"What is it, Master Ao?" whispered Haku, tilting his head to the side innocently as the middle-aged man standing beside him formed the tiger sign. "Is something wrong?"
"I knew I felt something familiar from that girl," Ao murmured, as veins bulged around his covered eye socket. "The colour of the chakra inside that girl's right eye… it's the same as Uchiha Shisui's, make no mistake about it!"
When someone awakened their Mangekyō Sharingan, two abilities— each reflecting the nature of their deepest regrets, for the eyes are the mirrors of the soul— would take root within their eyes. Itachi's Tsukuyomi and Shisui's and Sakura's Kotoamatsukami, for instance, arose from their feelings of helplessness to change the hearts of their comrades, while Sasuke's Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi were born of his all‑consuming desire for vengeance.
However, perhaps the word born was slightly inaccurate; selected might have been closer to the truth. After all, the Sharingan was simply a degenerated, washed-down version of Kaguya's all-encompassing Rinne Sharingan, itself born from the condensation of the DNA of every living species on the shinobi world… the chakra fruit. The abilities that bloomed within one's eyes were drawn from a pre‑existing pool, with the most compatible amongst them being chosen in the end.
Since that was the case, the special chakra dwelling in Sakura's right eye and both of Shisui's eyes appeared identical to Ao's Byakugan; his eyes saw them as the same chakra, because they were literally the same chakra!
"Strange… I see no traces of Shisui's chakra in any of the Five Kage's brains," Ao said pensively. "It would have been the perfect opportunity to… what in the!?"
There was another Shisui nearby…?
"Lord Mizukage!" he roared, tearing down the Water banner. "Enemy attack!"
It began subtly enough: a faint draught at first, but then the wind picked up, swelling into gale‑force gusts, even though the summit was held indoors. The five Kage snatched up their hats and drew back as sand streamed through the cracks between the stone tiles of the room, rising up and whipping into a roaring maelstrom that swallowed the conference table whole, grinding it to sawdust within seconds.
As the sandstorm subsided, the silhouette of a hunched figure took shape behind the veil of sand. The thinning haze fell away in a final sigh, spilling across the floor at his feet and laying bare his true form before the gathered Kage and their guards…
"HOKAGE!" roared A, brushing aside his guards as they jumped to protect him. "What is the meaning of this treachery!?"
That pineapple‑shaped haircut, the bandages wrapped around the right side of his face and body, the cross‑shaped scar on his chin… the invader's true identity was none other than that of Shimura Danzō!
"DANZŌ!" Sakura roared.
Sakura's gaze hardened into pure loathing, but as much as she longed to rush forwards and cleave his head from his shoulders, she couldn't ignore where she was. A quick glance left and right told her that their immediate neighbours from the Stone and Sand were none too pleased by Danzō's surprise visit, and to make matters worse, that entrance of his…
That sand was Shukaku's, there could be no doubt about it!
"So, you were telling the truth when you claimed not to be harbouring our Jinchūriki," Pakura hissed. "You just went a step further— you killed him and extracted his Bijū to make your own One‑Tail Jinchūriki! And you have the gall to speak of an alliance to safeguard the remaining Tailed Beasts!? You Hidden Leaf bastards are all the same, hypocrites to the marrow of your bones!"
"Hokage, there had better be an excellent reason for this man's intrusion," Mifune said warningly. "If your answer fails to satisfy me, the Land of Iron's samurai will have no choice but to join the other four Kage in suppressing you!"
"This man is no longer affiliated with the Hidden Leaf," called Tsunade, glaring at Danzō. "He was declared a missing-nin a week ago!"
"Either you are complicit, or you are simply incompetent for failing to handle your subordinates!" A roared. "Argh, enough of this! I don't care any more! Lightning Style Chakra Mode!"
The air filled with the stench of ozone as blue chakra surged across A's dark skin, shrouding him in crackling lightning. With a sharp crack, the stone floor split beneath his feet— and in the next instant, he was upon Danzō, knife-hand driving for the man's throat.
Sand swept across the floor in an attempt to snare the Raikage's feet, but it was far too late…
Blood flew in an arc, spattering across the room.
"Guh," A grunted, stumbling back as Danzō struck him with a swirling wave of sand, clutching the stump where his hand had once been. If it hadn't been for his sharp reflexes, he would have lost his head too!
Sakura's eyes widened in shock.
In all likelihood, she and Ao might have been the only ones to fully make out what had just transpired! Not expecting his opponent to react with such speed and decisiveness, the Raikage stepped into Danzō's range, throwing caution to the wind and committing everything to his attack, trusting his lightning armour to protect him.
However, a fraction of a second before his knife hand could pierce Danzō's throat, his feet slipped on the sand beneath him, destabilising him just enough. A gust of sand blew into his eyes, blinding him… and in that instant, Danzō drew his cane sword and severed the Raikage's forearm, slicing straight through his supposedly impenetrable lightning chakra armour.
Wind's shearing power beats lightning's hardness!
"The Kazekage was a fool to rely solely on the One‑Tail's talent for manipulating sand," Danzō murmured, peeling the bandages from his face to reveal the Sharingan in his right eye socket. "My wind chakra has never felt so sharp…"
The fūinjutsu Sunagakure had used to seal the One‑Tail within Gaara was a mere child's finger painting beside the complete legacy of sealing arts Konohagakure had inherited from Uzushiogakure; by comparison, the Four Symbols Seal was the Mona Lisa.
The seal granted Danzō complete control over the fluffy raccoon dog— though Bijū were forces of nature rivalling natural disasters, Shukaku's power could scarcely rival Kurama's, whatever boasts it made to the contrary. Unlike the Nine-Tailed Fox, the One-Tailed Tanuki could scarcely manage a whimper beneath the seal's suppression, forced to watch helplessly as Danzō greedily sucked up its chakra without getting anything in return.
"Don't look up, that's Uchiha Shisui's eye! That's how he reacted so swiftly to Lord Raikage's surprise attack!" Ao hollered. "Whatever you do, you mustn't look into that eye, or you'll become his slave!"
"What do you want, shinobi of darkness?" Mifune called out to Danzō, fingers slowly curling around his sword's handle as he stared at the man's toes. "Why have you come here?"
"For the same reason the Hokage has come," Danzō said calmly. "I too, believe the world must unite… only, under Konohagakure's heel."
His eyes glinted.
"I hereby declare the beginning of the Fourth Shinobi World War!" Danzō shouted. "I have taken the liberty of making the first move… before long, you should be getting news from your respective villages, Raikage, Tsuchikage, Mizukage, Kazekage…"
At that moment, a samurai burst into the room, panting for breath. Evidently, Danzō had timed his arrival to coincide with whatever the man was about to announce…
"Terrible news!" he shouted. "We've just received word from Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure by telegram— their Kage are to return home at once! Their villages are under attack by chakra monsters!"
Danzō smiled thinly. Thanks to the trial run in Manyū Village, Project: Gozu Tennō had proved a resounding success. By attacking the hearts of the other four great villages, he had ensured the Kage would have no choice but to go to war, however little they desired it. Public opinion would crucify them if they failed to answer such blatant provocation… especially if the death toll continued climbing.
"Danzō, what have you done?" Tsunade hissed. "Don't think for a moment the Hidden Leaf will take you back after you've dragged us into another war!"
"What needed to be done a long time ago," Danzō replied softly. Sand gathered at his feet, and he began rising into the air. "Now, what will you do, Lady Tsunade?" he asked. "You have no choice but to accept my help… or would you rather see the Leaf crushed under the combined forces of the other great villages?"
He laughed coldly.
"That is… if you can survive the combined onslaught of the four Kage and their guards…"