Kazuyama Gekkō's attitude changed in an instant—he suddenly came alive. After all, they were talking about taking down Root, about taking down Danzō. That alone was enough to get him fired up.
He didn't have many virtues, but one of them was holding grudges.
Anyone who crossed him or set him up—he'd remember it for life.
And Danzō Shimura? That old fossil from Konoha had sabotaged him more than once. On top of that, he'd butted heads with Kazuyama's own sensei.
All these debts stacked up, one on top of the other. The conclusion was simple: he had to crush him. Crush him completely.
"Uh, Kazuyama, weren't you just saying you were too old to move?"
"How come the moment Root is mentioned, you're suddenly full of energy again?"
Minato Namikaze laughed lightly, his tone teasing. Even Fugaku Uchiha at his side wore a smile.
None of them liked Root—not the organization itself, but the man leading it, Danzō Shimura.
This was someone who truly walked in the shadows, a man with no moral bottom line.
To Kazuyama Gekkō, he was a schemer who had set him up time and again.
To Fugaku Uchiha, he was a ticking time bomb threatening the safety of his clan.
"Heh, you both know my history with that old bastard."
"The way he screwed me over back then—man, I suffered."
Kazuyama Gekkō sniffled and carried on dramatically, recounting the times Danzō had made his life miserable.
But it was all true. Ever since Danzō had set his eyes on him, the man hadn't left him alone for a moment. If not for Orochimaru stepping in front to shield him back then, his life might have been very different.
"Alright, drop the act."
"The reality is the village has no choice but to restructure Root."
"If Root is allowed to keep growing and splintering the village's power, then when we're forced to face Uchiha Madara or someone wielding the Rinnegan, we'll be hit from both inside and outside."
"As Hokage, I will never let that happen."
Minato's expression was firm, his words carrying the weight of responsibility. He was Hokage—whether he liked it or not, these burdens fell on him.
"Enough talk. Just tell me what to do."
"Fine. As long as you agree, I'll start going after Root. Leave it to me—you can count on it."
Seeing Kazuyama Gekkō slap his chest with confidence stirred Minato's heart. His decisiveness was undeniable.
"Not yet."
"Root has already been assigned to negotiate with Amegakure."
"Once they leave on that mission, that's when you'll move."
"But Kazuyama, I want no casualties. Can you do that?"
No casualties?
Kazuyama Gekkō frowned. Root's brainwashing was infamous—unparalleled. Even if those operatives survived, would they really be controllable afterward?
Seeing his doubt, Minato continued.
"I know what you're thinking. Root's conditioning runs deep, but it's not impossible to undo."
"Fugaku, if you used your Sharingan to cast genjutsu on them, could you erase certain memories? Let them live normal lives again?"
Only then did Kazuyama Gekkō and Fugaku Uchiha realize why Minato had called both of them here. He had planned this all along.
Even the most thorough brainwashing could be broken by the Sharingan's illusions.
After all, as one of the Three Great Dōjutsu, the Sharingan was unmatched in genjutsu.
"In theory, yes. I could use genjutsu to reconstruct their thoughts."
"As long as they're not influenced externally afterward, it should hold."
Fugaku's mastery of genjutsu was undeniable, backed by the authority of the Uchiha clan head.
And he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. While his specific eye abilities weren't genjutsu-related, the sheer power of the Mangekyō was unrivaled.
"Good. That way, we can preserve as many Root operatives as possible."
"They're still part of the village's strength. If we can keep them, we should."
And so, the three schemers plotted atop that high platform, discussing how to swallow Root whole.
In the end, they decided not to rush. They would wait until Root deployed to Amegakure.
At that point, Kazuyama Gekkō would strike, starting with publicly suppressing Root.
As for how—he said he had his own methods.
What he wanted to know now was simple: would Danzō himself be among the Root members sent to Amegakure?
If yes, perfect. If not, at least it would still make the old man miserable.
...
After the meeting, Kazuyama Gekkō paid a special visit to Amegakure.
The village was in shambles, rebuilding from the ground up. Konan was so busy she barely knew which way was north. If not for Mei Terumi's help, she might have collapsed already.
When Kazuyama arrived, Konan finally managed to steal a moment's rest.
"Kazuyama, you have no idea how hard it is to straighten out an entire village."
"That old bastard Hanzō—who knows what he was thinking? The village finances are riddled with holes, the manpower distribution is a mess, and he actually dedicated thirty percent of our forces just to protect his own fortress."
"What was going through his head?"
Kazuyama Gekkō only laughed. He knew well enough that once Hanzō had grown old, he had declined steadily, living in constant fear of being assassinated.
And in the end, that fear proved true—he'd been killed.
Beaten down in a group assault, no less.
"Relax. Back then, didn't you and Yahiko sort out Takigakure the same way?"
"If it gets too overwhelming, just have Yahiko send people to help you."
"After all, Amegakure and Takigakure are practically one now."
Konan nodded helplessly. There was no other choice.
"But Kazuyama, why are you here?"
"Did something happen?"
Kazuyama Gekkō nodded and explained that Konoha had dispatched Root members to Amegakure.
Konan stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. She knew that if Kazuyama had come in person, he already had a counterplan in mind.
"Heh, Konan, I want you to keep every single Konoha operative who comes here."
"Don't send them back. And if Danzō is among them, I'll personally come deal with him."
Konan blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Kazuyama to be so direct.
"Don't overthink it. That man, Danzō Shimura, is called the 'Darkness of the Ninja World.' His existence distorts too many things."
"So removing him early is no bad thing."
Konan knew of Danzō as well. Beyond her initial surprise, nothing about Kazuyama's words felt wrong to her.