Dan asked, "So are you going to vote for us?
Hiruzen thought about it for a second and then said, "Yes, I am. I am more worried about how other recipients of the letter would react."
Dan replied, "Don't worry about them. As long as ANBU is on duty to protect us, they cannot attack us.
Hiruzen replied, "Yes, I will protect you for as long as I can. But this move will open you to a world of ugly politics, and many new and old enemies will be out for your blood from now on."
Hiruzen then said, "You know it too. When this licence was given to his father, many ninja and noble clans disappeared without a trace. I don't know what he offered to the last Daimyo to give him that privilege. Since then, no one has ever challenged his authority. Danzo, much like his father, is too intelligent to give away any evidence that could be used against him. He also makes sure that his business never conflicts with Daimyo's interests, and as a result, Daimyo does not take any action to interfere with him."
Dan closed his eyes and remembered the bloody history he survived that the rest of his family couldn't. All he has now is Ryu, but he cannot back down, as it would be going against Ryu's dreams. He wants to keep things quiet, but for the sake of Ryu's dreams, he is willing to take risks.
Hiruzen continued, "This time people will be wary. Not just Ninja clans but the nobles of the Fire Country; they will either try to make you serve them or suppress you before you gain too much power."
Dan opened his eyes and said, "Last time you were at my house, you asked me to be your backup plan. Now is your opportunity; Ryu is playing a long game, a game only he knows the ending of. If he succeeds, the world as you know it will change, and it will change for the better. You can count on him."
Hiruzen said, "I know. But be ready for the storm that comes after this."
The scene shifts to the underground lair of the Ninja division known as the root ANBU. There was an open envelope and a kunai on the desk near that envelope. The letter from the envelope was in his hand.
You seem troubled, "Danzo-sensei".
Looking in the shadows, Danzo saw a ninja come out. It was Tatsuma Aburame, one of the kids Danzo had taught. In all his life he kept on rejecting kids, as he deemed them unworthy of his time. But he was the first kid that passed his test. He did the opposite of what Kakashi expects from his students. He used his teammates as bait and successfully got both the bells. Danzo taught him everything and made him his right-hand man. He was ruthless and would go to any lengths for the sake of the mission, much like his sensei.
After reading the letter completely, Danzo put the letter on the table and then said, "Tatsuma."
Tatsuma Aburame asked, "Is something wrong in the letter?"
Danzo said, "Read it."
Tatsuma read the letter from the Daimyo and then put this letter back on the table.
Then Danzo picked up the kunai he used to open the letter and stabbed the letter. He said, "I want Dan Hamura and his grandson dead, and I want you to personally do it. First I will kill his grandson and watch him suffer like the last time."
"Last time someone tried to do something similar, they paid the price. I guess they forgot the history. I want you to make it obvious that it was us, painfully obvious, but also leave enough doubts that they could not point fingers at me. Like always."
Tatsuma replied, "Lord Danzo, he is too well protected. There is round-the-clock ANBU security, and the kid and his grandfather both have become high-value assets for the village, and the ANBU protection has been increased after the bounty was issued on Dan Hamura's head."
Danzo replied, "Even then we must do this. Hamura has crossed the line that no one has dared in the last 50 years."
Tatsuma said, "There is a way we can achieve it and even put blame on others on the surface. Everyone with influence will later find out that we are involved, but they will have no proof."
Danzo asked, "How?"
Tatsuma said, "You remember that Kabuto kid?"
Danzo replied, "Brat from Nono Yakushi's orphanage."
Tatsuma replied, "Yes, him. Not only medical ninjutsu; he was very good at espionage. Therefore, I assigned him to Cloud Village. Apparently, he provided me some valuable information."
Danzo asked, "What did he learn?"
Tatsuma said, "The Hamura clan – there is so much chatter about this clan in the entire ninja world, not just the Leaf and Cloud but other nations and ninja villages as well. I guess that is to be expected when you are a fuinjutsu grandmaster with five new seals credited to you in less than a year's timeframe."
Danzo asked, "What is the chatter?"
Tatsuma replied, "Raikage has issued a decree that a bounty may be issued on the kid as soon as he graduates. It looks like he is also worried about this kid's potential. But since he is still in the academy, he did not officially issue a bounty on him."
Danzo said, "That is logical. I would have also done the same if I were him."
Tatsuma replied, "But apparently some people cannot wait that long."
Danzo stared at him and asked, "The rival factions have taken action just like the last time?"
Tatsuma replied, "Yes, Onnen has made his move."
Danzo thought, "That bastard son of the Second Raikage! First Khushina, then the Hyuga princess, and now the Hamura kid."
Tatsuma continued and said, "He and his followers are planning something. They cannot wait for the kid to graduate. And they are putting together a team to kidnap the kid or eliminate him."
Danzo looked at his subordinate and asked, "Have you established channels to feed information as well?"
Tatsuma replied, "Yes, sensei."
Danzo said, "Good, keep listening to chatter and be ready to leak information as soon as there is an opportunity."
Tatsuma said, "As you wish, sensei."
Danzo then said, "Hiruzen will not send him alone and will send a few ANBU. Make sure to leak information on them as well. Let the cloud village deal with this problem."
He thought, 'Hiruzen's ANBU also needs to pay the price for him not siding with me on this matter.'
Danzo looked at Tatsuma and said, "This may be a chance for us to see the famed Jisatsu Squad under Onnen's control. When it happens, gather every piece of information you can and that [Jisatsu Seal] this Onnen is proud of. Try to capture someone alive from that squad and see if we could copy it."
Tatsuma replied, "Yes, sensei."
Danzo then said, "But make sure that the boy dies even if you have to do this by yourself. We cannot leave it to the Cloud Ninja or up to luck. And under no circumstances should they be allowed to capture the boy alive; it is imperative that he be eliminated. He is of Uzumaki lineage. If they captured him alive, then the future jinchuriki of Cloud Village will become more powerful. They already have a method to make perfect jinchuriki with high success rates. The Uzumaki lineage will make it worse."
Tatsuma said, "The boy will definitely die."
With that, Tatsuma left, leaving Danzo alone in the underground bunker.
Danzo thought, 'Hiruzen, you asked me to stay away from Hamura. But after this attempt to try to disrupt the fragile power balance of the village, I cannot sit idle. Dan Hamura is hiding too much. You trust him, but I don't. I cannot let a new power rise in the village that could come in the way of my doing things.'
At the same time, Ryu was also opening another letter. Apparently, it was the day of letters. This one was from Ikkyu.
It read as follows:
...................
Hello, my friend Ryu,
First of all, thank you for the solar power tech. My entire mansion lights up at night using it, and it was just awesome to be the first one to have such technology.
Sorry I couldn't reply sooner. I waited for the work of the solar roof to complete before I could ask my father for what you requested. He was very much impressed by your tech and also the way you treated my sister. He has agreed to give you a chance. He has given out a few letters to his advisors and asked for their opinions. Most of them are from prominent ninja clans, like the founding clans, like Uchiha and Senju, and a few others and a few ministers.
I have already talked this out with the ministers and already convinced them to vote for you, but the Ninja clans are beyond me right now.
Now everything is up to luck. I hope the replies my father receives are in your favour.
Even if they are not, I will try to cut out a deal.
Let's hope for the best.
I couldn't come because I am busy talking with the ministers. I will meet you soon.
Your friend,
Ikkyu Madoka
.....................
A/N: I thought about naming Jisatsu Squad as the Suicide Squad but changed it, as Sucide seal sounded lame and Jisatsu Squad had a new and original ring to it. I hope you liked it. Just thinking about Ryu vs Jisatsu Squad is giving me goosebumps. I have a big fight scene planned for that area. Also, I set up Tatsuma Aburame as a mini boss under Danzo. I hope you liked the changes, as he did not have a major role in the original series.
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