"You are!"Danzo's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Naraku in shock. Unlike last time, this time the surprise in his eyes was completely genuine.
"It was truly a clever plan. I might have been fooled if I wasn't careful," Naraku praised calmly, before pushing Danzo aside with ease.
Cough... cough...Danzo got up from the ground, ignoring the pain from the blow. His mind was in turmoil.
He couldn't understand—how did his nearly perfect plan fail?
"That cursed seal was just a cover for your real objective," Naraku said, picking up the document Danzo had handed him earlier.
"At first glance, you cursed this material with a seal. So once I removed the seal, I'd subconsciously think that was your entire plan."
"And after discovering this surface-level trick, I would kill you. You'd pretend to be dead."
"Then, believing you were gone, I'd let my guard down. That's when you would ambush me using Izanagi! That was your real plan!"
Danzo's face turned even darker. His plan had been seen through completely.
It was true!
He never actually expected the cursed seal to truly defeat Naraku. Root had already failed twice in their attempts to take him down. It was naive to believe Naraku would drop his guard just from a simple cursed seal.
Especially when the cursed seal would at best immobilize Naraku for a moment—using that brief second to kill him would've been suicide.
So Danzo devised a more sophisticated trap:Use the cursed seal as a baited attack—making it look like the assassination attempt.
Then, after being "killed" by Naraku, he would fake death using Izanagi, lulling Naraku into dropping his guard. At that moment, Danzo would strike again, seize Naraku's eyes, and kill him.
It was a clever plan—one he had once used on Shisui.
Back then, Danzo had pretended to be under the control of Shisui's genjutsu and faked unconsciousness. But in truth, he had already activated Izanagi. That allowed him to ambush Shisui and steal one of his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Today's plan was an upgraded version of that very tactic.
He improved the deception—replacing illusion with death, and sealing techniques with psychological manipulation.
The cursed seal hidden in the scroll was a distraction. A less cautious man might have fallen for it.
But the core of any true conspiracy is keeping the real truth hidden.
And Naraku wasn't like others. He wasn't so easy to fool.
As soon as he sensed the cursed seal, he realized: the real attack wasn't the paralysis—it was the illusion of vulnerability.
Naraku tossed the cursed document aside and touched his eyes.
"So your meticulously crafted plan was all for my eyes."
"Why are you so obsessed with the Hyuga Clan?"
Danzo quickly masked the surprise on his face and responded coolly.
"Someone like you doesn't deserve such powerful eyes. In my hands, they would be used to their full potential."
After hearing about Naraku's actions from the Third Hokage, Danzo's greed for power had been awakened. He already longed for the Uchiha's Sharingan—and now, his eyes turned toward Naraku's evolved Byakugan.
Yesterday, he confirmed Naraku was no longer under the cursed seal's control.
That meant he needed another way to take those eyes.
"With those eyes, I can challenge the Cloud head-on," Danzo declared. "If you want revenge against the Hidden Cloud, just hand over your eyes!"
Even though his plan had failed, Danzo still spoke with confidence.
"Heh~" Naraku smirked. "Why didn't you push for war with the Hidden Cloud before?"
"It was Hiruzen who gave the order to hand you over. That had nothing to do with me," Danzo replied coldly. "I've always supported war."
"Really?" Naraku raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you only ready to fight after getting my eyes?"
The truth was, if Danzo had insisted on going to war, Hiruzen wouldn't have stopped him.
But Danzo would have to lead the war effort—and bear the consequences.
If they won, Hiruzen would share in the glory.If they lost, all the blame would fall on Danzo.
Danzo didn't believe Konoha could win.That's why he hesitated.
But after seeing Naraku's power and his evolved Byakugan, everything changed.
Danzo thought: If I had those eyes, I could lead us to victory... and maybe even become Hokage!
"You saw what my eyes could do," Naraku said. "And you started imagining a different future."
"A future where you win the war, gain prestige, and claim the Hokage title for yourself."
"But the truth is… you're not a true warmonger."
"You use war as a tool to serve your ambition."
"When you fear losing, you hide behind excuses. When you think you can win, you rush to the frontlines."
Naraku shook his head and sighed.
"Danzo, you've built an image of a hardened warrior, but deep down, it's all about your own gain."
"Silence!" Danzo growled.
But inside, a wave of panic surged. It felt as if his entire being had been laid bare.
Naraku had ripped apart the mask he wore… and exposed the naked truth underneath.