Naruto: The Hidden Danzo

It felt as if Konoha had entered its rainy season, with endless drizzles soaking the village.

Now that he had fully adapted to this body, his training progress had begun to slow.

Frustration simmered in Danzo's heart as he finished his daily routine. Today, for the first time, he left the Root headquarters, accompanied by two Root ninjas, heading towards the village center.

"Dismissed."

"Yes." The two masked figures vanished in an instant, melting into the shadows nearby.

The recent dreary weather, coupled with the unsettling atmosphere following White Fang's suicide, had cast a gloom over the village. Even the ordinary citizens could sense that something was off, leading to emptier streets than usual.

Danzo continued walking through the light rain. Before long, rows of neatly arranged tombstones came into view.

He had arrived at Konoha's cemetery, resting beneath the solemn watch of the Hokage Monument.

Most ninja who inherited the Will of Fire were buried here after their deaths—even the First Hokage rested in this very ground.

Danzo himself wasn't sure why he had come. Ever since hearing of White Fang's death, his once fervent dedication to training had begun to wane, his mind growing increasingly restless.

A flood of thoughts churned within him.

He had nearly regained the strength of his original self… He had acquired a ninja's power…

With Danzo's past authority and the Tongue Cursing Seal, he had already secured control over most of Root without exposing any flaws.

And yet, his mind remained unsettled, constantly agitated.

Was it because he had gained immense power too suddenly, but lacked the mentality of a true strongman?

At last, Danzo came to a conclusion.

"This world is full of danger and sorrow."

Death, slaughter, bloodshed, and conspiracy lurked everywhere…

Civilians were nothing more than lambs waiting to be slaughtered, while ninja served as mere tools in the grand game of power.

Even he, a transmigrator, could not remain detached. He had been dragged into these conflicts, whether he wanted to or not.

There was no youthful passion here, no grand ideals like those in the original manga. The world of ninja was steeped in oppression, death, and sorrow.

Danzo's gaze swept across the countless tombstones before him. The average age of the ninja buried here did not exceed twenty-five.

Then, in a distant corner of the cemetery, a small, lost figure caught his attention.

"…Kakashi?"

The boy's distinctive silver hair and aura made him instantly recognizable.

And the tombstone he knelt before…

Konoha's hero… A political sacrifice…

So, they had buried him here as well.

As someone involved in the matter, Danzo knew all too well what had happened.

The Third Hokage had used a failed mission as an excuse to tarnish Sakumo Hatake's reputation, seeking to erode the influence he had gained during the Second Ninja War.

Danzo had taken advantage of the situation, delivering the final blow to eliminate White Fang as a contender for the Hokage seat.

But in the end…

White Fang had been too rigid a blade—either he would cut down his enemies, or he would break himself.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen…"

Danzo thought back to the elderly man from the anime—the seemingly kind teacher who once inspired loyalty with his words.

"Didn't expect to see you here… What, are you here to repent?"

A voice rang out behind him, tense and full of disdain.

Danzo's muscles instinctively tensed, but he forced himself to relax. Still, his mind reeled.

He turned to see Tsunade.

His usually impassive expression flickered for a brief moment.

Compared to her later years, Tsunade looked much younger, her features still retaining the sharpness of youth. Her chest was not as exaggerated yet, but she was already developing the figure she would become known for.

However, her gaze toward Danzo was filled with nothing but disgust, her expression laced with impatience.

"What's the matter? Feeling guilty for all the terrible things you've done? Or are you just thinking about something equally revolting?" she sneered, catching the look in his eyes.

Having lost another bet, Tsunade had come to visit the graves of Nawaki and Dan. She hadn't expected to run into Danzo here.

As Konoha's princess and head of its medical corps, she knew more than most about the hidden schemes surrounding White Fang's suicide.

His death had further shattered her already fractured heart.

Seeing Danzo only worsened her mood. Memories of her old teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, surfaced, filling her with irritation. She couldn't resist lashing out.

Danzo quickly regained his composure. Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, he ignored her and walked past her toward the cemetery's exit.

He wasn't surprised by her attitude.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi took the Hokage seat in the middle of a war, he had needed to consolidate his position upon returning to Konoha. He and Danzo had joined forces with certain ninja clans to accelerate the assimilation of the Senju into the general populace—just as the First Hokage had envisioned.

Naturally, this process had involved some… less-than-honorable methods.

From that point on, as the last princess of the Senju, Tsunade had never looked at them the same way again.

Then came the Second Ninja War, where she lost both her lover, Dan, and her younger brother, Nawaki. Trauma led her to develop hemophobia and a tendency toward heavy drinking, her temper worsening with time.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi preferred to avoid provoking her.

Under normal circumstances, the old Danzo might have reprimanded her for her insolence.

But now, he couldn't be bothered.

Because the moment he saw Tsunade, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

[Ding… Important character detected: Tsunade. Objective: Earn her sincere acknowledgment of your character and ideals.]

[Warning: Time flows like a river. If you fail to change its course, your fate will remain the same.]

Danzo's heart pounded.

Struggling to contain his excitement, he returned to Root headquarters, flanked by two Jonin guards.

After carefully analyzing the system's message, he couldn't help but curse.

This damned system only gave rewards if he managed to gain the recognition of key characters?

But he was Danzo—Danzo! The most hated scapegoat of the entire series! The ultimate schemer! His ideology was universally despised! Even he had to admit that his original self was a paranoid madman!

Frustration set in.

Danzo tried communicating with the system, hoping for a starter gift—youth restoration, Rinnegan, Sage Body… anything!

But the system remained utterly silent.

If not for the lingering warning in his mind, he might have thought he had imagined the whole thing.

The greater the hope, the harder the fall. That about summed up his current mood.

If he were ten years younger, he might have started cursing by now.

A golden finger, yet utterly useless. No known rewards. It was like a company boss making empty promises.

But the final warning troubled him most.

"...My fate? Danzo's fate…?"

Damn it. Whatever.

Danzo calmed himself. The system was real.

He wasn't starting from scratch. He had Kage-level strength, controlled Root, and now possessed a golden finger.

If he planned carefully, he refused to believe he would end up worse than his original self.

"Recognition from key characters, huh…?"