"The Uchiha held another high-level council. That makes the third one this month."
"And the agenda?"
"They excluded Uchiha Itachi. His cover is blown."
Hiruzen Sarutobi drew on his pipe as Danzō reported. The smoke deepened the furrows of his face, making him look every bit his age.
"Sarutobi."
Danzō's low growl was meant to snap the wavering Third back to attention.
"The Uchiha uprising is a foregone conclusion. Our priority is to minimize the damage when it breaks out. I propose that Root take the lead and erase the Uchiha… down to the last."
"Wait."
"But"
Danzō started to press, then saw that at some point Hiruzen had lifted his head. The old man's cloudy eyes locked onto him, killing intent almost tangible. For a heartbeat he was the young "Professor" again, a lion in winter.
"Do not act on your own."
Danzō's mouth worked soundlessly. He fell silent.
A long breath rode the smoke.
The light in Hiruzen's gaze ebbed, the weight of years settling back over him. "The Uchiha founded Konoha alongside the Senju. Morally and practically, any move against them must be taken with utmost caution.
"The era has changed. From the moment the shinobi villages were born, any clan that set itself apart from its village sealed its own fate. The Uzumaki learned that. The Uchiha will too. They understand this as well as anyone.
"The Uchiha are not the Senju. They excel one-on-one, but they cannot win a war of attrition. Konoha's shinobi outnumber them a hundred to one. Give them five pairs of Mangekyō and, with their chakra reserves, how many could they even cut down?
"Whether they flee or revolt, the end is the same. Uchiha Fugaku is a clever man. He will see it."
Danzō curled his lip. Root's research into Sharingan and Hashirama cells was at a critical juncture. What they lacked were test subjects.
No uprising? Then where was he supposed to get Sharingan?
He glanced at the Hokage behind the desk and laughed inwardly. Soft Hiruzen had never deserved the hat. Once Danzō possessed the First's power and the Uchiha's eyes, he would lead Konoha to unify the shinobi world and prove their teacher had chosen the wrong successor.
"Every member of Root has mastered the Dark-Walk Technique. With the sealing squad and Water Release unit in support, we can move on the Uchiha at any time."
Hiruzen nodded. For all his misgivings, the preparations were sound. Even if the Uchiha rose, Konoha would not be crippled.
That matter temporarily shelved, Danzō seemed to remember something. "And what of what you promised me?"
Hiruzen blinked. "Promised you what?"
Danzō's temper flared at the act. "Spare me. Root is short on personnel and funding. I told you already. You said you'd transfer recruits within a week. How long has it been?"
Since Danzō had laid it bare, Hiruzen stopped pretending. "You want them young, talented, preferably with secret arts or a bloodline. Those are exactly the seedlings the clans treasure. Where am I supposed to find you one?"
"If you've got someone promising, I can relax the criteria a little."
The plea for talent jogged Hiruzen's memory. He thought of the mysterious Konome.
Young. Gifted. She fit Danzō's list perfectly, and her background was questionable enough that Hiruzen wouldn't lose sleep handing her over. Put her in Root and two problems solved at once. Whatever ambiguous goal she had at the Academy would be cut off, her talent wouldn't go to waste, and under Danzō's regimen she might even be molded into a true loyalist. If anything went wrong, well, that would be on Danzō.
"Hm… thinking it over, I may have just the one."
Hiruzen made a show of mulling it.
"Oh? Which clan?" Danzō brightened. Usually it was Hiruzen poaching from Root, not the other way around. He had come to push for research funds, not expecting results on recruits.
"Here, take a look."
Hiruzen drew a folder from beneath the Hokage's hat and handed it over.
Danzō skimmed the file. Might Guy's adopted daughter… a civilian? Disappointing, but he read on. Six years old… blind…
Blind?
He slapped the dossier back onto the desk and turned for the door. "If you don't want to give me anyone, say so. Don't fob me off with scraps."
Hiruzen, privately congratulating himself on an elegant two-birds solution, froze. "No, look at the rest. Hey, don't leave. You're doing that thing again where you get impatient."
Danzō didn't even look back. For a blind civilian he was not about to cross Might Guy. Everyone knew what the Eight Gates could do. He was not afraid, but he was not a fool.
"Root does not accept the disabled."
He raised the bar himself and swept out.
"You'll regret this, Danzō."
"I lead Root."
The door slammed.
Hiruzen stood there, speechless. He gathered up the papers with a sour face, grumbling inwardly. The old cyclops despising someone else's blindness, of all things.
Fine. Let him sulk. Truth be told, handing a prodigy like Konome over to be ruined in Root would have been a shame. He would just keep a closer eye on her himself.
He made up his mind.
…
"Konome, why the long face?"
Guy's left hand carried groceries, his right hand balanced a wobbling stack of textbooks. Seeing Konome's expression shift from light to dark, his thick brows knit in concern.
"It's nothing."
She shook her head, but the weight in her stride gave her away.
She had accounted for Danzō and Root. By having Might Guy adopt her and immediately boarding the Third's ship, she had two shields that could blunt Hyūga pressure. With no proof, no one could touch her. If anyone wanted to get rough, they could try their luck with the bodyguard she had just hired.
Then a thought hit her. Danzō was not the sort to quail before Hiruzen or Guy. Ordinary men weigh pros and cons. Danzō was a zealot.
Would he hesitate because of Guy? She couldn't tell. You could not measure someone like that with common sense. What if he decided it was worth offending Guy to invite her into Root?
There was no way to predict a madman's line of thinking. She could not game it out. All she could do was bide her time. At this point the Uchiha crisis dwarfed her. Danzō should have his hands full.
Even so, the thought sharpened her hunger for power. If she had Hashirama Senju's strength, she would have rolled right over them already. She hated playing these empty games.
When I'm grown, I'll kill them all.
"Ta-da! Konome, look what I got!"
While she was turning over the threat of Root, Guy came jogging out of a stationery shop. The books were gone. In his hands was a bulging pink backpack with a bear on it.
"Your admission present. Congratulations on entering the Academy. May you reach your dream."
"No."
Konome turned away. Across two lives she had more than thirty years behind her. She would sooner join Root than wear a toddler's backpack.
Guy deflated. "But it's cute. Look."
"I can't see."
"Don't give me that. You tracked Kazama-sensei's wind step perfectly when you fought him."
"I still don't want it."
"…Just try it."
"…"
Guy circled her, straps in both hands, pitching the gift from every angle. Konome said nothing, tapping ahead with her cane and walking on.
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