Chapter 040: Danzo's Astonishing Wisdom

Hearing Sasuke’s cry, Naruto’s hand paused for a moment.

He didn’t turn his head, but instead looked over with his sensory perception.

At that moment, Sasuke was being lifted by the throat by a one-eyed, one-armed Leaf ninja, his feet kicking in the air as he struggled desperately.

Beneath Sasuke lay the shattered remnants of a framework—something Naruto had created to protect him temporarily and shield him from the aftershocks of the battle.

He never imagined that in such a fierce battlefield, someone would suddenly appear, tear the frame apart, and drag Sasuke out.

It was Danzo, the Root leader renowned for his extraordinary cunning.

Naruto had crossed paths with him before.

Back then, through his mechanical insects, Naruto had witnessed Danzo ambush Shisui Uchiha, so he’d intervened.

Shisui was saved, and Danzo had lain low for a while.

He didn’t expect Danzo to jump out at a time like this, nor could he guess what sort of twisted scheme he was up to now.

“Evil Uchiha, what are you plotting again? How utterly senseless,” Danzo said, holding Sasuke aloft.

Gazing into Sasuke’s Sharingan, Danzo felt a thrill of delight.

So young, and he’s already awakened the Sharingan—these eyes have tremendous potential!

I’ll bring this brat into Root, raise him until the time is right, and then take his eyes for myself!

Having made up his mind, Danzo looked toward the center of the battlefield, where two figures were locked in confrontation.

“And you two—what are you up to this time?”

“Hmph, isn’t it obvious? I’m dealing with an outside enemy,” Naruto retorted coldly.

“Nonsense!” Danzo snapped. “Both of you are suspicious unknowns. Who could say whether you’re friend or foe? I advise you to surrender immediately—otherwise, when the Leaf’s forces arrive, you’ll be crushed to dust!”

Naruto couldn’t help but wonder if Danzo had lost his mind, spouting such bizarre and out-of-place words.

Where did he even learn to talk like that? He seemed completely out of step with the world around him.

But neither Naruto nor Obito regarded Danzo as their greatest threat—the most dangerous foe for each of them was still the other.

What concerned them was what chaos this wild card, Danzo, might bring to their battle.

To be precise, Naruto knew that originally all he needed to do was beat Obito, but now he had to find a way to rescue Sasuke as well—caught between two imperatives, he was in a bind.

Obito, on the other hand, was focused on how to use the present situation to break the stalemate.

As for Danzo’s intentions, who could say what went on in that twisted mind of his? He seemed to think this was the perfect moment to swoop in as the fisherman profiting from the struggle.

Danzo casually squeezed Sasuke into unconsciousness and tossed him to the ground. Then, forming hand signs, he exhaled a gust of wind that wrapped around his kunai.

“Wind Style: Vacuum Blade!”

Shouting incomprehensible slogans about Root’s will and the interests of the Leaf, Danzo charged forward.

That old bastard! This is trouble!

Naruto cursed inwardly, for Danzo was coming straight for him.

At that moment, all of Naruto’s spiritual energy was focused on fighting Obito; he couldn’t withstand the Vacuum Blade with just his body, so he had no choice but to dodge.

But as he dodged, he could only watch as Obito, even faster than Kakashi spotting “〇〇 Paradise,” slipped into the Kamui dimension and vanished without a trace.

From the wary look in Obito’s eyes, Naruto knew that the next time they met, this disguise would be useless—Obito would take one look and flee immediately.

Naturally, Danzo’s Vacuum Blade failed to hit Naruto.

When Danzo tried to attack again, he found himself staring into Naruto’s bloodshot eyes.

“W-what are you planning…?” Danzo stammered, a sudden unease gripping his heart.

“You bastard!” Naruto spat, wasting no words as he slammed a fist into Danzo’s cheek, sending him spinning through the air.

If I can’t catch that bastard Obito, at least I can take you down!

Fueled by seething rage, Naruto unleashed all his weapons on Danzo.

To be fair, Danzo was not the Root leader for nothing—he could certainly take a beating.

Despite Naruto’s onslaught, Danzo was still able to dodge and fight back a little.

But after Naruto ripped off one of Danzo’s arms, he still didn’t manage to finish him off.

The reason was simple: Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, arrived with the main force of Leaf ninja.

The instant he appeared, Sarutobi ordered his men to protect the unconscious Sasuke.

At this point, Naruto couldn’t simply snatch Sasuke away without exposing his own identity.

Still, in the hands of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sasuke was surely safer than with Danzo.

“Who are you, exactly? Why have you repeatedly stirred up chaos in the Leaf? Why did you assault one of the village’s senior jonin?”

Sarutobi’s words nearly choked the injured Danzo.

Assault? As if I’m weak! Didn’t I fight back at all?

“Chaos, is it?” Naruto sneered. “No wonder you’re the Third Hokage—such a consummate politician. With a few words, you redefine what chaos is. Abducting villagers, massacring great clans—none of that counts as chaos, but stopping you suddenly does?”

“Don’t twist the facts!” Sarutobi pointed at Naruto. “If you have no guilty conscience, why disguise yourself as the Fourth Hokage? Are you trying to sow discord, to pin your crimes on the Leaf?”

A master of misdirection, Naruto realized—this old fox was a political expert, adept at shifting blame with a few well-chosen words.

Naruto had no desire to waste another moment with him. Grabbing Danzo’s severed arm, he turned to leave.

That arm was imbued with a strange, aggressive life force—Naruto was quite curious about it.

Danzo tried to give chase and reclaim his arm, but Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped him.

In the end, the Leaf ninja could only watch Naruto walk away.

After Naruto left, Sarutobi ordered the ninja to clean up the battlefield. Danzo, even more excited, instructed Root to focus on recovering the bodies of the Uchiha—he wanted those Sharingan.

Yet to Danzo’s bitter frustration, he couldn’t find a single Uchiha corpse in the entire clan compound.

He didn’t know that all of the Uchiha bodies had been burned to ashes by Itachi’s Amaterasu during his battle with Obito.

When he tried to claim Sasuke from Sarutobi, he was brusquely refused.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re after, Danzo. You’ll never succeed,” Hiruzen declared. “Right now, Fugaku Uchiha and the others are missing—no one knows if they’ll return, or when. If they come back and you take Fugaku’s son, it will mean open war; if they never return, your plan would mean the Leaf loses the Uchiha forever.”

“Whatever the outcome, you will never have the Uchiha.”

“Nonsense! How dare you insult my peerless wisdom!” Danzo shouted in fury, slamming his hand on the table before storming out.

“Sarutobi! You’ll regret this!”

“I am the Hokage!”