Chapter 57: A Dark Irony; Danzo Rejects the Edo Tensei
"What am I missing...?"
Hiruzen gazed at the glowing ember of his cigarette, offering a small smile. "In what sense? Combat? Leadership? Style?"
Danzo blinked. He had originally meant combat, but since he had finally swallowed his pride enough to ask the question, he figured he might as well go for the full package.
A "Hokage Tutoring Session" didn't happen every day. Even the Great Assistant had to admit he needed an edge.
"Everything," Danzo rasped. He knew Hiruzen would understand what he meant.
"In terms of combat, your current kit doesn't waste your talent," Hiruzen said, patting his old friend's shoulder. "Your Wind Style is world-class; it covers short, mid, and long ranges. And since you've modeled yourself after Master Tobirama since we were kids, your CQC (Close Quarters Combat) is more than solid."
"But if you run into an opponent who transcends standard shinobi limits, you lack Error Tolerance."
Danzo listened with the intensity of a student.
"Look at the other Kage," Hiruzen continued. "The Third Tsuchikage and the Third Kazekage can both fly. The Kazekage's Iron Sand provides a defense-grade that allows him to tank hits while gathering intel. The Third Raikage has his Lightning Armor and God-tier speed. Our Master had the Flying Raijin."
Hiruzen ticked off the names of the legends. "Think back to the Second Tsuchikage and the Second Mizukage. One could split his body and turn invisible; the other could create exploding clones that were nearly impossible to track."
"Even the Jinchuriki follow this logic. A 'Tailed-Beast Weapon' is effectively a platform with near-infinite Error Tolerance. They can take a lethal hit, shrug it off, and retaliate with a nuke. Normal ninjas can't play that game."
"The Uchiha's Susanoo—recorded in the ancient scrolls—is the same thing. It's an absolute shield."
Hiruzen shook his head. "Without a high margin for error, you have no capital to gamble with in a high-level fight. And in our world, intelligence is everything. If you can't survive the first exchange, you never get the intel you need to win."
Danzo nodded slowly. He had felt this plateau for years, but Hiruzen had finally put a name to the invisible wall.
This was why Danzo sparred with Hiruzen despite knowing he would lose. This wasn't the Mist Village; you didn't become leader just by killing the guy in the hat. In Konoha, real growth came from these exchanges. And in the entire village, the only person who could beat the hell out of Danzo while accurately diagnosing his flaws was the man standing in front of him.
"Take your 'favorite' rivals, the Uchiha," Hiruzen said. "Suppose one day you face a Mangekyō Sharingan. How do you deal with a Susanoo?"
Hiruzen gave him a skeptical look. "Long-range Wind Style won't have the piercing power. At mid-range, they have a better defense-to-offense ratio than you. And close range? Forget it."
"You have great taijutsu, Danzo, but are you really going to try and stab a chakra god with a wind-coated kunai? Are you going to bet your life on that?"
Danzo's face darkened. "Hiruzen, you won. Don't treat me like a fool. I would never be stupid enough to charge a Susanoo with a kunai."
Wait until he meets Sasuke in thirty years, Arata thought, suppressed a shuddering laugh.
"It's just an analogy, Danzo. Relax."
"My point is, to face the legends, you need to elevate your state. You need to increase your tolerance for mistakes."
Hiruzen paused, thinking. "What if you developed a Wind Style Chakra Mode?"
"Wind is the manipulation of air currents. If you reach the absolute peak of shape transformation, you could theoretically achieve flight or high-speed gliding. You could use high-pressure air to act as a reactive armor. It would turn you from a 'Glass Cannon' into a 'Storm King.'"
"It won't be easy," Hiruzen added. "It's a pioneering work. You'd be inventing a new path."
Inventing a new jutsu was a nightmare. It required a rock-solid foundation and a "Spark of Inspiration"—that one-in-a-million lightbulb moment. Master Tobirama was feared because he seemed to have ten of those sparks every morning before breakfast.
"It won't be easy at all," Danzo sighed. "If only the Master were still here... if I could discuss the theory with Lord Tobirama, I know he'd give me the breakthrough I need."
"I'll have to try it on my own. The framework is there. I'll make it work."
Hiruzen kept his face a mask of stone, though his mind was screaming with Dark Irony.
Oh, Danzo... when our Master actually comes back as an Uchiha teenager, you're going to spend every day trying to assassinate him out of sheer spite. You'll see this 'Uchiha Genius' inventing S-rank jutsus and you'll go into full-blown cardiac arrest.
Hiruzen didn't plan on telling a soul about the Tobirama revival. The more people who knew, the higher the risk of a leak.
Besides, there was a strategic benefit to Danzo's inevitable hostility toward "Uchiha Tobirama." Authentic hatred from the "Darkness of the Leaf" would be the perfect cover for the Second Hokage's new identity. It would help the Master win the trust of the Uchiha clan.
Sorry, Danzo. You're going to have to suffer for the sake of the village, Hiruzen thought.
"Hiruzen, you look unwell. Did I rattle your organs during the spar?"
"No, I was just thinking about village business," Hiruzen lied with a cough. "Say... what if I used the Edo Tensei to bring the Master back for a few hours? You could ask him yourself."
Danzo glared at him, genuinely offended. "Hiruzen! What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Those who have returned to the Pure Land have earned their peace. Unless Konoha is being wiped off the map, I won't have you disturbing the Master's rest for something as petty as a training tip! I have some dignity, you know."
"I refuse to let the Master think I've made zero progress in twenty years! I won't rely on ghosts to do my job!"
Hiruzen smirked. Danzo's obsession isn't the hat; it's 'Validation.'
To Danzo, being Hokage meant Tobirama would finally look at him the way he looked at Hiruzen.
"You're right. It was a poor joke. Forget I said it."
Hiruzen placed a hand on Danzo's shoulder again.
"On another note... I don't want to talk to you about the 'Will of Fire' anymore. Not as a slogan."
"Danzo, we are the ones Tobirama Senju died to protect. He was the Kage; we were the guards."
Danzo remained silent, the memory of that day still sharp.
"Now, you are the Assistant," Hiruzen said softly. "The shinobi of this village are 'us' twenty years ago. If you want to be a leader like our Master, you have to understand his heart."
"To our enemies, we must be as cold as the winter. But to our family—to our own people—we must always keep a flicker of the fire's warmth. A village without a soul won't survive a generation."
"Go home. Take the rest of the day off. That's an order from the Kage."
Hiruzen turned and walked away, his silhouette disappearing into the morning mist.
Danzo stood alone on the training field, watching his friend's back.
Warmth? Danzo mused. Is that a sign of weakness, or a different kind of strength? Does he really believe he can treat these 'tools' like people and still win in a world this cruel?
"How arrogant of you, Hiruzen..." Danzo shook his head.
But as he walked toward the village, a specific person came to mind: Nonō Yakushi.
She was the "Wandering Miko," Root's most talented intelligence asset. Danzo had originally planned to have her "erased" after her current mission in the Stone Village. She was too competent, and her loyalty was wavering—she kept talking about wanting to run an orphanage in the Land of Fire. To the old Danzo, she was a liability to be discarded.
Maybe I'll try it Hiruzen's way, just once, Danzo thought. I won't kill her yet. I'll report her situation to the office and see how the 'Compassionate Hokage' handles a spy who wants to quit.
Danzo exhaled a long breath and headed toward the Hokage Office.
A day off? Hmph. As if I have time for a vacation while the Monkey is working.
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