Danzo's mood over the past few days had been extremely poor, in fact, "wretched" would be a more fitting description. He had finally realized exactly what kind of idiotic blunder he had committed back in the Hokage's office.
Why on earth had he chosen to bring up the election of a new Hokage at that specific moment? It was the worst possible atmosphere, the most inappropriate setting, and he was surrounded by Hiruzen's most loyal inner circle.
If he hadn't opened his mouth then, but had instead waited until after the meeting to convene a session of the High Level Counselors to raise the issue, he wouldn't have met such a disastrous end, effectively getting shut down on the spot.
What could he have been thinking? How could he make such a brain-dead mistake?
Ultimately, Danzo felt he had been too impatient. His eagerness had caused his tongue to slip, leading him to say those words. Now, every time he recalled the scene, Danzo wished he could travel back in time and slap himself twice across the face before he could speak.
That moment had been the closest he had ever been to the seat of Hokage; the moment he finished speaking, it became the furthest.
As Danzo was wallowing in regret, a member of the Root suddenly appeared before him, kneeling on one knee with his head bowed.
"Danzo-sama, Orochimaru has arrived. He has brought Yakushi Kabuto with him."
"Yakushi Kabuto?" Danzo was slightly surprised. Isn't that my subordinate?
But in an instant, he understood what had happened. Orochimaru must have completely brainwashed the boy. However, he didn't particularly care; to be honest, Danzo had never truly valued Kabuto. The one he had once cared about was the director of the orphanage, the "Wandering Priestess," Yakushi Nono.
But now that Nono was dead, Danzo had no use for Kabuto. If Orochimaru wanted him, he could have him. There was no need to sour their relatively functional relationship over such a trivial matter.
This was Danzo's way of thinking. In his eyes, his subordinates, the shinobi of the Root, were all tools. A tool could be used to carry out his will or kill an enemy, but it could also be used as a bargaining chip for interests.
Processing the thought, Danzo said, "Bring Orochimaru in."
"Yes, Danzo-sama," the Root ninja responded quickly before vanishing.
Shortly after, Orochimaru and Kabuto entered the room, led by the Root operative. Danzo sat behind his desk, first glancing at Orochimaru before fixing his gaze on Kabuto. He expected Kabuto to show signs of unease or hesitation upon seeing him. Instead, he found Kabuto wearing a faint, effortless smile, appearing entirely at ease.
This irritated Danzo slightly, but he chose not to address it. Shifting his gaze from Kabuto, he looked at Orochimaru.
"You contacted me saying you were coming to Konoha, but I assume it wasn't just to give me a courtesy heads-up that you were taking one of my subordinates?"
Orochimaru naturally took a seat on the only sofa in the room. Clearly, this wasn't a piece of furniture Danzo kept for guests; it was where he rested when he grew tired of paperwork. Kabuto stood silently behind Orochimaru.
Only after settling in did Orochimaru speak. "Of course not. I don't need to give you a heads-up for something like that."
Orochimaru was being honest. If Diarmuid hadn't told him to collect a "payment" from Danzo while he was at it, Orochimaru would have simply left with Kabuto after finishing his recruitment. He wouldn't have bothered seeing Danzo at all. Simply put, he didn't hold Danzo in high enough regard to care about formalities.
Danzo caught the implication, and a flicker of annoyance crossed his eyes, but he kept his temper in check. "Then what is your business?"
"I come as the representative of Diarmuid's will," Orochimaru stated plainly. "To claim his payment."
Danzo: "???"
I understand every word you just said, but when you put them together, I have no idea what you're talking about.
"Payment?" Danzo was genuinely bewildered. He paused, mentally reviewing his recent actions to ensure he hadn't missed anything, then continued, "Have you been scammed? As far as I recall, there has been no cooperation between the Root and the Yorozuya recently. All accounts from our last dealing were settled in full. If there's been no cooperation and there are no outstanding debts, where does this 'payment' come from?"
Orochimaru smirked inwardly. It was just as he expected: Danzo was completely lost. He wasn't surprised; in fact, he felt that if he were in Danzo's shoes, he'd be just as confused. Diarmuid was being utterly unreasonable regarding this matter.
However, since Orochimaru was here on Diarmuid's behalf, and seeing Danzo's expression of baffled incomprehension, he found himself in a rather good mood.
Orochimaru gave Danzo a cold look and asked, "Have you forgotten the agreement between you and Diarmuid?"
"What agreement?" Danzo was starting to doubt his own memory.
He knew Orochimaru wasn't the type to engage in baseless harassment. The fact that he was sitting here so confidently, speaking of agreements and payments, left Danzo in a state of confusion. Did I really agree to something with Diarmuid and forget it?
That shouldn't be possible. I am the leader of the Root, an elite shinobi. Could I really make such a low-level mistake?
"Diarmuid would find a way to support your bid to become Hokage," Orochimaru said directly. "What? Have you forgotten even that agreement? Or do you no longer intend to become Hokage?"
To tell the truth, Orochimaru had been observing Konoha from the shadows for the last two or three days, expecting to see the internal turmoil he had anticipated. To his surprise, there was none!
Back in the Land of Rain, he had predicted that "as long as Danzo isn't an idiot, he will definitely do something at a time like this, and might actually become Hokage." Yet upon arrival, he found that Danzo appeared to have made no moves at all. There wasn't even a hint of the "Minister of the Trapped" making a play.
This confused Orochimaru. He had expected to see Danzo mobilizing the Root's influence, running a propaganda campaign, or perhaps Konoha entering the preliminary stages of selecting a new Hokage candidate.
But there was nothing. Had Danzo truly given up on his obsession?
Orochimaru watched Danzo's expression closely as he spoke. He made a significant discovery: the moment he mentioned the Hokage position, a flash of pure disgust flickered in Danzo's eyes for a fraction of a second.
What's this? Whenever I brought this up in the past, weren't you always excited and eager? Now you're disgusted? What happened to Konoha? Did you actually grow a conscience, Danzo?
Danzo was indeed disgusted, because the moment Orochimaru mentioned it, he was reminded of his own "staggeringly moronic" blunder. But he couldn't explain that to Orochimaru; it was far too humiliating.
The reason Orochimaru hadn't noticed any changes in Konoha was that Danzo had botched everything so thoroughly at the very start that there were no follow-up opportunities to be had. And so, the two of them sat there in mutual misunderstanding.
After a moment of silence, Danzo finally spoke. "Of course I remember the agreement. But what does that have to do with 'payment'?"
"It seems you're planning to welsh on the debt, Danzo," Orochimaru laughed.
Danzo: "???"
What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean 'welsh on the debt'? I literally don't understand a word you're saying!
Before Danzo could demand an explanation, Orochimaru continued, "Regarding the Nine-Tails' rampage in Konoha... don't tell me you aren't aware that Diarmuid was in the village. And as for the theft of the Scroll of Seals, I imagine someone of your intellect wouldn't actually believe it was done by the comrades of that masked man."
Danzo fell silent.
It was true. While the mainstream leadership of Konoha currently believed that the person who stole the Scroll of Seals was an accomplice of the one who released the Nine-Tails, they viewed Diarmuid's appearance as a separate event, a pursuit of "Uchiha Madara," who had piqued his interest.
To be fair, there wasn't any specific evidence to prove otherwise. Given Diarmuid's erratic, almost neurotic style, the idea that he would investigate someone claiming to be Uchiha Madara seemed perfectly natural and logical to Hiruzen and the others.
But Danzo didn't believe it for a second. He had known all along that Diarmuid coveted Konoha's Scroll of Seals. Diarmuid was in the village, and the Scroll of Seals went missing. Perhaps the Nine-Tails had nothing to do with him, but Danzo would bet his life that Diarmuid had his hands in the mess.
He was almost certain that Diarmuid had stolen the Scroll of Seals. Orochimaru's words now served as total confirmation of his suspicions.
It really was him.
However, Danzo had no intention of reporting this secret to the village. As stated before, compared to the interests of Konoha, like the Scroll of Seals, he currently preferred to maintain his relationship with Diarmuid. His private gain outweighed the public good of the village.
"So it was him after all," Danzo said after a pause. "But what is your point?"
"It seems you've grown a bit dull lately, Danzo," Orochimaru said gravely. "Diarmuid created such a perfect opportunity for you. I thought that as long as you weren't a fool, you would seize the chance and mobilize your forces. Namikaze Minato died in the line of duty as the Fourth Hokage. How could you make no move during such a golden opportunity? It's truly disappointing. Or have you truly abandoned your obsession with the Hokage seat?"
Hearing this, Danzo felt so stifled he nearly spat blood.
I DID make a move!
It's just... it's just that I was so stupid I made myself want to cry.
He desperately wanted to explain himself to Orochimaru, but it was just too embarrassing. Danzo opened his mouth, but after a long pause, he only managed to squeeze out: "There are things you don't know. It isn't what you think."
Orochimaru frowned slightly. Despite his earlier doubts, when he thought about it, how could Danzo ever truly give up on becoming Hokage? That meant something he wasn't aware of must have happened behind the scenes, something that forced Danzo to stay his hand and suppress his ambition.
What could it be?
After a moment's thought, Orochimaru shook it off. Why am I meddling in this? What happened has nothing to do with me.
He turned his focus back to Danzo. "Perhaps. But what is certain is that Diarmuid created the opportunity for you to become Hokage. At the time, he had both the time and the ability to save Minato. However, he chose not to. He allowed Minato to die specifically with your interests in mind. Therefore, according to the agreement, you must pay Diarmuid the associated fee."
Danzo: "???"
Motherfucker!
Is this how you people do business?!
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