"Are your injuries alright, Danzo?"
In the hospital, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo with concern.
That's right—during the welcome ceremony, the man known as "The Darkness of the Shinobi", the newly titled "War God of Konoha", and the dreaded "Heavenly Eye" had collapsed from his wounds after engraving the names of fallen soldiers for too long.
"The Darkness of the Shinobi" was Danzo's original title.
"War God of Konoha" was what the people of Konoha now called him.
"Heavenly Eye" was the nickname given by the terrified Iwagakure and Kumogakure shinobi.
There was no helping it—Danzo's command style was simply too terrifying.
It felt as if a massive eye in the sky was watching their every move.
Nothing they did could escape its sight.
Under this "Heavenly Eye", they were like puppets, completely at Danzo's mercy.
And frankly… those titles were quite fitting.
Seeing Hiruzen's genuine concern, Danzo's expression remained unchanged.
He simply responded in a calm voice:
"Don't worry, my body is fine."
Hearing this, Hiruzen finally let out a sigh of relief.
The two elders standing beside him exchanged glances and wore expressions of… relief?
Whether they were truly relieved or secretly disappointed, Danzo had no way of knowing.
Seated cross-legged on the hospital bed, his lips were still a little pale, but his spirit remained strong.
Danzo suddenly looked up and spoke.
"Since you're all here… Hiruzen, I have a question for you."
His sharp gaze made even the battle-hardened elders feel uneasy.
Sensing the tension, Koharu Utatane hurriedly tried to dissuade him:
"Danzo, you just woke up. You should rest instead of discussing politics."
But Danzo completely ignored her.
His face turned cold as he spoke in a harsh tone:
"I'm asking you—why did you order a retreat?"
There it was.
The confrontation could not be avoided.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado exchanged panicked glances.
They had always talked tough behind Danzo's back…
But now that he was questioning them in person, they felt incredibly guilty.
Seeing their hesitation, Hiruzen let out a cough and answered:
"Danzo, listen to me."
"The order to stop the war came directly from the Daimyo."
"He threatened to cut off Konoha's supply funding unless we agreed to peace."
Hiruzen shifted the blame entirely onto the Daimyo and the other nobles.
What no one expected was that after hearing this excuse, Danzo didn't explode in anger.
Instead, he calmly accepted it.
"I see. If it was an order from the Daimyo… then I will make him understand what it means to cross 'The Darkness of the Shinobi.'"
The moment those words left his mouth, Hiruzen and the two elders turned pale.
They knew better than anyone—Danzo always meant what he said.
If he threatened to act against the Daimyo, then he would actually do it.
After all, this wouldn't be the first time.
Before the war even started, when Konoha lacked resources, Danzo had already ordered his Root ninjas to disguise themselves as bandits and loot noble clans in the north.
In fact, that very act was likely one of the reasons why the Daimyo had pushed so hard for peace.
"Danzo, you must not act recklessly!"
Koharu Utatane immediately tried to stop him, sensing the killing intent radiating from him.
"The Daimyo is of noble status! If anything happens to him, the entire Land of Fire could face severe consequences!"
In the one-village, one-country system, the Daimyos held absolute authority over their lands.
They never had to fight in wars.
They only needed to provide some symbolic financial support.
If their ninja won the war, they gained prestige and land.
If they lost, their own positions remained untouched.
Even in large-scale wars, nobles were never targeted.
If they were captured, they would be handed over to other nobles and treated with respect.
Even bandits and mercenaries avoided attacking nobles to prevent retaliation.
The Daimyo's safety was considered untouchable, even by war-hardened shinobi.
But this was Danzo they were dealing with.
Would he really abide by that rule?
At that point, it wouldn't just be ordinary soldiers coming after him—it would be ninja lords capable of walking on walls and leaping across rooftops!
Rather than provoke such a response, it was far safer to target remote villages and manors.
After all, those people had no money to hire ninja for retaliation, making them easy targets with zero risk.
Thus, this time, Danzo had broken the unspoken agreement between the nobility and the ninja clans.
Danzo completely ignored Koharu Utatane's attempt to persuade him.
"A siege?"
"As if Konoha has never been besieged before."
He let out a cold chuckle.
"I've spared them already, and now they dare talk about besieging me?"
His words stunned the three advisors into silence.
Because the more they thought about it, the more they realized…
He wasn't wrong.
The man before them was no longer just the ruthless schemer, the 'Darkness of the Shinobi'.
He was the War God who had fought and triumphed over two Kage-level opponents.
He was the Heavenly Eye, whose tactical genius had dominated the battlefield.
Danzo now had every right to speak with such arrogance.
Still, Koharu refused to give up and continued to plead:
"Danzo, the 'One Nation, One Village' system was established by the First Hokage himself. If you go against the nobility, it will lead to disaster."
Danzo glanced at her coldly and retorted:
"Who says the First Hokage was always right?"
"Who says his system must be followed for a thousand years? Ten thousand years?"
"If you're so convinced, then why don't you use Edo Tensei to summon him back? I'd love to have a conversation with him myself."
Hearing such blasphemous words, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer stay silent.
"Enough!"
He stood up abruptly, furious.
"Danzo, never speak such treasonous words again!"
His gaze lingered for a moment on the bandages covering Danzo's body.
His tone softened slightly.
"For now, just rest and recover. Don't concern yourself with village affairs."
With that, Hiruzen turned and left.
As he walked away, Danzo watched his retreating figure and spoke in a cold voice:
"You've grown old, monkey."
Hiruzen's steps faltered.
But in the end, he quickened his pace and left.
Now alone in the hospital room, Danzo remained unfazed by Hiruzen's implicit warning.
He was no longer the shadow that depended on the Hokage to survive.
Now, he had the strength to stand as Hiruzen's equal.
Even if Hiruzen ordered his removal as the leader of Root, Danzo wouldn't care.
Because Root existed because of Danzo—not the other way around.
Hiruzen surely understood this.
Besides, after Danzo's glorious battlefield achievements, if Hiruzen dared to discard him like an old weapon, he could watch and see who would fight for the village in the next war.
Of course, while Hiruzen wouldn't directly suppress him, he would surely use underhanded tactics to undermine him.
Whether Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to continue serving as Hokage or select a new successor, he had to suppress Danzo's growing reputation.
"Heh…"
Danzo let out a faint chuckle.
No matter what, the rules of this world were ultimately dictated by strength.
If someone possessed the First Hokage's level of power, they could single-handedly overturn the entire world.
At that point, the "One Nation, One Village" system, or even multiple villages per nation, would be whatever he decided.
Pushing those idle thoughts aside, Danzo began taking stock of his spoils from this war.
1. Skill Points
The most valuable gain was, of course, skill points.
Before the war, he had nearly emptied his reserves to upgrade the Byakugan.
But now, thanks to his victory, his skill points had skyrocketed.
As of this moment, he had already accumulated 23,412 points, and they were still increasing—though the growth rate had slowed compared to when he first returned.
2. Unveiling the Hidden Power of Shisui's Sharingan
During the early stages of the war, Danzo had finally unlocked the hidden ability within Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan—
A fate-altering dojutsu known as "Amatsukami"
In Danzo's eyes, Amatsukami was just as valuable as the forbidden jutsu Izanagi.
Without it, forget about defeating two Kage-level opponents—he wouldn't have even been able to maintain a balanced fight.
3. A New S-Rank Wind Release Jutsu
Another major gain was the S-rank Wind Release Jutsu that he had developed based on his S-rank Wind Release affinity.
This jutsu was enhanced with Senjutsu chakra and partial Tailed Beast chakra, combined with his mastery over Wind Release shape transformation.
Danzo believed that, in terms of raw destructive power, this Wind Jutsu even surpassed Naruto's Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Of course, in terms of attack range, it was nowhere near Rasenshuriken.
But in terms of pure offensive capability, it was far superior.
After all, this jutsu was powerful enough to slice through the Third Raikage's Lightning Armor—a top-tier Wind Release technique.
That said, without Senjutsu enhancement, its power would drop significantly.
Still, it would remain an S-rank jutsu.
4. The "Heavenly Eye"—Danzo's New Power
Lastly, Danzo had acquired a new ability—the Tengen (Heavenly Eye) on his forehead.
This needed no further explanation.
Though Konoha was forced to withdraw under pressure from the Daimyō, the war had greatly weakened Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
Especially Iwagakure.
The deaths of both the Five-Tails Jinchūriki Han and the Explosion Release user Gari were a huge loss for Onoki.
Not to mention the massive casualties among their ninja forces.
At the very least, Iwagakure would be forced to lie low for the next few years.
According to frontline reports, Iwagakure had completely withdrawn into the Land of Earth.
Even in the Land of Grass, their presence had shrunk significantly, leaving behind only a small number of ninja.
Compared to Iwagakure, Kumogakure was not as heavily weakened.
Their ninja forces remained active in the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Frost.
This was all part of Danzo's war strategy.
Rather than equally weakening both villages, he had chosen to severely cripple one of them.
Only by inflicting heavy damage on one side could he break their alliance.
And the results spoke for themselves—
The fragile alliance between Onoki and the Third Raikage had collapsed.
There was also one final gain, something no one else knew about.
A massive secret that Konoha had managed to secure—
A Tailed Beast.
(1.5k Power Stones, LFG)
_
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