With just his thoughts to keep him company, Danzo has a change of heart.
Head-canon is this; Danzo spreads the truth of Naruto's Jinchuuriki status so that he could motion to have the boy trained as a ROOT ninja. This is not successful. Danzo also 'forgets' to inform Hiruzen of Kumo's intention to steal the Byakugan, hoping to destabilize Hiruzen's position as Hokage with the political aftermath. This is a partial success. Danzo then starts rumors of the Uchiha controlling Kyuubi leading to the Massacre. Danzo does his Sharingan shit, yadda, yadda, yadda. BOOM! Evil.
This oneshot aims to change that, and sets the groundwork to make him a human being instead of an nigh-immortal cliche bad guy.
Danzo was tired, a bone deep weariness that seemed to sap the energy and will from him. He sat slumped in his chair, looking out towards nothing in particular, with only the soft glow of a candle to light up the room.
To be alone with only his own mind to occupy him was daunting, because all he could think about was that he had failed. His many failures had dogged him for some time, chasing after him like ravenous wolves. He had denied them over and over, but after the death of the Yondaime he could deny them no longer. They made themselves known and he could only bear witness to a simple fact that he should have realized long ago.
He would be a terrible Hokage. Even in his prime he would've been a bad leader, too harsh, too quick to act and jump to conclusions. Hiruzen had the opposite problem; he was too soft, he was much too happy to give an inch and have a mile taken in turn. That was why they had both been happy with the election Yondaime, a man who was willing to make harsh decisions, but was also merciful and caring. Danzo had, at first, been upset at the election, but he had come to realize that even if his plots and plans had come to fruition and he had become Hokage, he would not live to see the outcome. He was too old, too frail, even with the amoral arm he had gained from his dealings with Orochimaru. Thus, it became clear, Namikaze was the best leader Konoha would get anytime soon.
Danzo had also realized he was a selfish and man. It made him want to laugh, looking back on it. How many times had he fooled himself into thinking that what he was doing was for 'The good of Konoha' he snorted in the silence of his room. His avarice would come back to bite him, he had no doubt. Danzo's back-alley dealings and manipulation of Hanzo had plunged Amegakure into some sort of civil war, quiet and hushed. His manipulation of Orochimaru had led to the man's defection, instead of him joining his cause. Danzo smirked, all bitter regret, and dark amusement, perhaps the Sannin had seen the truth of his greed before he, himself had?
Danzo had tried to make a monster of the Snake Sage, and it had worked.
The face of the cycloptic man pulled into a soft frown. The Kyuubi was another problem, in another life he would have most likely moved to have the boy trained into an emotionless weapon, but his respect of Namikaze halted that idea rather quickly. It was spitting on the grave of a man who had sacrificed more for Konoha than he had. Hiruzen, as well, was another complication, even if he tried to support Hiruzen in his endeavours, Danzo would most definitely be viewed with suspicion. He had burned too many bridges, it would seem, and now he was stranded in the shadows. A dark smile came to his face, "No different from normal, ne?" His voice echoed throughout the room.
The smile dropped, he had outlined his problems, now it was time for solutions. First, the Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki; Danzo was certain he could give the boy light training and teaching without Hiruzen noticing, the man's duties as the re-installed Sandaime should, in theory, keep him busy. If the man assigned ANBU to Uzumaki, all the better, Danzo could put some of his men inside and survey the boy from afar. Emotional training would most likely be necessary, considering his volatile status as a Jinchuuriki , but nowhere near the level of his own ninja. Hiruzen would undoubtedly do his best to ensure the boy's loyalty to Konoha, but Danzo could inform the boy of his heritage to insure it, he was sure the boy would appreciate the truth, anyways. Perhaps he could even get the boy to graduate early, not so early as to raise suspicion, but early enough for his skill to be recognized.
Danzo would also use his ROOT ninja to support Hiruzen's ANBU where he could, getting caught would be difficult to explain, but if he used his old 'Good of Konoha' speech, Hiruzen would probably pass it off as Danzo being himself, It would still cast suspicion on him, but he could handle that. A part of his spy network would be put to use finding Tsunade, he would most likely succeed in convincing her to come back himself, there was no possibility of him being able to do it by using his men as proxies. He also needed to start recruiting more ROOT ninja as well, while he wouldn't be able train them to their full potential, the numbers would be used to make up for it.
Homura and Koharu would be able to push Hiruzen towards better decisions if he talked to them. What did that leave? The other Hidden Villages were a worry as well, the remainder of spy network would provide him some insight to that. Danzo stood up, out of his chair, his plans were made. He would support Konoha, the right way, this time. He would make sure his old teammates were safe and successful. And he would do it all from shadows, as his teacher had tried to show him, and as he always should have done.