Do you think I am merely a practitioner of the mysterious? Shen Mo quickly calculated his options regarding Danzo.
Dealing with this type of customer—the one who seeks control above all else and views every transaction as a conspiracy—required a decisive move. He could either eliminate the threat outright or, more profitably, sell the man an illusion of power.
Shen Mo opted for the second, more entertaining path.
He spoke calmly, his tone devoid of judgment, simply stating a fact: "The destiny you crave is nothing less than the mantle of Hokage, and absolute control over Konoha's resources.
No—it is grander than that. You harbor the ambition to unify the entire Shinobi world under your rule, and you are prepared to pay any price for that dominion."
Danzo's carefully constructed mask of somber austerity shattered. A look of complete, frozen disbelief washed over his face. He actually glanced around, half-convinced he was caught in some powerful sensory illusion.
"Danzo, you... you want to start a permanent war?" Tsunade stared at him, aghast. "Unify the Shinobi world? Not even my grandfather, the First Hokage, could fully achieve that goal!"
"The First attempted it! And because he failed, the subsequent wars erupted!" Danzo's fists tightened, his visible eye burning with cold fury focused entirely on Shen Mo.
This was his deepest secret, his most guarded passion—the driving force behind every despicable act. He had never breathed a word of it, knowing that even Sarutobi Hiruzen would label him a madman.
Yet, this stranger had laid it bare with utter ease.
He must be silenced. The thought flashed across Danzo's mind, immediately followed by the insidious idea of using his ultimate secret weapon: Kotoamatsukami. He would control Tsunade and then eliminate the merchant.
"What? You think of deploying that eye now?" Shen Mo's faint smile widened.
Danzo's pupils constricted violently. He physically recoiled, taking two sharp steps backward. He knows! How could he possibly know?!
Uchiha Shisui's eye, the most potent and terrifying Genjutsu, was his greatest, most dangerous secret—a secret whose exposure would guarantee fear and betrayal from every ally.
"It seems you still misunderstand the nature of my presence," Shen Mo said, nodding slightly, his voice taking on a casual air of inevitability.
"I wondered what gave you the courage to stand before me. The moment you appear in my sight, there is nothing about you that remains hidden from my awareness."
Danzo was here because a minor resurrected girl had unnerved him. No wonder the man is merely the scapegoat for the village, Shen Mo judged. He possessed the ambition but lacked the necessary vision or power. Such a person would always choose the most self-destructive path.
Danzo was now fully aware of his blunder. He had underestimated the merchant's power monumentally. But even facing the revelation of his deepest secret, the veteran politician forced himself to remain upright, his mind frantically searching for a countermeasure.
My Root operatives are just outside... should I order an attack?
"Don't bother looking outside," Shen Mo said, his eyes briefly flicking toward the door. "I can see everything you are calculating, even the fleeting thoughts of a desperate attack."
Danzo felt a wave of icy panic wash down his spine. The cold sweat was real. He was prepared to unleash his full arsenal in a suicide attempt.
"You need not fear me," Shen Mo assured him, the smile softening into one of profound, world-weary pity.
"I have encountered many like you—power-hungry rulers, ruthless emperors who govern with terror, and dark kings who command life and death. In their presence, you are merely an insignificant, pitiful man who has yet to grasp the true meaning of power."
"I can effortlessly predict even the shallowest of your current schemes. You are, at this moment, attempting to devise a method to eliminate us and protect your utterly useless secrets."
Shen Mo continued to apply relentless psychological pressure. Danzo's defining trait was his obsessive need for control. Now, past, present, and even the future thoughts of his mind were controlled by this mysterious stranger.
Facing Shen Mo's gaze and Tsunade's palpable hostility, Danzo knew he was cornered.
"What exactly is your objective here?" Danzo demanded, his voice strained. He clung to the belief that the businessman must have a weakness, a motive he could exploit.
"My objective is not defined by my wants," Shen Mo said, suddenly wiping the smile from his face. He stepped closer, raising his finger and pointing directly at Danzo's chest, emphasizing the importance of the individual's desire. "What matters is what you want!"
Danzo gasped, his breath hitching.
Shen Mo did not let him speak. "You claim to protect Konoha, yet every action you take only harms its future. You crave the title of Hokage, yet you lack the courage to step into the light and declare that desire to your people. You aspire to rule the Shinobi world, yet you only play furtive, petty games in the shadows! Do you possess the power of the First Hokage? The vision of the First? The personal conviction of the First?"
Shen Mo's face contorted with unmistakable disdain.
"That is precisely why you are not the Sandaime Hokage. You are vastly inferior to Sarutobi Hiruzen."
The last sentence was a brutal, decisive blow, dissecting Danzo's lifelong rivalry and defining failure. All his self-deceptions, all the pain he had avoided facing about his moral compromises, were laid bare by this stranger.
"Who are you?!" Danzo hissed, his voice constricted. He felt an omnipresent surveillance, as if a great, cold eye was watching him from a celestial height.
"Me?" Shen Mo repeated, his faint smile returning. "I am merely a businessman who sells jars capable of changing fate."