Chapter 48: Rain, Dawn, and Roots
Danzo Shimura hadn't been in a particularly good mood lately.
To be more precise, ever since hearing that Konoha Village had been attacked by the four great ninja villages, Danzo's mood had been downright foul.
Originally, he had traveled to the Land of Rain to meet with the reclusive demigod, Hanzo of the Salamander. Their talks had gone surprisingly well—civil, even pleasant. Though their socalled "alliance" was nothing formal, it at least established a positive rapport.
Danzo hadn't expected to sway the old fox so easily. Hanzo's name carried heavy weight across the ninja world. As a man who'd once held his own against the combined might of three great villages, his dominance over the Land of Rain was absolute. He wasn't someone to manipulate with mere words.
Yet while their conversation had gone smoothly, the international situation had changed almost overnight.
Word arrived that Konoha's Library had been attacked by an allied strike from the four great ninja villages. Even worse, the Blut Vene and Blut Arterie—classified research prototypes—were rumored to have been stolen. To top it off, there were whispers that, in order to cover their retreat, the invaders had unleashed a "celestiallevel ninjutsu" that tore open the skies above Konoha.
They said the heavens burned red, as though the world itself was being erased. Later, the Hokage's office dismissed it as a mirage, but insiders insisted someone had manipulated the very sky.
Danzo had been stunned upon hearing the news while still in the Land of Rain. For a moment, he felt like an old relic suddenly thrust into a new era.
He'd never even heard of such a phenomenon before. If true, it could only have been the result of massive coordination—perhaps the four great villages pooling their power and resources into one devastating technique.
Still, Danzo hadn't taken it seriously at first. The four villages uniting just to raid a library? Ridiculous. If they wanted to waste their resources, let them. Once their own spies and resources were exposed, Konoha would finally have the freedom to act without restraint.
That confidence evaporated when he learned which library had been targeted.
It wasn't Konoha's surface library that had been attacked—it was the underground archive, where the village stored secret scrolls, forbidden techniques, and years of classified research data.
The implications hit him like a kunai to the chest. The research theories and developmental blueprints for the Blut Vene had likely been stolen.
It wasn't just a loss of technology. It was a loss of intellectual superiority.
Danzo understood better than anyone that ideas were more valuable than completed jutsu. Once another village obtained Konoha's conceptual framework, they could reproduce or even improve upon it.
And that meant one thing: Konoha's technological advantage was gone.
Worse, the enemy might now possess the ability to counter the Blut Vene altogether. Until confirmed, both the Blut Vene and Blut Arterie had to be treated as unstable and potentially compromised.
They could no longer be relied upon in the field.
So now the question was—what could Konoha even do? March out and get slaughtered?
As if that weren't enough, every new revelation brought another blow.
The very night he received word of the theft, Hanzo personally sought him out.
Feigning sympathy, the socalled Demigod of the Rain shook his head with mock pity. "It's tragic what happened to Konoha," he said. "As a friendly neighbor, the Rain Village can't just stand by. Since you've lost your data, why not share another copy? We're willing to compensate you. If not us, well… perhaps I'll see what the Stone or Sand have to offer."
The audacity made Danzo's eye twitch.
But he had no leverage.
Konoha's influence was waning, and the political winds were against him.
He swallowed his pride, forcing his tone into something resembling diplomacy. He tried to reason with Hanzo—appealing to his selfinterest, his pride, even his paranoia. But the old warlord's responses were cutting and pragmatic.
"Danzo," Hanzo said coolly, "your Konoha is still the most powerful village, yes—but the Sand and Stone might offer me better terms. And now that your White Fang is dead, who's left to threaten me? If you want leverage, create another White Fang and send him my way. Until then, I'll wait for the highest bidder."
By the end of the meeting, Danzo felt sick with disgust.
But there was nothing he could do.
The longer he stayed in the Land of Rain, the more dire the news became.
Reports arrived in waves—Sand and Stone had resolved their brief internal dispute, installed a new Kazekage, and formally declared a technological alliance. Together, they had begun developing a secret technique called "Immovable Body."
The shinobi of Kumogakure had recently announced their independent development of a new technique known as "Thunder Madness." This jutsu could amplify lightning release ninjutsu to an unprecedented level of power. It was a unique invention of the Hidden Cloud, and—ironically—they even declared that any acts of imitation or plagiarism would not be pursued.
The Kirigakure ninjas, by contrast, were far more secretive. They announced nothing, yet for some reason, their relationship with Kumogakure suddenly grew inexplicably close.
As these events poured in one after another from neighboring lands, Hanzo's attitude toward Danzo became increasingly arrogant and dismissive.
What truly made Danzo's blood boil, however, was what he saw with his own eyes. One afternoon, he watched several Sand and Stone ninjas enter the Land of Rain—openly, boldly.
He knew exactly what Hanzo was doing.
The old warlord was sending him a message: Even if I'm trapped between the great nations, I'm not some beggar clinging to life. I still have the strength and capital to stand tall.
That display was the final straw for Danzo. He decided to abandon the Hanzo route altogether.
Hanzo was a mature, cautious, and outwardly polite man, but his socalled maturity had curdled into greed and manipulation. Every discussion with him was a negotiation, every alliance a matter of price.
Danzo might be patient, but Konoha had its pride too. Once Hanzo began treating him like a merchant rather than a leader, there was nothing left to discuss.
So, on a stormy night, Danzo Shimura slipped away from the Rain Village as quietly as he had arrived.
Hanzo of the Salamander didn't take the departure seriously. He and Danzo were the same type of men—calculating, proud, and too alike to coexist peacefully. He understood that Danzo couldn't endure such humiliation.
Still, Hanzo already had his own plan. Better to offer help at the right time than to add flowers to a full bloom.
The world was on the brink of chaos again. With Konoha reeling from internal disorder, now was the time to strengthen ties with the Sand and Stone villages.
Hanzo's ability was poison. In a land of constant rain, his poison could easily spread through the clouds themselves. If he chose to, he could turn the sky into a weapon.
He considered it a form of political leverage—stall for time, build power, and wait to see which side offered the greater reward. Whether Konoha or the alliance of Sand and Stone prevailed, Hanzo would survive by pledging loyalty at just the right moment.
Power, after all, was the privilege of those with options.
But what Hanzo didn't know was that Danzo had not truly left the Land of Rain.
Instead, he had quietly made his way to a small, inconspicuous village hidden beyond the marshes.
According to Root intelligence, this was the place where Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, had taken in three war orphans during his time on the Rain battlefield.
"…Are you Jiraiya's disciples?"
The man's voice was calm, but his single visible eye carried a sharp edge.
"You are…?"
The three children hesitated.
Danzo studied them silently—two boys and one girl, each around ten years old. Malnourished, dirtstreaked, and utterly unremarkable at first glance.
To him, they were exactly the kind of children he disliked most: weak, idealistic, and ignorant of the world's cruelty.
Yet, that innocence was precisely why he had come.
Children who had not yet been shaped by the shinobi system were easy to mold.
(The Rinnegan… the socalled "eyes of salvation." Hmph. Legends are still just legends. In the end, all power will belong to Konoha.)
Danzo's gaze lingered on the redhaired boy standing slightly behind the others. The boy's eyes, faintly rippled with spiral patterns, caught his attention.
A faint, cold smile formed on Danzo's face—a smile eerily similar to the one he'd once seen on Aizen Sosuke. Detached yet strangely kind.
"I'm a ninja from Konoha," he said in a composed tone. "I heard that the direct disciples of Jiraiya, one of the Three Sannin, are living here. I came specifically to bring you back to the village."
"Eh? Jiraiyasensei?"
The orangehaired boy—clearly their leader—looked confused. "But Master Jiraiya said we're not his disciples. He just… teaches us things sometimes. He never said we were special."
Danzo nodded solemnly, his voice steady and persuasive. "Because you're from the Land of Rain, your presence in Konoha would put him in a difficult position politically. But despite that, he insisted on bringing you back. That's why I came—to help him fulfill that promise."
The three exchanged nervous looks.
As expected, the moment he mentioned Jiraiya's potential embarrassment, they began shaking their heads anxiously.
"No, that's not necessary. We'll be fine here. We don't want to trouble Jiraiyasensei."
Danzo's tone softened. "Jiraiya's concern for you runs deep. If he wishes to see you return, it means he has already made the necessary preparations. But it's your choice—will you go to Konoha, or remain here in the Land of Rain, trapped in endless war?"
The orangehaired boy clenched his fists. "…We want to save this country. The Land of Rain deserves peace."
"I see… how noble." Danzo feigned a thoughtful expression, pretending to struggle with the dilemma.
Then, as if struck by inspiration, he looked up and smiled faintly.
"Then perhaps a compromise," he said. "Jiraiya truly wishes for your safety, but if you insist on staying, he would want you to be strong enough to protect yourselves. We can train you in the way of the shinobi—make you worthy of being his disciples. How does that sound?"
"Us…?"
"Yes," Danzo replied softly. "Us."
The rain grew heavier, pounding against the rooftops as several dark silhouettes materialized behind him.
Danzo's voice was cold but steady as he extended his hand.
"Yahiko. Nagato. Konan."
"Are you willing," he asked, "to become the roots of the ninja world—buried deep underground, feeding the great tree of peace with your strength—and to sacrifice everything you have for that dream?"
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