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Kushina Uzumaki felt truly powerless right now.
She let out a deep sigh. "Why is it… that even though we're comrades from the same village, there's so much suspicion, so much distrust?"
Qianyu rubbed the top of her head. "Can't be helped. A world where people don't doubt each other at all, where there's only absolute trust? That's not only impossible, in my view, it's actually distorted."
Kushina didn't understand. "Distorted? Isn't everyone trusting each other a good thing? There'd be no more wars. The world would be beautiful, wouldn't it?"
Qianyu explained. "In the real world, people have different values, interests, and motives. Their actions and decisions reflect that. If everyone trusted each other unconditionally, ignoring all these differences… that trust would have no foundation in reality. It'd be hollow. Fake.
Human nature is complex. People can be selfish, fearful, jealous. They lie, they deceive. A world of pure trust ignores that side of humanity. It's naive.
In an environment of complete trust, people stop questioning. They stop looking for problems. But problems exist. They always do. Without suspicion, without doubt, those problems fester. They grow. And when they finally surface, it's a disaster.
Challenge. Questioning. That's how people learn. How they grow. Take that away, and you stagnate. You never learn from mistakes because no one points them out.
And worst of all, you let your guard down. You become blind to threats. To danger. That kind of environment? It doesn't make you safer. It makes you an easier target.
So yes. A state where everyone trusts completely, without a shred of doubt? It's distorted. It ignores the complexity of people and the messy reality we live in."
Kushina stared at him, her mind reeling. "…Qianyu. How do you understand all this so clearly?"
He just smiled. "Ah, wouldn't you like to know?"
She pouted, cheeks puffing out.
Of course he understood. He'd lived it. His childhood in Konoha was a lesson in constant vigilance. Every move calculated. Every word weighed. One slip, one hint of his true intentions discovered, and it would have been over.
Kushina spoke up again, her voice softer. "Qianyu… let's do our best to help Miyuki, okay? I mean… if it weren't for her, I'd be the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki."
He pinched her cheek gently. "Alright, alright. Whatever choice she makes, I'll help her. If she wants to leave Konoha, I'll make sure she gets out. I'll convince her to go to the Owl Organization. She'll have a place there. And she can help Yahiko and the others too."
Deep within the Root base, Danzō sat alone in his office.
His fingers tapped a slow, rhythmic beat against the desk. His mind was back in that meeting three days ago.
He'd tried to corner Qianyu. Instead, he'd been cornered himself. Stripped of his position as Hokage Advisor. Openly threatened.
And he couldn't do a damn thing about it.
Qianyu was too brazen, too strong. If Danzō moved against him and failed… that boy would come for him with everything he had. No rules. No restraint.
Not yet. He needed more assurance. More power.
But the greater source of his fury wasn't Qianyu. It was Hiruzen.
Hiruzen Sarutobi. His old teammate. The man who had stabbed him in the back. Twice.
That last meeting… it had been his best chance at the Hokage's seat. And Hiruzen had ripped it away.
Now, Hiruzen was going to be reinstated. He needed to travel to the Daimyō's palace to make it official.
A formal reinstatement… he wouldn't take a large guard. Just a token escort.
This… this could be an opportunity.
Minato was comatose. Hiruzen was stepping up.
If Hiruzen were to die on the road… Danzō could step forward. He could offer to guide the village in this time of crisis.
Qianyu and Orochimaru had already made mortal enemies of Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado. They would support him. They had to.
A plan crystallized in the darkness of his mind. Cold. Precise.
He sent out orders. Gather intelligence. When does the Third leave for the Daimyō's palace?
The answer came quickly. Tomorrow at dawn. Hiruzen Sarutobi, accompanied by five ANBU.
Danzō summoned ten Root operatives. Among them, a boy of ten. Codename: 'Kinoe'. The future 'Yamato'.
Half an hour later, the ten knelt before him in perfect silence.
Danzō kept his eyes closed for a long moment. When he opened them, his gaze was sharp as a blade.
"At the hour of the Tiger tomorrow morning," he began, his voice a low command, "the Third Hokage will depart for the Daimyō's palace with an escort of five personal ANBU. His goal is to be officially reinstated as Hokage while the Fourth remains incapacitated.
"If he succeeds, this village will once again be led by a coward. A hesitant, indecisive fool. For the sake of Konoha, we cannot allow this.
"Your mission is to intercept him en route. Eliminate him swiftly. There is one absolute condition: it must not be traced back to us. Let the world believe it was the work of rogue ninja. Is that clear?"
A single, unified response echoed in the chamber. "Yes!"
Five in the morning. The gates of Konoha swung open.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood at the threshold. Behind him, five ANBU knelt on one knee.
"Lord Third Hokage," one asked. "Shall we depart?"
Hiruzen gave a single, firm nod. "Proceed."
The small procession moved away from the village, a dot on the horizon.
Unseen, ten shadows flitted through the trees, maintaining a careful distance. The Root team, following their prey.
And in another direction, unseen by either group, a third observer tracked them all.
It was Qianyu.
Or rather, a shadow clone of Qianyu.
He was only 44,000 Witness Points away from the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. He wasn't about to miss a single opportunity to earn more.
His Kenbunshoku Haki was a constant, invisible net, monitoring the chakra signatures of Danzō and Hiruzen.
In the original timeline, Danzō had tried to use Kakashi for this. Sent him to assassinate Hiruzen on the road to the Daimyō. Hiruzen had seen through it, turned Kakashi, and Kakashi had discovered the wood-style user in Root—the future Yamato.
Qianyu had been curious. With Kakashi out of the picture, how would the old man handle this?
But as he watched now, a thought occurred to him. Danzō was underestimating Hiruzen. Severely. Ten Root operatives? Against the God of Shinobi? It was a joke.
And more importantly… Hiruzen Sarutobi's true chakra signature hadn't left Konoha at all.
The man traveling to the Daimyō's palace was an ANBU in disguise.
Hiruzen already knew. He knew about the assassination plot. And he was waiting.
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