Night blanketed the land.
Outside Konoha, a figure flashed out from the forest shadows.
"I'm finally… finally back at the village," Danzō muttered, his expression shifting between joy and rage.
"Danzō—Konoha can no longer tolerate you."
An aged voice spoke from behind him, carrying quiet authority.
"I don't believe that!" Danzō rejected the offer outright. "I still have Root! I'm going to question Hiruzen myself!"
"Heh heh… You'll understand soon enough," the old voice replied calmly. "Very soon, you'll come back looking for me."
Ignoring him, Danzō accelerated, slipping toward the village entrance.
From the shadows, Uchiha Madara watched Danzō's retreating back, a trace of mockery flickering in his eyes.
Zzz—
Black Zetsu rose from the ground.
"Lord Madara, confirmation complete. The entire Root base is now occupied by White Zetsu clones."
"Understood."
"Then… do we keep waiting here?"
"Of course," Madara replied calmly. "Danzō will soon realize that only I—Uchiha Madara—am his best choice."
Madara's tone brimmed with confidence.
"It's a pity," he added, "that I don't have the time to groom an Uchiha pawn anymore. I'll have to make do with Danzō."
Konoha Village
After infiltrating the village, Danzō moved along the shadows.
Now, he trusted no one—except Root.
"As long as I make it back to the Root base, everything can still be salvaged."
Muttering to himself, he quickened his pace toward the rear mountains.
Passing the Hokage Tower, he glanced at the still-lit office.
"Hiruzen… just you wait."
Resolving himself, Danzō vanished into the darkness.
Through the pine forest he went.
Click.
A mechanism was pressed. The stone gate of the Root base slowly rose.
Lights filled the interior.
Danzō let out a long breath and stepped into the main hall.
Swish—swish—swish.
The moment he entered, more than a dozen Root operatives turned their heads in perfect unison.
"…Hm?"
Danzō swept his gaze across them—his heart jolting.
Something's wrong.
Their eyes—those eyes are wrong!
Alarm bells shrieked in his mind as he instantly retreated.
Pfft—pfft—pfft!
At the same time, countless wooden branches erupted from the ground, surging toward him.
"Damn it!"
Danzō was furious beyond measure.
"Wood Release?! That bastard Hiruzen—not only did he dismantle my Root, he even planted an ambush for me?!"
In that instant, he understood.
Those "subordinates" were all impostors—ANBU in disguise—lying in wait for his return.
"ANBU! The Uchiha! Hiruzen Sarutobi! Konoha!"
"You'll all pay for this!!!"
He fled at full speed, hatred boiling in his chest.
After all he had sacrificed for the village, Hiruzen repaid him by turning on him.
Danzō didn't need to think twice.
Hiruzen must have been shaken by the rumors—his position threatened—so he decided to eliminate every possible danger.
And Danzō was the biggest danger of all.
After all, if Hiruzen stepped down, Danzō had the highest chance of becoming Hokage.
Before long, Danzō escaped the village and plunged back into the forest.
"Looks like you're in quite a sorry state, Danzō."
Madara's figure appeared before him.
"I'll defect to you," Danzō said without hesitation, abandoning all illusions.
"Good," Madara nodded. "Come with me."
"Wait."
"…Yes?"
"I have one condition."
"Say it."
"I want you to destroy Konoha."
Madara froze.
Destroy Konoha?
Are you out of your mind?
He had deliberately waited until night precisely because he feared running into Drake.
If he encountered Drake, whether Konoha survived was uncertain—but he definitely wouldn't.
"Danzō," Madara said calmly, adopting a guiding tone, "don't you think destroying Konoha yourself would be far more satisfying?"
"I don't have that kind of power," Danzō shook his head.
"Join me," Madara replied confidently. "It won't be long before you gain the strength to destroy Konoha."
"You think I'd believe that?"
"Suit yourself." Madara turned to leave.
That was when Danzō finally broke.
"Wait—I agree!"
Now, he had no other road left.
Morning – Land of Grass
Drake rolled out of bed and stretched.
As usual, he glanced at his status panel.
Ninjutsu: Chibaku Tensei (Divine Tier) [Quality Evolution]
"Divine tier… Chibaku Tensei?" Drake rubbed his chin. "Not sure what Divine tier really means."
Closing the panel, he walked outside.
"You're up early today," Minato Namikaze said from the counter.
"Sensei," Drake stared, "why do you look like an inn clerk?"
"Kenjirō went to buy breakfast. I'm just watching the place for a bit."
Then Minato continued, "After we eat, we'll head to Kannabi Bridge and look for a chance to infiltrate the Land of Earth."
Minato had already agreed to Drake's draw-the-snake-out plan.
His suggestion, however, was to capture a few Iwa ninjas first—then negotiate.
Drake didn't object.
He knew that once they captured Iwa ninjas, more would naturally come knocking.
After all, they weren't doing this at Kannabi Bridge—
They were going straight into the Land of Earth.
That was practically an invasion.
After some time, Kenjirō finally returned.
"Big news—huge news!"
The moment he entered, he started shouting.
"What kind of news?" Drake and Minato asked together.
"Urgent intel—about your village." Kenjirō pulled out a scroll and handed it over.
They opened it and skimmed the contents.
Drake froze.
Minato was just as stunned.
"This is real?" Drake frowned.
"Danzō defected last night?" Minato couldn't believe it.
"Absolutely real!" Kenjirō patted his chest. "It's emergency intel—no way it's wrong."
Drake fell silent in thought.
I already had White Zetsu impersonating Danzō…
"So the real Danzō returned to the village, noticed something was wrong with Root… and ran?"
Drake narrowed his eyes, calmly piecing it together.
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