Chapter 94: Danzo's Approval
"Keep the music playing, keep dancing!"
Sasuke enjoyed the vacation service organized by Tekudo. Thinking of the miserable end awaiting Mitokado Takashi, he felt every cell in his body light up with joy. With Danzo's style, who doesn't tolerate even a speck of sand in his eyes, no one could protect Takashi.
As he ate stew and sang, a small team of Root ninjas arrived at the door. Shadows lengthened and from them emerged four silent figures, wearing Root's emotionless porcelain masks. The air grew cold.
"Sasuke Umino, your incident has been exposed. Come with us."
They were elites, at least special jonin. Sasuke considered fighting back, but he knew it was useless. He was in Shinano Castle, the army headquarters. He could only let himself be handcuffed and follow them. Fortunately, they didn't put a seal to block his chakra, which indicated it wasn't an arrest for execution. He abandoned the idea of resisting and decided to wait and see what happened.
Soon, he was led to the recreation yard outside headquarters, not a prison, where he waited to be interrogated.
"I shed blood for Konoha, I made contributions for Konoha, you can't do this to me...!"
At that moment, a jonin who had just been interrogated by Shimura Danzo himself kept shouting about his merits. With a cold snort and a quick movement of a tanto, the jonin was executed on the spot. The silence that followed was heavier than any scream.
Soon, it was Sasuke's turn. He felt relieved to see that he was being led to one of the small, dark rooms next door, not Danzo's. However, a Root ninja stopped him. "Sasuke Umino, come with me. Lord Danzo personally summons you."
'What should I do?' he thought, stunned, his heart a bundle of nerves. Meeting Danzo was practically a death sentence. Just as he made the decision to resist, the Root ninja removed his handcuffs. He realized it was a formal summons, not a prisoner interrogation.
He followed the ninja to the headquarters office. It was dark, the curtains drawn.
"Are you Sasuke Umino?" a cold, piercing voice came from the shadows.
"Yes, Vice-Hokage, I am Umino Sasuke," he responded instantly, standing at attention like a soldier.
"Vice-Hokage?" Danzo murmured to himself, seeming to acknowledge the title. He slowly emerged from the shadows, with a sinister look in his single eye. "According to Sarutobi Kagejiro's report, you are suspected of corruption. I'm giving you an opportunity to explain yourself."
'Corruption?' Sasuke's brain worked at full speed. The only thing Kagejiro could have reported was the use of Tekudo's supplies.
"Vice-Hokage, it's unjust!" he hastily explained, presenting the promissory note the Teku family had prepared for him. He explained that the use of the Iron Gates was payment for teaching Tekudo an A-rank defensive technique. He continued to cry about how he had been subsidizing the war for years, going into debt to fight Sunagakure.
"Vice-Hokage, that was Ebizo's disciple. I spent a fortune to annihilate that puppet team," he concluded, pulling out the armor fragments as proof.
"You killed Ebizo's disciple?" Danzo asked, surprised. He thought Ebizo's recent fuss was just a political excuse, not that he had actually lost a disciple.
After a series of explanations, Sasuke finally dispelled Danzo's suspicions.
"Sasuke Umino," Danzo said, and for the first time, there was no coldness in his voice, but a hint of genuine respect. "I agree with your Will of Fire." He praised his action of covering his body with explosive tags, willing to die for the village.
"Where Konoha flies, the fire will also continue," Sasuke replied, his body emanating the will of a powerful ninja.
"Sasuke Umino, hear my order!" Danzo said, pulling out the special jonin title evaluation book he had already prepared.
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