Deep beneath Konoha.
A massive steel bridge spanned the chasm, connecting the four directions to a central abyss where a tower of cold iron pierced the darkness. A tower built in the silent, suffocating depths of the earth.
At the edge of the tower's platform, Danzo Shimura stood by the railing. His expression was so calm it bordered on indifferent, his gaze fixed on the lightless void below.
Bandages swathed the right side of his face, and his short brown hair framed a lean, gaunt visage. He wore a greyish-black kimono that left his left shoulder and arm exposed, revealing a white undergarment beneath. This man, who had dedicated himself to the darkness, seemed to dim the very light around him, radiating an aura of profound ill-omen.
After the high-level meeting, he had come here to wait. He was waiting for Ren Uchiha—the boy who, by a twist of fate, had become his subordinate.
Oddly enough, Danzo's eyes held no killing intent. Instead, hidden within those deep, cunning pupils was a flicker of expectation and nostalgia. On a face like his, such an expression looked entirely out of place.
Behind him, a Root ninja wearing a white tiger mask held a stack of documents.
"Lord Danzo, I have sent men to bring Ren Uchiha here, but..."
Danzo caught the tremor in his subordinate's voice. Without turning around, he said flatly, "You want to ask why I haven't taken more precautions?"
The Root ninja remained silent, his eyes filled with dread. This was a Jinchūriki they were dealing with. The memory of the two explosions that had rocked Konoha was still fresh. Ren Uchiha was no longer just a shinobi; he was a violent beast that defied human logic.
He couldn't understand why the ever-calculating Danzo was acting so casually. Shouldn't they have mobilized all of Root, laid out a net of sealing barriers, and suppressed him the moment he arrived? Even if they didn't seize the Tailed Beast immediately, he could be used as a bargaining chip.
Danzo tilted his head slightly, glancing at his subordinate. "You don't understand, nor can you. That is normal."
"That child is strong—stronger than you can imagine. Numbers cannot restrain a monster like that. He cannot be handled like a common Uchiha."
"And as for who can control such a beast..." Danzo's voice dropped. "Only I can."
The Root ninja's eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly bowed his head. "Yes, sir!"
The ninja retreated, leaving the platform to sink back into a heavy, oppressive silence. Danzo pulled a report from his robes—a compilation of accounts from Aburame Ryōma, Orochimaru, and the Root members who had witnessed Ren's battles in the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Rain.
"Ren Uchiha..." Danzo let out a dry, triumphant chuckle. "A figure like a brilliant shooting star, just like Kagami Uchiha. Only, it's a pity..."
"He's short-lived. I'll tolerate you for two years. After that, once Konoha's second Tailed Beast is combined with the Wood Style of 'Yamato'..."
"At that time... Hahahaha!"
Squeak... squeak...
Ren Uchiha sat in a wheelchair, pushed by two Root ninjas across the great bridge toward the central tower. Just as they reached the bridge's end—
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
A raspy, jarring laugh reached his ears. Ren looked at the old man standing in the shadows and his lip twitched. What is it with this guy? And this setting... a bridge, Danzo, an Uchiha, manic laughter... Is the 'Bridge Battle' happening decades early?
The Root ninjas left as soon as they reached the platform, leaving the old man and the youth alone. Ren gripped the syringe Orochimaru had given him. He didn't know what was in it, but the Zero-Tails inside him was squeaking with an insatiable hunger the moment it sensed the liquid.
Unlike the future Itachi or Shisui, Ren didn't have a shred of politeness for this man. He didn't see him as a superior.
"Danzo Shimura," Ren said bluntly. "You wanted to see me?"
The laughter stopped abruptly. Danzo turned around, his pace steady as he approached, staring at Ren like a predator eyeing a choice piece of meat.
"So, you are Ren Uchiha?" He stopped three meters away, his left eye scanning Ren intensely. "I see..."
He declared suddenly, "You bear the mark of death!"
Ren blinked. "The mark of death?"
"To know not of life, but to be intimate with death—that is a deathly countenance," Danzo said flatly. "You have a fire in your heart hotter than any other, but that fire will eventually turn into the flames of the Threefold Path, consuming you. Whether under the sun or the moon, you have no shadow. Your life... is shadowless."
Ren instinctively looked at the floor. He had a shadow. Is this old man talking in riddles? Can we just start the fight? My fists are itching!
Danzo continued, "As the youngest genius to achieve the rank of Jōnin since the founding of Konoha, I have one question for you."
Ren didn't answer; he just stared at Danzo with an impatient "get on with it" look. Danzo, seemingly oblivious to the attitude, posed his question:
"Imagine a ship about to sink. Onboard are ten of your compatriots, but one has a virulent, deadly plague. If he lives, the other nine will surely be infected and die."
Danzo narrowed his eye, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "If you were the captain... what would you do?"
Ren raised an eyebrow. He knew this question. In the Itachi Shinden, Danzo asked this very thing to a young Itachi. Back then, Itachi's answer was that the one was fated to die anyway, so he would kill the one to save the nine. That answer, combined with the Uchiha's isolation, had planted the seeds for the clan's massacre.
Ren's expression turned icy. He looked at Danzo and sneered.
"What if the captain is the one who's sick?" he shot back. "And how can you be so certain the sick man must die?"
Danzo's gaze deepened. He lifted his chin, looking down at Ren. "Ren Uchiha, do not dodge the question. Someone with your power should understand: reality often presents only a cruel, binary choice. Tell me, what would you do?"
Ren smiled. He raised the syringe he had been clutching.
STAB!
He plunged the needle directly into his neck and pushed the plunger. His heart began to thunder in his chest. He looked up, his crimson Two-Tomoe Sharingan burning with intensity.
"No one dies!"
"Everyone lives! Because I will create a miracle, even if I have to use my own life to pave the way!"
Hearing such an arrogant, idealistic declaration and seeing the absolute confidence on Ren's face, Danzo's expression broke into a satisfied grin.
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you!"
"Your answer is exactly the same as Kagami Uchiha's."
He pulled back a step, his left eye narrowing as the atmosphere around them grew cold—as if a freezing wind had swept through the bridge. Ren tensed, thinking the old man was finally getting ready to rumble.
Then, out of nowhere, Danzo spoke:
"Ren Uchiha... I am going to place you in a position of great importance!"
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