Deep underground, far away from the warm sunlight, was the hidden base of Root.
The room was dark and completely silent.
Danzo Shimura sat in a heavy wooden chair, his single eye staring coldly at the blank wall in front of him.
He gripped his wooden cane tightly.
He was incredibly frustrated.
For months, Danzo had been observing Dale.
He had sent his best, most silent Root ninjas to watch the Senju estate, the training fields, and the new Hope Orphanage.
He wanted to find just one single weakness.
But it was impossible.
His Root ninjas could not get close at all.
Tsunade had stationed highly trained, experienced Jonin from Senju Clan at every single place Dale and the children went.
There were layered barrier seals everywhere.
There were absolutely no openings.
Danzo tapped his cane against the stone floor.
“Nothing is going as planned,”
Danzo whispered to himself, his voice full of dark anger.
Years ago, he had carefully planned the slow downfall of the powerful clans.
He wanted the Uzumaki gone, the Senju weakened, and the Uchiha isolated.
He believed only his Root organization should hold true power to protect the village.
But Dale had ruined everything.
Dale saved the Uzumaki.
Dale made the Senju rich and strong again with his strange I-smart seals.
Dale was even training the future leaders of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans.
Danzo had even tried to recruit Orochimaru to help him uncover Dale’s secrets.
At first, the pale snake ninja seemed convinced.
But then, Orochimaru suddenly turned his back on him.
“It is not worth going against Dale and Tsunade… Not in a million years I would dare touch her man…”
Orochimaru had told him with a chilling smile.
“And Dale is currently funding my private science experiments. Why would I attack my best investor? Find someone else, Danzo.”
The more Danzo waited, the more frustrated he became.
He desperately wanted to know where Dale came from.
He wanted to know how a normal man possessed the chakra of the Nine-Tails and could jump across countries in a single second.
“Everyone is protecting his secret,”
Danzo growled, standing up from his chair.
“Tsunade. Jiraiya. Orochimaru. Even Hiruzen is standing in my way. They are all being foolish. They do not see the true danger.”
Danzo began to pace slowly across the dark, cold room.
He had no more options inside the village.
Hiruzen had directly threatened him, and the Senju guards were too strong.
If he could not attack Dale from the shadows, he would have to attack him from the very top.
Danzo stopped pacing.
A slow, terrifying smile grew on his old face.
“Hiruzen may be the Hokage,”
Danzo whispered smoothly.
“But even the Hokage must answer to the true ruler of this country.”
Danzo had no other choice.
He turned and walked toward the deepest, most secret part of his underground base.
He was going to use his secret, private connection.
He was going to contact the Fire Daimyo, the ultimate political ruler of the Land of Fire, directly in the capital city.
If Danzo could whisper the right lies into Daimyo’s ear, he could force Hiruzen’s hand.
He could finally force Dale to reveal all of his powerful secrets.
High up in the Hokage’s tower, the room was bright and quiet.
Hiruzen sat behind his large desk, slowly reading through stacks of mission reports.
He took a long drag from his pipe and let out a tired sigh.
Suddenly, a cold rush of wind filled the room.
Hiruzen did not look up from his papers right away.
He knew the sound of his guards.
But when he finally looked up, his old eyes narrowed slightly.
Standing perfectly still in front of his desk was an ANBU ninja.
But this was not a normal messenger.
The ninja wore a special cloak and a painted eagle mask.
It was an ANBU Captain.
Hiruzen slowly put his pipe down.
ANBU Captains only delivered messages themselves when the matter was incredibly serious.
“Speak, Captain,”
Hiruzen said, his voice dropping into a deep, serious tone.
“What has happened?”
The ANBU Captain knelt on one knee and bowed his head.
“Lord Hokage,”
The Captain spoke in a completely flat, serious voice.
“We just received a highest-priority message from the capital city. It is a direct order from the Fire Daimyo himself.”
Hiruzen frowned.
The Fire Daimyo rarely interfered with hidden village business unless it involved the safety of the entire country.
“What does the Daimyo want?”
Hiruzen asked calmly.
“He demands that Jonin Dale travel to the capital city immediately,”
The Captain answered.
“He wants Jonin Dale to stand trial in his royal court.”
Hiruzen’s eyes went wide with sudden shock.
He leaned forward over his desk.
“A trial?”
Hiruzen asked, his voice rising in anger.
“For what crime? Dale is a hero of the Leaf. What could the Daimyo possibly accuse him of?”
The ANBU Captain did not flinch.
He stayed perfectly still.
“Treason, Lord Hokage,”
The Captain replied.
“The Daimyo claims that Jonin Dale has stolen the royal Heirloom of Fire.”
Hiruzen slammed his hand down on his desk.
“That is absolutely impossible!”
Hiruzen shouted.
“I know where that heirloom is kept! It is locked inside the deepest royal vault. And that vault is protected by a master seal created by Lady Mito Uzumaki herself! No one in this world can break her seal without sounding the alarms!”
“That is exactly the Daimyo’s point, sir,”
The Captain explained quietly.
“The vault was never opened. The alarms never rang. Lady Mito’s seal is still completely unbroken. The Heirloom of Fire simply vanished from the inside.”
Hiruzen froze.
His brilliant mind suddenly connected all the pieces.
“The Daimyo’s advisors told him,”
The Captain continued,
“That the only way to steal something from inside a perfect, unbreakable Uzumaki seal… is to use an advanced space-time teleportation jutsu. They told the Daimyo that Dale is the only ninja alive with that exact power.”
Hiruzen sank slowly back into his chair.
The anger drained from his face, replaced by a cold, heavy dread.
“Danzo…”
Hiruzen whispered softly to himself.
It was a brilliant, terrifying trap.
Danzo had stolen the heirloom himself and blamed it on Dale’s unique teleportation jutsu.
Because Dale was the only one famous for instantly blinking across distances, the Daimyo easily believed the lie.
“Lord Hokage,”
The Captain asked respectfully.
“What are your orders? If we refuse the Daimyo, he could cut off all funding to the Leaf Village.”
Hiruzen closed his eyes.
The political trap was perfect.
He could not protect Dale using his Hokage power anymore, because Daimyo was his boss.
If Dale didn’t go, he would be labeled a traitor to the country.
“Go to the Senju estate,”
Hiruzen ordered, his voice heavy with sadness.
“Tell Dale to come to my office right away. We have to prepare for him. He is walking right into the snake’s den.”
A few minutes later, the door to the Hokage’s office opened.
Dale walked in.
He wore his usual calm expression, but his eyes were sharp.
“You called for me, Lord Hokage?”
Dale asked, closing the door behind him.
Hiruzen let out a long, heavy sigh.
He looked older and more tired than ever before.
“Take a seat, Dale,”
Hiruzen said quietly.
“Danzo has finally made his move. And it is a very dangerous one.”
Hiruzen explained everything.
He told Dale about the missing Heirloom of Fire, the unbroken Uzumaki seal, and the Daimyo’s demand for a royal trial. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Dale listened carefully.
He did not yell or act surprised.
He just nodded slowly.
“I understand,”
Dale said simply.
“His Root ninjas could not get past the Senju guards. He knew he could not defeat me directly in a fight. So, he is using politics to drag me out of the village.”
“It is a perfect frame-up,”
Hiruzen groaned, rubbing his temples.
“Because Lady Mito’s seal was not broken, they truly believe a space-time jutsu was used. You are the only suspect.”
Dale leaned back in his chair.
His mind started breaking down the problem.
“But it doesn’t make sense,”
Dale said, his eyes narrowing.
“My space-time teleportation leaves a heavy trace of lightning chakra. If the royal guards check that vault, they will not find any of my energy. That means no one teleported inside.”
“Then how was it stolen?”
Hiruzen asked.
“Someone just walked right through the front door,”
Dale answered coldly.
“Which means Danzo possesses a master key. He has found a secret way to unlock and bypass Uzumaki master seals without breaking them.”
As soon as Dale said those words, a sudden, dark realization hit him.
Dale sat up completely straight.
His normal eyes suddenly flashed with a dangerous, cold light.
“Lord Hokage,”
Dale said, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper.
“If Danzo has a key to bypass Uzumaki master seals… then I know exactly why Uzushiogakure was almost wiped out.”
Hiruzen froze.
His breath hitched in his throat.
“Elaborate it.”
Hiruzen asked, his hands shaking slightly.
“When I went to save the Uzumaki clan,”
Dale explained,
“I noticed that their ultimate defensive barrier was shut down from the *inside*. The enemy armies bypassed their strongest shields way too easily. I always wondered how the enemies found Uzushiogakure’s one tiny weakness.”
Dale looked right into Hiruzen’s shocked eyes.
“Danzo gave it to them,”
Dale stated firmly.
“Danzo leaked the weakness of the Uzumaki seals to the enemy villages so they would wipe out our strongest allies.”
“No…”
Hiruzen whispered in absolute horror.
“Danzo is ruthless, yes. But he would never betray an allied village! He would never help the enemy!”
“He would,”
Dale said, his voice completely solid.
“In my old world, we have a specific medical word for people like Danzo. We call them sociopaths.”
Hiruzen blinked.
“Sociopath?”
“Yes,”
Dale explained simply.
“It means his mind is completely broken. A sociopath does not feel normal empathy or guilt. They can stab their best friends in the back. They can sell out their closest allies. They can ruin the lives of innocent children.”
Dale leaned forward, resting his hands on the desk.
“But the most terrifying part about a sociopath,”
Dale continued darkly,
“Is that they do not think they are evil. Danzo can destroy Uzushiogakure and frame me for treason, and he will sleep perfectly fine tonight. Because in his own sick, twisted mind, he truly believes everything he does is for the good of the village.”
Hiruzen closed his eyes tightly.
The terrible truth finally crashed down on him.
His old friend was not just living in the shadows anymore.
He had become a monster.
“I am so sorry, Dale,”
Hiruzen whispered, looking incredibly defeated.
“Because of my blindness, you must now face the Daimyo’s court. What will you do?”
Dale stood up from his chair.
He did not look afraid at all.
“Do not worry, Lord Hokage,”
Dale said, a confident, sharp smile growing on his face.
“If Danzo wants to play a political game in the capital city, I will play. I will go to the Daimyo. And I am going to expose that old snake to the entire world.”