Shiori Gaiden: Chapter 17

A summons before the Hokage and the Fire Daimyō meant one of two things: Danzō was either about to be assigned an important S-Rank mission, or he was in S-Rank trouble. Weighing each option in his mind, Danzō decided that neither would surprise him. What did surprise him, however, was finding that Hiruzen had evidently also been summoned. Well, at least this means I’m not in trouble, Danzō thought bitterly. To the Second, it seemed the Sarutobi prodigy could do no wrong. “Hiruzen, any idea what this is all about?”

“None,” the other shinobi shook his head. “I was going to ask you the same.”

At that moment, two servants from within the Daimyō’s conference room swung the double doors wide. The sight that greeted the two shinobi caused them both to stiffen in shock. In addition to the Hokage and Fire Daimyō, a large assembly of Konoha elders and Land of Fire business leaders’ eyes bore down upon them. Dread coursed through Danzō. This was no S-Rank assignment. An assembly like this could only mean one thing: it was time to select the next Hokage.

The aged Hokage rose to speak first. “Hiruzen, Danzō. Forgive me for keeping you in the dark, but many months ago I decided it was past time that I handed the Hokage title to one of you.”

“After much deliberation,” Ayame interjected, “we’ve concluded to appoint Hiruzen Sarutobi as Konoha’s Third Hokage.”

“With the understanding,” Tobirama continued, “that you will work closely with Danzō. The decision was a tough one. You are both exceptional candidates. Therefore, Danzō–”

Danzō gritted his teeth. Here it comes.

“We’ve decided to grant your Root experiment official approval on a trial basis.”

My consolation prize.

“Use this power and responsibility to assist the new Hokage.”

“Yes. Assist the Hokage,” Danzō repeated impassively. “Thank you, my Lord, and congratulations Hiruzen.” After a stiff bow, Danzō exited the room before the reverberating congratulations Hirzuen could reach his ears.

Outside, Danzō contemplated the magnitude of his loss. Every move he’d made for the past 20 years had been to position him for this day. Losing the race felt as though he’d lost part of himself. He couldn’t let this go so easily. Changing his direction, Danzō stormed towards the Daimyō’s private office. Half an hour later, the Daimyō arrived and upon seeing Danzō, sat down with a heavy exhale. “I know you’re disappointed, Danzō, but I will not apologize for my decision.”

“Hiruzen and I are equals. And you and I have worked towards this arrangement for years. With me in charge of the Leaf, you’d have access to secret intelligence, manpower, everything. What changed?”

“Are you and Hiruzen truly equals?” Ayame asked, clasping his hands and relaxing into his chair. “Several months ago, I remember hiring you and your organization to take care of a defenseless teenage girl. Your men were wiped out, and Shiori escaped.”

Blood drained from Danzō’s face.

“I do believe that you and Hiruzen are near equals in ability. Therefore, I have a hard time accepting that Shiori simply ‘got away.’ You let her go for reasons you hide from me. That is why I could not defend you today.”

Shiori. Of all his schemes, that one had backfired the most. Shiori was worse than dead in the enemy’s hands, and his relationship with the Daimyō destroyed. Had it not been for that incident, Danzō would still have the Daimyō’s support, and possibly the title of Hokage. Damn her.

“My lord,” he choked, mouth suddenly dry, “forgive me for my failure to be transparent with you. But you can trust me when I say that all I’ve done is for the good of the Land of Fire.”

Ayame looked unmoved. “I can’t trust that, for your opinion of what’s good for the Land of Fire appears to deviate from my own. I have no more to say to you. We’re done here.”

They were done, Danzō realized. And now, he needed to find new friends.

_____

Danzō could have walked back to Root headquarters blindfolded, but for the first time in his life he felt truly lost. He couldn’t let the setback rattle him.

Or the jealousy. In less than 24 hours, the streets would be packed in celebration. Just the premonition of their cheers was enough to make his head explode. Deep down, a part of him had always expected the title to pass to Hiruzen. The village liked to fool themselves into thinking that subversive measures were never necessary, and Hiruzen’s wide-eyed innocence embodied this ideal. THE FOOLS! Danzō threw a saucer on his desk against the floor, shattering it to pieces.

With his end goal no longer an option, he had needed to rethink things. And fast. After all, Hokages didn’t live forever, and if something were to happen to Hiruzen, he needed to be next in line. In the meantime, he would need to distinguish himself.

Danzō circled the room in feverish thought. First, without Ayame, he needed new support. They would have to be young and unaware his past failures. Or, he paused in front of a world map mounted upon the room’s wall, they needed to come from the outside. Danzō tore the map from the wall and pinned it onto the room’s center table. Konoha didn’t have many allies these days, Danzō realized, studying the map. Konoha’s only ally of note was Kirigakure, and even that alliance was crumbling. The only thing holding it together was the old Mizukage Gengetsu Hōzuki’s fondness for the late Fire Daimyō. Still, rekindling that friendship between Kirigakure and Konoha was Danzō’s best bet.

But what did he have that he could possibly offer the Mizukage? Danzō pulled out an intelligence scroll from the bookshelf. After scanning the document for some time, Danzō concluded the only thing the crazy old man seemed to want was the head of his rival, Mū the Tsuchikage, on a silver platter.

No . . . that wasn’t it. Gengetsu needed to defeat Mū, his rival, by himself. Danzō understood this aspect of rivalry all too well. If he wanted to defeat his own rival, Hiruzen, it was only fitting that he’d start by helping Gengetsu defeat his own.

Danzō retrieved the intelligence his Root team had gathered on Mū the Tsuchikage.  “Mū is able to split himself into two duplicates to help escape a lethal blow, but at the cost of reducing his power by half,” Danzō read. Impressive. But even with this technique, he was still equally matched to Gengetsu. But if Mū ever discovered a way to strengthen his clones, the Mizukage would be disadvantaged and no longer an equal match. Danzō could frighten Gengetsu, make him believe that Mu had discovered a new technique that would compensate for his jutsu’s weakness . . . something forbidden.

Pushing aside all the scrolls, books, dishes, and kunai from the table, Danzō spread all the scrolls his men had gathered on the shinobi world’s known and legendary secret techniques. The entries for most were short or non-existent. For most, all that was recorded was a name. Curse Mandala, Earth Grudge Fear, Rock Hive . . . Danzō read on, discouraged that he likely had no more information than the Mizukage himself, until a comparatively lengthy entry caught his eye. “Black Heart of the Dark Forest. The wielder of this jutsu can gain temporary, immense chakra at the cost of severe environmental and physical damage.”

This would do, Danzō decided. A temporary chakra boost was all Mu needed to strengthen his halves long enough to overpower the Mizukage. Now, where was it? Danzō scanned to the bottom of the entry to find the technique’s location. Amegakure.

Danzō should not have been surprised. Before Hanzō, the country had been easy to invade and gather intelligence. After the Shiori incident, contemplating Amegakure was unpleasant, but Danzō could not shake the feeling that this plan was his only chance. It unfolded in his mind as clear as if he were watching it on stage. First, he would bait Mū to Amegakure with the knowledge of the forbidden technique. Once Mū took the bait, he would personally alert the Mizukage that Mū had formed an alliance with Hanzō and that the two were conspiring to attack him. Gengetsu would also travel to Amegakure to prevent the non-existing transaction and would likely engage both Mū and Hanzō, if Hanzō survived his first encounter with Mū. Mū would likely be weakened enough by Hanzō to be defeated by the Mizukage. If anything went wrong, he would accompany Gengetsu in disguise if assistance was needed. And with any luck, Hanzō would not make it out alive, and the country would revert to its prior state of anarchy.

Which left Shiori free to return to Konoha. By protecting her and escorting her safely back to the village, he could use her testimony against Ayame as blackmail if he ever needed to. Danzō felt suddenly vindicated that his decision to spare her had not been for naught. No, he was far from done with Shiori.

Returning all scrolls to their shelves, Danzō departed to prepare his show for the road.