Danzo sits silently on the stone of the Hokage mountain, looking past the village into the distance. There is much to contemplate. While the sun set hours ago, the stone beneath him still radiates warmth, though soon not even that will remain. At times, this seems a fitting comparison for Konoha. Under the might of Hashirama and Tobirama she was the unquestioned leader of the shinobi world, a beacon of warmth and power. None dared go against her. But now, as night fell, was she merely reflecting borrowed heat, like the sun warmed stones after dusk? Danzo has always prided himself on his unbiased world view and ability to accurately read events. He has never been a lackwit, jumping behind the leader du jour.
But, there is something different about Uchiha Shisui. The boy, though at this point perhaps he deserves to be called a young man, has a strength of will that Danzo is not used to. And, unlike previous village leaders, he is not unduly burdened by an overabundance of morals. The Uchiha, surprisingly enough, knows not all battles can be won. And he is practical enough to compromise for the greater good. While the boy—young man—is still overly attached to his birth family, Danzo doubts it will take more than one betrayal to sort him out.
For the first time since Danzo took up his role as advisor to the Hokage, he thinks he might have found someone with the ability to bring Konoha to its full potential. Night may have set on the shinobi world, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. After all, shinobi operate best at night. And for the first time, Konoha has a Hokage with the potential to fully embrace the essence of that title. A leader who truly embraces the shadows and the night.
Even still, he thinks, there are obstacles to overcome. Shisui, for all his potential still doesn't trust Danzo enough. While he is willing to listen and act on Danzo's suggestions, he is still not quite willing to fully commit. Nothing that Danzo can't work on over time, and even this opening is far more than Minato had ever given him. However, Danzo fears time might be running out. Even increasing their utilization of the military police and ANBU, they remain dangerously low on personnel. Between the war and the Kyuubi attack, they lost an entire generation. Now with back to back missions for most jonin it's a miracle they haven't lost more. Something that Danzo realizes is mostly thanks to Uchiha Shisui's insistence on personally handling all jonin assignments and his almost supernatural skill at accurately predicting exactly how much a given asset can take breaking.
But even with all this, it's only a matter of time. The other villages circle them like wolves. And while Hatake might have managed to weed out most of their agents from within the village, it would be the height of hubris to assume they had caught them all. And even beyond that… Danzo can sense there is something else moving. His informants are becoming cagey and he recently lost contact with the close to ten who had been observing the rebel force turned mercenary group Akatsuki.
If Konoha is to weather the coming storm, they will all need to be ready. And so, despite all his hope and the potential he sees in Shisui, Danzo is scared. If given time, Shisui has the potential to be the most powerful Hokage Konoha has ever seen, but Danzo knows that time is the last thing they have. And much as it pains him to think on it, Danzo must force Shisui's growth.
First among Shisui's weaknesses is his cousin. It isn't hard to trace his leniency towards the Uchiha to the boy. Uchiha Itachi has always been an interesting case. His ability as a ninja is unparalleled by any Danzo has ever met. His innate talent for death is only matched by a keen analytical mind on par with the Naara. In fact, it was these traits that first drew Danzo to the boy. But, as has quickly become clear, there is more to the boy than this. He has too much sway over the Hokage. If Danzo didn't know better, he would think Shisui trusted Itachi more than Shisui trusted himself. He can think of numerous instances when he and Shisui discussed a course of action, without Itachi present, only to have Shisui change his mind after the briefest time alone with the boy. Itachi, Danzo realizes, represents the single greatest threat to Shisui and thus to Konoha. And yet, there is nothing he can do about this.
The next day, Danzo still doesn't know how to proceed. He cannot move against Itachi without alienating and possibly destroying Shisui. For all that Itachi represents a very serious liability, he is also, for the moment, the emotional linchpin to Shisui's psyche. And, despite all his grand declarations the night before, there are many more pressing concerns for the village. Not the least of which being how to replace an entire generation of jonin in less than a decade. Between Hiruzen's softening of the academy curriculum and insistence on setting a minimum graduation age, they barely turned out eighteen genin a year. And that was if they were lucky enough to have three full teams of acceptably competent students per semester.
While their overall enrollment has actually increased since the end of the war, in no small part to civilians taking advantage of the free schooling, the chunin advancement rate has been plummeted. Every year the average skill of the first-year students continues to fall. Just looking at an academy practice session, it is easy to separate the chaff from the wheat. Although all classes share the practice yard, he finds it nearly impossible to tell a student's year from displayed competence alone. Bloodlines tend breed true and in his experience, pedigree seems to be a far better indication of likely skill than years before graduation. This is especially true of those classes practicing now he thinks as he watches a civilian third year fail to even hold her kunai correctly. Knowing the current curriculum, she was likely advanced on test scores alone.
The Hyuuga second year is a prime example of his point. While the boy still has several years before he will be old enough to graduate he already shows more promise than most civilian genin ever will. He already shows more spatial awareness than anyone else his age. In fact, the longer Danzo watches, the more he realizes the boy may eventually be on the same level of Itachi or Hatake. His technical skill and dedication are apparent even from this distance.
Absentmindedly, Danzo tries to search out Uchiha Itachi's younger brother. Sasuke. It takes him a few minutes to finally pin him down. Unlike most of his class of first years, he isn't even attempting to pay attention to the instructor. Instead, he and the Kyuubi host appear to be engaged in some sort of private argument. Danzo glances over at the instructor to see the man hasn't even noticed his students clear lack of attention. Danzo sighs, though he doesn't know if he is more upset by the failing school system or the absolute waste of potential that is Uchiha Sasuke. Fugaku and Itachi both coddle the child too much. Granted, if rumors hold true, Uchiha Itachi no longer has as much influence with the boy, unwelcome as he seems to be in his parents' home.
Looking back at the child, Danzo shakes his head. It truly is a shame how strong willed the Uchiha are. Their raw power is second only to the Senjuu and yet they refuse to work for the greater good of the village, too wrapped up in their own delusions of grandeur. They lack the temperament to truly become great. Take Uchiha Sasuke. The child easily has as much potential as his older brother. More in fact taking into account his raw chakra. Yet despite this, his lack of discipline or drive caused him to stagnate. Where Itachi excelled at every task put before him, Sasuke seems content to coast, more concerned with his classmates than with unlocking his true potential. For a moment Danzo wishes that the Uchiha had tried to rebel and had been put down as the threat they are, that he had managed to get sole custody of the boy. He doubts the child's obstinance would have lasted long. He could have turned the boy into something far greater than his brother could ever hope to be. But dwelling on such impossibilities is useless. And now, with Uchiha Shisui, well—he could hardly have wished for a better outcome. The young man is not him and has still has so much to learn, not to mention certain vulnerabilities to be patched, and yet he manages to combine talent, ruthlessness and charisma in a way that makes others want to help him. Danzo is mature enough to admit that, given the right guidance, Uchiha Shisui will make a better Hokage than even he himself could.
It isn't until late evening at Danzo has the time to check in on Shisui again. Between meetings with intelligence assets and working with ANBU to pave the way for Shisui's proposed pivot to external facing missions, he hasn't had the time to determine the specific actionable items necessary to transition the military police into the primary village defense force. No matter how simple the idea is on paper, it will represent a monumental shift in village policy and should not be initiated without thought.
Unfortunately, as luck would have it, Shisui is himself elsewhere when Danzo comes by. He arrives to find the Hokage office occupied only by the man's shadow. Uchiha Itachi regards him impassively, not bothering to hide the fact that he had been caught going through classified files on the Hokage's desk. While Danzo has long suspected Uchiha Itachi's role has been more active than Shisui always implies, this is the first time he has seen irrefutable proof. He regards the boy silently for several long minutes, half wondering if he will acknowledge him. Eventually, once it becomes clear that Shisui isn't likely to return any time soon and the boy is content to ignore him in favor of the files he's studying, Danzo decides to engage him.
He walks over silently, half-wondering if Uchiha Itachi is still ignoring him or if he really is so focused on the documents that he doesn't sense Danzo's presence. Gently, he places his hand on the boy's shoulder to get his attention. The boy is small. Danzo always manages to forget how very young Uchiha Itachi is. If not for the war, the child would likely have just managed to graduate from the academy. "Itachi," he says when the boy ignores his touch, failing even to tense as he normally would. The boy does not respond and so he removes his hand and steps around to the front of the desk so he is facing the boy directly.
"Captain," he tries again, "report." The boy continues to ignore him. Danzo wonders what has gotten into him. The boy never liked him, but he has never been so overtly disrespectful either. Perhaps Uchiha Shisui has been trying to encourage independence? Danzo wishes Shisui would understand that leaders cannot afford friends. His ninja were tools and should be treated as such. They were assets to be used and discarded as needed. It was critical they understand their place or the whole of society would crumble. One could not afford to befriend a kunai any more than they could a ninja. Separating the two Uchiha would be beneficial for both of them.
Realizing that in this mood, no amount of orders will work, he says in a pleasant voice, "I saw Sasuke at the academy today." The boy's shoulders tense, but he gives no more indication that he heard Danzo's words. "He looked to be doing about as well as one might expect stuck in the academy." The boy is trying so hard not to appear interested. Danzo wonders how long it has been since he last saw his brother. Several weeks most likely. He has heard from multiple sources that the boy avoids his childhood home and even most of the Uchiha district as much as he can. "However," he continues, "with the right training his potential may even outshine your own, Itachi."
"Don't you dare touch him." Itachi's voice is quiet, but the level of killing intent is more than Danzo had expected, even knowing how protective he is of the boy. His eyes are spinning red as they stare at Danzo, and he cannot help but smile.
"I hear your parents have been very busy plotting treason. Is that true, child?" Itachi glares at him defiantly, but he isn't quite willing to push Danzo further.
"Leave my brother out of this," he says by way of answer. And isn't that unhelpful. Danzo should have predicted that even implied threats to Sasuke would make Itachi annoyingly willful.
"What are the Uchiha planning," Danzo says again, his tone cold. "I know your mother speaks of treason to any with a willing ear within the compound. How much of your clan follows her words?"
Itachi stares him in the eyes for another few moments before looking down, defeated. "I haven't been on speaking terms with my mother for some time now. She has made it very clear that neither I nor the Hokage are welcome within the compound." He hesitates slightly before continuing, "I have been avoiding them and their power plays."
Danzo nods slowly. "I see. That is just as well," he says, "I've heard that Uchiha Mikoto has considered having you removed if you interfere with her plans." Itachi tenses at that and Danzo realizes the boy must care more for his family than he had thought.
"She would never do that," Itachi says, though even Danzo can hear the lack of conviction in the boy's voice.
Not that it truly matters either way. In fact, if the Uchiha matriarch were to act so rashly, it would only tie up a number of troublesome loose ends. With Itachi out of the way and the Uchiha showing their inherent untrustworthiness, he doubted even Uchiha Shisui's loyalty to his family would be enough to save them.
"What did you want, sir," the boy asks, all signs of resistance hidden beneath a mask of impassivity. Danzo wonders if the child is still loyal enough to kill his family if ordered or if he would go behind Danzo's back to Shisui.
Even so, while Uchiha Itachi wasn't who he had initially wanted, he could still prove useful. As a clan child, and the Uchiha heir no less, he had access not even Danzo was privy to. "I need intel on the Hyuuga. My sources tell me there is unrest within—" he stop when he notices Itachi's mouth twitch. The insolence the boy manages to convey with barely a movement would be impressive if it wasn't so frustrating. "—there is an unusual amount of unrest between the branches."
The boy remains silent for several moments after Danzo stops talking before looking into the distance behind Danzo's shoulder and asking, "What do you want from me, sir?"
"Propose to their spare, the second born child. I need someone inside the clan to report back on their actions." They will, of course, know he is a spy, likely before the first meeting. At this point, marriage proposals between clans are equal parts politics and espionage.
"They will not confide in me," the boy says, though Danzo suspected the shock in his voice had more to do with the youth of the girl than concerns for the mission's difficulty.
"Do they need to for you to do your job, agent?"
Itachi stares at him in disbelief. "We are talking about the Hyuuga. Not even Sharingan can overcome the Byakugan. If they do not wish something to be known, not even I will know it."
"Then talk to the children. You of all people should understand that they see more than most."
Itachi meets his eyes. "You would have me interrogate children? Does the Hokage know of your plan?"
Danzo shrugs again. He never told the boy to interrogate them, though if that was how he wanted to get the information, Danzo didn't truly see any reason it wouldn't work, as long as he was neat about it and cleaned up his messes. "How you choose to go about obtaining the information is up to you. As long as—"
Itachi shakes his head. "No. I will not do this. Not without written orders from the Hokage. You do not have the authority to order this. There are agents better suited to this mission. Hyuuga agents who would not have any trouble reporting to you, if the Hokage ordered it."
Danzo manages to control his anger. How dare the boy refuse him. While ANBU technically reported directly to the Hokage, Danzo has long stood as the group's unofficial commander. Uchiha Itachi has long been overly concerned with morality, but he has never before let it get in the way of completing a mission. For a moment, Danzo even wishes the child was more like Shisui, able to accept that the greater good requires sacrifice from time to time. But no, he realizes. The Uchiha prodigies, while similar in some respects, operate on two entirely different levels. Uchiha Shisui is a leader of men, able to take on the sins necessary to keep the village safe. Uchiha Itachi is a soldier, destined to live and die in the service of the village, useful not for what he thinks but for what he can do when properly wielded.
Deciding that there is no point in further argument, Danzo leaves the office. He has more important plans to set in motion. He thinks he might have found a way to solve two of the villages problems at once. Quickly, he walks back to his office and pens a careful missive. Then, as the messenger wings its way to the capital, Danzo smiles.