This fanfiction is following the storyline of the Naruto manga and it's mainly about what would have happened if Sasuke and Danzo never fought after the Kage Summit, and Danzo returned to Konoha. This fanfiction is going to be a full arc that I'm squeezing in between the Kage Summit arc and Confining the Jinchuuriki Arc. I'm dividing it into chapters, and I'll post each new chapter on this thread (I will post it as a reply and also edit the original post to include the new chapters.)
Chapter 01: The Kazekage's Letter
The door opened, letting a crack of sunlight shine into the otherwise dark room. Torches on the walls dimly lit the interior room, which was bare except for a table with nine seats. On the left side of the table were seated four feudal lords; and on the right side two men and one woman sat. The woman and one of the men was very old, and the other man looked like he was in his fifties, and wore the standard green flak jacket of Konoha jonin. At the head of the table was seated a bored looking older woman in an official uniform fanning herself in the stifling room.
When the door opened, a hush descended on the table and a solitary figure walked in; it was obvious they had just been talking about him. He paid them no mind, and seated himself at the near end of the table, directly opposite of the woman fanning herself. He leaned his walking cane against the table and sat down. He had a strong figure despite his old age, and scars of battle were distinct: a double scar shaped like an "X" was on his chin; the whole right side of his face was bandaged. His right arm was in a sling and wasn't visible since it was hidden within his shirt.
The woman at the end of the table stopped fanning herself and looked at Danzo Shimura with interest.
"I was summoned here?" implored Danzo, with an air of someone demanding an explanation.
"Yes," she said. "Danzo, I was informed of the events which took place in the Land of Iron at the Kage Summit. The Kazekage sent a hawk addressed to me which includes a lengthy description of what happened. You omitted many details when you recounted your version of events. Is there anything you would like to say?"
"No," said Danzo quietly. "Please read."
She took out a scroll which she unsealed and unraveled. "To the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire. This letter is to inform you of events which occurred during the kage summit between the five great nations of wind, water, fire, lightning, and earth. You may be surprised to be receiving such a letter from the kage of a foreign nation, but I thought it prudent to inform you in case the acting Sixth Hokage, Danzo Shimura, does not give you an accurate description of what happened at the meeting. The following events took place, in chronological order: the Samurai Mifune (our mediator) called the summit to order, and a discussion ensued: a discussion on how to handle the growing threat of the international organization Akatsuki, and why they were hunting the tailed beasts of all the nations. The discussion took a turn for the worse and there was a tense moment in which all the kages' bodyguards emerged and were about to engage in combat; however once it was evident there was no apparent danger the bodyguards fell back and we resumed our discussion. The kage of the great nations came to a conclusion that we must form an alliance to combat the Akatsuki, and we decided it was up to our mediator Mifune to choose which kage was to lead the alliance. Mifune picked the Hokage."
She glanced up at Danzo, who did not blink an eye.
"Thank goodness, the Mizukage had a bodyguard with a sensory ability. The Hidden Mist shinboi, the Mizukage's bodyguard named Ao, used his dojutsu to see that Danzo was using an ocular genjutsu to control Mifune and make him pick Danzo as the leader; specifically, the genjutsu of Uchiha Shisui: Kotoamatsukami. This was a breach of international law and policy and it became apparent that the Hokage was not to be trusted. Before we could decide what to do, our meeting was interrupted by the sudden appearance of an Akatsuki member (a white man who did not seem human) who emerged from the floor and announced that Sasuke Uchiha had infiltrated the Land of Iron and was heading for the Summit room. The Raikage quickly rushed to the center of the room and killed the Akatsuki, before we could extract intel from him. He rushed downstairs along with his bodyguards, telling us that he would kill Sasuke himself. He seemed enraged at the Uchiha, probably because Sasuke was the one who supposedly killed his brother and jinchuuriki, Killer Bee."
Danzo's face remained impassive.
"After several minutes, I along with my bodyguards went downstairs to provide assistance to the Raikage and I came face-to-face with Sasuke Uchiha. After unsuccessfully attempting to convince him to stand down, I along with my bodyguards and a jonin from Kumo launched a ninjutsu assault on Sasuke - I will not go into details since you are a feudal lord and most likely not interested in ninja battles, but Sasuke defended against the attacks and cut the pillars of the building - causing the roof to cave in, and in this moment of confusion Sasuke made a break and escaped. We all headed towards the summit room since we speculated that Sasuke was headed there, but by the time we got there the Tsuchikage declared that he had killed Sasuke. There were also signs of battle throughout the room. Danzo was nowhere to be seen. Later, the mizukage told me that Danzo and his bodyguards had fled the room in the moment of confusion when Sasuke had arrived. She told me that her bodyguard Ao tailed them for a while, and almost lost his life because Danzo laid a trap for him en route. Had she not been there to rescue Ao just in time, a Mist shinobi would have died at the hands of the hokage - a very close call, since the death of even one foreigner can lead to war. It was extremely reckless of Danzo to attempt to kill this man, without foreseeing the consequences. Back at the kage summit, an Akatsuki member appeared out of thin air (possibly through the use of a special ninjutsu) and identified himself as Madara Uchiha. He had an unconscious Sasuke on his shoulder so it seems the tsuchikage was mistaken in believing he had killed Sasuke. He announced to us his plans of Project Tsuki no Me, a plan which uses the chakra of the tailed beasts to cast a genjutsu over the entire world. He informed us that he had captured all the tailed beasts and only needed the eight and nine tails to complete his plan. He demanded that we hand over the reamaining tailed beasts, and threatened us with the alternative of a war. The tsuchikage, raikage, and the mizukage, along with myself, decided that this project was unacceptable - and we agreed that an alliance between our nations was to be formed in order to combat this threat. Mifune appointed the Raikage as head of this new alliance. However, there is a problem: because of Danzo's corrupt and inexcusable actions, we deemed him untrustworthy and will not accept Konoha into this alliance until he is replaced with a more suitable hokage candidate. It is for this reason that I am writing to you, the feudal lord of the land of fire, in order to advise that you immediately remove Danzo from his position as hokage so that Konoha may become part of the alliance as well. Remember, it is absolutely essential that all five great nations unite for this war - since the Akatsuki's Project Tsuki no Me quite literally spells the end of the world and we will need all the manpower availible. I have also sent a letter to Danzo to inform him of the events which took place after he fled the kage summit, and personally advised him to step down from his position. Signed Gaara, Kazekage."
There was a long silence. "What do you have to say in your defense, Danzo?" The man in the green flak jacket seemed especially angry, like he was trying not to shout out accusations.
Danzo began slowly. "As the hokage, it is my responsibility to ensure that Konoha and the Fire Country remain above the other great nations to ensure our security and position in the ninja world. I cast that genjutsu on Mifune in order to ensure that I became leader of the international alliance - and by extension, Konoha would be in control of the other great nations. I see no wrong in what I did."
The man in the green flak jacket spoke up. "A very old and outdated way of thinking. Clearly the Akatsuki is a global issue and for wartime necessity we should look beyond our rivalries with other countries in order to stop the Akatsuki and Madara Uchiha. Hiruzen would have looked at the bigger picture-"
A flicker of annoyance crossed Danzo's face. "The Third Hokage was ignorant of the realities of this ninja world, and was far too optimistic in his way of thinking. What's more, Shikaku Nara," he continued, "is that the young and inexperienced Kazekage omitted the fact that this Mist ninja, Ao, posessed the Byakugan: a spoiler of war with the Hyuga. My assistant simply attempted to remove the eye, but could not since it was protected by a seal. This led him to attempt to kill the Mist jonin in order to keep the Byakugan only as part of the Leaf Village."
The old lady sitting next to Shikaku seemed shocked. "The Mist has a Byakugan in their possession? This is a threat to Konoha security." The man next to her nodded. "I agree with Koharu. You did the right thing by attempting to eliminate this threat. It's dissapointing that your assistant failed."
The woman at the end of the table hesitated, very briefly - in this moment she seemed to lose her composure, but she quickly regained it. She started fanning herself again. "As a feudal lord, I don't even have much interest in war and I could care less about the alliance. I don't see why we should feel the need to join this shinobi alliance. It will simply mean more lost lives and money. We don't need another costly war. Besides, we don't have another suitable shinobi to replace Danzo as hokage and satisfy the Kazekage's demand."
Shikaku Nara stood up in his seat and almost shouted. "If four of the great nations form an alliance and win this war, who will they target next? Think! We would be vulnerable to attack from all sides, there is no hope for us to be able to defend ourselves! Especially since the village was already destroyed by Pein and we are vulnerable as it is!"
He is definitely the most troublesome one here. I should have used it one him, Danzo thought to himself. "If the alliance wins the war, they will most definitely be already weakened by waging war on Akatsuki. They are no threat to us. The best course of action is to stand by in this war and continue rebuilding our village and making profits by having our ninja carry out missions."
Shikaku Nara looked like he was about to say something again, but the feudal lord interrupted. "I have come to a decision. Danzo will remain hokage and we will not participate in this war. Danzo has already made clear why this is the best course of action. Do I have any complaints from the other Land of Fire representatives? They shook their heads. Well, it is decided. I will reply to the Kazekage shortly. Meeting is adjourned!"
That was close, thought Danzo. If I hadn't resorted to controlling the feudal lord's thoughts I might have been replaced by Kakashi or someone else. I must take precautions to not let this sort of thing become public again.
The assembly stood up and they all meandered out of the room, talking amongst themselves. Danzo was the first to leave.
Hobbling along on his cane, Danzo reached the entrance where his assistants were waiting for him. "Lord Danzo," began one of them. "A message from Sai." He extended his hand, upon which was perched a little black bird made of ink. "Open it, Fu," Danzo replied. The other assistant held out a piece of paper, which the bird jumped onto and burst into an ink splatter. The splotches rearranged themselves to form characters. Danzo took the paper and read the message.
"The nine tails will flee the village...?" Danzo read with interest. A smile played on his lips. "It seems like the Kyubi's jinchuuriki thinks he is headed somewhere. What a shame...he is certainly not leaving this village."
When the door opened, a hush descended on the table and a solitary figure walked in; it was obvious they had just been talking about him. He paid them no mind, and seated himself at the near end of the table, directly opposite of the woman fanning herself. He leaned his walking cane against the table and sat down. He had a strong figure despite his old age, and scars of battle were distinct: a double scar shaped like an "X" was on his chin; the whole right side of his face was bandaged. His right arm was in a sling and wasn't visible since it was hidden within his shirt.
The woman at the end of the table stopped fanning herself and looked at Danzo Shimura with interest.
"I was summoned here?" implored Danzo, with an air of someone demanding an explanation.
"Yes," she said. "Danzo, I was informed of the events which took place in the Land of Iron at the Kage Summit. The Kazekage sent a hawk addressed to me which includes a lengthy description of what happened. You omitted many details when you recounted your version of events. Is there anything you would like to say?"
"No," said Danzo quietly. "Please read."
She took out a scroll which she unsealed and unraveled. "To the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire. This letter is to inform you of events which occurred during the kage summit between the five great nations of wind, water, fire, lightning, and earth. You may be surprised to be receiving such a letter from the kage of a foreign nation, but I thought it prudent to inform you in case the acting Sixth Hokage, Danzo Shimura, does not give you an accurate description of what happened at the meeting. The following events took place, in chronological order: the Samurai Mifune (our mediator) called the summit to order, and a discussion ensued: a discussion on how to handle the growing threat of the international organization Akatsuki, and why they were hunting the tailed beasts of all the nations. The discussion took a turn for the worse and there was a tense moment in which all the kages' bodyguards emerged and were about to engage in combat; however once it was evident there was no apparent danger the bodyguards fell back and we resumed our discussion. The kage of the great nations came to a conclusion that we must form an alliance to combat the Akatsuki, and we decided it was up to our mediator Mifune to choose which kage was to lead the alliance. Mifune picked the Hokage."
She glanced up at Danzo, who did not blink an eye.
"Thank goodness, the Mizukage had a bodyguard with a sensory ability. The Hidden Mist shinboi, the Mizukage's bodyguard named Ao, used his dojutsu to see that Danzo was using an ocular genjutsu to control Mifune and make him pick Danzo as the leader; specifically, the genjutsu of Uchiha Shisui: Kotoamatsukami. This was a breach of international law and policy and it became apparent that the Hokage was not to be trusted. Before we could decide what to do, our meeting was interrupted by the sudden appearance of an Akatsuki member (a white man who did not seem human) who emerged from the floor and announced that Sasuke Uchiha had infiltrated the Land of Iron and was heading for the Summit room. The Raikage quickly rushed to the center of the room and killed the Akatsuki, before we could extract intel from him. He rushed downstairs along with his bodyguards, telling us that he would kill Sasuke himself. He seemed enraged at the Uchiha, probably because Sasuke was the one who supposedly killed his brother and jinchuuriki, Killer Bee."
Danzo's face remained impassive.
"After several minutes, I along with my bodyguards went downstairs to provide assistance to the Raikage and I came face-to-face with Sasuke Uchiha. After unsuccessfully attempting to convince him to stand down, I along with my bodyguards and a jonin from Kumo launched a ninjutsu assault on Sasuke - I will not go into details since you are a feudal lord and most likely not interested in ninja battles, but Sasuke defended against the attacks and cut the pillars of the building - causing the roof to cave in, and in this moment of confusion Sasuke made a break and escaped. We all headed towards the summit room since we speculated that Sasuke was headed there, but by the time we got there the Tsuchikage declared that he had killed Sasuke. There were also signs of battle throughout the room. Danzo was nowhere to be seen. Later, the mizukage told me that Danzo and his bodyguards had fled the room in the moment of confusion when Sasuke had arrived. She told me that her bodyguard Ao tailed them for a while, and almost lost his life because Danzo laid a trap for him en route. Had she not been there to rescue Ao just in time, a Mist shinobi would have died at the hands of the hokage - a very close call, since the death of even one foreigner can lead to war. It was extremely reckless of Danzo to attempt to kill this man, without foreseeing the consequences. Back at the kage summit, an Akatsuki member appeared out of thin air (possibly through the use of a special ninjutsu) and identified himself as Madara Uchiha. He had an unconscious Sasuke on his shoulder so it seems the tsuchikage was mistaken in believing he had killed Sasuke. He announced to us his plans of Project Tsuki no Me, a plan which uses the chakra of the tailed beasts to cast a genjutsu over the entire world. He informed us that he had captured all the tailed beasts and only needed the eight and nine tails to complete his plan. He demanded that we hand over the reamaining tailed beasts, and threatened us with the alternative of a war. The tsuchikage, raikage, and the mizukage, along with myself, decided that this project was unacceptable - and we agreed that an alliance between our nations was to be formed in order to combat this threat. Mifune appointed the Raikage as head of this new alliance. However, there is a problem: because of Danzo's corrupt and inexcusable actions, we deemed him untrustworthy and will not accept Konoha into this alliance until he is replaced with a more suitable hokage candidate. It is for this reason that I am writing to you, the feudal lord of the land of fire, in order to advise that you immediately remove Danzo from his position as hokage so that Konoha may become part of the alliance as well. Remember, it is absolutely essential that all five great nations unite for this war - since the Akatsuki's Project Tsuki no Me quite literally spells the end of the world and we will need all the manpower availible. I have also sent a letter to Danzo to inform him of the events which took place after he fled the kage summit, and personally advised him to step down from his position. Signed Gaara, Kazekage."
There was a long silence. "What do you have to say in your defense, Danzo?" The man in the green flak jacket seemed especially angry, like he was trying not to shout out accusations.
Danzo began slowly. "As the hokage, it is my responsibility to ensure that Konoha and the Fire Country remain above the other great nations to ensure our security and position in the ninja world. I cast that genjutsu on Mifune in order to ensure that I became leader of the international alliance - and by extension, Konoha would be in control of the other great nations. I see no wrong in what I did."
The man in the green flak jacket spoke up. "A very old and outdated way of thinking. Clearly the Akatsuki is a global issue and for wartime necessity we should look beyond our rivalries with other countries in order to stop the Akatsuki and Madara Uchiha. Hiruzen would have looked at the bigger picture-"
A flicker of annoyance crossed Danzo's face. "The Third Hokage was ignorant of the realities of this ninja world, and was far too optimistic in his way of thinking. What's more, Shikaku Nara," he continued, "is that the young and inexperienced Kazekage omitted the fact that this Mist ninja, Ao, posessed the Byakugan: a spoiler of war with the Hyuga. My assistant simply attempted to remove the eye, but could not since it was protected by a seal. This led him to attempt to kill the Mist jonin in order to keep the Byakugan only as part of the Leaf Village."
The old lady sitting next to Shikaku seemed shocked. "The Mist has a Byakugan in their possession? This is a threat to Konoha security." The man next to her nodded. "I agree with Koharu. You did the right thing by attempting to eliminate this threat. It's dissapointing that your assistant failed."
The woman at the end of the table hesitated, very briefly - in this moment she seemed to lose her composure, but she quickly regained it. She started fanning herself again. "As a feudal lord, I don't even have much interest in war and I could care less about the alliance. I don't see why we should feel the need to join this shinobi alliance. It will simply mean more lost lives and money. We don't need another costly war. Besides, we don't have another suitable shinobi to replace Danzo as hokage and satisfy the Kazekage's demand."
Shikaku Nara stood up in his seat and almost shouted. "If four of the great nations form an alliance and win this war, who will they target next? Think! We would be vulnerable to attack from all sides, there is no hope for us to be able to defend ourselves! Especially since the village was already destroyed by Pein and we are vulnerable as it is!"
He is definitely the most troublesome one here. I should have used it one him, Danzo thought to himself. "If the alliance wins the war, they will most definitely be already weakened by waging war on Akatsuki. They are no threat to us. The best course of action is to stand by in this war and continue rebuilding our village and making profits by having our ninja carry out missions."
Shikaku Nara looked like he was about to say something again, but the feudal lord interrupted. "I have come to a decision. Danzo will remain hokage and we will not participate in this war. Danzo has already made clear why this is the best course of action. Do I have any complaints from the other Land of Fire representatives? They shook their heads. Well, it is decided. I will reply to the Kazekage shortly. Meeting is adjourned!"
That was close, thought Danzo. If I hadn't resorted to controlling the feudal lord's thoughts I might have been replaced by Kakashi or someone else. I must take precautions to not let this sort of thing become public again.
The assembly stood up and they all meandered out of the room, talking amongst themselves. Danzo was the first to leave.
Hobbling along on his cane, Danzo reached the entrance where his assistants were waiting for him. "Lord Danzo," began one of them. "A message from Sai." He extended his hand, upon which was perched a little black bird made of ink. "Open it, Fu," Danzo replied. The other assistant held out a piece of paper, which the bird jumped onto and burst into an ink splatter. The splotches rearranged themselves to form characters. Danzo took the paper and read the message.
"The nine tails will flee the village...?" Danzo read with interest. A smile played on his lips. "It seems like the Kyubi's jinchuuriki thinks he is headed somewhere. What a shame...he is certainly not leaving this village."
