Chapter 106: Chapter 104 : Death of the War Hawk (1)
Now, about this Arc.This is actually the last Arc of Naruto. The next will start off Naruto Shippuden, and the second half of this fic.
That's right; this is only the half-way mark. As this will be a time-skip, and a lot of things will be skipped over, I will be going into detail of what happened in future chapters.
So if you are confused or upset that I didn't write out something you were waiting for, don't worry. I will be going into it all, so just be patient.
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Today, the War Hawk dies.
And today, Konoha weeps for losing a veteran. I do not hate Danzo any longer, I actually respect him. But he is now a threat to Konoha, and I cannot allow him to live any longer.
… This is one time I am loath to utter these words… the words that have left my tongue so many a time…
Death to all enemies of heaven…
...
Shimura Danzo sat on his knees, a content aura about him. He was old, too old to keep up with this shinobi world. He'd done his part in shaping his home, and he could face this threat without any doubts.
"I would like to know one thing before you start." The old war hawk's voice rang out in the forgotten Shimura hideout on the border of Hi no Kuni and the oceans that Mizu no Kuni sat on the other side of.
The hideout itself was more like a fortress, and the room he was currently in could hold a few hundred people, as it was used as a "war room" in the past. This is where Danzo sat, and he was sure that this was where he would leave this world.
He was not an arrogant, pompous fool. He knew that he made mistakes, but he realized now that even his mistakes had some meaning. The Uchiha Massacre was one of those mistakes, but because of it, Konoha would soon have a powerful Uchiha to protect the great tree.
One shinobi – a shinobi like Uzumaki – was worth a thousand deaths, and Danzo knew… he knew that the death of the entire Uchiha clan would surely forge an incredibly powerful ninja in Uchiha Sasuke.
There was doubt at first, of course. Sasuke was just an average, ordinary child who aspired to kill a man far out of his league. But now, with the assistance of a shinobi that even Danzo himself feared, he could rest easy in Hell knowing that his home, his precious jewel would be safe.
And he knew he was going to Hell. There was no place for men like him in Heaven. But that only put a smile on his face…
Because if a shinobi, a true shinobi, found himself in Heaven…
He didn't do his job right.
"How did you find me here?" He asked the question he already knew deep down.
"Isn't it obvious, Danzo?" A familiar voice rang out behind him. Usually, this voice would cause absolute fear and desperation, but now, at this very moment, this voice rang one thing in Danzo's weary ears.
Hope.
Uzumaki Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "You do know… don't you…" It wasn't a question. A humorless chuckle escaped the blond's lips. "You know… if you weren't such a fool, we could have been friends…" And he meant it. Uzumaki Naruto and Shimura Danzo only had one thing that made them different.
Understanding.
Danzo was a die-hard veteran, a man who would give his own life for his people and home. He would slit the throats of children if that was what it took to keep his home safe.
He would bite off his own tongue to keep his home's secretes out of enemy hands. He would personally set the fire that would burn down entire countries if that's what it took.
Shimura Danzo was absolutely, without a doubt, a monster, the likes of which would make the devil himself proud.
Naruto was a die-hard loyal shinobi, a ninja who would die, come back from the dead, and die again if it meant he could protect his home and his people… and he could probably actually manage that… He would paint the land with red, and dance in the blood of Konoha's enemies if it kept the village safe.
He would sacrifice his personal happiness for his home. He wouldn't just light the fire that would burn down entire countries, but he would be that fire.
Uzumaki Naruto was the very definition of a monster, the likes of which would make the devil stop and take notes.
These two men, these two shinobi… these two monsters where so similar it was scary, but they did have one difference, and that difference would take the life of one of them today.
Naruto understood. He could feel the very essence of people, and mastered emotions. Danzo thought emotions to be a hindrance, a weakness that only got in the way. That's where the latter was wrong.
There is no weakness in emotions, but strength. If one takes so much time suppressing their emotions, they can't truly reach their full potential. One is at their strongest when they are fighting for what they believe in, and without emotions, that belief is an empty excuse.
Danzo spent so much time getting rid of his emotions that he forgot what was truly important. Everything that Naruto fought for, everything that Naruto ever did in the name of his home was not to put Konoha on top of the world as the superior shinobi village. What he fought for was actually simple.
Peace.
Naruto wished for nothing more than for his home to know peace. He wasn't going to lie and say that he didn't enjoy taking the lives of the sick and twisted, or that he wasn't excited for battle, but that was his tool, his sword, a way to focus his mind on what he truly wanted.
Naruto was no idiot. He knew how the brain worked. And he knew that his mind told him that killing and slaughter was fun for the sole purpose of developing a coping mechanism. No one can possibly live the life he lived without doing so.
Danzo's coping mechanism was to be rid of his emotions entirely, and in doing so, he lost sight in what really mattered.
And he would pay for this mistake with his life.
"Give me Shisui's eye, Danzo." Naruto ordered. His voice held no contempt, just absolute authority.
"What could you possibly need that man's eye for, Uzumaki?" Danzo asked curiously.
The ROOT leader recognized the smile that found its way on the Jinchuuriki's face. With a flick of his wrist, a figure Danzo thought he'd never see again appeared by the Bringer of Hope's side, his ever-stoic expression greeting him.
A deep chuckle sounded out throughout the dark, cold, empty room. Danzo actually found this humorous. "I see…" he started.
"Then I will give you this eye and you only, Uchiha Itachi…" His amused expression faded, and a serious one took its place. "You are the only one who is worthy of it and the power it possesses…"
Danzo's aged hand reached up and removed the bandages from this head, exposing his hidden eye. There, in his socket, was Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan. Without even flinching or showing any sign that it hurt at all, Danzo tore the crimson orb from his socket, and held it out for Itachi to take.
And he did.
Itachi took his cousin's eye, the eye of the man he considered a brother, and he did something most would not expect.
He bowed.
Shimura Danzo forced Itachi to do something unforgivable, but Itachi forgave him. But Itachi was always like that. He was always the kind of person who would grant his enemies forgiveness before he sent them to their maker. And Danzo was surely going to meet whatever created him, today.
"You served Konoha for more years than Itachi and I combined, and served them diligently." Naruto began. "But you have spent too much time in the darkness.
It has consumed you, and now you are a threat to the great tree you helped safeguard."
Naruto's gilded eyes stared into Danzo's dull black, an expression Danzo knew very well within them. "No one will know of your treachery. No one will curse your name. You will not be remembered, nor forgotten. You, Shimura Danzo, will die within the shadows you have lived in your whole life." Danzo didn't say a word.
He just stared at the true shinobi that stood before him.
Danzo gave a small smile, his eyes closing shut. "In ROOT, you have no name." He began the creed of ROOT. "You have no feelings."
"You have no past." These words were said by both Danzo and a random ROOT operative who stepped out of the shadows.
"You have no future." A handful of operatives stepped out, reciting the words alongside their leader.
"There is only the mission." Danzo finished, this time with every ROOT agent who accompanied him. By now, the entire room was filled with them. "And this is the last mission you will ever receive from me." He started. He took in a deep breath.
"Uzumaki Naruto is now your leader. You will follow him, and when he needs to see, you will be his eyes. When he needs to strike, you will be his fist. You are all now his shadow… and he will guide you to where the darkness is needed, for you are the unseen ones who support the great tree of Konoha from the depths of the earth."
As his eyes closed, he could see the back of one Uchiha Sasuke. So the brothers where reunited...
Good. Now, Konoha would have two watchful dragons.
With his eyes closed, and the darkness embracing him, the face of Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared in his mind. It seemed that his old friend wouldn't let him die alone then.
'… You are the leaves bathing in the sun. I am the roots that grow in the dark… and now… be well, my friend.'
A cold blade ran across his throat, and he was gone before the first of the crimson hit the ground.
Shimura Danzo was dead.
"Sai." The wielder of the blade was at Naruto's side in an instant, his knee bent.
"Hai, shishou." Sai replied.
"Burn his body, Sharingan and all. Erase him from existence," Naruto ordered his secret student. Sai nodded. "When you're done, return to Konoha. Tell the rest of Ne that you are in charge of the division under my command. I want the Foundation ready."
"Ready for what, shishou?" He asked.
"War." Naruto answered. "ROOT is to stay the way it is, in the shadows and separate from the ANBU. I will be leaving soon, and while I'm gone, ROOT will defend Konoha from any kind of threat."
Sai saluted. "Hai, shishou, understood."
"Come Itachi, Sasuke, Gaara… We have a Hokage to report to." Naruto said. And with a golden flash, the four shinobi vanished.
The entire time, Naruto held the same expression in his eyes, never fading.
Respect.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone