In a dark, hidden underground base beneath Konoha,
a masked man—his mouth and nose exposed—knelt on one knee before a middle-aged man whose right eye was wrapped in bandages.
This bandaged man was none other than Shimura Danzō, the cunning and ruthless leader of Konoha's Root.
The kneeling man, Yamanaka Fu, one of Danzō's subordinates, was reporting.
"Danzō-sama, the information has been fully gathered. The man who appeared in the village and fought Uzumaki Kushina is a samurai. He claims to be from the Land of Iron. However, his blade carries a mysterious power, and his strength is extraordinary. But the techniques he uses don't resemble those of a Land of Iron samurai at all—they're more like some kind of secret art."
Danzō opened his left eye slightly.
"And what of his background?"
"Letters have already been sent to the Land of Iron via messenger hawk," Yamanaka Fu replied truthfully. "We should receive their response within a few days."
Hearing this, Danzō issued his order:
"Continue keeping close watch on this Ubuyashiki Yosuke. If anything unusual happens, do not act rashly—report immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
Before the echo of his voice faded, Aburame Torune's figure vanished from sight.
In a shadowed corner behind Danzō, countless insects gathered, forming the silhouette of another man.
"Ryōma, do you have information?" Danzō asked.
Aburame Ryōma (OC), a member of the Aburame clan and one of Danzō's guards, bowed respectfully.
"Yes. It's information concerning Uzumaki Kushina."
"Speak."
Ryōma replied,
"A few days ago, Uzumaki Kushina visited the Konoha Medical Division. According to her medical file… she is pregnant. Three months along."
A glint flashed in Danzō's remaining eye—an excitement he attempted to hide as he sank into deep thought.
Seeing Danzō lost in contemplation, Ryōma quietly withdrew.
Danzō was thrilled.
During the selection of the Fourth Hokage, he had planned to support Orochimaru, hoping to expand his own political influence.
But due to the strong insistence of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, the position had gone instead to Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya's student.
This completely crushed all of Danzō's carefully laid plans.
Originally, if Minato hadn't officially taken the Hokage's seat, Danzō could have maneuvered from the shadows—using the full might of Root to stage an "accident," paving the way for Orochimaru to become Hokage afterward.
Danzō had warned Orochimaru repeatedly to halt his forbidden experiments during the election period, to avoid exposure.
But unexpectedly, when Hiruzen nominated Namikaze Minato, Orochimaru lost interest in the Hokage position altogether and resumed his prohibited research—only to be discovered by Hiruzen.
Of all Hiruzen's three students, Danzō valued Orochimaru the most: calm, brilliant, and free of personal sentiment during missions.
Even now, Danzō often regretted that Orochimaru had not been his disciple.
"What a useless fool! That monkey Hiruzen ruined a perfectly good prodigy. And the other two—one a drunk, one a pervert—defeated by Hanzō of the Salamander yet proud just because they were called the Sannin. A bunch of failures!"
Danzō cursed, seething with frustration.
After venting, he cooled his anger and began to consider how to exploit Kushina's pregnancy for his own benefit.
Although Minato was Hokage, his status as a commoner made his position far less stable.
Looking at the first three Hokage:
The First, Senju Hashirama, had been leader of the mighty Senju clan even before Konoha was founded.
The Second, Senju Tobirama, Hashirama's brother, held unquestionable strength and authority.
The Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, came from one of the earliest clans to join Konoha and had been Tobirama's student.
Compared to them, Minato—whose teacher Jiraiya was a civilian ninja—had no clan influence backing him. The title of Sannin carried prestige, yes, but no political foundation.
Minato becoming the Fourth Hokage was largely a result of his achievements during the Third Great Ninja War and his fame as the Yellow Flash—but his reputation still fell short of Orochimaru's long-established renown.
To Danzō, Minato's promotion seemed forced by Hiruzen.
Danzō also understood why. Orochimaru had grown too close to him, and his forbidden experiments had inevitably leaked traces—Hiruzen must have sensed something.
Although Hiruzen appeared to "indulge" Danzō, Danzō knew very well that it was only because he hadn't crossed Hiruzen's bottom line.
And Hiruzen's bottom line was Konoha.
Hiruzen believed Danzō belonged to the shadows, and showing himself in the light would only bring disaster to the village—thus he constantly restrained him.
After Minato became Hokage, Hiruzen even handed his personal ANBU directly to Minato, restricting Root's growth.
And that wasn't all.
Under the pretext of "old friends," Hiruzen often visited Root, supposedly to reminisce, but in truth to probe Danzō's intentions and keep him in check.
Furthermore, what should have been a joint Root-and-ANBU responsibility—monitoring the Uchiha—had been assigned entirely to Root, stretching their manpower thin.
Every time Danzō requested permission to recruit more operatives, Hiruzen and Minato simply ignored him.
Danzō had begun to feel the Hokage seat slipping further and further from his reach.
But Kushina's pregnancy gave him hope once more.
"Hmph… I am the foundation of Konoha. And even roots, one day, will pierce through the soil, grow branches and leaves, and bask in the sunlight. Only in my hands can Konoha truly flourish!"
Danzō slowly closed his single eye, and the room fell silent again.
Night fell.
Yosuke sat by the window of his inn, gazing up at the sky.
Moonlight spilled across his face, surrounding him with a faint aura of loneliness.
He couldn't help thinking about everyone from the other world, wondering how they were doing.
Just as he was getting lost in melancholy, he suddenly felt the sensation of being watched.
In an instant—
Yosuke moved, reaching into the air and closing his hand around something.
When he opened his palm, the corpse of an insect rested there.
Yosuke frowned. He understood immediately—someone was monitoring him.
He didn't expose it, though. After all, he had fought Konoha ninja earlier that day—and even the Hokage's wife—so being watched wasn't surprising.
Acting as though nothing had happened, Yosuke left the window and returned to the bed.
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