In a room where the only sources of light were a few lamps—one placed on a table and several others on the walls—a figure sat at a desk, writing in a well-worn book that appeared to be a diary.
Tap Tap.
Silence.
The figure lifted its head and by the soft light from the closest light on the wall, it could be seen that it was an old man. He had black, shaggy hair, and his forehead and right eye was bandaged—indicating that he was possibly blind. Under the soft light, an X-shaped scar on his chin stood out.
In fact, it was the same person who appeared in Hotaru's mind.
He wore a white shirt, with a dark grey robe over it. Upon hearing the soft tap tap at the door, he paused writing and looked up from his diary. He looked at the door for two more seconds before hearing a slightly louder knock.
Knock.
Closing the diary, he called out, "Kinoe, you can enter." He capped his pen and set it next to the diary on the table.
Creak.
The door slowly opened with a creak. And the same masked ANBU who spoke to Hiruzen just a while ago entered. He slowly made his way toward the table and stopped when he was five feet away from it.
"Danzo-sama."
Saying that, he gave a small bow and knelt on one knee. He then slowly raised his head and looked toward the second man he was seeing that night, but this man filled him with reverence.
(A/N: Bwahahaha)
"Danzo-sama, Uzu—" Kinoe was cut off by Danzo raising his hand.
"I know about that. What did Hiruzen have to say about that?" Danzo questioned.
Kinoe was inwardly impressed by Danzo. While Hiruzen needed to be informed about everything by the ANBU, Danzo was different. He had many ways of knowing not just what happened, but also when someone lies or leaves something out when reporting to him.
In fact, Danzo could even control what and how much Hiruzen, the 'Hokage' of Konoha, could learn about certain things. He had many people placed around Hiruzen. While Kinoe was sure Hiruzen doesn't have anyone around Danzo. In fact, not many people in Konoha knew about him, and the people who do know about him don't know half the things he does.
Then Kinoe informed everything that happened in the Hokage's office and how Hiruzen reacted and the things he was interested in.
Danzo slowly nodded. "So, Hiruzen was only interested about whether Uchiha Mikoto tried to conceal the situation regarding the boy."
"Yes, Danzo-sama. He seemed to be interested in Uchiha Mikoto's reaction to the boy waking up," replied Kinoe.
"Did he say anything after reading the boy's medical report? Did he react in anyway?" asked Danzo lightly rapping the desk with his finger.
"No, Danzo-sama. He didn't say anything," answered Kinoe. "But he did spend a lot of time reading the medical report. After that, he was silent for a long time before dismissing me."
Danzo gave a satisfied nod and let out a small sigh.
The situation ended as well as it could. Just like Hiruzen, he was happy with Mikoto not attempting to conceal anything after the boy woke up.
From what Kinoe described, it seems Hiruzen suspected something. And he would probably ask him about it. Of course he would deny any involvement with the abnormal state of the boy's condition. However, it would require spending time listening to his old-friend's self-righteous talk. And just that thought alone already made him tired.
But it was alright. It won't go beyond that.
Everything would end well.
Although it was a shame that the boy woke up, it was at least after he had successfully completed the thing for which he used the boy's blood essence. He involuntarily touched the right sight of his head before putting his right arm down.
And no one, save for a few root members, ever suspected a thing.
And so, everything would end well.
"You did a good job, Kinoe. Inform me if Hiruzen does anything regarding the boy," said Danzo and looked away from Kinoe. "You can leave. Don't come to see me unless it is an emergency. At least until everyone calms down from this situation."
"Understood."
Kinoe slowly rose up, gave another small bow and left the room closing the creaking door behind him.
Danzo stared into the distance for some time before looking down. He uncapped his pen, opened the diary, and resumed writing.
While writing he still thought about the situation at hand. He had no more use for the boy at the moment, so it was not a big loss to let him out.
It was a shame that his preparations to make him tied to the hospital which were on the verge of success were wasted, but it was okay.
He could get the boy back into the hospital whenever he wanted, just like this time. Let the boy grow for a bit and develop his chakra. Who knows if the boy possessed the rumored unique chakra of certain Uzumaki clan members that could heal almost any injury?
Although it is a very rare ability, there were not many Uzumaki remaining in the ninja world. It would be an tremendous gain to the village if the boy possessed this ability.
But what if the boy becomes a strong ninja? Danzo let a small smile form on his lips. His thoughts were similar to Hiruzen regarding this. His body emaciated—thanks to him—and no knowledge of chakra, much less using it, and not starting on the path of ninja at his age—well, suffice to say his ninja career was over before it had even started. He would be lucky if he could become even a tenth of the ninja his father was. Heh.
Danzo would protect Konoha—no matter the cost. He felt people should be as loyal to Konoha as him. He did many things in the dark that other people would not even be able to think of for the good of the village. And while doing these things, he discovered something about himself. He enjoyed the thrill of doing things and getting away with them, always leaving everyone none the wiser. Ever.
Just like that time in Ame. Just like this time with Uzumaki Hotaru.
Even if someone found out about the things done by him, the people capable of doing so were also wise enough to shut their mouth and never utter his name.
***
'F*CK! YOU! DANZO!' Hotaru yelled in his mind.
Why hadn't he made the connection sooner? Although he had no proof, he instinctively felt it was Danzo. He imagined Danzo cooped up somewhere underground, laughing at his predicament. So, in that moment, he did what he could: 'FFFFF*ck you! Danzo!' he thought once more. Yes, he put more emphasis on the 'F'.
He shook his head feeling pity for himself and took a deep breath. He calmed down his emotions and looked at the system interface.
It seems that his 'Rank' was 'Civilian' which makes sense given his state. Actually, given his state, he wouldn't have been surprised if he was given something below that.
Huff.
Then he looked at something called 'Level' and focused on it to learn about it: [Level refers to a measure of host's experience or skill. It can be increased by earning 'Exp' points.]
Okay. So, it tells me how skilled and experienced I am as a ninja.
Then, let's learn about the 'Exp' points it mentioned. It says: [Exp is short for experience points. They are obtained by completing quests, defeating enemies, or achieving specific objectives. Accumulating enough experience points allows the host to level up.]
Then, he thought, 'What is a level up?' And then the answer was displayed.
[Host is currently at level 0. Once host accumulates enough Exp, he can level up and become level 1. The amount of Exp needed can be seen in the overview.]
He was about to ask if there was any point in leveling up, but the answer was on the screen before he finished that thought.
[Leveling up happens regardless of host's wishes as long as host improves his abilities and skills and accumulates experience. Exp is just a numerical representation of this process. However, at certain levels, host can gain certain things. For example something like unlocking new features.]
Hotaru thought back to the System Interaction feature available at higher levels of the system mentioned earlier. And this brought up another question: 'If that Level is about me, then how do I level up the system?'
[At the very top of the system interface, host can view the current system level that is always visible. Host's current system level is 0.]
'How do I level up my system?'
[That is something the host will learn when the time is appropriate. It is not now.]
Hotaru looked at the remaining three things on the overview: 'HP', 'Status Effects', and 'Innate Abilities'.
He saw the 'Blood Essence depleted' which was next to 'Status Effects' and had a vague idea of what it meant.
[Status Effects are temporary conditions that can alter the host's condition. They can be positive or negative.]
Then he looked toward the next term 'HP' which seems to be very low at 3/10. He focused on that term and saw this: [HP represents host's life force. When it reaches zero, the host is incapacitated. It is currently very low due to the same reason that status effect is on host.]
Ok. So, my HP is low because of blood essence depletion. Nice. Not just a status effect, but my HP is low as well. All thanks to Danzo.
Now, he looked at the last and most interesting thing in the overview: 'Innate Abilities'. Focusing on it showed: [Special abilities are tied to the host's body. Special abilities are directly imparted to the host and will start at the beginner level. Can be trained to higher levels of mastery.]
'Hmm... Interesting.'
He then noticed that he already had two Innate Abilities, but both of them were being shown as '???'. And there was a brief explanation saying 'This ability is currently dormant'.
'What? Why isn't it being shown.'
He once again focused on the '???', hoping the abilities would reveal themselves from staring it down. That didn't happen. Instead, another line of text appeared next to each: 'The host's body is too weak to use that ability. It will take time for it to fully come out of dormancy. However, parts of this special ability will become available as host's body recovers'.
Well... There wasn't much he could do about it at the moment.
[DING!]
At this point, Hotaru heard the now familiar clear, sweet chime of the bell. This seems to happen whenever the system had anything to tell him.
Let's see what it is about.
[Quests available.]
[Displaying the current Main Quest.]
'What is a quest?' he thought.
[A quest is a task that is assigned to the user. Upon completing a quest, host is typically given some Exp points.]
[Main Quest]
[Wake up from coma]
[Reward: 10 Exp]
[Leave the hospital]
[Reward: 10 Exp]
Hotaru went through the quests and then there was another system message.
[One of the current Main Quests has been completed.]
[+10 Exp]
[Exp: 10/20]
Hotaru saw his updated Exp and smiled. It seems I completed one of the quests in my sleep—or rather, waking up from my sleep.
Then he turned toward the other quest 'Leave the hospital' and paused.
'Hmm… How do I complete this quest?'
He didn't know how he could complete it in a short time. After all, his body was emaciated and medical-nin would probably want him in the hospital until his condition improved.
But, he wanted to leave the hospital and figure out a plan for his future after considering his situation. So, he wanted to complete this quest anyway even if not suggested by the system.
He turned off the system interface and began considering all his options to accomplish this.