*Land of Waves, Prison*
"Hey, you're back again, 9984!" The burly guard from the prison lit up the moment he saw an old acquaintance. He waddled over, practically wagging his nonexistent tail.
"So, how long are you staying this time?"
Danzō turned his head away, refusing to answer.
Humiliating!
"He's been classified as a war criminal," the guard escorting them chuckled. "Afraid he's never leaving. Orders are that war criminals get separated from regular prisoners now, so he won't be going to your block."
"Ah, I see…" The burly guard sighed. Then he looked Danzō dead in the eye. "9984, behave yourself in there, yeah?"
Danzō still didn't respond, though his cheeks twitched so hard you'd think he'd been slapped.
"Why not talk to your old pal a bit, Danzō?" said Sarutobi Hiruzen calmly, walking alongside him, face unreadable. "Didn't he used to help you out?"
"Are you implying something, Hiruzen?" Danzō's eyes narrowed.
"We're both prisoners. What could I possibly be implying?" Hiruzen's tone stayed flat, eyes downcast. "I just regret the thousands of subordinates I failed. I wasn't a worthy commander."
"You should learn to turn shame into strength," Danzō said lightly.
'Unbelievable! Did this bastard just say that with a straight face?' Hiruzen's complexion darkened like a thundercloud.
The whole point of his little speech was to mock Danzō for leading tens of thousands of men straight into a ditch. And this shameless clown actually turned it into a lecture on courage through shame?
'Courage, my ass!'
"A noble sentiment" Grinding his teeth, Hiruzen forced out a barbed retort "Though perhaps one shouldn't strive to master the art of being shameless."
"We're here, gentlemen," the guard interrupted, swinging open the iron bars. He grinned. "You can continue your philosophical debate inside. I'm sure your new roommates will love it."
"Danzō! Hiruzen! You too, huh?" a familiar voice called.
Both men looked up—and, well, The entire cell was packed with familiar faces.
The greeter was Mitokado Homura, but alongside him were none other than the Fourth Raikage A, the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, Raikage's right-hand man C, and even the central army's chief of staff, Nara Shikaku.
"Homura, you're alive?" Hiruzen's eyes widened.
"Got knocked out by Hōzuki Mangetsu. The next thing I knew, I woke up here." Homura shrugged.
"So… all of you lost?" Danzō scanned the room.
"Watch your mouth! I didn't lose," A roared, jumping to his feet. "I was tricked! That hag from the Sand Village had already been working for Hayashi Yuto!"
"I ran into Hanzō the Salamander. Oh, and a few hundred war machines," Ōnoki added in his usual clipped way.
"Then we've lost completely," Hiruzen muttered, sitting cross-legged with a long sigh. "Three armies wiped out. Even the Mizukage won't be able to turn the tide now."
"I refuse to accept this!" A, bared his teeth, fuming. "The Land of Waves only won through dirty tricks—they're nothing but animals!"
"I'm not so sure we'd beat them head-on either," Ōnoki muttered.
"What was that?" A glared. 'How could this old man praise the enemy?'
"They've got hundreds of war machines. There are probably thousands more in reserve. Regular ninjutsu just scratches them. What exactly would we win with? as for the Espada—you've all seen what they can do."
Silence.
Even A shut his mouth at that.
"The Espada!"
At first the name sounded like some overblown joke. Then they met them. And the joke wasn't funny anymore.
Just one Espada was on par with the Five Kage. And there were ten of them. Ten!
The cell door creaked open again.
In stumbled Yagura, the Mizukage, dirt-streaked and exhausted. A chorus of sighs filled the room.
Well, that was it. Whatever scraps of hope they'd had were officially dead.
"So you're all here too," Yagura said, forcing a crooked smile. "Guess the guards weren't lying."
"You did your best, Mizukage," Ōnoki offered consolingly.
Yagura blushed, scratching his cheek. "We ran into the Espada Number One."
"What?!"
"The 'Number One' showed up?!"
"What kind of monster was it?"
Everyone's faces twisted in horror.
The strongest they'd fought was Hanzō, who was "only" Number Five. That had already been hopeless. What kind of nightmare was "Number One"?
"It was a woman," Yagura admitted. "She had red hair. Kakashi Hatake from Konoha seemed to know her."
'A woman? Red hair? And Kakashi knew her?
Hiruzen's mind jumped to a name… 'but it couldn't be'. That was one of Konoha's heroes! How could she be fighting for the enemy?
"What do you think Hayashi Yuto's next move is?" Ōnoki suddenly asked.
"Don't care!" A barked, turning his head away. "I just want to know how to bust out of this place. The Raikage of the Hidden Cloud has never been anyone's prisoner!"
"And suppose you did escape?" Ōnoki gave him a sidelong glance. "Do you honestly think we could still win against the Land of Waves?"
Silence again. Heavy.
"…I might have an idea," Danzō spoke up at last.
"Oh?" Ōnoki frowned. "What is it?"
"Edo Tensei."
"Edo… Tensei?"
"Yes. Think about it. Every single Espada under Hayashi Yuto is a reanimated corpse! Death makes them far more compatible with the Hollow Serum. If we summon our legendary dead shinobi, then dose them up, we might create beings stronger than the Espada themselves!"
"That—could that even work?"
"Danzō, you can't be serious…"
"No, no, hear him out. If the past Kage from all our villages underwent Hollowfication, they'd be far stronger than trash like Mangetsu or Fuguki!"
"Isn't that desecrating the dead?"
"If it avenges our humiliation, I believe they'd consent from beyond the grave!"
"…That's true."
And just like that, the cell dissolved into a lively debate.
Until Yagura coughed nervously and raised his hand.
"Uh, gentlemen? Before all that, shouldn't we figure out how to… you know… escape first?"
The room went silent again.
_____
_______
Show your support with Power Stones guys!
[email protected]/Raven_scroll (30+ Advance Chapters)