In the headquarters of Konoha's Root, a shinobi from the Land of Rain was brought in secretly, his five senses sealed. When his sight and perception returned to normal, he found himself in a small room. Sitting before him was none other than Danzo.
"Greetings, Danzo-sama," the Rain shinobi said quickly.
Danzo nodded and asked, "Hanzo-sama sent you?"
"Yes. Hanzo-sama hopes to forge a friendly alliance with you, Danzo-sama," the messenger replied.
"Is that so?" Danzo's gaze shifted slightly before he asked, "And as a symbol of this friendly alliance, what is required of me?"
"The situation is this, Hanzo-sama..." The messenger quickly detailed Hanzo of the Salamander's plan.
After a long while, Danzo had heard it all. But truth be told, he didn't feel any sincerity from Hanzo. Hanzo's words were pretty enough, claiming he would help Danzo secretly eliminate the Akatsuki leaders and then have Danzo shoulder the so-called "blame."
That part didn't matter; Danzo never considered the Akatsuki worth his notice, and he was no stranger to being the scapegoat. He'd done it once or twice, or a hundred times, before.
The sticking point was that after this, Hanzo would once again consolidate all power in the Land of Rain. Yet, he hadn't expressed a clear stance on supporting Danzo's bid for the Hokage seat. This left Danzo feeling somewhat slighted.
Of course, he knew this was likely standard procedure. After the cooperation, both sides would exchange interests and gradually build toward mutual support. In the original timeline, Danzo would have considered these factors and agreed to help Hanzo stir up trouble.
But now? The first person he thought of was Diarmuid.
Compared to Diarmuid, Hanzo of the Salamander seemed incredibly small-minded. Look at Diarmuid, he had been clear and upfront from the start, stating with absolute certainty that once he held power in the Land of Rain, he would fully support Danzo becoming Hokage.
Furthermore, they already had a foundation of cooperation. The Tailed Beast transaction had left Danzo highly satisfied. To a certain extent, there was already a level of mutual trust between them.
Finally, Orochimaru had already joined Diarmuid's ranks. Danzo and Orochimaru had collaborated for years, and even after Orochimaru's defection from Konoha, that cooperation hadn't truly ceased; it had simply become more clandestine.
He had contacted Orochimaru several times recently and knew that Orochimaru was researching the Sharingan. Orochimaru even hinted at a "surprise" for him in the future. Danzo didn't know what the surprise was and didn't have high expectations, but the fact that Orochimaru was studying the Sharingan was enough to please him.
Orochimaru's research carried many implications. First, it meant he might target the Uchiha clan later, after all, research requires "materials." Second, since Orochimaru was doing this as a member of the Yorozuya, it meant the Yorozuya would surely have opportunities to target the Uchiha as well.
Didn't this align perfectly with Danzo's own plans and trajectory? The Yorozuya supported his bid for Hokage, and they shared his distaste for the Uchiha. How could he not prioritize such an excellent partner?
Contrasting Diarmuid with that dog, Hanzo, Danzo immediately felt that Diarmuid was the far superior partner! They were kindred spirits!
With his mind made up but his face remaining expressionless, Danzo said, "I am pleased by Hanzo-sama's invitation and I accept. I have always wished to maintain a friendly alliance with the leader of the Hidden Rain. So, for this ambush to eliminate the Akatsuki leaders, how many men does Root need to send?"
"Twenty will suffice," the messenger said quickly.
This was a decapitation strike, and Hanzo was confident in his own strength. He only pulled Danzo in to help shift the blame, so he didn't need many people. In fact, if Konoha sent a large number of shinobi into the Land of Rain, Hanzo would have felt uncomfortable. Twenty men were enough to show their faces, take the fall, and provide a little support.
"Twenty men?" Danzo nodded. "Very well. I will dispatch twenty men to return with you to the Land of Rain. They will be entirely at Hanzo-sama's disposal."
The messenger beamed. "Yes! Many thanks, Danzo-sama."
"Hm. You may go," Danzo said with a wave.
A Root shinobi stepped forward, sealed the messenger's senses again, and led him out of the room. Once alone, Danzo stroked his chin and thought for a moment before pulling a card from his drawer.
It was the "business card" Diarmuid had given him during their first meeting, a special item. It contained a trace of lingering Chakra, and the card had bloodstains on it, likely a special printing technique.
Danzo placed the card on the table, wove the signs for the Summoning Jutsu, and pressed his palm onto the card. "Summoning Jutsu!"
A small puff of smoke erupted, and a "chirp-chirp-chirp" sounded. A small bird, looking exactly like a sparrow, hopped onto the table and looked at Danzo.
"Is this the Yorozuya's communication Summon? Discreet enough..." Danzo raised an eyebrow. He didn't dwell on it and quickly wrote a small scroll.
The bird pecked at it and, in an incredible display, swallowed the scroll, which looked nearly as big as itself, into its body. Danzo, unfazed, nodded in satisfaction and released the Summon. The bird disappeared instantly.
Danzo stood up and left the dark room to arrange the shinobi for the mission to the Land of Rain.
…
At the entrance of the base in the Land of Birds, Diarmuid sat on his usual large rock. The top of the stone had grown smooth from his constant presence. His hakama draped over the side of the rock. From a distance, he truly looked like an ethereal "immortal."
Up close, however, his dark-themed Sage Mode training made him look more like a beautiful Daiyōkai in human form.
He was still stuck at the "natural progression" stage. It was proven that the self-taught Sage Mode he and Orochimaru had researched was the correct path. Every time Diarmuid trained, he felt changes, such as the amount of Senjutsu Chakra he could harmonize within his body increasing steadily.
But the problem remained: he didn't have cheats like Toad Oil. Furthermore, the sheer volume of Chakra in his body was so vast that he had yet to complete a total harmonization. This was the threshold. Once he achieved a full harmonization of the Chakra in his body, he would have attained a perfect Sage Mode.
When he entered that state in the future and his body fully adapted, the speed of harmonization would likely increase a thousandfold. After a few more times, he might not surpass the old cheater Hashirama, but he'd at least be on par.
To a "Sage" who could clearly sense Natural Energy, Diarmuid would appear surrounded by a massive vortex of energy, which he was slowly and steadily absorbing. The fact that there wasn't a hint of petrification meant his control over the Natural Energy was flawless.
In Rin's eyes, however, Diarmuid was simply sitting cross-legged on a rock, his hands forming a circle at his navel. She couldn't sense anything else.
After pouring a bucket of waste water at the roots of an old tree, Rin glanced back at Diarmuid. Seeing that the noise hadn't disturbed him, she didn't rush back. Instead, she climbed onto a rock opposite him and began to observe him.
She had been in this "demon's den" for a while now. Surrounded by people who were anything but "good" by conventional standards, Rin had been terrified at first. Horrified!
But through gradual contact and daily interaction, she realized this place wasn't exactly what she had imagined. That "Scorpion Spirit," Sasori, appeared cold but cooked for everyone every day, and his skills were quite good, making her feel too shy to show off her own cooking.
Orochimaru was sinister, but he occasionally gave her a gentle smile... though it felt like his smile carried a hint of nostalgia, as if he were seeing her as a replacement for someone else. But there was nothing truly scary about it. As for being a "replacement," she didn't mind; she didn't know Orochimaru that well anyway.
Her saviors, Kakuzu and Juzo, rarely stayed. They were either on the road making money or heading to a mission, only returning to rest occasionally.
As for the leader of this criminal syndicate, Diarmuid, on a normal day, he didn't feel like a "Demon King" at all. He chatted and joked with her without any air of superiority, and his personality was quite gentle. Combined with his handsome face and extraordinary aura, Rin had to admit it was hard to view him as a "bad guy."
Lost in these thoughts, Rin drifted into a daze.
Then, she heard Diarmuid ask, "What are you staring at? Don't tell me you're a face-obsessed fangirl like Anko? Our age gap is a bit too wide, though. Even if you have a secret crush on me, it won't lead anywhere..."
Rin's face turned bright red instantly. "I don't have a crush on you!" she snapped indignantly. "I was just thinking about things..."
Diarmuid was just teasing her, of course. He knew that while Rin's feelings for Obito weren't as obsessive as his were for her, they were still "steadfast as gold."
Concluding his session, Diarmuid took a long stretch. He picked up his ivory-and-jade pipe hanging from his hakama and put it to his lips. It lit without a flame. He exhaled a cloud of smoke and looked at Rin. "How is the study of that scroll I gave you coming along? You can't just do chores all day. You have to strive for more, young lady."
Rin's lip curled slightly. "I've learned some, but there are many parts I don't understand..." She paused, then looked at Diarmuid. "Can I ask when I don't..."
"Ask Orochimaru," Diarmuid cut in with a smile. "If you don't understand something, write it down. When there's free time, like during meals, go ask Orochimaru. Don't let his 'keep away' vibe fool you; he actually loves being a teacher. Haven't you noticed the way he looks at you sometimes?"
"I have... it's like he sees someone else," Rin said seriously.
"Mitarashi Anko," Diarmuid whispered with a hint of sentiment. "That's likely who he sees. So, go ahead and ask him whatever you don't understand."
A look of realization dawned in Rin's eyes, and she nodded. Just as she was about to say more, Diarmuid suddenly stood up.
"Looks like there's work to do..."
As he spoke, a small bird, looking very much like a sparrow, flapped its wings and flew toward him from the distance.