Danzo… Under Investigation

Danzo picked up a file he'd been watching for a long time.

If the Hanzo gambit failed, he had another plan—let the Uchiha genius finish the job. Let Shisui erase Ishiki Kujo.

He placed Shisui's file beside another, thick with photos and forged reports: evidence—real and fabricated—that Ishiki was the one who stole a Sharingan.

It included a statement from Orochimaru himself.

Danzo wasn't worried about Shisui seeing through the ruse. After all, no one understood the Uchiha better than him.

But lately, Danzo had a bigger problem.

The Third's Anbu were moving. Too frequently. Too deep.

They were digging. And they were finding things.

Koharu Utatane had already paid him a visit, warning him plainly—if the Anbu kept sniffing around, both she and Danzo would face Hiruzen's wrath.

Because for years, Danzo had been operating behind the Third's back—experiments on Hashirama cells, senjutsu bodies, dealings with the Uchiha. Root's dirty laundry was mountainous.

And some of those labs still existed. Hidden. Functional. If Hiruzen found them…

"Damn you, Kujo Ishiki." Danzo muttered, eyes dark as ink.

In all his life, no one besides the Uchiha had made him feel such fury.

If not for Ishiki, the Third would never have taken an interest in Root's operations.

If not for Ishiki, the Uchiha would still be smeared by rumors and disdain.

And now the Uchiha were being assigned to active fronts!?

Hiruzen was getting soft. Senile. He should've retired to teach at the academy—that soft job he loved so much.

Danzo's fists trembled.

Still, he had no choice but to retreat for now. Wait for the heat to pass.

Meanwhile, Kumogakure had reacted swiftly. Within days of Turtle Island's appearance in the Land of Grass, they launched an attack—driving Iwa-nin from its back.

But the Land of Grass had always been more Iwa's turf.

And Kumogakure, marching across half the continent, hadn't even considered the cost of removing Turtle Island by force? It was an insult. A direct slap to Iwagakure's pride.

So Iwa diverted troops.

The battlefield shifted.

Now Kumo and Iwa were clashing over Turtle Island, a massive front forming around it—while Konoha watched from the sidelines.

Ishiki, uninterested in their bickering, used the lull to dive into Orochimaru's gift: Fūinjutsu and the Triple Rashōmon summoning technique.

Rashōmon required a chakra offering, a blood pact, and vast reserves of energy.

Even summoning one gate demanded immense power. Three? That bordered on impossible for most jōnin.

But Orochimaru could summon three without breaking a sweat.

Hashirama—the First Hokage—could summon five.

That was the hard cap.

Triple Rashōmon was considered one of the strongest physical-defense techniques in all of shinobi history. Not only did the gates block attacks—their impact upon summoning could crush lesser enemies outright.

The seals weren't complex, but two hurdles remained:

Enormous chakra reserves.

A personal signature on the Rashōmon Contract Scroll.

Luckily, Orochimaru's scroll contained everything—seal patterns, invocation rituals, and instructions for summoning the contract itself.

Ishiki bit his finger and followed the steps.

Moments later, a massive scroll appeared in a puff of smoke. Unrolling it, he found Orochimaru's name near the end.

Further back were older signatures:

The Third. The Second. The First.

He added his name. Pressed his bloody palms to the parchment. The scroll vanished.

Done.

He'd passed the threshold.

Still, Ishiki didn't let his guard down.

He knew Orochimaru wouldn't trust him easily. Eventually, Orochimaru would try to mark him—with a Curse Seal.

That was the Sannin's standard play.

But Ishiki would never allow it.

Not only was the success rate abysmal (ten percent, with failure meaning death), the seal itself was a leash—something Ishiki refused to wear.

Besides, Ishiki already had a way to enter Sage Mode. Why would he need a discount version?

He didn't know when Orochimaru would make his move, but he was sure it was coming.

Yet in late April, it wasn't a curse mark that arrived—it was a new mission.

The war between Iwa and Kumo was beginning to cool. They'd reached an agreement:

Kumo would allow Iwa to send their Jinchūriki to Turtle Island to train under the True Falls.

Iwa would permit Turtle Island to pass through its territory unopposed.

Konoha couldn't just sit back and let this happen.

So they dispatched a recon squad to cross the Land of Grass and infiltrate the Land of Earth—ostensibly to gather intel on the Jinchūriki.

But the real mission?

Extraction.

Konoha had deep-cover agents embedded in Iwa—spies.

This squad would rendezvous and retrieve them.

Ishiki was familiar with this script.

His very first mission had been the same.

Except this time, Inuzuka Ze was the captain.

Given their specialty in recon, this was the perfect assignment. And Ishiki's rising strength had made Orochimaru comfortable enough to entrust it to his team.

Before they departed, Orochimaru pulled Ishiki aside for a private word.

"You don't need to worry about Root interfering this time."

"I've heard the Hokage has ordered the Anbu to start an internal investigation. Danzo should be keeping a low profile for now."

The Third is investigating Danzo? Ishiki was genuinely surprised.

"I know what you're thinking," Orochimaru continued, "but the mess you made inside Root tipped Hiruzen off. He found a few things."

"I didn't cause any mess," Ishiki corrected. "Root messed up. I just happened to be nearby."

Then Ishiki's eyes narrowed.

"Are you planning to help me take down Danzo?"

He knew perfectly well: Orochimaru wasn't just Danzo's subordinate. The two were allies. Partners in shadows.