Back to the moment when Obito was surrounded by Danzo's forces.
Obito casually dispelled Deidara's technique.
Danzo frowned as he observed him.
"Are you the only one here?"
"I'm enough."
Obito stood with his back to Danzo, unfazed.
Danzo continued probing.
"Doesn't Akatsuki operate in pairs? Where's your partner?"
Obito chuckled.
"Oh? Looks like you managed to dig up quite a bit from Deidara's mind."
Danzo was about to respond when Obito activated Kamui without hesitation.
A swirling distortion of space formed, pulling both himself and Deidara into the void.
It happened in an instant.
Danzo's eyes widened. He immediately launched an attack, hurling kunai and shuriken, but—
Too late.
The weapons hit nothing but empty air.
As the last remnants of the vortex vanished, Danzo's expression darkened.
"Space-time ninjutsu… A dojutsu technique?!"
A memory surfaced—the Nine-Tails attack.
He had exchanged intelligence with the Third Hokage. They all knew the one behind the disaster had been a masked man—a masked man with a Sharingan.
A man suspected to be Uchiha Madara.
"It's really him!" Danzo muttered.
"What kind of organization is Akatsuki? A leader with the Rinnegan, multiple S-rank criminals, and now this masked man?!"
The implications were severe.
Danzo knew Itachi was also in Akatsuki.
"It's time to extract some intel from him."
Though Danzo had used the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques to read some of Deidara's memories, the results were limited.
Deidara's mental resilience had been astonishing. The struggle had gone on for far too long, yielding little useful information.
But Itachi…
As a planted spy, he must have deeper insights into Akatsuki's activities.
Danzo scowled.
"Damn it, I should've placed a Four Symbols Seal on that brat. That would've given the masked man a real problem."
But there was no use dwelling on it now.
With the mission done, Danzo dismissed his Root operatives and began organizing the intelligence.
It was time to report to Tsunade.
---
A Few Days Later...
Kakashi and Sakiya finally returned to Konoha.
As usual, their first stop was the Hokage Building to report their mission.
On the way, Kakashi noticed an elderly man walking slowly with a cane.
Wrapped in bandages, exuding a cold and imposing aura—there was no mistaking him.
Danzo.
Kakashi frowned, clearly displeased.
"Of all people…" he muttered.
Sakiya, however, was wide-eyed with surprise.
"The Great Dark Demon Lord?!!"
Danzo's cane trembled slightly at the unexpected title.
His eye twitched.
"That brat…!"
Sakiya's suspicion was confirmed.
"Aha! It is you! The Great Dark Demon Lord!"
Danzo ignored her and continued walking, trying to pretend he hadn't heard anything.
But Sakiya wasn't about to let him escape. She trotted ahead and blocked his path, pointing at him dramatically.
"Stop right there! Dark Demon Lord! I let you escape last time, but this time, I won't let you get away so easily!"
A deep crease formed on Danzo's forehead. The cane in his grip made a faint cracking sound.
With as much dignity as he could muster, he growled,
"One more time—I am not some damned monster!"
Sakiya shook her head seriously.
"That's a lie! The Great Dark Demon Lord claiming he's not the Great Dark Demon Lord is exactly what the Great Dark Demon Lord would do!"
Crack—
The cane snapped in half.
Danzo's face twitched violently.
"Do you even know who I am?"
Sakiya thought for a second, then nodded firmly.
"Of course! You're the Great Dark Demon Lord!"
She pointed at the broken cane.
"Look! You just crushed your cane! Was it because you were furious after I exposed you with my Eye of Death?"
Saying this, she dramatically covered her left eye with her hand, her expression filled with arrogance.
"Are you thinking of eliminating me? Hah! My Eye of Death fears nothing!"
Danzo felt a sharp pain in his head.
If he engaged in an argument—let alone a fight—with this lunatic girl, his reputation would be in shambles.
Behind them, Kakashi was struggling to breathe through his laughter.
He had never felt such pure joy.
So this is what karma looks like, huh, Danzo?
Danzo took a deep breath, deciding he had to get away from this madness.
And later…
Someone in Konoha needed to teach this ridiculous girl some respect for the village's leadership.
Danzo took a deep breath, regaining his composure. Then, in a calm voice, he said,
"Look behind you. The Great Dark Demon Lord is over there."
Sakiya immediately spun around.
Whoosh—
In that instant, Danzo formed a hand seal and vanished into the ground using Earth Release.
When Sakiya turned back, the so-called Dark Lord had disappeared.
Her expression darkened, and she stomped her foot in frustration.
"That sneaky Dark Lord! He tricked me!"
Meanwhile, Kakashi, who had been holding back, burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Yashin, I swear—I'll tell you where the Great Dark Lord lives later!"
Sakiya's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Really?! Okay!"
__________
Hokage's Office
Danzo, having finally shaken off Sakiya, walked straight into Tsunade's office without hesitation.
Without a word, he tossed a scroll onto her desk.
"This is the intel we managed to extract from Akatsuki."
Tsunade said nothing and immediately unrolled the scroll.
After a few moments of reading, her brows furrowed.
"This information is valuable… but is this all?"
Danzo nodded.
"I've withheld nothing. Akatsuki infiltrated the village a few days ago and successfully retrieved their captured member."
Tsunade's expression hardened as she shot up from her chair.
"What!? They were here, and you didn't report it immediately?"
Danzo, as always, remained unshaken by her outburst.
"The enemy was swift and used space-time ninjutsu to escape. No matter how many people we had, we wouldn't have been able to stop them."
Tsunade slammed her palm against the desk.
"That's not an excuse to withhold information! I am the Hokage! Do you think you can just ignore me?"
Danzo frowned but kept his tone measured.
"Root has the authority to operate independently. Besides, we're dealing with an enemy of this caliber—"
Before he could finish, the office doors swung open.
"My Eye of Death! Return it at once!"
Sakiya marched in dramatically, her head held high.
Tsunade's eyes twitched before she unleashed a thunderous roar.
"Who the hell told you to barge in without knocking?!"
The sheer force of her voice shook the room.
Sakiya, frozen in place, felt her confidence drain instantly.
"Uh… should I step out and knock first?" she asked cautiously.
Tsunade took a deep breath, regaining her composure.
"No need."
She turned back to Danzo—only to find no one standing there.
"…Huh?" She blinked, confused.
Kakashi strolled in at that moment, a grin on his face.
Tsunade's frown deepened.
"Where the hell did Danzo go?"
Meanwhile…
At that very moment, Danzo stood on the roof of the Hokage Building.
For reasons even he couldn't fully explain, something about that strange little brat made him deeply uncomfortable.
He had come to discuss serious matters, to assert his authority in front of Tsunade and the others.
Wait. Why did he even feel the need to assert himself?
That didn't make any sense.
…But not asserting himself also felt wrong.
The contradiction bothered him deeply.
Danzo let out a low cough, adjusting his cloak.
"Ahem. I'll speak to Tsunade another time."
With that, he turned and swiftly retreated back to his headquarters.
Back in the Office
Kakashi finally stopped smirking long enough to give Tsunade a proper debriefing.
__________
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