They had never kept it a secret.
This, Danzo had long noted while surveying the content of the latest report his soldier had submitted.
There hadn't been an announcement. Uzumaki Kushina's developing stomach was the sole evidence.
Despite having no freedom to set foot beyond the border ever since Kushina began to show signs of pregnancy, the woman often went grocery shopping, and would stop by the Uchiha compound occasionally.
It was public knowledge to keep that intel within the village. Civilians knew when and where to blabber. Not a word of the pregnancy news was leaked beyond the village, due to dangerous prospects and the idea of causing inconvenience towards their beloved, new Hokage .
Minato had never once given Danzo the opportunity to meddle. "It's a private matter." He once shut them down, blocking any advances that could benefit the Council.
' Pity .' Danzo mused, as this was regarding Minato's spawn. The child certainly would be gifted; if authorized by Minato, it could join up the ranks of ROOT. With Minato's legacy and genetics, the child could fill in ROOT's gaps and reinforce what they lacked. It could become a loyal weapon and obey; the only issue was that it would obey Minato, not Danzo. If anything, it would spy on Danzo.
Danzo wasn't arrogant enough to think his schemes would always work smoothly; Hiruzen had become useless to him after Hiruzen had abdicated his office.
There was another matter. The Uchiha Clan had been simmering with dissent, as though they would erupt and wage civil war if left unchecked.
Danzo wasn't arrogant. He set down his brush aside, scanning his recent writings in the journal. ' Though it won't hurt to nip the Uchiha problem in the bud.' It could work if he's determined enough to materialize his plan against the Uchiha. It wouldn't be a direct battle, nevertheless, this was a particular area in which he thrived: Questionable Stratagem. To design a tactic with an obscured outcome that would eventually work in his favor somehow.
After all, Konoha wouldn't be thoroughly affected by the destruction of one clan.
The village would be filled with griefing citizens— temporary . If luck allied itself with him, their pathetic, temporary leader, Minato, would be shamed for it.
Danzo would make sure.
Perhaps he should re-evaluate his plan as it was too early. Arranged marriages and unceasing inbreeding have increased the Uchiha numbers, full of prodigious children, threats . The Uchiha issue was nowhere near trivial; they needed to be taken care of before the village met its downfall as a consequence of letting those demanding bastards live far longer than necessary.
Excessive training must be arranged for the ROOT members to prepare for the extermination. Those who survived under the extremities would fall under the category of valuable. Enough worth to take advantage of, enough anonymity to be discarded. However, it was… unrealistic, a bit optimistic on his part. ROOT should, ought to, at the very least wipe half of the number of Uchiha. He had to do more scheming to get rid of the more gifted in advance. The heir's case wouldn't be as difficult. Regardless of the few reports he'd received regarding the heir and his prodigious attribute, he's still a child all the same.
The veterans, then. He was more concerned of what method he should use, poisoning a few one by one or altogether surely would raise more than a couple eyebrows. Being one of the founding clans caused their political power to remain powerful and influential as ever, Minato undeniably would have to keep his eyes and ears open when confronted by a furious bunch, their anger simply couldn't be brushed aside with ease.
Another idea was to kill the Uchiha by ruining their reputation.
Danzo would love — salivated — to witness the clan die due to public humiliation, to lose face over fake accusations that Danzo specifically would orchestrate in order to lead them to their demise. Now, that would be fulfilling on its own.
For the sake of the plan, however, shame wouldn't be enough to weaken them. It could only last so long before another shame came to wreak havoc, resulting in their recent reputation to slowly, but surely, decrease.
In any case, it would end with him facing the loss of manpower if the Uchiha numbers remained the same.
Worst case scenario, the Uchiha would be able to catch one or a few of Danzo's soldiers, putting them under careful interrogation. Danzo would be safe thanks to the cursed seal underneath their tongues, but for how long? Especially when both Minato and Kushina were exceptional with fūinjutsu.
Especially when Danzo hadn't once veiled his distrust against the Uchiha.
All his life, he'd been open about it. He supposed being under Senju Tobirama's guidance played a major part in his disdain. It had affected Koharu and Homura too, though they weren't as committed, nor had they admitted it.
(Tobirama held respect toward Kagami despite his never-ending suspicion against the Uchiha clan. Kagami wasn't affected by the curse, was what Tobirama believed.
Danzo recognized Kagami as an exception, and he chose to bury the memories.)
Minato wouldn't be kind to let it pass. Danzo couldn't afford to slip up, and he knew Orochimaru would rather throw him under the bus despite knowing his experiments could be revealed anytime for it.
' What is it? ' Indeed, what piece was he missing? Danzo needed to bring the plan to its full extent. The clan had to go, and as a bonus, Minato should go down with the clan as well — though it shouldn't be treated as a bonus since this time around, Minato was his main target. He'd been considering the fall of the clan, and Minato just happened to fan the flames.
Now what can become the final piece to the downfall of his enemies, the final nail in their coffins?
Something, anything , to ease his shoulders.
—
Five months had passed, not a single helpful suggestion came to mind, and Danzo was getting restless .
To top it all off, one day Minato had expressed concerns regarding ROOT. "It seems, Sarutobi-san has been lenient." He indicated, files upon files of legalized, yet problematic tasks done by ROOT laid on his office desk. "I'm aware ROOT exists due to Sarutobi-san's refusal to engage in carrying out missions and businesses which would harm his benevolent image." Then, he picked off one particular paper to glance at it, before directing his gaze on Danzo. "Surely there's always a limit?"
'Limits, ' Danzo scoffed, there's no such thing in his organization. Extreme training regime was mandatory . It had always been this way, to push them to their limits in order to reach a satisfactory result. ANBU's death counts were higher than ROOT due to incompetence and unnecessary breaks. There's a reason why ROOT executed their duties well, bringing in targets' heads more than their own comrades'.
Danzo recalled Minato's warning in depth.
"Either put them under psychotherapy, or I may have to personally interfere."
' Pest .' Even Hiruzen hadn't once stuck his nose past a certain degree because ROOT was his . The entirety fell under his jurisdiction. Hiruzen had discerned his boundaries quite well, and didn't encroach upon Danzo's territory, despite his tendency to warn Danzo from time to time. At least Hiruzen tried to distinguish the difference between ANBU and ROOT.
Furthermore, Danzo knew Hiruzen wouldn't know what to do when presented with those, those ROOT children, who were too lost to function. He knew damn well Hiruzen didn't see fit to lend a hand with the purpose of repairing them. It would've been a headache, and a waste of money. Hiruzen, being the kind old man that he was, wouldn't say it for all to hear: but broken ANBU were expendable, and the same applied for ROOT.
The soldiers all had learned, swallowed, and digested that none of them owned their bodies. Successful mission accomplishment, obedience, compliance to die and destroy one's body before an enemy could trap them. These were all for the good of the village, and Minato couldn't see that?
Danzo had a suspicion that it could be related to Minato's last remaining student alive. Minato probably gained a conscience suddenly, after he lost two of his students.
Minato had no business telling him what to do. Especially when so far Minato hadn't done the same thing with ANBU, shouldn't he have fixed them first before summoning Danzo to the Hokage office for the sole purpose of change, to show mercy. What, enabling them to slack off?
Before he knew it, his hands were already moving.
"Unforgivable ." A slam on the wood desk, a small crack as the repercussion.
This, this was why. A mistake , to let someone like Minato who knew exactly how much power he had and knew how to use it, to let him rule, Hiruzen was foolish.
A plan, a plan, a plan .
—-
It was when Oni braided her hair. "Your daddy is angry," She — it? — filled Sakura in.
It wasn't as shocking as it used to. To sleep with or without the intention to meet and converse with Oni, it showed how capable Oni truly was. It was a little irritating, at first, and yet it was never boring. That her own mindscape was her only safe space, that Oni had never left her alone.
"...mmm."
Oni tugged on her hair a little, delighted when Sakura grumbled. "You should grow up fast so you can leave him you know!"
Sakura shook her head. "Leave him?" At Oni's enthusiastic 'Yes!', Sakura could only sigh. "How many times do I—"
"—you're so stupid , Sakura," Oni complained, marvelling at her work. "Your dearest daddy doesn't care about you."
"But he does!"
"Then why did he beat—"
"—daddy was angry at something—"
"—and you think that's a good reason to suffer from it?" Sakura's silence was pitiful, it was a constant denial, annoying . That stupid man didn't deserve to have Sakura's undying trust in him. "I just wish there's a way to convince you one day,"
"I believe in him."
"Mmph, that's what I thought ."
Sakura had to believe in something, after all, shouldn't that be a reason to keep on living? That she had to rely on faith, otherwise life would be really, really sad. Dull. Her goal was to make daddy happy, that she would one day prove it to him, he would never regret having her as a daughter.
"Do you know why he's mad, Oni?"
"Hm? I don't know, I mean, I can see tension all over him. That's all,"
"He barely brings me to his office these days."
"Yeah, I know, he's probably scheming." And Sakura bit her lip. It's not like she'd go out of her way to bother him.
"But… I wanna know what's bothering him."
"Yeah, It's not like there's a chance of him landing his hands on you again or anything." Oni scoffed, clenching its hands on the braid unconsciously, only realizing it when Sakura protested.
"And what can a baby like you do anyway," Oni abruptly stood up, appearing before Sakura to point its finger on her. "It's a good thing he doesn't check in on you often. He's got real issues, and you should stay away!"
Sakura stared down at her hands, studying the lines on her palms, to tighten and untighten. Then, Oni lowered its hand bit by bit, mainly confused as it expected Sakura to burst with anger.
"I don't know," She started, shaking her head. "You're right. I can't do anything,"
"So dramatic." Oni mumbled, ended with an akimbo, turning its head to look at anywhere but Sakura. "Like I said, you're still a baby, for now. You don't have to be all emotional about it,"
"...mm." Sakura nodded, blinking just as slow as tilting her head up. Then, that's when Oni felt Sakura's eyes attempting to get a good look at its face.
Oni turned its head back to her. "What are you looking at?"
"Why did you turn the other way?"
Oni's cheeks reddened, suddenly feeling… defensive. "I don't know! Ugh , I'm bad at this." It stared down at its feet.
"At what?"
Oni growled out of frustration.
"...you and your annoying questions."
—-
This wouldn't do.
As he marched back and forth to ponder, Danzo was at loss.
No amount of training would be enough. This was proven severely after a few ROOT soldiers had begun to fall within three months of the training program, the numbers gathered for the following months.
The attrition rate was concerning. Most needed to undergo medical help, many had been greatly impaired, the rest were still going strong and yet , he knew it's only a matter of time.
What was it? Would granting the trainees longer break times fix the problem? Rather, wouldn't it weaken them? Or—
" Surely there's always a limit ?"
He tossed the crane against the wall.
No, it wasn't Minato's advice that would solve it. It had to be done with Danzo's own method. There was no need to make a fool out of himself by bearing an amateur's advice in mind.
He completely underestimated, or rather, overestimated it. That he had to face losses sooner before he could use them. His expectation was too high, believing he would have enough tools by the end of the program.
If obtaining more soldiers was the precise option, that would mean allowing Minato to run the village for a few more years. Not to mention the growing numbers of the Uchiha; this was disastrous, and Danzo would be at a disadvantage.
Should he let Orochimaru in on this?
Danzo was desperate . He hadn't paid attention to the happenings in the Namikaze household; not that it mattered, the tight security gave him practically nothing to peer at. He had enough difficulties to worry about.
Speaking of paying attention, reports regarding Sakura had been practically neglected as there weren't many intriguing developments worth checking as yet. Her caretakers didn't have to do much since she wasn't a difficult child to begin with. He wondered if he should fire them instead, leaving only one to look after her, or even zero. Perhaps hiring four was overkill and could be another mistake on his part, a spoiled Rinnegan user wouldn't be a sight to behold.
He froze.
" Spoiling… " The word fled without a sound, spiralled within his mind and unconsciously chanted until the realization slapped him.
Because he himself had already spoiled her, and he was sickened of the many foolish mistakes he'd made without careful consideration.
Sakura was meant to be used.
"Yoji!"
The aforementioned ROOT agent, a rather significant one as Danzo deemed him fit to be his right hand man, soundlessly showed up. Aburame Yoji was mute; capable of employing insects to talk in order to make it seem as though it was his voice, static and monotone.
"Fire all of Sakura's nannies for me." He demanded, not once did he look at Yoji. "I will take care of her myself."
"Yes sir," Yoji saluted. He shunshined to the Shimura compound, did his task as fast as he could.
Sakura was eating her meal in peace. A temporary peace that had to be shattered when one of Danzo's Root agents fired the women who were looking after her.
She couldn't even pout because she was that upset. ' Who's going to make my food now? ' She wondered, ignoring her inkling suspicion on the possibility of having to starve in the near future because her Daddy might tell her to and she would listen to him, always , even though it might hurt her.
As she watched them getting dragged out, Danzo arrived in front of her with a small, ten year old boy who had shoulder-length, straight gray hair and black eyes.
"Shin will be tutoring you on how to read and write, as well as teaching you the 12 hand signs. Study well."
Shin smiled. "Nice to meet you, Shimura Sakura. I'm Shin."
Sakura looked between Danzo and Shin, and nodded.
"Okay!"
And learned she did. To comprehend basic education for her age over the following months at a rapid pace, and she flourished .
—-
It occurred during the tutoring sessions.
As earthquake broke out across the village, rattling the compound, and a few properties shattered to the ground. With a crayon escaping Sakura's crayon and a miniscule, but visibly widening eyes, it invoked an emotion within her inner space.
Fear.
She felt Shin's hands on her to lift her up before she could scream. He was on alert, prepared to flee with a primary intent to protect.
Danzo slammed open the door to the room.
"Shin, I'm taking her with me." Danzo grabbed Shin's shoulder and threw him off Sakura. He picked her up and held her over his waist.
"Danzo-sama—"
"The Kyūbi." Shin's eyes widened only a miniscule, back straight as he stood for a command.
Danzo narrowed his eyes at Shin for visibly flinching under a spine-chilling scream and eerily halted, possibly crushed under a pile of waste that was once a part of his property. "Locate your team and avoid triggering suspicion—" He stopped speaking, interrupted by the demon's earsplitting roar.
"I expect subtle work as usual." He clicked his tongue after he felt Sakura trembled. "Execute each task well."
With a silent bow before he took off, Shin furrowed his eyebrows at the chaos before him. Fists tightening, a deep breath to repress his fear.
Danzo was one step away from moving when Sakura started to wail , a growing anger building up all over him yet he chose to close his eyes.
He pinched on her arm, holding his hand with a little more strength on her wrist when she wouldn't stop whimpering.
"Enough."
She froze, eyeing him up in silence.
He took it as a cue to get going before he too could end up beneath a pile of construction fragments.
To be continued. (Please comment/review!)
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Also, you can read the Rest of this story, by googling "Sakura's Rinnegan Ao3" and reading in Ao3, please comment there as well!
