A/N: I know that Danzo probably isn't that self-sacrificing, and is a pretty sly person, but just a thought so I had to write it down. It's a bit short because it was something I wrote before my long disappearance, but I don't really know what to add to it, so I'm just leaving it as it is and posting it. This is just a little drabble I wrote I guess? Anyway, please don't flame me T.T ! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor earn any profits from it
Warning: Unedited
Those who walk in the shadows may never see the light again.
Blood on his hands, Danzo stands, tall and strong, in the shadows of Konoha. He is growing old, slowly but surely, but he'll never back down, not as long as his heart is still beating. He will kill, over and over again. Traitors, enemy-nin, anyone that threatens Konoha. He is the figure in the dark, the one that stands still and tall, the one that kills, silently and swiftly. He is one of the strongest shinobi in the village, and his strength represents Konoha's strength so as long as he lived, he will forever ensure he is strong enough to protect Konoha.
He sometimes wonders what it would be like had he never stepped into the shadows.
Danzo imagines if he never chose to walk down this path, perhaps he would still be a respectable shinobi, perhaps already seated in the Hokage position. Yet he dismisses the thought as soon as it emerges. There is no room for regrets, this is his chosen path. He will take everything thrown his way for it was his choice to protect Konoha no matter the cost, and he is too far in to stop now.
He is the root that holds the tree steady.
He has a reason to fight. To him, Konoha would always take priority. He would always be there to protect Konoha from the shadows. He once had nightmares, he once felt guilt, but the years he spent killing, accumulating blood on his blade for the sake of Konoha had made him grow cold. He no longer is a part of the bright happy world he is protecting, he is only worthy of a seat in a darkened room, commanding his root-nin. Afterall, there is always the dirty side in every shinobi village, treated the same way people often treated him, with side-eyes and hushed whispers.
He thought that one day, he would find someone to walk beside him, to lead in the shadows.
Danzo fights. He kills. He commands. He never had a companion since he started down this path of darkness. He is lonely, because the road he travels on is dark. He walks ahead of the rest of the Konoha, killing enemies in the path. He paves the road with blood and sweat, never going close enough to the rest of the Konoha to feel the sunlight on his skin. It is lonely where he stands, so he grapples for the place of the Hokage, where he would be loved and admired. He does not need recognition for his contributions, he has killed so many that it no longer had any meaning. He simply wants companionship. He had not smiled genuinely in a long time, and even if he did, there would not be anyone to admire his smile.
He is lonely till the very end, a lone shadow even in death.
At the end of his life, as he drew his last breath, he imagines that Konoha will be fine now, even without roots to support the tree. Even without shadows to destroy the enemies. It is long past his time, and Danzo never wants to condemn anyone to the life he lived. He has lived a long long life, but it has been a road full of innocent blood and sacrifices. The guilt eats at him at night, where he is at his most vulnerable, and even knowing no harm will befall him with his shinobi protecting him, he cannot get a peaceful night sleep.
For a shinobi, the darkness and shadows are weapons. For Danzo, he is darkness and shadows himself.