Evil Uchiha Itsuki

In a dark corner of Konoha… 

Why a dark corner? 

Because Danzo is there.

Wherever Danzo is, there is darkness.

Moreover, this guy has so many hidden hideouts that even his most trusted aides can't fully control them, let alone anyone else.

The true essence of the "Darkness of Shinobi."

He trusts no one but himself, not even those controlled by the Curse Mark of Tongue Eradication.

At this moment, Danzo is unusually quiet.

Surprisingly quiet.

He's deep in thought.

Thinking about Uchiha Itsuki's words.

It's strange that Danzo, who sees Uchiha Itsuki as a sworn enemy, would actually take his words so seriously.

But he's cornered.

He's getting older, and he still hasn't become Hokage.

His last chance is gone—Kakashi has become the Fifth Hokage.

Although Kakashi is just a puppet with the real power in the hands of the advisors and elders, Kakashi's advantage is his youth.

He's only in his twenties.

He could just wait Danzo and the others out and eventually become the true Hokage!

Normally, a Hokage can serve until their fifties.

At just 26, Kakashi has another 26 years ahead of him.

Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi, on the other hand, are almost 70 years old. In the shinobi world, their age is already considered elderly. They're not confident they'll live to 100.

Besides…

Who would be foolish enough to let a 100-year-old take the Hokage seat? 

Are you crazy? 

Unless Kakashi dies suddenly, Danzo has no chance for another go at it.

Is that possible?

Not at all!

Kakashi, being such a young Hokage, won't be leaving the village any time soon. He'll just stay put, like a good-luck charm.

Thus...

Danzo began considering Itsuki's words.

If Orochimaru could establish a Hidden Sound Village...

If Uchiha Itsuki could establish Hidden Fire Village...

Why couldn't Danzo Shimura establish his own shinobi village?

The Shimura clan now has a population of several thousand.

Two thousand of them are shinobi! 

Danzo also controls the elite of the Root organization!

If he recruited a few small clans, it might be possible to start his own village.

Danzo closed his eyes and sighed softly.

Even with just a one-in-a-million chance, he didn't want to do it.

It's not just difficult; it's exhausting and complicated.

But he had no other choice!

"Lord Danzo!"

Aburame Torune appeared in front of Danzo and said in a low voice, "Lord Third Hokage has been looking for you."

Danzo sneered and replied, "Hiruzen, you know me well. You want to find me and convince me not to listen to Uchiha Itsuki?"

"I'd like to listen to you—can you make me Hokage?"

Danzo's fingers unconsciously tapped on the table in front of him.

"My lord!"

A shinobi appeared and said, "Uchiha Itsuki has sent you a letter."

"Bring it here."

Danzo wasn't surprised.

Uchiha Itsuki had accurately predicted that Danzo would be tempted and had left a backup plan.

He opened the envelope.

Inside was a very short message.

"Congratulations on founding the Shadow Village. Here's a gift list..."

What followed was a long list of gifts.

"Heh!"

Danzo chuckled.

Shadow Village! 

Shadow Hokage!

He even had a name for the village—was he that certain Danzo would split off?

But...

The gift list still made Danzo's eyes widen.

Even after leeching off Konoha for so long, Danzo was still shocked by the list.

"Where did this bastard get all this money...? Oh!"

Danzo understood, black lines appearing on his forehead.

That scoundrel! 

He took Konoha's resources and gifted them to Danzo.

What a move!

But Danzo would use these resources well, and in the end, make Uchiha Itsuki regret it!

A cold glint flickered in Danzo's one remaining eye.

...

Hiruzen Sarutobi, meanwhile, was in a frenzy.

When it didn't involve his own clan, he was indeed the Hokage.

He had immediately sensed Itsuki's intention and began searching for Danzo right after the meeting.

Konoha was already in such a state—he would not let Danzo split off even further.

Unfortunately...

He couldn't find Danzo anywhere.

"Lord Hokage!"

An Anbu appeared in front of the Third Hokage and said in a deep voice, "If Lord Danzo doesn't want to be found..."

Danzo was a ruthless man.

If he set his mind to it, he could even deceive himself!

Thus, only Danzo knew the locations of his secret bases.

Hiruzen had always believed he had Danzo under complete control, but that was naïve.

"Keep searching!"

Hiruzen commanded coldly, "Don't relax for a moment—we must find Danzo's whereabouts."

"Yes!"

The Anbu responded and vanished again.

"Lord Third Hokage!"

A Konoha shinobi came before Hiruzen and said, "Lord Fifth Hokage has requested your presence."

"Now?"

Hiruzen furrowed his brows.

"Yes."

The shinobi whispered, "Lord Third, the Fifth Hokage has made it clear that Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure are on the move. The priority is dealing with them."

Hiruzen was silent.

He understood Kakashi's point.

Even if Danzo was planning to split off, it would have to wait until after the current battle.

"Understood, let's go."

Hiruzen sighed deeply, a weariness he could no longer hide in his eyes.

For the great village of Konoha to be reduced to this…

Thankfully, the First and Second Hokage were no longer around, or they would be furious.

In their time, Konoha was so glorious.

When the First Hokage gave an order, who would dare not listen?

During the Second's time, he didn't hesitate to fight against four shinobi villages, carving out Konoha's reputation as the strongest.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, too, had once been great. He had once faced four villages on his own.

He was known across the shinobi world as a "Stongest Hokage !" 

A professor of ninjutsu!

But now, in his old age, he had fallen so far.

"Heh..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled deeply.

In his laughter, there was an unmistakable sense of sorrow and regret.

On the night of the Nine-Tails attack, the one who should have perished wasn't the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, but him!

…

"Damn that Uchiha Itsuki!"

Onoki's eyes were dark as he glared in the direction of the Hidden Leaf Village.

With his temper, he wanted nothing more than to wage war against the village immediately.

"Old man, don't be reckless!"

Kurotsuchi chuckled beside him, saying, "The Leaf is at its weakest right now. If we don't strike, are you going to wait for them to recover?"

"Hmph!"

Onoki snorted coldly, saying, "It's just Uchiha Itsuki's ploy."

"This is an open strategy." Kurotsuchi shrugged. "Everyone can see it, but you could still choose not to act."

"Ugh!"

Onoki took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. "I get it! Gather all our forces. We'll crush the Leaf!"

"Cough, cough!"

The sudden burst of rage made Kurotsuchi cough hard.

She shot Onoki a glare.

As the Tsuchikage, how could he speak like that? Well, maybe it was better to let him vent a bit, or else she worried the old man might be driven to anger.

…

In the Leaf Village.

Inside the Hokage's office.

Kakashi sat at the head of the table.

Seated below him were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Torifu Akimichi, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Shikaku Nara.

Yes! Danzo Shimura was there too.

As the meeting was about to start, Danzo entered the office without giving Sarutobi a chance to speak.

The former comrades were now completely estranged.

"Everyone!"

Kakashi's expression was serious. "Iwagakure and Kumogakure are making big moves, and Sunagakure is also stirring. We must prepare for another Shinobi World War."

Another world war!

A name that had once brought nightmares to many was no longer as fearsome, thanks to the numerous battles waged by Uchiha Itsuki.

But!

The people of the Leaf were still troubled.

Because this time, they were the ones getting beaten.

"How many forces can we still muster in the village?" 

Kakashi looked toward Shikaku Nara.

Shikaku hesitated, then said, "Currently, we have about six thousand registered ninjas left."

Kakashi didn't respond, only silently looking at everyone present.

Six thousand?

That's nothing!

After years of the Bloody Mist era, even the Hidden Mist probably had more than six thousand ninjas left.

If that's really all they had, then there's no need to fight. Either Iwa or Kumo alone could wipe out the Leaf.

Shikaku hadn't mentioned something.

In truth, that six thousand was a number he had worked hard to get.

He had offended many clans to obtain it.

"Sigh!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said, "The Sarutobi clan will contribute three thousand ninjas!"

"Oh!"

Everyone was surprised.

That number was practically all the ninjas the Sarutobi clan had.

Hiruzen gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "However, of these three thousand ninjas, a thousand are either too old or too young. I suggest they remain in the village for defense."

"Agreed!"

Kakashi immediately agreed, then turned his gaze to the others. "What do you all think?"

The others nodded.

Hiruzen had already paid such a huge price; what more could they say?

He was truly laying everything on the line.

Shikaku Nara suddenly said, "The Ino-Shika-Cho trio has three hundred more ninjas who aren't registered. They can stand up and defend the Leaf as well."

"Shikaku!"

Choza Akimichi gasped.

But Shikaku shook his head firmly at him.

"The Leaf is at a life-or-death moment. We must give it our all."

"Don't worry about Uchiha Itsuki. The fact that he hasn't acted yet is already fortunate. If Iwa or Kumo truly destroy the Leaf, they'll also weaken themselves, losing their ability to challenge the Hidden Fire Village, which would mean Uchiha Itsuki's plan succeeds."

Danzo Shimura sat silently.

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado shifted uneasily in their seats.

Finally, they couldn't hold back any longer.

"The Utatane clan will contribute eight hundred ninjas!"

"The Mitokado clan will contribute one thousand ninjas!"

Everyone nodded in approval.

Those were respectable numbers.

Although these two families had grown over the past few decades, their populations were still limited, and they had endured several wars.

The eighteen hundred ninjas they were offering were at least ninety percent of their entire fighting force.

At last!

Everyone turned their gaze to Danzo.

"Danzo, how many ninjas can the Shimura clan contribute?" Hiruzen's voice was heavy.

"Oh, oh!"

It was as if Danzo suddenly woke from a dream. He lifted his eyelids slightly and said, "The Shimura clan will contribute fifteen hundred ninjas!"

Huh?

Many widened their eyes in surprise.

Not because it was too few, but because it was too many.

The four great clans of the Leaf had spent decades growing strong by draining the village's resources.

But!

The ones who truly took the lion's share were Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura.

However, after several wars, both the Sarutobi and Shimura clans had suffered significant losses.

Most estimated that the Shimura clan had around two thousand ninjas at most.

Yet Danzo was now offering nearly all of them.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi started to doubt himself.

Could it be that I was wrong? Maybe Danzo didn't listen to Uchiha Itsuki and isn't planning to split from the village?

"Good!" 

Kakashi smiled. "With that, the Leaf's forces will approach twelve thousand ninjas."

Finally, they had some confidence to face Iwa and Kumo.

Immediately.

They began discussing strategies to deal with Iwa and Kumo.

As for Suna, they would send two thousand ninjas to the border.

Though Sunagakure was making military moves, Pakura had just taken office and was busy within the village. It wasn't likely they'd have the strength to attack the Leaf.

Danzo's single eye coldly observed the room, his gaze filled with mockery.

How foolish!

They didn't realize that even if he wanted to split from the Leaf, it would only be after the ninja world was stabilized.

In the midst of the Leaf's crisis, if he led the Shimura clan away, the Leaf would fall. And if the Leaf fell, could a new village he established stand on its own?

Therefore!

Danzo Shimura would fully support the Leaf in getting through this crisis.

…

"This was your plan all along?"

Kurenai looked at Itsuki in shock. "You didn't want Danzo to split from the Leaf but to help it against Iwa and Kumo?"

"Exactly!"

Itsuki grinned as he wrapped his arm around Kurenai's waist, pulling her onto his lap. "Hiruzen Sarutobi is giving it his all. He'll send every available ninja into battle, hoping they'll sacrifice at least half of them, himself included. That way, the Sarutobi clan will stabilize."

"Don't be surprised. With a thousand ninjas left, the Sarutobi clan will still be one of the great clans of the Leaf, and Sarutobi's death will erase the stain on their name, giving them the right to compete for the Hokage position in the future."

"Koharu and Homura don't matter; they're just followers."

"At first, I was worried about how to get Danzo to help."

"If he doesn't, the Leaf's strength drops by thirty percent!"

"But then I figured it out. I needed to fuel Danzo's ambition, so he'd protect the Leaf for his own sake."

"Danzo has one strength. When he sets his mind to something, he gives it his all."

"All in all, Danzo has more backbone than Hiruzen Sarutobi."

Kurenai rolled her eyes and playfully nudged Itsuki. "You sure see things clearly."

"Of course!"

Itsuki didn't mind her reaction; he even seemed a bit proud.

The Leaf was now in the palm of his hand, moving according to his plans.

"Sigh!"

Kurenai sighed softly, "The war had barely ended, and now it's starting all over again?"

"This?"

Itsuki said helplessly, "It's just the way things are. The ninja world has limited resources. If someone gains more, others get less. For the sake of their families and villages, they have no choice but to fight!" 

(End of chapter)