Danzo, a member of the Shimura clan of Konoha, trained under the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, alongside the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He was one of Tobirama's direct disciples and served as Hiruzen's most trusted right-hand man. He was a ruthless strategist with a deep sense of ambition.
In the original story, Danzo was undoubtedly Konoha's number one schemer.
Having read the original story, Haruto Saito had one impression of Danzo—he was not a good person!
Haruto glanced at him up and down, making sure not to show any reaction. He merely treated Danzo as an ordinary Anbu ninja, nodded slightly, and followed him toward the Hokage's office.
Danzo walked ahead, silent.
Haruto trailed behind, observing him closely.
"Over 49,000 reputation points? That high?" Haruto suddenly thought. Reputation between 25,000 and 50,000 belonged to Kage-level individuals, and Danzo's value was already close to the peak of Kage-level, only a step away from surpassing it.
Even White Fang's reputation was only around 37,000. Was Danzo stronger than White Fang? And by that much?!
Something felt off.
In the original story, White Fang was a powerhouse even the legendary Sannin respected. Though White Fang was in his twenties now, while in the original he was in his thirties when he met his downfall, he still shouldn't be weaker than Danzo. The gap in reputation was simply too vast!
"Spirit, does Danzo's reputation come largely from his status?" Haruto speculated in his mind.
"Ding! Answering the host's question: Danzo's total reputation consists of both strength-based and status-based reputation. His status-based reputation makes up a significant portion, meaning his strength cannot be judged solely based on his reputation points."
"As expected!" Haruto nodded.
The Card Spirit had mentioned before that reputation was just a reference and not a direct measure of strength. Many figures had high reputation despite lacking real strength. The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was a prime example—his reputation was surely immense, yet he wasn't even a ninja.
"So then, how much of Danzo's reputation is actually from his strength?"
"This system function is not yet available."
"Figures." Haruto didn't press further. Over the past two weeks, he had asked the Card Spirit countless questions, and often received the same response: "Function not available" or "Permission denied."
As they walked along the secluded path, Danzo suddenly glanced at Haruto from the corner of his eye. The next moment, his body flickered and vanished!
Haruto's heart pounded—Danzo had disappeared from his sight.
The next instant—
Swish!
A tearing sound erupted from behind him, and a terrifying blade light slashed toward his neck. Haruto's hair stood on end. His body shrank, narrowly dodging the strike, then sprang backward like an arrow while throwing three kunai!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The three kunai formed a triangle as they shot forward.
Danzo didn't dodge. With a single sweep of his blade, he deflected them all and instantly closed the distance between them. His sword was like a flash of lightning.
Too fast!
Haruto had no time to evade!
Slash! Poof!
Haruto was struck—but in a puff of white smoke, he turned into a wooden log. It was the most basic E-rank Substitution Jutsu. Danzo's eyes flickered in surprise—he hadn't even seen when Haruto had set it up.
Haruto reappeared in the bushes at Danzo's side, hands forming a rapid seal. The Card System had granted him proficiency in hand seals, so he didn't need training.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Boom!
A terrifying bolt of lightning shot toward Danzo's back. His eyes widened slightly—ordinary Body Flicker wouldn't let him escape this. There was no time to form seals; the lightning was too fast.
"Forbidden Art: Spider Binding Curse!"
A series of black, tadpole-like seals emerged on Danzo's neck. As the lightning closed in, the seals flared, forming a web-like pattern of dark energy that slowed the lightning's advance.
Taking advantage of that brief pause, Danzo flickered away.
Haruto's lightning struck a massive tree behind Danzo's previous position, blasting it into splinters.
Boom! The thunderous explosion echoed as Danzo reappeared above Haruto.
"Curse Technique: Phantom Binding Chains!"
Black sealing chains shot from his hand, descending toward Haruto's head.
"Damn it!" Haruto cursed, his palm opening. A swirling sphere of blue chakra formed in his grasp, expanding to the size of a soccer ball before he thrust it upward!
"Rasengan!"
"You—" Danzo's hoarse voice carried a hint of shock.
Boom!
The cursed chains shattered upon impact. The sheer force of the Rasengan erupted fully, sending Danzo flying through the air!
Haruto took a deep breath and lowered his hands, watching as Danzo flipped midair, landing gracefully over twenty meters away.
Haruto remained still.
When Danzo first attacked, Haruto hadn't understood why. But as soon as he unleashed False Darkness, he realized something—the relationship tab still marked Danzo's attitude toward him as "Neutral."
That meant Danzo had no intent to kill him.
No strong favoritism, no animosity.
And most importantly, Danzo hadn't used his full power. His speed, strength, and reactions were all slightly held back. If he had gone all out—given that he was at least Kage-level—Haruto wouldn't have stood a chance.
There was only one conclusion.
Danzo was testing his strength.
"A-rank Ninjutsu?" Danzo asked hoarsely, staring intently at Haruto, a flicker of uncertainty in his gaze.
"Yes! I created it myself!" Haruto responded earnestly.
"Created?" Danzo's eyes narrowed.
"That's right! I invented this A-rank technique myself. Hard to believe, right? But it's the truth. I must have been a genius before I lost my memory," Haruto shamelessly declared.
He had done it on purpose—using Rasengan had been intentional.
Danzo was likely sent to test him by Hiruzen. If that were the case, Haruto knew he couldn't afford to appear weak. Only geniuses were valued. Besides, after using False Darkness, his chakra reserves were running low. He had to shock Danzo with Rasengan to prevent further testing.
"Who's there?"
"Stand down!"
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Seven figures appeared around them in formation, all wielding swords, ready for combat. Haruto glanced around and inwardly sighed—what a coincidence. The newcomers were Uchiha Fugaku and his Konoha Police Force squad.