Prologue - Changing Minds

In his youth, Shimura Danzo liked reading stories. They were how he was able to understand the world that wasn't tied to the fighting and killing and backstabbing that dominated the life of being a ninja. It fascinated him, the world beyond his. How interesting the lives of people could be despite all of it revolving around stakes that almost seemed so small to him.

These people weren't worrying about whether their home would be destroyed in the next war, or if the rival clan that they worked with would betray them. No, their concerns were whether the little stall they put up would succeed and if it would make enough for them to feed their families at the end of each day. It wasn't world-ending for everyone, but it could be world-ending for them.

It let him see the village in a different light, and reminded him of what he was fighting for.

At the same time, Danzo knew that he had to take the stories with a grain of salt. You couldn't expect everyone's lives to be as colorful and dramatic as the stories made them out to be, after all. Danzo had also read the ninja epics. Tales of the great Sages, of the brothers, and the destinies that supposedly bound them. And while he knew that he was fortunate enough to live among legends, not everyone was Senju Hashirama or Tobirama, nor were they expected to be.

As such, Danzo never really thought he'd be the type to have chance encounters with phenomenally important people and have potentially life-changing conversations with them. It didn't seem like he was the type of person to experience such… serendipity.

Despite that, here he was in an Izakaya that he went to after a hot debate with his long-time friend and more-often-than-not-rival, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and sharing a cup of tea with the wealthiest man in the village as they both looked out the window and contemplated the rain that almost never fell on Konohagakure.

"So," the older man asked after taking a sip, blond hair brushing the collar of his rich-looking robes. "What is it about this village that you feel is so worth protecting?" He turned away briefly to whisper something to a passing server, a young woman with bright green eyes and pink hair who skipped off to see the man's request.

Danzo knew what to say to that. He'd thought about it every time he'd worked on his plans.

"Konohagakure is our home, Namikaze-dono. We're safe here, a far cry from the time of the warring clans."

At this Namikaze Gendo laughed. "I was there, you know. I saw the alliance form and I was there to see this village built." He raised a hand to gesture to the view before them, the sprawling cityscape of Konoha could be seen from the izakaya that sat on the slope of the hills that lead towards Kinenhi-zan. "But you're describing a fortress, not a village. Is that all?"

No, no it wasn't.

"Kosuke-san sells some of the best sandals I've ever seen. He moved to Konoha with his grandchildren when the village was built." Danzo remembered his father taking him to see the elderly shoemaker in the weeks leading up to his attending the academy. He still went there whenever he needed something replaced or repaired. "He'd not been able to find anywhere to settle permanently until the walls of Konoha were built. Kosuke-san lost both of his sons as the clans were warring.

"I remember Mitsuko-san telling me one time about how she'd always dreamed of owning a teashop, but she'd never gotten the chance until she'd come to the village just before the Great War started." Danzo found himself turning around to look at the plump older woman with red hair and brown eyes that seemed to glow. She was speaking with the servant girl that had spoken to Namikaze earlier and they were sharing a laugh. 'I love coming here. The food is good and the atmosphere is calming. It reminds me of home."

A home Danzo no longer really had. His father and grandfather were dead. His mother was still there, but she wasn't going to be for much longer, and he had no siblings or cousins left. The Shimura clan seemed determined to wipe itself out from either overwork or self-sacrifice.

There were other stories still to tell though. Danzo told Namikaze of other people he had met, ninja and civilians whose lives had been changed by being a part of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. How being a part of the great tree had brought them stability and a chance to carve out a bit of happiness for themselves.

Namikaze nodded, seemingly satisfied. "And you're willing to give up what to protect this village?"

And that had been the crux of this discussion, and the main topic of the argument he'd had with Hiruzen before coming here. This had been a very easy question for Danzo to answer just earlier that day.

"Everything." That was the short answer. "We ninja are living weapons. We have the potential to be the most powerful weapons in the world. Our first two Hokage have proven that. But we're still human, and that's our biggest weakness."

"So you'd give up your humanity?"

"Dying is easy." Danzo replied. "Having the courage to face death when asked to is harder. Wouldn't it be easier if fear wasn't an obstacle anymore? Or doubt?"

"And you'd have everyone else in the village do the same?"

"In the defense of Konoha, yes. Shouldn't we all play our part?"

"Tell me then, Shimura-san," Namikaze Gendo replied with ultramarine eyes glinting with something that unnerved Danzo. The older man clapped his hands as he continued. "What happens when you've bled this village dry of all its heart and turned all its people into weapons to serve your wars? What would be left of that which you wished to protect?

"What of Kosuke-san and Mitsuko-san? Do you think they'd still be the people you wish to protect if they no longer felt love for their children or the hunger to chase their dreams?"

At this Danzo blinked. Once again he turned to the table that Mistuko Mika was seated at, looking at her speaking with some of the regulars that had been on their way out. He'd known her for years now and had been coming by to eat here even during the height of the war if he wasn't out on the field. He couldn't imagine her without the vibrant optimism and that quiet determination that he took inspiration from to keep his head above the water as he faced the death of his family.

"You never thought about it, did you?" Danzo snapped back to look at Namikaze who now looked at him with something softer. "You thought of the sacrifices asked of you and your clan, and thought that it would be easier to not fear than to seek out the courage needed to face death."

The man gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder. For a civilian, Namikaze Gendo was a strong man, Danzo realized. He'd been almost shoved from his seat.

"Your heart is in the right place, I think, Shimura-san. This village is very much worth protecting, and we're going to need to make sacrifices to do that." Danzo was reminded of the last time he saw Senju Tobirama alive near the end of the war.

"Just don't get so caught up in the fight that you forget what it is you're fighting for."

Namikaze left after that. Danzo saw him walk over to Mitsuko Mika to settle the bill and exchange pleasantries then walked to the door. Before vanishing into the rainy twilight, the last thing Danzo saw of the wealthiest man in Konoha was the three vertical slash marks that were embroidered onto the back of his haori, sigil of the Namikaze clan.

"He likes doing that." said a voice from behind him. Danzo could hear the smile in it. "Getting the last word in then leaving before anyone can do anything about it."

Danzo looked to see the serving girl with bright green eyes. She was holding a plate with almost ten sticks of dango.

"Namikaze-dono already left."

She tilted her head to the side, her hair seemed to bounce with the movement. "Who said it was for him?" She grinned. "Namikaze-sama thought you could use something sweet before you left. This is on him."

"That's a lot of dango for one person though." Danzo noted, "Are you busy right now, Nabiki-san?"

Mitsuko Nabiki gave the izakaya an exaggerated once-over, both teens seeing how it was almost empty and those that were left were already being seen to by the rest of the staff.

"I think I can spare a moment, Shimura-kun. May I join you? I think I'd like something sweet, myself."

Danzo sent the girl a smirk and gestured to the seat that Namikaze Gendo had vacated.

Remembering why Konoha was worth protecting, huh. He'd supposed he'd have to keep that in mind.

Welcome to the rewrite of my old fic, Rikudo. Amusingly enough, that was also a rewrite of the very first fic I ever put on the site, Prince of Rain. After a few years, and going back to check on the first iteration of Rikudo, I've decided I want to give this piece another shot. This time with a smaller visible scope (just focusing on our listed characters with the very rare interludes with other people, and just accepting that I can't really show everything happening in the background as it happens without making this too big to follow for both myself and anyone reading.

Also, I feel like I've grown enough as both a writer and a person to keep at this.

So far, I've got up to the fourth chapter done in drafts on my end, and I'll be trying to maintain a buffer of at least that much, and I have both the first two arcs or so already planed out, so I don't need to worry about running out of material for the near future.

The tentative plan is to update once every two weeks, so has to make sure I have time to both work on new chapters, and go through the old drafts before uploading them.

Going to make it my goal to maintain a steady pace while building a decent buffer, as I'm mostly doing this as a writing exercise for myself to keep it practiced.

Hope you guys enjoy the ride, and hope to see you next chapter.