I Got Reincarnated As Danzo!?

"Found it!"

Furukawa Kei's hands trembled as he clutched the scroll, his fingers tracing its surface with reverence. His excitement was palpable.

"Oh? What did you find?"

The voice was calm yet carried an undeniable weight.

"Of course, I found—" Kei answered instinctively, but as soon as the words left his lips, realization struck him like a thunderbolt. His body stiffened, and he slowly turned around.

A child stood there—only ten years old—yet the oppressive aura he exuded made it feel as if a seasoned warrior was staring him down.

With a dull *thud*, the scroll slipped from his trembling hands, landing on the wooden floor.

Furukawa Kei's legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean—please forgive me, Ninja-sama!"

Danzo took slow, measured steps forward, his eyes locked onto the fallen scroll. He picked it up, dusted it off, and calmly placed it back in its rightful spot.

"It seems you've been aware of this for a while now, Danzo."

A voice came from the shadows.

From the dimly lit corner of the study, Kurama Tenju stepped forward, his presence looming over the scene. He had been there from the start, concealed within an illusion.

Kei's face turned deathly pale. He bowed his head low, then slammed it against the floor once.

Twice.

Three times.

Only when his forehead was stained with blood did he finally stop, his voice trembling.

"You two, great ninjas… what happened tonight was my decision alone. I take full responsibility. Please, I beg you, fulfill the mission! My village… my people need you!"

"Heh. Clever." Kurama Tenju scoffed, his eyes cold. "A mission is a mission. And you… you are not separate from it. You are this village's representative, its voice. If I wanted to, I could end your life right now."

Kei flinched, his fingers digging into the wooden floor.

"But I won't. Not yet."

Tenju turned to Danzo. "You think I'm cruel, don't you? Cold-blooded? But this is the way of the ninja. Anyone who has walked the battlefield long enough becomes like this. I only hope the next generation… won't have to be."

With a single seal, he cast an illusion, sending Furukawa Kei into unconsciousness.

He patted Danzo's shoulder before vanishing with the Body Flicker Technique, leaving behind only silence and the weight of reality.

Danzo exhaled softly. He glanced at Kei, now motionless on the floor, and sighed.

He turned, retrieved a blanket from his bedroom, and gently draped it over the man. Then, without another word, he retreated into the darkness of his own room.

---

The next morning, the team gathered at the village gates.

Despite his silence, Furukawa Kei's expression was different—he looked as if he had aged overnight. The others noticed but chose not to question it.

"Is everyone here?" Kurama Tianyun asked.

"Yes!"

"Then let's move out."

With that, the team stepped beyond the gates of Konoha, officially beginning their mission.