After saying that, Uchiha Yorin really did turn and leave—leaving the clan head standing there, dazed in the wind. After a long moment Fugaku snapped back and couldn't help shouting:
"Wait—what is that supposed to mean? How are we even supposed to approach Orochimaru?"
"And why does Danzō want to meet you…? Hey—where'd he go? He's gone?!"
Yorin had tossed out a world-shaking what-if halfway through, then walked off, leaving Fugaku squirming.
But Uchiha Yorin didn't care in the slightest.
By then he'd already left the compound, heading for the Forest of Death outside the village—cheerfully going to a one-on-one.
…
Long-term, Danzō has to die. Nothing short of that will appease public anger.
But even a pile of crap has its uses—let alone a whole living Danzō.
More important is Sarutobi Hiruzen's stance.
Right now Danzō and Hiruzen haven't yet reached the second-to-last stage of a broken marriage—sharing a bed but dreaming different dreams, all surface and no substance.
His funding of Orochimaru's secret human experiments hasn't been exposed.
So in Hiruzen's eyes, Danzō is still that tsundere childhood friend—someone with an intensely strong Will of Fire, who loves Konoha deeply, who's done a mountain of dirty work and shouldered a mountain of blame, with both merit and toil to his name. Hiruzen will protect him to the death.
Killing Danzō would be tearing the Hokage faction apart. Even Minato would stand against Yorin.
Conversely, given Yorin's weight, killing him would be declaring war on the Uchiha clan.
Danzō won't do that—because the Hokage now is Minato, not Hiruzen, and Minato isn't that close to him.
If Danzō did try, Minato would cut him down without hesitation, offer his head to the Uchiha as apology to avert civil war—and then swallow Anbu whole.
Anbu should answer directly to the Hokage. But when the Third stepped down, he didn't fully relinquish power.
Besides advising Minato as Hokage Emeritus, he also left Anbu under Danzō's care. Right now Danzō isn't just head of Root—he's effectively running Anbu. The bona fide "Darkness of the Shinobi."
Yorin guessed the reason Danzō later crawls back to his little Root turf is the fallout from Orochimaru's defection and human experiments.
With no way to explain it away, he has to step down, returning Anbu to Hiruzen's direct control.
Even then, many say, "He got off easy."
The Uchiha victims were dead and gone; Orochimaru's defection hit after the Third resumed office—so Danzō landed safely.
But if Orochimaru's defection happened earlier, under the Fourth's watch… heh heh heh.
Interesting to think about.
Uchiha Yorin smiled pleasantly as he faced Danzō.
Shimura Danzō: "?"
Seeing the gentle smile—Aizen without hair gel—on the Uchiha before him, Danzō's guard shot to max.
In his view, an Uchiha who smiles softly and has no shame is scarier than ten thousand with their noses in the air.
Worse, this Uchiha has a brain.
With him as white-feather fan, Minato is growing fast.
If Hiruzen looks at Minato's rapid rise with mixed feelings, Danzō only feels worry and displeasure.
His killing intent toward Uchiha Yorin had only grown. But reason told him this was not someone to strong-arm. If possible, better to win him over.
Danzō had supreme confidence in his power of persuasion. He figured he could talk Uchiha Yorin into joining Anbu—become the sharpest blade in his hand.
…
In the Naruto world, there are three acknowledged masters of "talk-no-jutsu."
First place, of course, is Naruto himself—tongue like a Kotoamatsukami implant.
The other two are Danzō and Orochimaru.
The former sweet-talked a whole corps of Root shinobi into blind loyalty; the latter got a flock of problem children to call him mom and dad and offer up their hearts.
There's no canon ranking of which one is better at manipulation. Yorin felt Danzō probably edges it.
After all, Orochimaru mostly cons minors; Danzō cons battle-hardened Root operatives.
People often say the literary trope of training "dead men" is unrealistic; even if you raise them, they'll bite back.
Danzō proved them wrong: youngsters really are too young.
If your patter is good enough, two shouts of "Everything for Konoha!" and you can talk those uneducated hot-blooded youths into dying for you.
Keyword: uneducated.
Uchiha Yorin is different.
He graduated college—last life.
Sure, people say "college students have clear, foolish eyes," but it depends who you compare them to.
Next to the ninja world's illiterates, brainwashed by "ninja tool theory" and the Will of Fire, this college grad looks extremely… Einstein.
Of course, Danzō didn't know that.
He remained immersed in his performance art: "Everything I do is for Konoha. If Hiruzen and Minato are the lush leaves, then I am the roots of the tree! It is my selfless sacrifice that made Konoha prosperous!"
He spoke with deep feeling; whether Yorin believed him or not, his eyes said he believed himself.
Watching this self-moved Danzō, Yorin dearly wanted to quip:
Is that why you stayed holed up in Root during the Nine-Tails attack, the Pain invasion, the Sky ninja incursion, and Orochimaru's assault?
Sounds pretty, but it's just playing possum.
When the Second was in danger back then, you turtled; all these years, through so many crises, not once did you show spine.
When trouble hits, you hide in Root; once it's over, you pop out pointing fingers. What a hero.
He thought it—but kept a mildly moved look on his face, swallowing the truth.
Lies don't matter; truth cuts like a blade. And Yorin's truth wasn't just a blade—it was a steel pillar for pinning seas. One swing could split Danzō's skull.
If he made Danzō stroke out on the spot, Hiruzen would come at him like a madman.
Besides, Yorin still had uses for Danzō.
Back to Orochimaru—still Orochimaru.
At the moment, Orochimaru is Danzō's political ally. Hiruzen has even assigned him as Danzō's attendant and guard.
For someone of Orochimaru's stature, that's a comedown—but he clearly doesn't care anymore.
After losing the Hokage bid, his heart left Konoha. Even without the lab scandal, he'd still leave to pursue his own path—like Tsunade and Jiraiya.
"My condition is: I need Orochimaru-sama's support. I need his technology and research."
Yorin said calmly, "I can join Anbu. I won't stay long, and I won't follow your every order. You can assign missions—I'll decide whether to take them.
If that works, we have a deal. If not, pretend this talk never happened. Well?"
"I believe we have an understanding." Shimura Danzō extended his hand. Uchiha Yorin hesitated, then took it.
And thus was sealed a pact between two schemers—utterly without sincerity.