Chapter 178 - 176: There's Love In The Air

"So she is back?" Danzō murmured, feeling a little apprehensive but also looking forward to it a little bit.

The game was finally beginning, and even if the odds were stacked against him, there was something almost exhilarating about facing an opponent who could actually end him.

"Yes," the ANBU kneeling before him replied, his voice completely emotionless. "We didn't know exactly when she returned, but this morning, Lord Fourth Hokage went to her office and summoned Shikoku-sama, Orochimaru-sama, and Tajima-sama."

With her Flying Raijin, Azula could come and go without anyone knowing, and reporting on her movements was nearly impossible because at her level, she could sense anyone who so much as glanced in her direction.

But there were ANBU stationed in the Hokage mansion whose sole role was to record who entered, when they entered, and when they left, and the operative kneeling before Danzō was specifically from that unit.

Danzō had gone to great lengths to bring him under his control, and even if the arrangement came with certain conditions, having someone who could monitor Azula's movements was worth every ounce of trouble.

'Such a pity she came back so fast.' Danzō sighed internally. As of now, he had only planted the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on five operatives because he had been cautious, though each of those five held positions of significant utility to his long-term plans.

He briefly considered accelerating the process but immediately discarded the idea.

Even if he controlled the entire ANBU, clashing with Azula head-on would still result in his certain defeat, and accelerating the operation would dramatically increase the risk of exposure, which was the last thing he wanted regardless of the scenario.

"Okay," he finally replied. "Continue as before, but next time, don't come in person. Send a hidden message."

He hadn't had time to fully integrate his operatives into Azula's new administration, and now that she was back, having them report to him directly was far too risky.

The ANBU nodded and vanished without a sound, as if he had never been there at all.

•••

•••

"I never thought power could corrupt a battle-hardened shinobi this much." Sakumo watched Danzō sinking further into his own grave and couldn't help but sigh.

At the time of the summit, Azula had publicly announced that Sakumo's presence in her delegation would make Danzō more timid during her absence, but in reality, he had returned a few seconds after they left the village at all.

He had been hidden the entire time, surveiling Danzō more thoroughly than even Tajima, the Uchiha and the police force could manage.

And it was precisely because of this close observation that he felt genuine pity for the man.

Danzō had been the Second Hokage's disciple, had fought alongside the Third Hokage through one war, had led the village's shadow operations for a decade, and yet somewhere along the way, he had become greedy for power and control, all under the flimsy pretext of serving the village.

It wasn't that Sakumo had never seen people corrupted by power. He saw it in nearly every mission, at every level of the shinobi world.

But for someone of Danzō's stature to fall so completely, that was rare. So rare that Danzō was the only example he could think of in all of Konoha.

Sakumo waited until the ANBU's chakra signature had completely faded before he moved. A few minutes later, he was standing in front of Azula.

"—and that's the last of his movements," he finished, delivering his report before her desk.

Azula nodded. Danzō's movements were exactly what she had expected.

She began reading through Sakumo's written reports, starting with the five ANBU operatives Danzō now controlled and the methods he had used to ensnare them.

The pattern was immediately obvious: each of them had a clear weakness, and that weakness was family. Their attachment to the people they loved had been turned into a leash.

Normally, the ANBU only recruited elite operatives who had no family ties to exploit, like future versions of Kakashi, Shisui, Yamato, or Minato.

But there were always exceptions for those with exceptional talent and utility, like Itachi.

And every one of Danzō's targets had something extraordinary about them that made them worth the risk.

Kageyama, the former ANBU Commander, was a perfect example. He did have a family, but his strength was beyond question. There was a reason he had risen to command the entire organization.

"Danzō is really playing with fire," Azula said, closing the report. "What do you think about this whole situation?"

"I think, um..." Sakumo paused, choosing his words carefully. "It would be better to resolve these problems internally, without anyone from the outside knowing."

He thought about the panic it would cause. "If the villagers were to learn that the former Hokage's Advisor placed a seal that can control and kill someone at the mere mention of his name, it would cause widespread panic and might make them lose confidence in the entire leadership."

Azula nodded, acknowledging his point. "Indeed, if things were to leak, it would cause panic."

Then she smiled. "But what does it have to do with me if they lose confidence? In the first place, it was a mistake made by a high-level official placed above them, someone who abused his authority. That has nothing to do with me."

"Whether it's Danzō, Hisashi, or any of their followers who acted consciously and without threat, they are real, and they won't be the last. Where there are people, there will always be dissatisfaction. The only thing I can do is warn everyone about their eventual ending. And that warning isn't delivered by resolving things quietly behind closed doors. It's delivered by bringing everything into the open so their names can be shunned for generations and taught at the academy for decades as examples of what happens to those corrupted by power or greed."

Sakumo smiled bitterly, not because he disapproved of her handling, but because he was once again struck by the difference in philosophy between them.

He had been trying to solve the immediate problem without creating new ones, the way any competent shinobi would.

Azula was approaching it from the perspective of a Hokage, always viewing things from a higher vantage point and thinking decades ahead.

Though he also knew there was another layer to it: Azula wanted to drag Hiruzen down even further through Danzō's public disgrace. But those two goals didn't contradict each other in the slightest.

"Okay," he admitted. "I was thinking too simply about it."

But he didn't dwell on the admission. "When do you plan to deal with him, then?"

"Soon," Azula replied. "At the latest, within a month. If things move normally, probably within the week."

She looked at Sakumo with a smile that was almost warm. "You must have spent a great deal of energy these past few days. You can take a vacation now. I wouldn't want someone to say I'm using you like a puppet that never gets exhausted."

Sakumo blinked, trying to process how the conversation had shifted from discussing a potential coup to being teased about his time off. But this was Azula, and by now, he had mostly gotten used to it.

Still, speaking of time off, even though it had only been five days since he'd last seen her, Sakumo couldn't help but recall the woman who had been introduced to him before the mission began.

"I will use these days very wisely," he replied, his tone as steady and emotionless as ever. But Azula couldn't help but feel there was something slightly off about his response. She let it go, though. Everyone had their secrets, and Sakumo was entitled to his.