With only dark thoughts to keep him company, Danzo admits to his failings and decides that something has to change.
I've always felt that Danzo was another cliche 'For the Greater Good' type bad guy.
This oneshot aims to change that and sets the groundwork to make him a flawed figure trying to change.
He was tired, a bone-deep weariness that seemed to sap the energy and will from him. Slumped in his chair, looking at a blank, empty wall, with only the soft glow of a candle to light up the room.
Being isolated in this dark, empty room with only his own mind to occupy him was daunting. All he could think about was that he had failed. His mistakes had dogged him for some time, chasing after him like ravenous wolves, forever nipping at his heels. He had denied them over and over, hidden behind weak justifications and desperate excuses. Like a spider, he had spun a web of lies and deceit and betrayal, and now he was stuck, caught in a trap of his making.
With the death of the Yondaime, he could deny it no longer, instead, 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 of the 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 slowly and bitterly came to realize that even if his plots and plans came to fruition and he was elected Hokage, he would not live to see the outcome. He was too old, too frail, even with the unnatural arm he had gained from his shadowy dealings with Orochimaru. Thus, it became clear, if not with a bitter and darkly amusing edge, Namikaze was the best leader Konoha would get any time soon.
Danzo would also admit he was a selfish old man. It made him want to laugh, looking back on it. How many times had he fooled himself into believing his action were for 'The good of Konoha' he snorted in the silence of his room. His avarice would surely come back to bite him, of that he had no doubt. Danzo's dealings with Hanzo the Salamander had plunged Amegakure into a dark and hushed civil war. His careful manipulation of Orochimaru had led to the man's defection, instead of a new ally to help him in his mad scramble for power. Danzo smirked, all bitter regret, and dark amusement, perhaps the Sannin had seen the truth of his greed before he, himself had? Yes, he was certain that was the case.
Danzo had made a monster of the favored Snake Sage.
His stony and solemn brow shifted into a grave frown. The Kyuubi was its own problem, in another life he would have most likely moved to have the boy trained into an emotionless weapon, even now he was tempted, but his respect of Namikaze halted that idea rather quickly. It was a grave insult to a man who had done much good for Konoha. More than he had, at any rate.
Hiruzen was another complication. Trying to support him now, after almost killing him? He would most definitely be viewed with suspicion and caution. He had burned too many bridges, it seemed and now he was stranded in the shadows. A dark smile came to his face, "No different from normal, ne?" His voice echoed in the empty room.
His smile dropped, he had outlined his problems, now it was time for solutions. First, the Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki; Danzo was certain he could arrange light training and tutoring 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 slip 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. 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.
The goal was to build the boy up into a mirror image of his father, but Danzo had always been better at destruction...it would be prudent to have Fu review any training schedule he came up with for anything that could cause undue stress.
Danzo could use his ROOT ninja to support Hiruzen's ANBU wherever possible, getting caught would be difficult to explain, but if he used played off of Hiruzens not entirely inaccurate opinion of him, he would probably pass it off as Danzo being himself. It would still cast suspicion on him, but he could handle that.
He already had plans to find Tsunade, he would definitely have to go himself, which was both a pain and tricky to pull off, he hadn't left Konoha in nearly a decade after all. Unfortunately, there simply wasn't any possibility of him being able to do it by using his men as proxies.
He needed to up recruiting as well. A dangerous game, but necessary...perhaps he could pick stragglers and survivors from outside the Land of Fire?
Homura and Koharu would hopefully be able to temper Hiruzen and push him towards more balanced decisions if he talked it out with them.
What did that leave? The other Hidden Villages were a worry as well, but the remainder of his spy network would provide him some insight into that. Danzo slowly pushed himself up, out of his chair, the arrangements would be made. He would support Konoha, hopefully, the right way this time. He would make sure his old teammates were safe and sound. And he would do it all from shadows, without thanks or expectations of power and glory...as his teacher had tried to show him, and as he always should have from the beginning.