"Well done, Yuta. You have not disappointed me."
Danzo looked at the young man standing before him with clear approval.
Had this been when he first took the boy as his disciple, Danzo would have been deeply displeased by Shimura Yuta's current slouching, nonchalant demeanor. But now, he found he could accept it without a second thought.
So the boy had a unique personality—it was hardly a major issue. In fact, after these years together, Danzo had discovered he rather appreciated Yuta's particular brand of impertinence.
And more importantly... Yuta had now far surpassed Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.
Danzo made a point of mentioning Yuta's accomplishments in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi whenever he could, and the sight of the Hokage sighing in helpless resignation never failed to brighten his day.
The now twelve-year-old Shimura Yuta glanced at the seated Danzo, a faint, knowing smirk playing on his lips.
'Alright, folks, it's official. My long-term campaign to gently steer the old man is finally paying off.'
Of course, it helped that this version of Danzo wasn't yet consumed by his later, more extreme paranoia and need for control.
Back in the original story, this kind of casual disrespect would have earned him a harsh reprimand.
"So... was it absolutely necessary to build the 'Root' headquarters in such a dreary, sun-forsaken place?" Yuta asked, casting a critical eye around the shadowy room.
Two years ago, after much political maneuvering and debate, Danzo had finally persuaded the Third Hokage to let him establish his own covert ninja division—the "Root."
Over the past two years, their headquarters had been fully constructed, and they had steadily recruited members, some transferred directly from the Anbu black ops, and others promoted from within the Shimura clan.
Yuta hadn't objected to this at the time. After all, the original purpose of the Root was, in theory, a noble one.
It was only later that Danzo warped it into something... monstrous. Not that his objections would have held any weight back then, anyway.
"'Root' is the foundation that lies hidden deep beneath the village," Danzo explained, not picking up on his disciple's sarcastic tone. "It is only by being rooted in the darkness that the leaves flourishing in the light can thrive and grow. I established this organization for the stability of Konoha. You are still young, Yuta. You will understand in time."
Yuta sighed internally.
'Fine…'
'Building your secret base underground is thematic, I'll give you that. But did you have to make it so literally dark?'
'We're already underground with no natural light, and you're too cheap to pay the electricity bill for decent lighting?'
He decided to let it go. Arguing over such trivialities was pointless. As long as Danzo didn't start any major schemes or cook up any of his particularly foul-smelling experiments, Yuta could live with it.
The old man's personal ambitions were a problem for another day.
"You performed excellently on this mission. You may take some time off," Danzo continued. "Furthermore, I submitted your application for Jonin promotion yesterday. The approval should come through shortly."
Almost on cue, a knock sounded at the door.
"Enter."
The door creaked open, and a Root operative wearing a fox mask stepped inside. He bowed respectfully to Danzo before speaking.
"Lord Danzo, Shimura Yuta's Jonin promotion has been approved. This is his flak jacket."
'Approved already? And with no official examination?' Yuta thought,mildly amused. 'Oh, right. My teacher is Danzo.'
He was the very definition of a "connected individual." (He struck a triumphant mental pose.)
Yuta accepted the flak jacket without a hint of guilt.
"I could have applied for this two years ago. You made me wait an extra two years," he said, raising an eyebrow at Danzo. "I assume we're done here? If so, I'm leaving. And I'd like this vacation to be an actual break this time, not like the last 'vacation' that ended after just two days."
The masked Root member kept his head slightly lowered, unfazed by Yuta's bold tone. He was used to it. He'd heard the young man say far more daring and disrespectful things.
True to form, Danzo didn't react with anger, merely waving a dismissive hand.
"Go."
Once Yuta was gone, Danzo's gaze lingered on the door.
Six years had passed, and Shimura Yuta had grown into an exceptionally skilled shinobi—so skilled that even Danzo himself couldn't claim a certain victory against his own student.
This success rekindled a long-dormant ambition within him.
He had never truly abandoned his dream of becoming Hokage. But he had to admit that under Hiruzen's leadership, Konoha was experiencing an era of unprecedented growth and prosperity, producing a remarkable number of talented shinobi.
At present, he stood no chance of winning a political contest against his old rival.
This reality was the true, unspoken reason he had fought so hard to establish the Root. It was to be his power base.
And now, Yuta's prodigious talent presented him with another, different kind of possibility...
Lost in thought, Danzo was silent for a long moment before finally looking up at the masked operative.
"What is the status of the intelligence gathering on the other hidden villages?"
—
Emerging from the Root base and stepping back onto the surface to feel the warm sunlight, Yuta couldn't help but stretch luxuriously.
'It's true what they say, people really do need sunlight. Only rats live in dark places underground!'
After mentally criticizing Danzo's aesthetic choices once more, Yuta looked down at the flak jacket in his arms.
When he'd watched the anime in his past life, he always thought the Leaf's standard-issue flak jacket was pretty ugly. But now, looking at it closely... it didn't seem so bad?
He felt the material and then slipped it on over his shoulders.
It was a perfect fit.
It seemed Danzo had submitted his measurements for a custom order.
Of course—a twelve-year-old Jonin was unique in all of Konoha. A standard-issue jacket would have been comically oversized on him.
Yuta looked himself over and nodded in satisfaction.
Decision made, he thought. 'I'll wear this new jacket to go bleed Jiraiya dry with a feast!'
That guy was always boasting about being the first of their generation to make Jonin. Today, he'd make him suffer the dual agony of an empty wallet and a shattered dream!
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