Will of embers

Chapter 10

Danzo couldn't help but feel frustrated at the progress. That old fool didn't act like he should. After Minato's death, Danzo thought it was time for him to take on the responsibility of protecting the village. As strong as Minato was, he was a fool to trust the Uchiha, which killed him and destroyed the village.

Danzo has observed Minato's closeness with Fugaku. Fugaku probably knew of Kushina's pregnancy and used it to attack the village. Everything adds up to that. Fugaku was a cunning man; he feigned humility to get closer to others and struck when the opportunity presented itself. That is why Danzo tried to warn Hiruzen, but that fool wouldn't listen.

That old fool was always gullible, but that is also why Danzo was surprised. Hiruzen started to distrust him. It must be because of the Uchiha. They can't be trusted. Somehow, without Danzo noticing, they got closer to Hiruzen—close enough for him to take their side rather than Danzo's. It was unsettling.

"How is it going?" Danzo asked as he entered the secret laboratory. "How is the progress?"

"Not existent," Orochimaru replied as he wiped blood from his hands. "The test subjects are too old. Their chakra is developed too far. Even if their bodies didn't reject Hashirama's cells, their chakra couldn't coexist with the chakra coming from Hashirama's cells. It was just too different. It was impossible to further the research with them. I need more suitable subjects."

"What kind of subjects?" Danzo asked as he looked over the research.

"Children who haven't been taught anything. Even babes will suffice. I had a bit of success with one, but I don't think he will survive," Orochimaru replied excitedly. "With their underdeveloped chakra, I can mold them into perfect subjects. I can change their bodies to be most suitable for Hashirama's cells. That is the only way."

"What about your little student? Anko Mitarashi?" Danzo asked.

"She is about the age, but she won't cut it," Orochimaru replied, and for a moment, Danzo thought that he was trying to protect his student. "And I already started to mess with her body, so it would be problematic to undo these changes. I have other plans for her. As I said, I need children who weren't trained even for a bit for best results. One hundred should be enough for the start. Who knows, one or two might survive."

"Don't be ridiculous," Danzo denied it immediately. "Even if Hiruzen didn't start suspecting us, there is no way a hundred children would go missing unnoticed. And before you ask for such a price, I need more concrete results."

"As I said, it was impossible to get anything from them," Orochimaru pointed at countless dead bodies of the prisoners Danzo managed to secure. "I don't care how. I need the children to progress with the experiments. It is your job to provide me with subjects."

He was an arrogant bastard; if he weren't so brilliant, Danzo would already have cut him off. But Danzo also had to be thankful for Orochimaru; there weren't many people who thought similarly to him. The question was how much Danzo could trust Orochimaru. He was still Hiruzen's disciple. He could betray Danzo at any moment to save himself.

That is why Danzo was already thinking of how he should provide children to Orochimaru as fast as possible. He would look outside the village if he couldn't do it inside. No matter what, he needed these experiments to succeed for the village's survival and prosperity. The village needed the power that could challenge the Sharingan.

…

Danzo couldn't act rashly, no matter how much he wanted to achieve the results. Orochimaru, too, was unpredictable. If he finds something unsatisfying, he may turn away from Danzo even if he won't betray him for Hiruzen; who knows what Orochimaru would do? He needed to use Orochimaru to its fullest before anything happened.

"Hokage-sama is busy right now and won't be able to meet you, Danzo-sama," Danzo looked down at Kakashi Hatake as he blocked his path to the Hokage's office. "You may return at a later date."

"You have no position to block me, boy." Danzo couldn't believe that Hiruzen would be able to gain Kakashi's trust so easily. He had set his eyes on Kakashi first and worked hard to get him on his side, but it was pointless in the end because of Hiruzen. "Stand aside. I have urgent matters to disgust with Hiruzen."

"That won't be possible," Danzo was getting irritated with each second.

Ever since Hiruzen took back his seat, nothing went his way. Danzo was losing patience because everyone was keen on getting in his way. It was the will of Hiruzen; Danzo was sure of it. Had that old fool already pushed the village against him? No, Hiruzen wouldn't use such underhanded methods, and if he had anything to say, he would say it to his face.

"No matter how ignorant you are, you still should know your place as shinobi of this village, Kakashi Hatake," Even if Hiruzen didn't instruct them to do so himself, Danzo was sure that his subordinates picked up Hiruzen's will. "I will not ask you again to stand back."

"And I will not repeat myself either," This brat was full of vigor, and Danzo thought it would take more time for Kakashi to regain his spirit after Minato died. Danzo expected nothing less of Hiruzen. That old fool was always like that. Able to inspire other people was one of the reasons Tobirama-sensei picked him to be the Third Hokage.

"Is that how it will be?" Still, Danzo didn't have patience for this; he needed to convince Hiruzen to let him take children into Root to give them to Orochimaru. "Only Hokage himself can deny me, no one else."

"Kakashi!" Danzo looked over at Kakashi at the Hokage office in surprise as he heard Hiruzen yell out. "What is with this ruckus outside?"

"Hokage-sama isn't in a good mood today, Danzo-sama; it would be best for you to leave."

"What is going on?" Danzo didn't remember the last time Hiruzen yelled like this.

"Is that Danzo? Bring him over," Hearing Hiruzen's words from inside the office made Danzo a bit nervous, but since Kakashi opened the path, Danzo walked in. "So, it was you."

"Huh?" Danzo had to be sure he wasn't under genjutsu as he looked over Hiruzen. He was completely wasted. Bottles of sake were thrown everywhere. On the table, under it, and on the floor. It was such a mess that Danzo thought the man sitting before him wasn't even Hiruzen but an imposter.

"So, you going to look around like a fool or tell me what you want?" Hiruzen asked, putting his feet on the table and knocking more bottles to the floor. "You wouldn't be wasting my time, would you?"

Has there been any situation where Hiruzen got drunk? From all the years Danzo fought with Hiruzen, he could remember taking a few cups at most with his comrades. He never was drunk in his life. So, it was shocking to see Hiruzen in such a state. Danzo was curious why Hiruzen was drunk but thought it might be best to leave it for now.

"I came to inform you that I need more shinobi in my organization." No matter why, his getting drunk might allow Danzo to fool him over more easily. "Since we already lack shinobi, I am thinking of taking children from the orphanages and training them myself to the standard of the Root."

"Train them up?" Hiruzen downed another bottle of sake like it was water. "Now that I think about it, don't you already have enough men under you? Why would you want more?"

"I have no choice. Since I will try to get intel on other nations and villages, sacrifices will be made, so I need to prepare replacements ahead of time," Now that Danzo got over his shock, he noticed how many empty bottles there were. Since nobody else was here, that meant Hiruzen drank them all alone. To consume such an amount of alcohol was dangerous for anyone.

"Hey," Hiruzen had to be a monster to drink such an amount and still be coherent. "Do I look like a fool, do you?"

"What are you talking about?" Danzo was mistaken. This Hiruzen was more dangerous and unpredictable than ever. "If you can't speak properly now, I will return later."

"Over and over again, I have cut you slack, haven't I?" There was something dangerous about Hiruzen's tone. "No matter what you did, I still trusted you to look after the village, believing that, in the end, you cared about the village. But all you do is prove me wrong, aren't you?"

"You too drunk. Take a rest, and we will finish this talk another day," Danzo said as he walked up to the door and was about to leave.

"I am not finished!" The empty bottle smashed on the door. "Firstly, I am not drunk, just slightly intoxicated. Secondly, you came to me, and we will finish our talk now, or I will never see you again."

"Fine," No matter how dangerous Hiruzen was, he wouldn't do anything to his friend, and it was a good opportunity to find out what Hiruzen truly thought about him. "Like I said, I want to take more children into Root to train them for replacement."

"And I said not to take me for a fool!" Hiruzen yelled at Danzo with anger in his eyes. "You know what? Now that I think about it, it has been a long time since I saw ROOT in person. I wonder how to prepare your members since you need so many of them. Oh, I know. How about a test?"

"Test?" Danzo was now very worried.

"Yes, after all, if you want to have children join you rather than the academy, I should see myself if ROOT is worthy of them," Hiruzen said, relaxed in his chair with a smile. "Bring me your strongest member. I will test him myself and see how you manage your men. Don't worry; I will only use taijutsu and go easy on them."

Hiruzen wasn't acting like himself, and now Danzo was in a dangerous position. He couldn't refuse it as Hiruzen explicitly told him that this talk would be finished now or never. And if he backed off now, his organization would be questioned. Nothing was going his way of the late, and now all he could do was agree.

"Should we postpone it for tomorrow?" Danzo asked, hoping that Hiruzen would know how drunk he was.

"No," Hiruzen replied instantly. "Now. We will meet on the rooftop."

Danzo could only nod, and as he left, he looked at Kakashi, who seemed to be smiling with his lone eye, like he was telling him that he had warned him. The insolent fool seemed to have forgotten his position after following Hiruzen for a bit. Danzo already considered taking the sharingan for himself, so he might hasten his plan.

…

After considering for a while, Danzo chose his candidate to face Hiruzen. Kanoto is a tall shinobi with standing, medium-length brown hair. He is proficient with a sword and can coat his hands in chakra, making him a dangerous taijutsu specialist. He was one of the best members of the organization, so even if he lost, Hiruzen would have to admit that Root was a powerful organization that produced elite shinobi.

It only got better after Danzo was chosen as the leader. Even without clan techniques, Danzo's shinobi were trained relentlessly, and their emotions were completely suppressed, making them perfect tools. Hiruzen will now know and understand why Root is essential for the village.

"This Kanoto, an orphan that I picked up years ago," Danzo introduced Hiruzen to his shinobi.

"Hopefully, the scary mask isn't only for a show," Hiruzen replied as he walked up to the center of the rooftop.

His steps were unsteady. His whole body swayed from right to left. A few times, he tripped over nothing. It made Danzo feel like a fool for taking this so seriously. He guessed even the great Hiruzen had moments when he would falter. But it didn't matter anymore; it was Hiruzen's fault for doing this, and he wouldn't be responsible if he got injured under this folly.

"Have you ever seen sensei like this, Tsunade?" Danzo expected Jiraiya and Tsunade to watch it, as they would surely be curious if they heard that Hiruzen was drunk.

"Did you see how much he drank?" Tsunade asked with what felt like admiration. "No human should be able to handle that much. I knew the old man was tough, but I didn't think he was that tough."

"Now I wonder if sensei refused to drink with me because he thought he would embarrass me," Jiraiya agreed, neither taking the situation seriously.

"Hokage-sama, please take care of me," At least Kanoto took it seriously and drew his sword. "I will not hold back."

"Haha," It started with a snicker, but soon it became a full laugh. "This world is fucked up, isn't it?" Danzo wasn't the only one shocked to hear Hiruzen's curse. "We are forced into the position we don't want because a few idiots seem to settle down and relax on their duties. Now we are here. Look around you, boy. And tell me what you see."

"My apologies, but I do not dare take my eyes off you, Hokage-sama." Was it a test? Danzo couldn't understand Hiruzen at all.

"Have you ever seen death, boy?"

"In many situations, my life was in danger, Hokage-sama."

"So, you haven't," Hiruzen said, taking out another bottle of sake and downing it like it was nothing. Danzo would have thought it was water if not for the strong smell coming from it. "Well, there is a first time for everything we do in this world. So, look carefully because before you is death."

"Wow, sensei is so cool while drunk," Jiraiya praised Hiruzen with eyes full of admiration.

"Just for this, it was worth returning," Tsunade cheered from the side.

"Oi, shut up, you two, or I will beat you up, too. All of you are useless."

The moment Hiruzen turned away from his opponent, Kanoto moved. He was fast and precise, as he was trained to be like that. In one moment, he covered the distance between him and Hiruzen and swung his sword, trying to take Hiruzen's head off. Yet, Hiruzen swayed back, avoiding the blade by a mere hair's length.

It was too precise a movement to be luck. That moment alone made everyone understand that even at this stage, Hiruzen was the God of Shinobi. From there on, the fight was one-sided in Hiruzen's favor. His movements made no sense to Danzo. They were clumsy, unpredictable, and very effective.

Hiruzen could deflect Kanoto's sword with the back of his hand like swatting a fly away. Whenever it seemed like he would get cut, Hiruzen would twist his body in an unbelievable way to dodge it at the last second. Even his attacks were ridiculous. His kicks would turn into punches. His hands moved so unpredictably that Kanoto couldn't defend himself.

But Danzo saw it clearly. Even in such a drunken condition, Hiruzen's body moved like water in the river. After all, it was no surprise that Hiruzen was a shinobi who morphed through countless battles and would have no difficulty adapting to his condition. In only a few exchanges, Hiruzen managed to take Kanoto's sword away.

Still, Danzo didn't believe Kanoto would lose so easily. As Hiruzen, Kanoto was morphed through rigorous training and countless battles. At least, that is what he thought as he saw Kanoto coat his hands in chakra and attack Hiruzen even faster than he did with his sword. But the reality was different from what Danzo thought it would be.

Hiruzen easily deflected, blocked, or dodged Kanoto's attack. Showing him that he was capable of doing anything. Seeing Kanoto be brought to his knees by simple low kicks at unexpected moments was embarrassing. But Danzo also knew these attacks were precise and done with utmost calculation. Proving to Danzo that even after consuming an abnormal amount of alcohol, Hiruzen still possessed the mind of the God of Shinobi.

"You see, boy," This time, Hiruzen simply slapped Kanoto's face, bringing him down. "You don't know what death is. No matter how many you killed, you are still just a human. But I saw it. I faced death itself, and before it, I was as helpless as you are now against me."

"I still can go on," Kanoto gnashed his teeth as he swung his fist, trying to catch Hiruzen in surprise.

"Your efforts are worthless before death," Kanoto's arm was dislocated as Hiruzen caught his arm with one hand and, with another hand, dislocated his shoulder. "Those children you ask of, Danzo, will face death if I give them to you. They won't be spared like I spared him. I will not allow it! No more. No child has to face death. That is why this village was built. And your actions are against everything this village stands for!"

Kanoto stayed on the ground as Hiruzen passed through them and left the rooftop. Danzo couldn't even blame his subordinate. He faced the God of Shinobi and was thoroughly defeated. Now Danzo knew why Hiruzen didn't want to use any ninjutsu; in this condition, he might not been able to control his strength and would have killed Kanoto. Danzo could only accept his defeat and think of another way to provide children for Orochimaru.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.