With Enma, back on his shoulder in his bo-staff form, Hiruzen led the group through the bunker. There were a few traps that Hiruzen crushed on first notice, but no more ROOT-nin popped up to stop him.

Hiruzen could tell that it was time for him to meet Danzo.

“Don’t forget my words,” he reminded his guard.

They soon reached the core of the large underground bunker, where both the Hyuga and the sensory-nin in the group informed them that Danzo was behind the door before them. Hiruzen didn’t bother waiting and slammed the metal door down.

Standing on the other side of the corridor was Danzo, alone without any guards, as though he was leisurely waiting for them to arrive.

Hiruzen scowled at him as his former friend, but before he could speak, mini-crossbow turrets mounted on the walls around the room shot multiple kunai with explosive tags on their tails at Hiruzen and the ground.

Hiruzen flicked his wrist, and a gust of sharp wind pulsated outwards, blowing away the kunai barrage and cutting every single explosive tag in half, forcibly rendering them defused.

“Is that all, or do you have more juvenile mechanisms to throw at me?” Hiruzen asked, slamming the bo-staff down and shaking the floor.

“They were a welcome for you, Hiruzen. This is the first time you have ever visited one of my homes. A bit too late though,” Danzo said calmly as his eye drifted over the ANBU guard behind Hiruzen. He lingered on Itachi standing in the back. “And I see you have brought companions.”

Hiruzen noticed Danzo still had his two eyes, black pupils in both.

‘He hasn’t transplanted Shisui’s eyes then,’ he concluded.

There was a reason why a clan like the Uchiha, who were so fiercely protective about their dojutsu, had allowed an outsider to retain and wield one of their precious eyes. Hatake Kakashi had obtained the eye that had given him the moniker the Copy Ninja from his friend and teammate who had died during the Third Shinobi World War—and everyone, including the man himself expected the Uchiha to come knocking on his door so much so that Kakashi had taken the initiative to visit the Uchiha to return the eye.

But contrary to everyone’s expectations, the Uchiha clan had allowed Kakashi to retain and wield their eyes. It was an absurdly shocking incident that had been on everyone’s lips for months; everyone aware of the matter could only speculate why the Uchiha would do so.

Hiruzen himself couldn’t understand the reasoning. What was the ploy? He had initially thought that the Uchiha clan was trying to gain Kakashi’s favor and bring him under their umbrella—but he disposed of that idea faster than it rose—even the Uchiha wouldn’t use their precious Sharingan as a bargaining tool.

He found the truth later through his successor, Minato, Kakashi’s jonin teacher.

Uchiha wanted to know how the Sharingan would react and function in the possession of someone who lacked their bloodline. Like all the kekkei genkai-possessing clans, the Uchiha wished to study their dojutsu further and boldly used the situation with Kakashi as a way to do that. It was a risky move, but it paid dividends as they found a lot more about the Sharingan.

When transplanted into someone who lacked the Uchiha bloodline, the Sharingan remained activated. Kakashi had tried to solve the problem as the Sharingan drained his chakra constantly, restricting his other abilities due to the ever-present load on his chakra reserves, making chakra resource management an altogether new challenge.

It wasn’t a problem with talent as Kakashi knew how to use the Sharingan better than the majority of the Uchiha clan—something the latter would never admit as the truth displeased them.

Seeing Danzo without the red in his pupils meant he hadn’t yet transplanted Shisui’s eyes.

‘We must catch him alive to locate the eyes,’ Hiruzen thought.

“Why did you do it, Danzo?” he asked with the feeling of sorrow in his heart. “You sacrificed a young man’s life with boundless potential… for what? So, an old man like you could have a second wind? You sacrificed the village’s future so you could hoard more power?”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to insinuate, Lord Hokage,” Danzo said, eyeing the ANBU-nin who entered and spread out in the wide corridor. Against Hiruzen and his guard, he stood alone.

Hiruzen sighed in disappointment. “Only you knew the truth. It could have only been you. I blame myself for trusting you with the information. You are a disgrace to the village, to our teacher, and to the Will of Fire.”

“Your anger has blinded you, Hiruzen. I wasn’t the only one to know, was I? There was another one.” Danzo’s eyes briefly lingered on Itachi. “Maybe a genius got envious and sought to gain more power.”

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Hiruzen glanced at Itachi. The young Uchiha looked like he wanted to jump at Danzo and shred him into pieces.

“Your means, your way of dealing with problems that plagued the village and the nation… was necessary,” Hiruzen started, gazing at Danzo with a somber tone. “They kept us safe, and I and the village were grateful for it—”

Danzo scoffed.

Hiruzen continued, “So I allowed you to operate as you wished. Perhaps it was because you produced results, or maybe it was because our friendship blinded me that I granted you autonomy”— Danzo’s brown knitted together—“but you should’ve known better than anyone what would happen the moment you turned your weapons against our own—it’s your responsibility to deal with threats like yourself currently.” He sighed. “I blame myself for this situation. I pushed the darkness onto you when you offered to bear it. I should have considered it more; I should have known that, given your history, it would turn out like this…

“Power corrupted you, Danzo. I imagine our teacher saw this coming, so he made me the Hokage rather than you. He was wiser than both of us combined…”

Hiruzen gazed at Danzo. The man he knew always hid his emotions. No matter the situation, Danzo would conceal his thoughts and schemes behind the cold, stone exterior. That’s what made him the dangerous shinobi and strategist he was.

But Hiruzen knew Danzo better than most people—he knew where it hurt the most.

“…You are correct. It is your fault, Hiruzen,” Danzo stood there just as calm as before, his voice flat and controlled, but if the venom in his eyes was any indication, Hiruzen knew his words had gotten through. “Everything I did was because of you. All my actions were in the hopes you didn’t ruin the village our teacher helped build. If you wish to shoulder the blame, then feel free to do as you forced me to take the actions I did.”

“How much are you going to disgrace yourself, Danzo? At least be honorable to take responsibility for your actions,” Hiruzen said, exasperated.

Danzo shook his head.

“Don’t try to twist my words, Hiruzen. I know what I did, but you forced my hand. You were leading the Hidden Leaf into weakness,” he said with a hint of anger. “It all started after the Second War, your policies and decisions slowly began to soften. Your iron rule became more malleable. It wasn’t obvious then, but with hindsight, I could see that the once fierce Third Hokage had reached the tail end of his prime.

A mocking smile appeared on his face. “I always wonder what was the catalyst. If one was to ask me, it was the Slug Princess’ downfall. Tell me, Hiruzen—did seeing your student suffer because of the war crack your shinobi heart?”

“Danzo,” Hiruzen warned.

Danzo continued unperturbed. “That softness of yours was why the Hidden Stone and the Fence-Sitter Onoki dared to declare war against us, which led to the Third War. Your weakness let the smaller powers in and outside our borders dare to harbor even thoughts of rebellion. Oniki saw your weakness and sought to take advantage. Your weakness was the reason why Hidden Cloud and that generation of Raikage dared to enter the war because they didn’t see us as strong enough to fend off two nations

“Would they have thought that when the First Hokage founded the village? Would they have dared when the Second Hokage led our glorious village into prominence? Would they have dared it when the Hiruzen of old was keeping everyone under his heel?”

The memories drove away Hiruzen. He was as naïve as any youngster in his youth. Power was the truth; power was absolute. He didn’t understand what the Hidden Leaf stood for, what the Hokage’s true duty was supposed to be. It was training his dear students that led him to enlightenment. It was from seeing their growth, their potential, their brightness— that he understood the Will of Fire.

‘You’re so blind, my old friend,’ he thought.

“I was happy when you decided to step down as the Hokage and passed the hat on to Namikaze. We never agreed on many things, but I understood why you chose him,” said Danzo, surprising Hiruzen.

“Namikaze was such a force to be reckoned with during the Third War that an unwilling Onoki was forced to sign the peace treaty—that was the dominance that a Hokage should have. I had liked the young Orochimaru with his mind, ability, and zeal— but Namikaze was a better choice. He even had the jinchuriki under his control. A truly shrewd hand to marry the jinchuriki just like the First Hokage; I’m still surprised that Jiraya was the one to train him.”

Hiruzen felt a bad taste in his mouth as Minato’s memory was tarnished right in front of him.

“I pity you, Danzo. You can’t help but see everyone as tools and pawns,” he said.

“Keep it to yourself,” said Danzo. He continued, “I had high hopes that the young Namikaze would lead the Hidden Leaf to its previous heights under his reign—but tragedy struck…” Danzo heaved a sigh as though feeling remorse.

The Nine-Tails incident. The tragedy had killed shinobi and civilians alike. The incident had taken away his wife from Hiruzen, the Hokage from the village, and countless loved ones from the people who were fortunate to survive.

“But the true tragedy was when you re-instated yourself as the Hokage,” Danzo said. “When the village desperately needed strong leadership to keep it together and put forward a powerful front for the world to see while it repaired itself and regained strength—you failed the village. You couldn’t control Orochimaru, you let the Uchiha step all over you, even the pathetic Hidden Frost had the gall to betray us and join hands with Hidden Cloud.

“Without my work, keeping everyone in check, you would’ve made a mockery of the Hokage. Without me, you would’ve long ruined the Hidden Leaf. You speak of the Will of Fire. I’m the roots that feeds the great tree. I ensured it would flourish even if it meant stealing the nutrients from others who rely on the same ground. I have done more for the future than you.”

Danzo raised his hand to point at Hiruzen,

“I respected the man who was titled ‘God of Shinobi’… that man is dead because you, Sarutobi Hiruzen, are no longer him. You aren’t even the pale shadow of the man,” Danzo said.

Hiruzen took in a deep breath before picking up his bo-staff.

“Shisui’s death was good for the village’s future?” he asked.

Danzo spoke as though it was obvious. “The last time a Uchiha had that much power, we almost lost the entire village if not for the First Hokage, who we also almost lost because of him. As the teacher once said: that clan is cursed, and they will ruin the village if not kept in check.”

Hiruzen closed his eyes for a moment but when he opened his eyes, the anger mixed in with the chakra pushed against the walls of the chamber. Everyone looked nervously at Hiruzen.

“If you want the Sarutobi Hiruzen of the old, then that’s who you will get.”

He would end this twisted fire that threatened the tree.