The Konoha Gate
Sometime after Jiraiya, Hashirama Senju, and Naruto Uzumaki had finally left Konoha, two men in black cloaks adorned with red clouds appeared at the village gate.
One of them, a tall man, adjusted the straw hat on his head and grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth. "Konoha's strongest ninja have all left, including the jinchuriki we need to investigate. Mr. Itachi, is it still necessary for us to enter Konoha?"
"Don't worry."
The other, a slightly smaller young man, lifted his head. He looked at the guards at the gate and spoke with exceptional calmness. "Konoha ninja must submit battle reports. We can get the information we want just by reading them."
Kisame Hoshigaki's cheek twitched. "Are things like battle reports really reliable? Lord Mizukage never seems to read those…"
"That's why the Mist Village could never defeat Konoha in the Great Ninja Wars," Itachi Uchiha coldly refuted his partner. "Because the Mist Village doesn't value gathering intelligence from the details. As far as I know, the Uchiha clan accumulated thousands of intelligence reports on Mist ninja."
"How terrifying..." Kisame blinked his small eyes, let out a few laughs, and followed Itachi into Konoha.
Perhaps because the village was still rebuilding, they didn't encounter many ninja on their way. Soon, they arrived at their destination: a Konoha dessert shop.
No real work at all, Kisame mused, just eating and drinking every day.
"Mr. Itachi, where are we going next?" Kisame asked, handing him a cup of strong black tea as they sat at a table. "We're not going to invade the Hokage's office, are we?"
"No." Itachi shook his head, took a gentle sip, and explained in a low voice, "Konoha has another base for collecting intelligence. We'll go there."
With Hiruzen Sarutobi dead, Itachi didn't believe for a second that Danzo Shimura would stay quiet. He decided to use this opportunity to eliminate the future trouble himself. Based on his assessment, neither Jiraiya nor Naruto would be in a position to deal with Danzo. It was better for him to solve the problem.
A rogue Konoha ninja killing a Konoha elder wouldn't seem out of place.
Of course, Kisame couldn't imagine his partner would deceive him; he just thought it was an ordinary infiltration mission.
As the two were enjoying their food, a white-haired young man in a jonin uniform stood at the entrance of the dessert shop, looking up at the sky with a bored expression.
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Afternoon. Konoha's Back Mountain.
Itachi and Kisame, wearing their red-cloud cloaks, had already infiltrated the Root organization's base. As a former member, Itachi was very familiar with the terrain and headed straight for Danzo's office. The Root ninjas they encountered along the way were all knocked out by his Sharingan's genjutsu, none lasting even a single round.
Silently, they stopped in front of a solid iron door.
Danzo Shimura's office.
Thanks to the successful Konoha Crush plan and Orochimaru killing Hiruzen, Danzo was feeling quite pleased with himself. However, ascending to the position of Hokage was still proving difficult.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane did not support him becoming Hokage. To appease their old friend, the two advisors supported his rebuilding of Root, allowing him to once again shoulder Konoha's darkness.
This decision did not satisfy Danzo. Regaining control of Root only returned him to the rank of a village elder. He had endured for the position of Hokage for so many years; how could he give up so easily when the situation was this favorable?
He was already sixty-nine years old… How many sixty-nine years does a person get in life? Has there ever been a seventy-year-old who ascended to the position of Kage in the entire ninja world?
"Now is the perfect opportunity for me to become Hokage. I can't bet everything on Homura and Koharu…" Danzo muttered, polishing the ninja sword in his hand. "Starting tomorrow, I will visit the major ninja clans in the village. As the leader of Root, whether by force or persuasion, I must make them support me…"
Now that he had regained his power, he had the status to face the major clans. At the very least, he could use this opportunity to demand they provide ninja with secret jutsu to replenish Root's manpower. After all, Root had suffered heavy losses in the two previous ambushes on Team 7.
BOOM!
While the old man was still plotting his grand plan, the iron door shattered with a bang. A tall figure holding Samehada stood at the entrance.
"This…" Kisame looked at Danzo in astonishment, then turned to his teammate. "Mr. Itachi, how is there someone here…"
"Just kill him," Itachi replied without a hint of concern, as this was part of his plan. "We don't have much time. We must deal with him as quickly as possible."
"Mr. Itachi…" Kisame shook his head helplessly and took a half step back, giving Itachi a clear view of the person inside.
The Darkness of the Shinobi, Danzo Shimura.
Among Konoha's enemies, few hadn't heard of Danzo's infamous reputation. It was said he was particularly cruel to his enemies and wouldn't hold back against his own people either. He was a ruthless man, not an easy person to deal with.
"Uchiha… Itachi!"
Compared to Itachi's calm expression, Danzo's face instantly became ferocious. "What are you doing here!"
His heart sank. He had intelligence on both of them. Itachi was a known threat, and Kisame's strength was also on record. For both to have broken into his office meant the Root members guarding the perimeter were already dealt with. Danzo could only hope Itachi was here to warn him, not to kill him for sending men after Team 7.
Kisame was one thing, just a rogue from the Mist Village… but a Mangekyo Sharingan user was not easy to handle.
"To gather intelligence," the rogue ninja said, his eyes slowly turning crimson. "But since we've met, I might as well send Lord Danzo on his way."
Danzo fiercely drew his sword, about to shout in fury, "You bastard! The Uchiha clan is, as expected, all—"
"Amaterasu!"
A mass of pitch-black flames suddenly erupted on Danzo's body. In fact, the entire office was instantly engulfed by the inextinguishable fire.
The shark-faced man spoke in a low voice, "Mr. Itachi, if we destroy this office, can we still find any intelligence?"
Itachi remained silent.
Kisame is so naive and simple, he thought. It almost makes me feel bad for deceiving him. The entire office was burning. Wasn't he just conveniently using Amaterasu to destroy any intelligence that would be unfavorable to Konoha?
Amidst the black flames, Danzo's figure slowly dissipated…
Just as Itachi registered his surprise, Danzo reappeared upside down on the ceiling. He quickly formed hand seals, intending to use a Wind Style jutsu to blast through the wall and create an escape route. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
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Bonus:
Kisame Hoshigaki: Excuse me, I didn't know someone was here...
Danzo Shimura: You break into my home and you have the nerve to say 'excuse me'?
Kisame Hoshigaki: Mr. Itachi, there's someone in this office...
Danzo Shimura: He... he actually brought Itachi Uchiha...