Konoha is divided into black and white.
White, Sarutobi Hiruzen is the biggest; black, Shimura Danzo is the biggest.
Black and white are not clearly separated, good and evil do not oppose each other.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo themselves also have deep brotherly affection, from a young age, they possessed an indestructible and deep friendship.
Root is an organization established and commanded by Shimura Danzo. When this organization was first created, its purpose was to cultivate talents for Sarutobi Hiruzen's Anbu.
Sarutobi Hiruzen also tacitly approved of its existence.
When Sarutobi Hiruzen just succeeded as Hokage, for a long time, Shimura Danzo's Root became Konoha's most direct and effective sharp sword, with the attitude of "better to kill wrongly than let escape," eliminating all threats inside and outside the village.
However, power often corrupts people, and absolute power leads to absolute corruption even more.
At the beginning, Root was structured according to Anbu squads, led by commander Danzo, consisting of four teams with a total of 17 people.
But after so many years, it has become like its name, a tree's roots, complex and entangled, becoming an extremely huge organization.
Various researchers and intelligence personnel are countless.
And Root only listens to Danzo's orders.
After the Nine-Tails Incident ended, Root's members even followed Danzo's order and formed a ten-man team to assassinate the newly reinstated Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Only because Kakashi, who was originally roped in by him, defected at the last moment, it failed.
Then the famous classic scene "You will regret this" appeared.
But in the end, Sarutobi Hiruzen still chose to forgive Shimura Danzo.
Maybe this is the bond between children of Konoha.
However, as merely a tacitly approved existence, Root's combat personnel still maintained only the scale of Anbu squads, that is, only seventeen people.
At present.
As the leader of Root, the one bearing the "black pot," at this important time today, Shimura Danzo still stayed in his Root base.
He also wanted to go see the festival and look at the currently thriving Konoha.
But right now, he had more important matters.
"Have you found anything?", Shimura Danzo asked his subordinate from Root.
The Root ninja shook his head, "Hokage-sama, except for seeing the Jinchuriki once, has always stayed in the Hokage building, never left."
"Never left?", Shimura Danzo furrowed his brows, stood up, and paced back and forth in the office.
"Hiruzen has been acting so strangely lately, he must be planning something. Just didn't expect that now he's even hiding it from me," Shimura Danzo felt a bit emotional, 'Things have really changed.'
Back then, even if he tried to assassinate the other, Hiruzen could still forgive him. But now, just because of a message, he keeps his distance from him.
He didn't even tell him the village's plans anymore.
"Sort out the intel. I'll go to the Hokage building myself."
"Yes!"
———
At the same time.
The battle between Uchiha Obito and Sarutobi Hiruzen had just begun not long ago.
Uchiha Itachi had already arrived at Shimura Danzo's doorstep.
He didn't hide his presence, so as soon as he arrived nearby, he was discovered by Root ninjas.
"Who?", The two Root members on patrol immediately became alert.
"It's me," Uchiha Itachi, wearing an Anbu mask, slowly stepped out of the darkness.
"It's you! What are you doing at Root?"
Uchiha Itachi was famous in both Anbu and Root. His mask was recognized by the Root ninjas at a glance.
Uchiha Itachi took out a scroll from his chest, which bore Sarutobi Hiruzen's special chakra mark.
"Delivering a direct order from Hokage-sama to Elder Danzo."
"Go in," Once they confirmed the exclusive Hokage mark, the Root ninja directly let Uchiha Itachi in.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo often transmitted intel and assigned tasks in this form.
With Sarutobi Hiruzen's "imperial sword" in hand, Uchiha Itachi passed through Root unimpeded.
He arrived at Shimura Danzo's office.
Shimura Danzo, who had originally planned to head to the Hokage building, sat down again, "Uchiha Itachi, what message does Hiruzen want you to deliver to me?"
Uchiha Itachi glanced at the person behind Shimura Danzo and said nothing.
Shimura Danzo understood his meaning, waved his hand, and said, "Ryoma is the person I trust the most."
He still had to be cautious with this Uchiha Itachi. After all, he was a Uchiha.
Aburame Ryoma was currently one of the strongest in Root, stopping Uchiha Itachi wouldn't be a problem.
Uchiha Itachi had only revealed his Mangekyō to Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Obito before.
"It's about a masked man. Hokage-sama suspects he is the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails chaos."
"Hokage-sama is worried the village has raised a ghost, so he has kept it secret all along."
'Masked man?'
'Raised a ghost?'
Shimura Danzo's pupils slightly contracted, and he subconsciously thought, 'Could it be that my past dealings with the masked man are discovered by Hiruzen?'
'So that's why the he has been ignoring me?'
But he quickly dismissed the thought. His contact with the masked man was a year ago, and they agreed back then to target the Uchiha together. But there hasn't been any word since.
'This masked man is really unreliable.'
Shimura Danzo pretended to stay calm, "Tell me the details."
Uchiha Itachi handed the scroll in his hand to Shimura Danzo, "All of Hokage-sama's message is in here."
Shimura Danzo took the scroll, inspected it first, and found that it was indeed a seal set by Sarutobi Hiruzen himself.
Then he worriedly broke the seal on the scroll.
But when he opened the scroll, a crow appeared inside.
And that crow's eye was a shuriken-shaped Mangekyō Sharingan.
Just one look, and the unguarded Shimura Danzo fell into a genjutsu.
He and Hiruzen were long familiar with each other's depth, and he never expected the other would harm him.
And the half-kneeling Uchiha Itachi suddenly erupted, his right hand forming a claw, grabbing for the eye beneath Shimura Danzo's bandage.
"LORD DANZO!", Aburame Ryoma was shocked, but he was also prepared. The bugs he nurtured daily surged toward Uchiha Itachi.
These insects could drain a jōnin in an instant.
But what he faced was a pair of windmill-shaped Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Tsukuyomi!"
"Amaterasu!"
Two pupil techniques were used in succession.
At the moment Ryoma was controlled, a kunai pierced into his heart.
The bugs rushing at Itachi also burst into flames.
The insect swarm rapidly diminished at a speed visible to the naked eye.
At this moment, Uchiha Itachi also took the eye that belonged to Uchiha Shisui.
Without this Mangekyō Sharingan, Shimura Danzo would never again have a chance to escape from Kotoamatsukami.
In the illusion world, Shimura Danzo was also experiencing the greatest torment of his life, aside from never becoming Hokage.
"It's useless, Elder Danzo. This genjutsu, you cannot break."
"Uchiha Itachi! Are you betraying Konoha?"
Tied to a cross, Shimura Danzo widened his single eye, glaring angrily at the half-bodied Uchiha Itachi in front of him.
Just as Uchiha Itachi said, he had already tried, and no matter what he did, he couldn't break free from this illusion.
Uchiha Itachi only looked at him coldly, expression calm.
"Elder Danzo, the one who truly betrayed Konoha, is it really me, or is it you?"
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