"Aizen Kurama, come with us," said one of them, wearing a white mask with a bird-like appearance and a large nose, in a neutral tone. "Lord Danzo wishes to see you."

Upon hearing this, I raised an eyebrow. I had anticipated this would happen sooner or later; it wasn't the first time Danzo had tried to approach me, but this time it seemed like his patience had run out, and he was making a more direct approach...

"Okay, take me to him," I said with a friendly smile.

Perhaps they didn't expect this response, as they froze for a moment before reacting, wavering between surprise and distrust. However, being members of the Root, they quickly regained their cold and efficient composure, gesturing for me to follow them.

━━━━

Meanwhile, in the dimly lit hall where Danzo trains the members of Anbu, Root, the thick red pillars held up the ceiling. In the most prominent corner of this place, Danzo Shimura was slowly tapping his fingers uniformly on the arm of his throne.

Next to him, over 100 ninjas wearing masks stood. If not for the fact that their hearts were still beating, they could be mistaken for statues.

"Hoho, he has finally arrived," said Danzo, his grave and austere voice echoing through the hall. The authority in his tone was undeniable, each word carrying a veiled threat. The sound of his fingers tapping on the throne ceased, and a faint cold smile formed on his lips, revealing the barely concealed satisfaction in his eyes.

Footsteps in the large hall began to approach. Danzo saw the three ninjas he had sent, bringing with them a young man with brown hair and green eyes.

'It seems he didn't resist,' thought Danzo as he analyzed the ninjas he sent and the boy Aizen who followed them, appearing a bit too calm, even with a smile that caused him some unease. 'Is he planning something or simply more foolish than I thought?'

Danzo couldn't help but be more cautious with this boy. Although young and inexperienced, he hadn't come this far by being reckless...

'No matter what you are planning, boy. From the moment you arrived here, you are destined to become mine. Only I can use someone like you,' thought Danzo, his eyes becoming even more intense as Aizen approached. 'Only I can control your powers and make good use of a tool like you. With your powers, my goal of becoming Hokage will be much closer...'

Danzo observed each step of Aizen with meticulous attention, his thoughts racing. He saw not just a talented young man, but an essential piece for his rise to power.

The silent hall seemed to hold its breath, as if everyone was aware of the gravity of this moment. Aizen's presence was the key that Danzo believed would unlock his future, and he would not allow anyone, not even Aizen himself, to interfere with his plans.

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Aizen open his arms with a smile, his eyes shining like those of a snake. Though he seemed somehow kind and warm, Danzo was not fooled.

"You must be Lord Danzo, right?" Aizen said with a laugh. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Coughing, Danzo said: "Huh, you at least seem to understand your place. So, you must know why I called you here, right?"

"Yes, of course I do." The smile never disappeared from his face as he responded: "You wish to use me, am I right?"

Danzo's eyes grew sharper as his voice became even graver: "Use... You make it sound like I want to do something bad. What I desire is for you to join me, to become part of my Root. I promise you benefits that no one else can offer. You will not regret aligning with me."

"Hahaha, as expected, you indeed seem like someone who knows how to talk and is generous with your words," Aizen said, his eyes curving into half-moons. "But before that, I want you to read this, how about it?"

Danzo frowned upon seeing a letter in the hand of one of the Anbu ninjas standing near Aizen.

"Bring that to me," Danzo ordered.

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"Yes!" the Anbu ninja responded, walking towards him.

When Danzo saw him a few steps away, he ordered, "Stop. Now, open the letter and see what's inside."

"Yes," the Anbu ninja agreed, opening the letter. "Lord Danzo, inside the envelope there's a paper, and I don't sense any chakra or presence of something dangerous."

"Very well, bring it to me," Danzo said.

The Anbu ninja approached and handed the letter reverently to Danzo, then took two steps back.

Danzo, who received the letter, seemed curious to know what exactly was written to make this boy so smiley.

Deep down, he even wanted to throw the letter away at that moment, sensing something bad might happen, but little did he know that the moment he touched the letter, what he feared the most had already happened.

"Huh? It's empty!" His voice grew grave, and his eyes turned cruel as he looked at the Anbu ninja before him.

"It wasn't empty, Lord Danzo. It has simply already been used~" The Anbu ninja in front of him said with a hint of amusement in his voice, something that surprised everyone, as it was not common for this to happen, especially coming from the ninja who spoke this way. At that moment, he picked up a piece of paper shaped like a doll and waved it, asking, "Do you know what this is, Lord Danzo~?"

"Used?" Danzo's heart beat harder. He felt an indescribable sense of crisis at that very moment.

"Haha, even if you don't ask, I will answer, Lord Danzo~" His voice, saying his name, though it seemed respectful, was extremely mocking, causing veins to appear all over Danzo's face. He continued, "This is called Shikigami. But it's not just any Shikigami..."

"Attack!" Danzo ordered without waiting for him to continue.

Soon, the Anbu ninja holding the piece of paper was attacked from all directions.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sounds of blows and punctures echoed. In the place where the Anbu ninja stood, a pool of blood began to form from the holes made in the ninja's body.

"Wow, as expected from Lord Danzo, you didn't even blink when ordering the killing of one of your men~" Aizen's voice echoed, sounding extremely friendly and relaxed.

"You..." Danzo looked at him with a touch of cruelty in his eyes.

"How scary..." Aizen said this, but smiled as he spoke, then added with a chuckle, "Honestly, Lord Danzo, you should have let him finish speaking since you need to know this. Cough, but since he is no longer with us... let me continue."

The ninjas in the hall looked at Danzo, awaiting his orders. As soon as he gave the command, Aizen's fate would be the same as that of the ninja they had just killed.

In Aizen's hand, a piece of paper swayed between his fingers: "Lord Danzo, this is called Shikigami, but not just any Shikigami, but a twin Shikigami."

"Is that all you wanted to say?" Danzo responded coldly, "If that's all, submit to me or die!"

"Haha, of course that's not all." Aizen smiled as he said, "You don't believe that's everything, right?"

"Kill him!" Danzo made a decision at that moment.

This time, several kunais were pointed at Aizen's neck, various ninjas surrounded him, and in moments, he was slashed in a way that made him unrecognizable. However, something strange happened.

Everyone's minds seemed to waver, and when they closed and opened their eyes again, the one who had just been killed by them turned out to be one of them.

"How is this possible?!" exclaimed one of the more experienced Anbu ninjas in genjutsu, rivaling Kurenai in this aspect.

Not only were the ninjas in shock, but Danzo also seemed unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Where is he? Find him!" Danzo ordered, but then his eye seemed to be playing tricks on him. "Why are you there? Why are you..."

Before he finished, he realized.

"Since when did you cast a genjutsu?" Danzo asked in a commanding tone. "Since when have you been pretending to be Kuraha?"

"Oh? So that was the name of that bird-masked ninja?" Aizen, who revealed himself, smiled while opening his hands and said: "Well, well, what can I say... All this time? Hahaha, don't be nervous. I just wanted to play a little with you, Lord Danzo. After all, you were so courteous in 'inviting' me and trying to lure me for so long that I thought: 'I should do something for him!' And, well, it seems it was worth it, seeing you look so 'satisfied'. That brings me immense joy. And anyway, Lord Danzo, could you ask them to step back from me, please?"

"Idiot, do you really think Lord Danzo will..."

Before the ninja could complete what he was going to say, he stopped because he heard Danzo say, "All of you, step back!"

This order left everyone confused. They looked back at Danzo to confirm if it was really him who had ordered it, and when they confirmed, even then, they couldn't believe it.

What the hell was going on, were they in another genjutsu?

The moment this seed of doubt was planted in their minds, they even started looking at each other cautiously.

What if one of them was Aizen disguised through genjutsu?

"Thank you, Lord Danzo, you are very kind~" Aizen's voice echoed once more, enchantingly: "Now that we've seen and talked, I must go, oh yes, please, don't try to stop me and if possible, forget everything that happened now; in the end, I was never here, understood?"

Instead of responding, Danzo just watched Aizen leave without doing anything.

On the other hand, the ninjas, who were confused by actions that did not match Lord Danzo's character, soon dropped their heads forward, then lifted them back up with their eyes somewhat dull, until they began to move swiftly, cleaning the entire area and later returning to their initial positions as if nothing had happened.

Danzo sat on the throne again, his eyes that previously seemed colorless regained their light and for a brief moment he looked confused, until his state of confusion passed and he became cold and indifferent to everything once more.

'Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something very important to me?' Danzo thought, but didn't let it show.