Naruto: The Shadow Lord of the Nara Clan

After concluding his meeting with the two Hokage's assistants, Danzo returned to Root's stronghold.

He tapped lightly on the handle of the replica Hokage chair, his expression indifferent, and remained silent.

— Those two old geezers are still too cowardly.

It's usable for small things, but not for big things!

Although he criticized Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, Danzo himself knew that their concerns were valid.

After all, even he himself wasn't ready to take action.

—What does Itachi's appearance in the Hokage's office mean?

Danzo wasn't entirely certain, but he had a vague guess in his mind.

—That Sarutobi guy must know that I have a Shisui Sharingan!

—But he wasn’t afraid at all that I used Kotoamatsukami on him.

—Could he possibly stop the invasion of Kotoamatsukami?

—Some kind of ninjutsu, or perhaps another Sharingan…

—Was Shisui's body actually offered to Sarutobi by Itachi?

For a moment, Danzo's mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts.

The loose thread was where Shisui's body had fallen.

Once he knew the answer, he would understand the source of Hiruzen Sarutobi's confidence.

So, Danzo, who hadn't received any news yet, frowned impatiently:

"Why hasn't Suzaku Nara returned yet?"

Based on the idea of ​​making use of waste, he dispatched Nara Suzaku to carry out the mission.

If he had known the other party was so useless, he would have sent his trusted confidant to the Naga River.

Just as Danzo was about to lose his composure, a Root ninja came to report the news.

"Sir, Phoenix (Nara Suzaku's temporary codename) has returned."

"Send him to see me!"

"yes!"

One minute later, Lu Ying, disguised as a masked man, controlled five corpses and brought them into the Root Base.

Danzo glanced at it, and his expression instantly turned cold.

The Root ninja leading the way didn't recognize him.

But how could he not know when he personally gave the order?

The Firebird Squad only has five members in total!

Moreover, those who appear to be still alive are clearly already corpses!

"Who are you?"

A cold voice rang out.

In an instant, dozens of Root ninjas sprang out of the darkness.

They are distributed in all directions: east, south, west, north, up, down, left, and right.

Everyone stared at Lu Ying and the others with the same eyes they had for the corpse.

Shikakage ignored Danzo's threat and instead looked around at the ninjas with a sense of wonder.

Those who come into view are at least elite Chunin level, which shows that the Root of Blood is indeed incredibly powerful.

Even without Itachi's intervention, as long as Itachi didn't actively obstruct them, Root and Danzo alone might have been able to wipe out the Uchiha clan.

But what does that have to do with Nara Shikakage?

With her wandering thoughts cleared, Lu Ying released her control over the five corpses.

At the same time, he pulled up his hood.

As the corpse slammed onto the cold ground with a thud, Lu Ying's mask was exposed in the dim light.

Danzo stared at the familiar mask, his pupils suddenly shrinking.

—The instigator of the Nine-Tailed Fox's rampage!

"You are... a member of the Uchiha clan!"

While Danzo's attention was drawn to the mask, Number Two, hidden in the shadows, secretly opened his scarlet eyes.

Danzo's wary expression was reflected in his evil pupils.

Lu Ying didn't respond to him, but lowered her voice and said hoarsely:

"Some things are not for you to get your hands on."

"This is the first and the last time."

Although it was said vaguely, it was clearly a threat.

Danzo was so angry he laughed.

They showed him the corpses of their subordinates in front of him, and even directly threatened him.

This is the headquarters of the Root Base!

"Take him down!"

At his command, the Root ninjas who were already prepared all took action.

Facing numerous enemies, Lu Ying showed no fear, but instead smiled gently.

As the scornful laughter rang out, his figure had already vanished.

"Shadow Clone..."

Danzo clenched his fists and angrily pounded the wall.

He was completely unaware that the power of the shadows had invaded his perception.

Although it only lasted less than ten seconds, it was enough.

Danzo easily overlooked many details that should have caught his attention.

Even the identity of the masked man, which should have been the most questionable aspect, was something he subconsciously chose to believe.

Even after the effects of "Kotoamatsukami" wore off, Danzo began to reflect and realize the problem.

However, his previous "ideas" would inevitably cause his thinking to veer towards the direction set by Lu Ying.

In other words, once doubt begins to arise, the seed is planted.

In Shikakage's vision, Danzo would fill in the details of this "conspiracy" himself.

In fact, Lu Ying's idea was correct.

After venting his anger, Danzo calmed down and began to ponder the purpose of the masked man's threat.

They can't just be bored and coming here to act all aggressive, can they?

Suddenly, he thought of Itachi in the Hokage's office, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's fearless attitude towards him despite having Kotoamatsukami in his hand.

—Could it be that they are in cahoots?

At this moment, a large number of "clues" were connected.

The more Danzo thought about it, the more he felt that he had discovered Hiruzen Sarutobi's true nature!

That's absolutely right!

—They must have taken away Shisui's body!

—That Sarutobi guy has always opposed eliminating the Uchiha clan, which is abnormal!

—Even Tobirama disliked the Uchiha clan, so why did Sarutobi like it?

—It's certain that Sarutobi had already colluded with the Uchiha clan!

—The Nine-Tails' rampage might have been orchestrated by Sarutobi!

—After Minato's death, Sarutobi regained power, and he was the biggest beneficiary!

—Sarutobi has been corrupted by the Uchiha!

—They have already taken control of the entire Hidden Leaf Village, both overtly and covertly!

—So many of my policies for Konoha were rejected by him!

No wonder, no wonder...

Danzo thought he was already dark enough, but he never expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to be even more insidious than he had imagined!

"Only today do I see you for who you are, Sarutobi!"

"You keep claiming to be doing this for Konoha, but no one is more hypocritical than you!"

"No, for the sake of the village, I must take action!"

"We must not let darkness cloud Konoha!"

Danzo, whose temperament had always been gloomy, suddenly shone with brilliance and righteousness at this moment!

People only want to believe what they believe.

Especially when this idea was deduced by them themselves...

……

Shikagami was unaware that Danzo was thinking in the direction of conspiracy theories.

His true intention was simply to make Danzo hesitate to act because of the masked man's identity.

Of course, even if he knew, he wouldn't care.

Once the shadow clone dissipated on its own, he knew his plan to shift the blame had succeeded.

As long as Danzo doesn't cause him trouble, he doesn't care what happens!

Unfortunately, the effect of [Kotoamatsukami] was still too weak for Danzo.

The difference in strength between him and Danzo was still too obvious.

Otherwise, there would be no need to influence the subconscious; they could just order Danzo to commit suicide!

Having dealt with the last remaining threat, he looked at the gates of the Nara family estate before him, took a deep breath, and grinned, revealing his teeth:

"Our young master is back!"

"Why is no one here to greet us?"