Having subdued the riotous surge of Wood Release cells in his body, Danzo sat slumped in his chair, chest heaving. Cold sweat traced lines down his pale, weathered face. He exhaled slowly, attempting to steady the tremor in his fingers.
"I'm in control," he muttered to himself. "This power… is mine to command."
With a brief shake of his head, Danzo dismissed the lingering unease. He turned toward the thick stack of mission reports and Root intelligence files piled before him. Tonight marked the supposed culmination of a long-orchestrated operation—the Uchiha Clan's extermination.
By all accounts, it had gone according to plan.
But Danzo's instincts—honed through decades of shadows and subterfuge—told him something was off.
He flipped through the reports quickly, scanning for key entries. His gaze froze midway through one dossier.
His eyes narrowed as he skimmed the lines beneath.
'Six Root operatives failed to report back after infiltrating Uchiha Gen's office in the Police Force compound. No bodies were recovered. Traces at the scene suggest an unidentified sealing technique. No chakra signatures or survivors found.'
Danzo's expression darkened.
"Sealing jutsu?" he murmured aloud.
"No... it doesn't match the patterns of any known fūinjutsu... It's more like..."
He trailed off, biting the inside of his cheek. The image in his mind was too unsettling to voice.
"...More like Wood Release."
The words slipped out before he could suppress them, and his entire body tensed in disbelief.
He stood abruptly, as if to physically shake off the thought. "Impossible. Only the First Hokage wielded such chakra. That filth—an Uchiha—could never—"
And yet, something coiled deep within him rejected his protest. A quiet suggestion—absurd, illogical—pressed gently against the edge of his mind:
Don't investigate further.
Danzo blinked, briefly confused.
He shook his head again and resumed flipping through the reports, glossing over contradictions he might otherwise have questioned.
'Uchiha Gen was a desk officer. No field missions. No recorded Sharingan activation.'
'Six Root casualties. No enemy body recovered. No chakra signatures present.'
Danzo muttered dismissively, "Just a fluke… an anomaly. An acceptable loss."
And just like that, he dismissed it—no further thought. As if part of him refused to acknowledge something darker taking root in his mind.
A few minutes later, Danzo stood and adjusted his robes. He still had work to do.
The Konoha High Council would convene shortly.
With the Uchiha Clan annihilated, questions would arise—about the massacre, the orphaned survivor, and the Root's increasing power. Especially his power.
Danzo's lips curled into a faint sneer. "Hiruzen… always too soft. Sasuke must not fall under his crooked influence."
He took one last look at the dimly lit room, then stepped out, composed and cold as ever.
Council Chamber – Konoha High-Level Meeting Room
The chamber was heavy with unspoken tension.
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado sat with stacks of prepared notes and stern expressions. Both elders were ready to confront Danzo—especially after Root's unauthorized seizure of Uchiha assets and the alarming number of confiscated Sharingan.
Danzo entered silently, his posture firm and movements unhurried. He met neither of their eyes.
As Hiruzen Sarutobi sat down at the head of the table, he exhaled heavily—aware of the political minefield ahead.
The moment the meeting commenced, Homura struck first.
"Danzo," he said sharply, "Root's actions during the Uchiha operation blatantly disregarded the Hokage's authority. You've overstepped your bounds."
Koharu followed without pause, her voice equally cutting.
"We demand an explanation. Root has seized dozens of Sharingan. Where are they now?"
Danzo remained silent.
The advisors exchanged glances.
"Danzo," Hiruzen pressed, his tone authoritative, "you will answer."
The atmosphere in the meeting room gradually heated up, subtly exuding tension and a sense of impending conflict.
Danzo, however, remained silent, as if he were an outsider, listening coldly to these accusations with an expressionless face.
At this moment, he seemed to somewhat disdain such trivial verbal disputes...
Just a bunch of old useless people who only play politics...
Danzo finally looked up. His gaze was cold, unreadable.
"I don't owe explanations to the likes of you," he said flatly. "Everything I've done is for the village."
The blunt dismissal made Koharu's jaw tighten. Homura's eyes flared with disbelief.
But Danzo turned, his voice suddenly quiet and mockingly curious as he locked eyes with Homura.
"You call yourself loyal to Konoha… to the Hokage?"
"As Hokage advisors, it is natural for us to be loyal to the Hokage and Konoha, What are you implying Danzo?" Homura snapped.
Danzo's smirk widened, his words laced with ice.
"True loyalty," he said, "is blind obedience. You, however, are still far too rational."
His tone turned scornful, almost amused.
"You cling to your titles and your bureaucratic chains like they mean something. But when power is in reach, you question authority? You want empty praise? I'll carve your faces into the mountainside if that's what you seek."
"Danzo!" Koharu rose sharply, livid.
Homura's face darkened: "Danzo, are you insane? Do you know what you're saying?"
Hiruzen's voice cut through the rising tension. "Danzo, that's enough."
But Danzo stood undeterred, voice calm and deliberate.
"I've watched this village rot under the illusion of peace. While you debated policy, I acted. While you grieved ideals, I made decisions. I've sacrificed more than either of you ever dared."
Then, with quiet clarity, he added:
"You've all forgotten the original purpose of power."
His voice, though soft, landed like stone.
Silence fell. Koharu and Homura stared at him in stunned disbelief. Even Hiruzen couldn't mask the unease rising in his eyes.
Danzo rolled his shoulders, as if shedding decades of pretense.
He felt… lighter. Clearer.
And entirely unaware that something unseen—something foreign—was gradually warping his mind and will. Not through control, but subtle reframing.
He wasn't being manipulated. Not in the way most would notice.
He was simply becoming... more himself.
The version of Danzo that Uchiha Gen had prepared for the world to meet.