Senju's Heir

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Senju's Heir

Danzo was a man of many secrets. Horrible, wholefully atrocious secrets.

If a detail of what he knew were to slip out, not only would nations of great power suffer greatly, but thousands would perish in the ensuing chaos. Of course, this would, inadvertently, ruin Konoha, too. And that was bad. Very bad.

Konoha was currently vulnerable. And there was only one man responsible for this unforgivable form of negligence; the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

None knew of the secret war going on between he and his destined rival. Those that had ever found out were, unsurprisingly, dead. He would spearhead the Uchiha massacre, and Hiruzen would "remove" his militaristic powers. He would conspire to let Orochimaru escape, and Hiruzen would cease to fund any of his ongoing projects.

It was a back-and-forth deal, one where collateral damage was almost always expected.

A few years back, however, Hiruzen had gone too far.

The moment he had embarrassed him in front of the council, destroying whatever credibility he possessed, Hiruzen was done for. There was no way around it.

It took years of planning with Orochimaru -nearly a decade-, but the time had finally come. The snake-fiend had taken control of Suna's government, Sound was on hold for the Sannin's order, and the Akastuki's leader was on his way to deal the finishing blow. The damage to Konoha would be severe, but it was all for the sake of destroying and rebuilding to create something stronger.

All he needed to do now was be patient and allow Orochimaru to take what he wanted most; Uchiha Sasuke.

Orochimaru can have his Uchiha. So long as he steers clear of the ninja Danzo was betting on to become a true legend. Even he was not foolish enough to dismiss the amount of potential that brat harbored, mostly due to his long-term experience with the Senju he himself learned from; Tobirama and Hashirama. He witnessed first hand just how powerful the Senju can become, and it's easy to see Naruto was no different.

He had seen for himself how Hashirama decimated entire divisions of armies, molded kilometers of landscape, all with a mere whisper of his signature Jutsu. Of course, his Uzumaki heritage could not be ignored, especially considering who his mother was. And his father, the Yondaime Hokage, was even more reason to keep a close eye on him.

The Senju and Uzumaki were not to be underestimated, especially when the combination of the two had the Mokuton.

So yes, Orochimaru can keep the revenge-crazed Uchiha. The Senju boy would be easier to mold if the rumors of him wanting to become Hokage are sound. He would make him his protégé, and offer to make him his successor after he becomes Hokage.

First and foremost, however, he needed to make sure things went according to plan.

The Akatsuki's leader must perish between the mayhem, and Hiruzen must be removed from the Hokage position, this time permanently. From there, all he needed to do was move first and cease Konoha before anyone could figure out what had just happened. In a few years, Konoha would find itself going through a golden-age, one not seen since the Uchiha and Senju clans were still flourishing.

As for the threat Uchiha Itachi poised... It mattered little. Uchiha Sasuke is by far one of the strongest of his generation. He won't die, he would make sure of it. He doubted Orochimaru would allow it in the first place.

His most trustworthy -and young- agent, Sai, appeared right next to him with a scroll in hand. "Danzo-sama... a message has arrived from Orochimaru-sama..."