Tanaka, tasked with leading the way, climbed the stairs nervously under Masashi's urging. Each step felt heavier tha.

  Danzō's reputation was well-known, even to someone like him. Otherwise, his business wouldn't have flourished to this extent.

  Merts who could open such establishments in major vilges were anything but ordinary.

  Although the personal lives of shinobi and ordinary people ran on parallel tracks, the shinobi world was still part of the greater society. High-ranking shinobi naturally influenced all facets of that society.

  Danzō was such a shinobi.

  When it came to societal influence, even the Five Kage couldn't pare to the power of the title the Darkness of the Shinobi. The Five Kage wouldn't stoop to dirty work, but Danzō would. And those who crossed him teo disappear without a trace.

  The tendrils of Root reached across nations, leaving traces everywhere.

  Naturally, Tanaka was terrified.

  Arriving at the door of the private room, he swallowed hard and was about to muster the ce to open it when another haed on the door.

  It beloo a shinobi wearing a mask distinctly different from those of the ANBU, his gaze ice-cold. The mask's design seemed purposefully intimidating—white with thin, blood-red lirailing down from the eye holes.

  Uhe shinobi's stare, Tanaka suddenly felt the urgeo relieve himself.

  The masked shinobi g him only briefly before turning his attention to Masashi behind him.

  "Danzō-sama said you are to enter alone."

  "Mm." Masashi smiled warmly, exuding an air of friendlihat seemed oddly out of pce. "But first, you should apologize to the owner."

  Both the Root shinobi and Tanaka froze.

  "Masashi—" A short bde pressed against the Root shinobi's , sileng his words.

  The movement had been too quick for Tanaka to follow— one moment Masashi was smiling, the he bde was already in position.

  "Apologize for disturbing his business," Masashi instructed calmly, like a teacher pointing out a mistake. His Sharingan showed a cold kind of friendliness.

  The Root shinobi stiffened, but when his gaze met Masashi's eyes, his demeanor ged instantly.

  "My deepest apologies for disturbing your business," he said to Tanaka, bowing slightly. "Please excuse my earlier rudeness."

  "It's... it's fianaka mao stutter, surprised by the sudden shift.

  Masashi's smile never wavered. "That's better. Now, shall we?"

  The Root shinobi stepped aside without another word, allowing Masashi to ehe private room alone.

  ---

  The only light in the room came from the lively nightlife visible through the windows.

  When Masashi turned on the switch, the delier illumihe opulent decor in all its glory.

  Danzō sat on the sofa, holding a gss of wine.

  Masashi shut the door behind him, poured himself a gss of wine, and sat down opposite him without saying a word.

  Danzō gazed at the night view for a moment before taking a sip of his wine and turning to face Masashi.

  Danzō, not yet as aged as he would one day bee, heless looked frail pared to Hiruzen, his right eye and right arm ed in bandages.

  But there was nothing frail about the iy of his presence.

  With his Sharingan active, Masashi saw clearly—his right hand was an artificial limb, and his right eye was a dead eyeball.

  He hadn't yet embarked on that other path.

  This was a man who had itted tless morally questios yet genuinely believed he was in the right. He never hesitated to decre his 'darkness' philosophy.

  Every a, every death, every sacrifice was justified in his mind.

  Superficially, he might everagic. But his ambition and self-i were undeniable, and his extreme personality ofteed minor issues.

  While he wasn't wholly evil, he was far from i.

  As they said, old habits died hard—he had truly grown into this version of himself.

  "It seems your temper isn't as mild as you usually let on," Danzō remarked, uned by Masashi's active Sharingan gaze.

  "Danzō-sama, is Root really so short-staffed?" Masashi deactivated his Sharingan, his eyes returning to bck. "These shinobi sacrifice everything for the vilge. 't you at least improve their public image?"

  "stantly operating outside the vilge makes social detat iable," Danzō replied dismissively, swirling the wine in his gss.

  "Just don't let them wear ANBU uniforms," Masashi said. "Only real ANBU are entitled to wear that."

  "You're too aggressive. We don't ourselves with such trivialities," Danzō said, putting down his gss. "But you seem to hold Root in high regard."

  "Each has their role. Mutual venience is important," Masashi reminded him. And some roles should stay in the shadows where they belong.

  "Indeed, it's rare for an Uchiha to think that way. Did I interrupt something important tonight?"

  "What do you think? I was off duty."

  "Join Root, and you'll get to sample other specialties from around the world."

  "Misusing publids is against regutions. Even at year's end, I wouldn't take the risk."

  "You don't o worry—Root has special privileges."

  "Special or not, that's not my ," Masashi retorted, unmoved. "I won't work for someone who doesn't trust me, Danzō-sama."

  "You've never worked for anyone, Masashi," Danzō said. "You work for this view, for yourself. Root could amplify your abilities further."

  "Sounds like you're talking about yourself," Masashi replied, unimpressed. "Save your breath. I've worked hard to bee a jonin to avoid trouble like this. No one force me into something I don't want to do."

  "True, you're not someone who be bought with petty gains," Danzō ceded, tapping his fingers against the armrest. "But I offer you what the Uchiha ever could."

  Masashi merely chuckled, dropping all pretenses in Danzō's preseherwise, this man would only push harder.

  "Are you ied in Sage Mode?"

  Masashi's brow furrowed.

  Sage teiques were indeed something the Uchiha cked—they simply didn't folloath. Even the Senju, strictly speaking, hadn't mastered it as a .

  It was an individual achievement.

  Though Sage Mode perfectly plemented desdants of the Sage of Six Paths, it wasn't part of their standard repertoire.

  "I'm ied, but I'll figure it out myself," Masashi said without hesitation. "Please, save your mark for someone else."

  "Rex, I'm not a devil," Danzō said, tapping his e lightly against the floor. "You like making deals, don't you? Let's make one."

  "Go ahead," Masashi gestured politely, inviting Danzō to speak.

  This was the right attitude—let's talk business like proper businesspeople. No need for pretenses; her of us are saints.

  "Retly, there's been an anization called the Hannya Bck Ops. I need a skilled shinobi to eradicate them using unventional means," Danzō began.

  "The number of shinobi under Root is limited, and there aren't enough avaible to hahis matter within a short timeframe. But if there's a jonin involved, things would go much smoother."

  "I won't ask why they o die," Masashi said casually. "But I doly have the time for it either."

  "Don't reject me before heari." Danzō wasn't upset about being interrupted. "The Hannya Bck Ops cim they've discovered a location of a secret realm where Sage Mode could be learhey're hoping to trade this information with Konoha."

  "Oh," Masashi's i immediately waned.

  Cims of such discoveries were almost always fake.

  Ba the day, the entire Senju had only one person who could use Sage Mode—Senju. But even until his death, no one knew how he had attai.

  Among the Sannin, each had their own specific sage path, and the names of their respective secret realms were clearly known.

  Mount Myōboku as an example.

  In the manga, that toad named Fukasaku once mentiohat Mount Myōboku was located in a pce called Mountain of Bewilderment. From Konoha, it was a month-long journey, and it required passing through a secret pathway—otherwise, it was unreachable.

  Leaving aside the secret pathway, during Naruto's era, it only took him three days to travel from Konoha to Suna. The distance from Konoha to Mount Myōboku was ten times that of Konoha to Suna.

  That so-called Mountain of Bewilderment was likely located somewhere west of the Land of Wind.

  And given the requirement for a secret pathway, even if one could find the Mountain of Bewilderment, reag Mount Myōboku would still be impossible.

  So even if the Hannya Bck Ops had truly found a secret realm, the fact that they were willing to trade it likely meant they coulder it themselves and were just using it as a ploy to trick others.

  But to dare deceive Konoha, especially targeting Danzō of all people—that was bold. Either incredibly brave or moally stupid.

  "Acc to Root's iigation, their information is genuine." Danzō squinted his single eye at the skeptical-looking Masashi. "You're familiar with Root's capabilities in this area, aren't you?"

  "Let me guess," Masashi said. "Did they trade fake information, or did they use fake io obtain real intel from Konoha?"

  "Of course, we gave them fake information," Danzō replied without a ge in expression. "They think they trade information with Konoha? Not a ce."

  "However, I did uimate them—they not only withheld their information but even attempted to kill the people I sent."

  "Audacious."

  "Alright then, how was their intel verified?" Masashi asked.

  "I sent two groups. One of them firmed the authenticity of the information at their base, but the groups were discovered. The only message they mao send back was this firmation."

  "Is the Hannya Bck Ops ihey're provoking Konoha to this extent?"

  "It's uandable if they've iheir fideer acquiring the secret realm," Danzō remarked with an oddly uanding tone. "Jiraiya has already thhly proven the power of Sage Mode."

  No, the ones who proved that power were Indra and Asura. In truth, this world didn't even have 'sage arts' as such.

  Masashi had to admit that Danzō had successfully piqued his i.

  To the members of the Hannya Bck Ops, apologies, but the thing you've got on your hands is just too tempting for me.

  "Alright, Danzō-sama. How do you propose we hahis transa?" Masashi asked, gng at him, whose smile widened in a sinister manner.

  "sider it an S-rank mission. Eliminating the Hannya Bck Ops will earn you 2 million ryō. If you firm the secret realm's location ary method, you'll receive 3 million."

  "Very generous, Danzō-sama. Is this because the Land of Water owes us a fortuhis time? How much will the vilge actually get?"

  "I'm not at liberty to disclose that," Danzō replied. "The vilge—"

  "Got it. Got it. The vilge has plenty of expenses; it's not just the Uchiha that's suffered losses." Masashi interrupted with a wave of his hand. "I've fought otlefield too, you know. I've had rades—I uand."

  "Good. So? Will you take the mission?"

  "How long do I have?"

  "Their test whereabouts pce them in the Land of Stohere's no time limit. If you're not fident in finding the secret realm, just focus on eradig the group."

  "Hehe..." Masashi chuckled and shook his head. Pying the fidence card? "No need. I'll take it. But I don't oo many people apanying me."

  "Why not?"

  "I'm afraid they won't keep up and end up wasting my time."

  "Not bad. You're fident. Don't worry, even if you wanted me to send more people, I wouldn't have ao spare," Danzō said, pulling out a scroll and handing it to Masashi.

  "The location is written here. Look at it now. You'll head to the Land of Stone alone. Our tact will guide you to the Hannya Bck Ops. The mission has already been filed, and 2 million ryō will be transferred to the Uchiha 's at tomorrow."

  "Feel free to verify it."

  "Everyone knows Danzō-sama is generous with money."

  Masashi opehe scroll, memorized the critical information such as meeting points and codes, then ha back to Danzō.

  "Danzō-sama, let me remind you—I'm not joining Root. I'm just taking on a vilge mission," he couldn't help but emphasize.

  "The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal is just a necessary fidentiality measure. Aside from keeping my operations private, it doesn't affeything else. Root is not the Hyūga ," Danzō finally showed some irritation.

  "The embers are all from ninja s—you didn't know that?"

  "Didn't know. I'm not part of Root, after all." Masashi grinned. "Rest assured, Danzō-sama. I'll make sure it's beautifully done."

  "Good. Just one requirement: I don't care about the secret realm, but the Hannya Bust die miserably—enough to serve as a deterrent. Use your creativity."

  As an afterthought, Danzō added, "If the deaths are particurly iive, I'll pay extra."

  "Got it. You t on me." Masashi mentally reviewed some ideas, thinking of all the ways Earth's history outcssed the world of shinobi in terms of gruesome deaths. This wouldn't be a problem.

  It wasn't a matter of g iy; the Hannya Bck Ops had dug their own grave by provoking Konoha and killing its shinobi.

  The shinobi world didn't value peace—it valued power.

  "Alright, that's all I had to say. You may begin," Danzō said, sitting back down and lifting his cup.

  "Start today? o rush," Masashi frowned. He wasn't a fan of being hurried. "If I go alone, I'll reach the Land of Stone in uhree days."

  "What nonsense are you spouting?" Danzō frowned as well, his single eye narrowing dangerously. "I was referring to the girls. Where are they?"

  "..."

  Well, this just got weird fast.