Uchiha Itachi never agreed with the idea of ruling through brute force, nor did he support replacing the Hokage through a coup.
Otherwise, how would Senju Haruto be any different from the Uchiha clan?
If Haruto ever intended to attack the Third Hokage, Itachi would personally stop him.
To Itachi, becoming Hokage wasn't about seizing the seat—it was about earning the people's trust first. Only then could one truly become Hokage.
This conversation wasn't just a passing whim—it was also a test for Haruto.
And judging from Haruto's answer, he had passed.
"Haruto."
Itachi cast a glance at Haruto's side profile.
Perhaps his chakra reserves were enormous. Perhaps his Wood Release was nothing short of masterful.
But no technique was without weaknesses.
Senju Haruto was not invincible.
"We're in." Haruto took a deep breath. As he had expected, the moment Hiruzen Sarutobi left the village, Danzō made his move.
Countless members of Root had been gathered here.
The place was indeed well-hidden.
In truth, Danzō's appearances in Shippuden had been few. His first real scene was during Pain's invasion of Konoha, when he ordered Root to remain underground, hiding in a subterranean fortress—and even killed the messenger toad from Mount Myōboku.
After that came the Five Kage Summit, followed by Sasuke's pursuit.
Because there wasn't much intel on Danzō in Shippuden, Haruto and Itachi had no choice but to use this method to approach him.
"You plan to act here?"
Itachi scanned the surroundings. This was his first time in such a place.
"The Root ninja gathered here are enough to suppress the Uchiha clan if they attempted a coup."
Itachi's gaze sharpened, and he shook his head slightly.
The Uchiha had already lost their reason. Even if they truly revolted, Root would crush them—ending it in an even bloodier way.
"There are more Root operatives here than I expected," Itachi said to Haruto.
"Indeed." Haruto nodded. If he hadn't seen it for himself, he wouldn't have believed Root's numbers were this large.
He remembered that during Pain's attack, the Root members in the underground fortress had seemed only to number in the dozens.
But here, there were at least a hundred.
Worse, every one of them had undergone Danzō's special training—discarding their names, emotions, past, and future.
Even Shisui's genjutsu would struggle against seven or eight of them attacking at once.
In other words, Haruto wasn't placing much hope on Itachi's illusions.
His Tsukuyomi might be formidable, but its strain on the Sharingan was immense.
And Haruto couldn't be sure how many times Danzō could use Izanagi in his current state.
"Right now, I'm just a Wood Release clone," Haruto thought, drawing in a sharp breath. "My strength is less than a third of my true body's."
His true self had told him clearly—he must personally watch Danzō die completely.
That meant he had to conserve enough chakra to keep his clone from dissipating before that moment.
"He's here."
As Haruto was lost in thought, Itachi's deep voice reached his ears.
Haruto followed the direction of Itachi's finger and saw Danzō slowly walking in from the far side of the room.
"The real one?" Haruto asked quietly.
Danzō had only one arm implanted with Hashirama's cells, so he couldn't create Wood Release clones.
As long as it wasn't a Wood Release clone, Itachi's Sharingan could see through it.
"It's the real one." Itachi nodded. "But… are you sure you want to strike in a place like this?"
He glanced around again.
The space was large, but with so many ninja packed inside, there wasn't much room to maneuver.
And once they attacked here, they would not only face Danzō but also every Root ninja in the room.
In Itachi's view, this wasn't wise.
But Haruto didn't care.
Whether there were dozens or hundreds of Root operatives around Danzō made little difference to him.
"Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"
Haruto's answer was to press his hands together in a seal.
Clap!
With a crisp smack of his palms, the ground itself let out a thunderous roar.
The floor beneath the Root operatives cracked apart, and thick vines—each as wide as a man's thigh—burst forth, swelling and hardening at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Like vengeful spirits from the depths of hell, they writhed wildly, lashing at everything within reach.
The scene descended into utter chaos in an instant.
Even Danzō, who had been about to speak and issue his orders, froze—his eyes widening in shock.
He knew this jutsu far too well.
"Senju Haruto…"
Danzō sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively stepped back.
Aburame Torune darted forward to shield him, releasing swarms of insects to locate the attacker.
"Wasn't he supposed to be in the Land of Iron with Hiruzen for the Kage Summit? How—"
Danzō's shock quickly turned to fury.
He had confirmed through his spies that Hiruzen and Haruto had left the village. He had even assigned a secret mission to Yamanaka Fū—assassinate the Raikage during the talks, ignite conflict between the two sides, and use the Cloud's power to kill both Hiruzen and Haruto.
After all, the Second Hokage had once sacrificed himself to buy time.
If it were Hiruzen, Danzō believed he would follow Tobirama's example.
Meanwhile, Danzō would mobilize Root, force the village elders to accept him as Hokage, and resolve the crisis with the Cloud.
That was why all the Root operatives had been summoned here.
But before he could even give his first order, Haruto's Nativity of a World of Trees had erupted.
Many Root operatives didn't even understand what was happening before they were bound by massive trees, their movements sealed.
"Get me out of here."
Danzō clenched his teeth. For now, retreat was the only option.
"Yes, Danzō-sama." Torune nodded, signaling to more than a dozen Root operatives to escort Danzō away, while he stayed behind to handle the intruders.
But Haruto and Itachi moved almost in unison.
"Leaving now? Think you can?" Haruto yanked off his Root mask and tossed it aside.
Only then did Danzō notice that the man standing beside Haruto also possessed a pair of Sharingan.
"You—!"
Danzō's face drained of color.
It was one thing for Haruto to be here… but Uchiha Itachi? He was one of Hiruzen's most trusted ANBU.
Hiruzen Sarutobi… Was this all part of your plan?