"We'll handle Danzo," Kakashi said.
"No, don't make a move. If you do, even if Himan, the patriarch, takes power in the future, it won't change your status as missing-nin. You don't want to sneak back into Konoha, do you?" Kazuki replied.
The gravity of assassinating the Hokage is undeniable. When the Fourth Mizukage initiated the Bloody Mist policy, many attempted to assassinate him, only to be branded as missing-nin. Even after the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, took over, those missing-nin were not pardoned. They still dare not return openly to Kirigakure.
If Kakashi and his team took action, Konoha would no longer be a safe place for them.
"If we don't, then who will? You?" Kakashi asked, puzzled.
Kazuki shook his head. "I'm not shouldering this burden. Someone else will handle it."
Seeing that Kazuki had a plan, Kakashi and the others nodded in agreement and resumed their positions, waiting quietly for the coup.
After they left, only Kazuki, Yūgao remained in the room.
"Kazuki, who are you planning to have take care of this? And are those people reliable? Could this be a trap set by Danzo?" Yūgao asked, worried.
"Danzo doesn't have the ability to trap me," Kazuki chuckled.
Someone under the influence of genjitsu wouldn't have thoughts of betrayal. Even if Danzo could somehow betray him, he still lacked the power to act against him.
"Patriarch Himan, you should go back and wait for news. It will all be over in a couple of days."
"Alright, as long as you have a plan." Himan left with a spring in his step, looking so pleased that one might think he'd just taken a new wife.
"Do you really plan to make the patriarch the Hokage?" Yugao asked, resting her head on Kazuki's chest.
"When I say something, I mean it," Kazuki replied firmly.
"But is Himan really fit for the role?" Yugao questioned.
"He couldn't possibly be worse than Danzo," Kazuki sighed, exasperated.
Initially, Kazuki had intended to keep Danzo as a loyal puppet to help him control Konoha, allowing Kazuki to rest easy. But instead, Danzo kept stirring up trouble, making things more complicated. At this rate, it seemed like Danzo was the real Hokage of Konoha!
"Who are you planning to have kill Danzo? Without Kakashi's help, it won't be easy," Uzuki pointed out.
Danzo was always surrounded by a dozen ANBU guards, making it nearly impossible to get to him without overwhelming strength.
"There's someone who's wanted to kill him for a long time. I'll find him. He'll be very interested."
...
The next day, Kazuki activated a Flying Thunder God mark that he hadn't used in a long time. In an instant, he appeared inside a small tea house. There were only a few people inside, and business seemed slow.
At one table sat a cold-faced boy sipping tea alone.
"How did this guy appear out of nowhere?"
"A Konoha forehead protector? Is he a Konoha ninja?"
Ignoring the fearful looks from the people around him, Kazuki pulled out a chair beside Sasuke and sat down.
"Where is this?"
"The Land of Wind."
"Pretty far from home."
"I wandered around and ended up here," Sasuke replied, his tone flat and devoid of the violence that once defined him. His voice, though calm, still carried an icy coldness, warning people to stay away.
"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.
"I plan to change the Hokage," Kazuki said, leaning back in his chair with one leg crossed over the other.
"Seriously?" Sasuke paused mid-sip, his gaze sharpening.
"Yeah, and I'm leaving the task of killing Danzo to you. Generous, right?" Kazuki grinned.
Sasuke, not one to show much emotion, simply responded,
"Once it's done, let me know if you need anything."
Kazuki shrugged. "Maybe. But Danzo, now the Fifth Hokage, has many ANBU guarding him. I can send you right to him, but you'll have to figure out how to escape on your own."
Sasuke sneered, "You want me to take the blame again?"
"You've shouldered enough already, what's one more?" Kazuki chuckled. "Don't worry, if you can't escape, I'll get you out."
Sasuke's expression was one of disdain. He had little regard for Konoha's ninja. Sensing his attitude, Kazuki added,
"One more thing—don't kill any other Konoha ninja."
Sasuke frowned but eventually agreed. "Fine."
"Don't push yourself too hard. You'll need Uchiha Itachi's eyes eventually if you want your own to last."
"How do you know?"
Kazuki smiled mysteriously, declining to answer.
Sasuke knew Kazuki well enough to understand when he didn't want to explain, so he dropped the subject.
"I don't want his eyes."
"But you'll have to use them someday. Without the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, your own eyes will go blind."
The Uchiha's Sharingan, unless evolved into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, would continue to deteriorate, eventually leading to blindness. While Sasuke hadn't overused his Sharingan yet, his vision had already begun to blur slightly.
After a moment of silence, Sasuke said,
"Take me back."
With a quick flash, Kazuki transported them both back to Konoha, arriving at the Root base.
The ordinary villagers in the Land of Wind who witnessed the display could only look on in awe. Though Kazuki wasn't from their village, they still held great respect for his power.
Inside Root,
Sasuke had been gone for some time, and the remaining Root members had grown lazy. Without anyone assigning them tasks, they simply went about their days punching in their time and lazing around. Sasuke's return went unnoticed.
Wearing his Root mask once again, Sasuke assumed his codename: Zero.
Kazuki and Sasuke walked past the guards without anyone realizing. Kazuki couldn't help but joke,
"Under your command, the once-ruthless Root is turning into a pigsty."
Sasuke stayed silent. He had never expected much from the Root members, and now, with his revenge so close, they were of no use to him.
The Root—utterly dispensable.
They made their way through the corridors to the dungeons. Though called a dungeon, the place was empty. With no prisoners, the place held only the echoes of the past.
Sasuke led Kazuki through the dim tunnels, stopping in front of an iron door. It was the same place where Uchiha Itachi had once been held. Last time Kazuki had been here, the room was filled with bodies. Now, the corpses were gone, but the bloodstains remained, covering most of the walls and floor.
Sasuke opened the iron door and quickly retrieved a scroll from a hidden compartment. Opening the sealed scroll, two crimson eyes stared back at him.
"Let's do this."
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!
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The fanfic is finished on p@treon/tambeerg