Deep within Root's underground base, Danzo sat in his office, reviewing the intelligence his operatives had gathered over the past several days.
With another shinobi war on the verge of erupting, Danzo, the head of Konoha's largest clandestine intelligence network, had more work than ever.
After learning that three of the great hidden villages were plotting to assassinate Kizaru, he had intensified Root's operations. Every available Root operative, along with several ANBU, had been dispatched to gather information about the alliance between the hidden villages.
To ensure that every report reached him immediately and that he could respond without delay, Danzo had practically moved into Root's base.
The threat against Kizaru alone was enough to command his full attention, but the importance of the coming war made the situation even more critical.
This would be Kizaru's first war since becoming Hokage. It would also be the war that cemented Konoha's dominance over the shinobi world.
Konoha could not merely win.
It needed an overwhelming victory—one so decisive that the other hidden villages would lose all hope of ever challenging it again.
Only then could Kizaru establish a reputation surpassing every previous Hokage and lay an unshakable foundation for Konoha to unite the shinobi world.
Only then would Kizaru have a chance to realize his ambition of revolutionizing the entire world.
Unite the shinobi world, tear down the order that had endured for thousands of years, eliminate the nobles and daimyo, and make shinobi the true rulers of the world.
It was an ambition vast enough to overturn the world itself.
Compared to Kizaru's vision, Danzo's own ambitions now seemed almost laughably small.
Kizaru was his nephew, the heir of the Shimura clan, and now the Hokage of Konoha. What greater blessing could the heavens possibly have granted him?
After learning the full extent of Kizaru's ambitions, Danzo had already resolved to help him realize them, even if doing so required him to sacrifice his own life.
His expression solemn and his lone visible eye gleaming with intensity, Danzo continued reading the document in his hand.
Kumogakure and Iwagakure had already stationed more than two thousand shinobi in the Land of Grass, and their forces were still growing.
Those two villages were clearly prepared to risk everything. To halt Konoha's rise, they had committed nearly all the forces at their disposal.
That was Danzo's assessment after reading the report.
If he placed himself in the position of their respective Kage, he would have made the same decision.
He would have gathered every available force and used any means necessary—even cruel and dishonorable ones—to weaken Konoha and prevent it from growing any stronger.
Danzo knew the darkness within his own heart better than anyone. For that very reason, he would never underestimate how far his enemies might be willing to go.
He had ordered intelligence to be gathered at any cost precisely because he feared that the enemy might resort to underhanded methods against Kizaru.
Nothing could be allowed to happen to Kizaru.
That was the one line Danzo would never permit anyone to cross.
Setting aside the document he had finished reading, Danzo did not immediately reach for the next one. Instead, he fell into thought, considering how best to reposition the operatives hidden throughout the Land of Grass.
Should he strengthen Root's intelligence network there, or withdraw some of his people and redirect them toward Kirigakure in the Land of Water?
While Danzo was deep in thought, several knocks sounded from the office door.
A moment later, the door opened, and a masked Root shinobi stepped inside.
"Lord Danzo, Lord Kizaru has arrived."
Danzo frowned.
"What does he want?"
"He wishes to see you."
Danzo gave a slight nod.
"Bring him here."
"Yes."
The Root shinobi left the office.
Not long afterward, he returned with Kizaru following behind him.
Having completed his task, the Root shinobi withdrew without waiting for further instructions and quietly closed the door behind him.
"Uncle... it's only been a few days, but I've already started missing you."
Kizaru greeted him with a relaxed smile as he walked directly toward the desk.
Unlike the Hokage's office, Danzo's office contained only a single chair—the one Danzo was currently sitting in. With nowhere else to sit, Kizaru remained standing.
Danzo looked up at him. The sight of Kizaru's relaxed posture and loosely worn casual kimono displeased him slightly, but he resisted the urge to lecture him.
"What do you want from me?"
As he spoke, Danzo began gathering the intelligence reports scattered across his desk.
"Yoshihiko hasn't come home in several months, so I thought I would ask how he was doing."
Kizaru rested his right hand on the desk and leaned casually to one side.
"You haven't gone and sacrificed that fool, have you?"
Kizaru could joke so easily not because he lacked affection for Yoshihiko. On the contrary, the two brothers had always shared a close relationship.
His senses had grown considerably sharper through senjutsu training, and his Observation Haki covered the entire base. The moment he entered, he had already sensed Yoshihiko's presence.
Only after confirming that his younger brother was still alive could Kizaru joke so casually.
"He is fine. I assigned him a mission outside the village, and he has yet to return," Danzo replied calmly.
Kizaru's smile did not change, as though he had no idea that Yoshihiko was somewhere inside the base.
"Ooh, that's a relief. Once he finishes his mission, let the boy have some time off. Working him this hard... how cruel of you, Uncle."
"From the moment he joined Root, he surrendered his identity and his freedom. He became one of Konoha's shadows, devoting his life to protecting the village," Danzo replied sternly, refusing to agree to Kizaru's request.
"Yes, yes, I know how Root works. I'm only asking you to let him rest once his mission is over."
"I have my own arrangements."
"Then I'll take that as a yes, Uncle."
Kizaru lifted his right hand from the desk and turned to leave.
"I won't keep you from your work. Try not to push yourself too hard... and do go home to rest now and then."
With his back to Danzo, Kizaru casually raised one hand in farewell and walked out of the office, the same relaxed smile still resting on his face.
Danzo watched him leave.
Hearing the concern hidden within Kizaru's final words, Danzo's stern expression softened slightly, and the faintest smile touched the corners of his mouth.
Kizaru closed the office door behind him.
The smile on his face gradually faded.
He glanced at the Root shinobi stationed in the corridor, gave him a casual wave, and continued toward the exit.
Yoshihiko's presence was clearly inside the base, yet his uncle had deliberately lied about it.
Something must have happened to that foolish younger brother of his.
Judging by Danzo's unwillingness to let him know, Yoshihiko was probably gravely injured.
His uncle must have hidden the truth to prevent Kizaru from losing his temper and acting recklessly at a time when every action he took as Hokage carried consequences.
For Yoshihiko to be injured at a time like this—and for Danzo to conceal it from him—the attacker was most likely connected to one of the three great hidden villages.
A smile slowly returned to Kizaru's face.
This time, however, there was nothing warm about it.
Under the watchful eyes of numerous Root shinobi, Kizaru left the underground base.
He wandered through the nearby streets for a while before slipping into a deserted corner. After confirming that no one was watching him, his body gradually turned transparent before disappearing completely.
Using an invisibility technique, Kizaru slipped back into Root's underground base and followed Yoshihiko's presence deeper inside.
The ward where Yoshihiko was recovering was located in the innermost section of the base.
After receiving treatment and constant care from Root's medical-nin, his condition had improved considerably. At the very least, his life was no longer in danger.
His upper body and half of his face were wrapped in thick layers of gauze. Now conscious, Yoshihiko lay silently on the hospital bed.
He slowly turned his head and stared at the empty space where his right arm had once been.
A deep loneliness filled his remaining left eye.
His right arm was gone.
His right eye was gone.
Half of his face had been disfigured, and several of his internal organs had suffered severe damage.
Remembering everything the medical-nin had told him about his condition, Yoshihiko felt an unbearable weight pressing against his chest.
The physical pain did not matter.
Neither did the disfigurement.
He could even accept losing his right eye.
The one thing he could not accept was losing his right arm.
For a shinobi, the importance of the right hand was self-evident. Whether wielding a weapon or forming hand seals, it played an essential role.
Without his right hand, could he still continue living as a shinobi?
Could he ever fulfill his dream of becoming Kizaru-nii's right hand?
Deep down, Yoshihiko already knew the answer.
His path as a shinobi had all but come to an end.
Yet he could not accept it.
He could not accept that his shinobi career would end like this. Nor could he accept that he would never again be able to stand proudly before Kizaru-nii and declare that one day, he would become strong enough to help him—to serve as his right hand.
Now, all of it was gone.
The dream he had clung to for so long had burst like a bubble, vanishing before he could ever reach it.
Outside the ward, the invisible Kizaru stood silently before the door.
Through the small glass window, he stared at the maimed Yoshihiko lying on the hospital bed.
Kizaru slowly raised one hand and adjusted his sunglasses.
The last trace of his smile disappeared.
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