable:
Bandaged right eye. Bandaged arm. Grey hair. Cold expression.
Shimura Danzo.
The villain. The extremist. The man who made more orphans than he ever saved. The man destined to die beneath Sasuke's blade.
"No, no, no—this is insane."
He stumbled to his feet, and a sharp chime sounded in his mind.
Ding.
The world froze.
A translucent, floating interface appeared—geometric, orderly, almost mechanical. Lines of text formed with the crisp precision of a scroll unrolling.
> ROOT SYSTEM INITIALIZED
Host: Shimura Danzo (Soul overridden)
Objective: Strengthen Konoha from the shadows.
Primary Directives:
1. Survive the canonical timeline.
2. Prevent catastrophic village outcomes.
3. Accumulate strategic assets through missions and influence.
Starter Functions Online:
• Emotion Regulation: Temporarily suppress oppressive emotions or enhance clarity.
• Root Expansion: Recruit, train, or recondition agents through system missions.
• Shadow Archive: Access knowledge on jutsu, bloodlines, and threats.
Penalty for failure:
Village destruction = Host mind erasure.
The interface faded.
He exhaled shakily. The shock of transmigration loosened its grip, replaced by a cold, creeping awareness.
He was Danzo. Or at least, he was in Danzo's body, inheriting all the political nightmares that came with it.
And the system… it didn't feel optional.
He steadied himself and took stock of his surroundings. This wasn't the Root base he remembered from canon; it was one of the older chambers, sealed off years before by Sarutobi's demands. Old masks hung on the walls—porcelain ANBU visages cracked or yellowed with age. Scrolls rested in stone alcoves, sealed with archaic designs.
He'd woken up in a place forgotten by the village.
Perfect for secrets.
He took a deep breath and tried to think logically.
Step one: understand the timeline.
"System," he said aloud. "When am I?"
A soft chime replied:
> Current era:
Year 57 after the founding of Konoha.
Notable events:
• Nine years until Uchiha Massacre.
• Twelve years until the Chuunin Exam invasion.
• Thirteen years until Akatsuki escalation.
Danzo's current political status:
Elder of Konoha
Root officially disbanded
Unofficial influence: medium
Relationship with Hiruzen: strained but intact
Nine years. Nine full years before the massacre.
He sat back on the cold stone bench, mind racing.
This wasn't a gift—it was a loaded kunai disguised as a blessing. Danzo's legacy was a time bomb. One wrong step and the village would ignite. But maybe—just maybe—he could steer this cursed life toward something better. Not sainthood; that ship sailed decades ago. But survival? Stability? Avoiding the idiocy that doomed Root and Konoha alike?
That, he could do.
But only if he tread carefully.
He rose and walked toward a water basin carved into the wall. His reflection stared back: the infamous bandages, the craggy lines of age, the sharp glint of suspicion in every feature.
He peeled back the bandages around his arm.
He exhaled in relief.
The arm was normal: skin pale and wrinkled but not twisted with Hashirama cells or implanted Sharingan. So this was before Danzo mutilated himself.
He touched the bandages around his right eye.
"System… the Sharingan?"
> No ocular implants detected.
Host is in a baseline state.
Good. Good. The path to making rational choices was still open.
Footsteps echoed down the stone corridor.
Danzo—and he had to start thinking of this body as "he"—straightened instinctively. Old Root conditioning tugged at his posture. He needed to appear exactly as Danzo would: cold, calculating, without hesitation.
Two masked agents emerged, kneeling immediately.
"Danzo-sama," they said in unison, voices low. "Your recovery from meditation was successful. We await orders."
He swallowed.
They looked young—early twenties at most. Loyal. Too loyal. Root had shaped them into tools, stripping emotion, mercy, and independent thought.
He couldn't show softness. Not yet. These people were conditioned to obey ruthlessly, and any deviation would spark suspicion or fracture the fragile foundation he stood on.
"Report," he commanded, letting the natural authority of Danzo's voice guide him.
One agent stepped forward. "The Hokage's observers have reduced surveillance. The political council awaits your appearance at midday. They are discussing border disputes with the Lightning Country."
A political meeting. Danzo needed to act normal, or suspicion would spread like a plague.
"And the Third Hokage?" he asked.
"Hiruzen-sama has sent no new directives regarding Root," the agent replied. "He expects your cooperation."
Cooperation. The word felt sour, as if Danzo's memories rejected it on instinct.
But he forced himself calm.
"Prepare for departure," he said. "We attend the council."
The agents vanished.
As their chakra signatures faded, the system chimed again:
> New Mission Available:
"First Steps in the Shadows"
Attend the political council meeting.
Maintain credible behavior as Shimura Danzo.
Evaluate the current state of Konoha's power balance.
Rewards:
+1 Root Influence
+1 Political Insight
Unlock partial Village Faction Map
Rewards for just… showing up? Fine. He needed intel desperately.
He walked toward the chamber exit—but paused.
His hands trembled.
Not with fear, but with something deeper. A burden older than any single lifetime. The weight of history, of expectations, of the monstrous legacy Danzo represented.
He pressed a palm against the cold stone.
"If I'm stuck in your skin," he whispered to the man who was both him and not him, "then I'll rewrite your fate. Mine too."
His footsteps echoed through the corridor as he ascended toward daylight.
───
The Root tunnels gave way to the surface: a shaded grove behind training fields rarely used by civilians. Leaf-patterned shadows flickered on stone. From here, the Hokage Tower rose tall above the village.
Konoha.
Seeing it in person—alive, not animated, not drawn—sent a jolt through him. The warm breeze. The distant shouts of children training. The smell of woodsmoke and leaf mulch. It was… real. Tangible. A place worth saving.
And a place Danzo had nearly destroyed.
He forced himself forward.
The Hokage Tower loomed like a sentinel, and as he entered the council chamber, familiar faces turned toward him:
Homura. Koharu. Shikaku Nara. Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.
The Third Hokage looked older than expected but still sharp-eyed, pipe smoke curling lazily around him. Those eyes flickered briefly with suspicion—then softened into something else. Weariness, perhaps. A lifetime of disagreement hung between them like an unspoken curse.
"Danzo," Hiruzen said. "I didn't expect you so soon."
A test.
Danzo bowed—crisp, formal, not too low. "Konoha's matters demand vigilance."
A murmur swept the room.
Good. That sounded appropriately Danzo-like.
He took his seat.
The meeting began with border reports, diplomatic disputes, troop allocations. But as he listened, the system quietly overlaid subtle text across his vision:
> Political Insight +1
Faction Map partially unlocked.
Current Faction Strengths:
• Hokage Administration: Strong
• Uchiha Clan: Rising Tension
• Civilian Council: Moderate
• Danzo/Root: Weak (surveillance high)
Weak. Good. That meant he had room to rebuild without drawing attention.
Halfway through Shikaku's analysis of border skirmishes, he detected movement behind the Hokage—a familiar chakra presence.
Nara Shikamaru's father gave him a sidelong glance. Calculating. Measuring. And something else: curiosity.
Danzo kept his face impassive.
At the meeting's end, Hiruzen approached him privately.
"Danzo," the Hokage said quietly. "You've been… calm today. Almost agreeable."
A trap.
He answered carefully, letting a hint of steel edge his tone. "Even in peace, vigilance is required."
Hiruzen studied him for a long, silent moment.
Then nodded.
"Join me for tea later," he said. "We should speak."
A conversation with the Hokage on Day One? Dangerous.
But unavoidable.
As Danzo left the tower, the system chimed again:
> Mission Complete: First Steps in the Shadows
Rewards Granted
New Mission Unlocked:
"Anchor Yourself" – Meet with Hiruzen Sarutobi
Objective: Establish your long-term strategic persona.
He stepped into the sunlit courtyard, inhaling deeply.
He had nine years before the massacre. Nine years before the world burned. Nine years before Root's darkest legacy unfolded.
He wasn't here to repeat Danzo's sins.
He was here to shape something different.
Something better.
Something new.
He clenched his fist.
"This time," he whispered, "Konoha won't fall from within."
And with that, he walked toward the Hokage's residence.