Chapter 921 : Bizarre Coincidences!

Hiruzen thought for a while and muttered, “While I can understand the allure of Shisui's eye, it shouldn't be something so appealing to someone who claims to be an ancient expert. Even for me, it is a nuisance at best. I doubt it'd help him against other ancient experts. It doesn't match up to the gains he would have had by partnering with us.”

Danzo nodded, “That part confuses me too. The change in his attitude was too abrupt.”

Hiruzen asked, “Were you thinking of ways to harm him while calculating our partnership?”

Knowing his old friend, Hiruzen knew what the answer was. Danzo frowned, “I didn't leak any bloodlust or killing intent.”

Hiruzen replied, “Maybe not, but perhaps he has ways to know if someone is plotting against him. Who knows how honed the instincts of someone who has survived for several eras can be? Perhaps his instincts warned him of the danger.”

Danzo's frown deepened as he wondered, ‘Was I killed simply because I was scheming?’

He immediately shook his head, “No, it shouldn't be that simple. There were too many suspicious elements in that battle.”

Hiruzen, Tsunade and Kakashi agreed with Danzo without any hesitation. Only Shizune was a bit confused.

Kakashi muttered, “Even though he said and acted like he didn't know of your abilities, he had perfect counters for every one of your trump cards. Shisui's eye failed to put him under Genjutsu. Your Izanagi turned from a life-saving trump card to a deadly trap. Even your summon was dealt with instantly. It's almost as if he spent a long time creating proper counters against your techniques.”

Kakashi hit the hammer right on the nail. This was exactly what Danzo had been feeling. While Akuro being an ancient expert was a possibility, the more plausible explanation was that Akuro was already aware of Danzo's abilities and had prepared accordingly.

This was a clue Fujin accidentally left behind due to how good his performance was. Had he not killed Danzo so rapidly after every use of Izanagi, Konoha wouldn't have reached this conclusion so quickly. Unfortunately, Izanagi's weakness was simply too tempting to not exploit it.

Danzo added, “It goes even deeper. I couldn't analyze it for a second time during our battle, or I'd have noticed the anomalies right away. He noticed the hidden secrets in my right eye and right arm right away despite them being hidden with seals. No one has managed to do so yet.

His observations reinforced our belief in the rumors of him being an ancient expert. However, if he was already aware of my trump cards, he wouldn't need to look through my seals to detect them. He merely said them to create a psychological impact on us and keep us on the backfoot.”

Shizune asked, “If that's true, why would he withdraw his lightning jutsu instead of continuing his attack?”

Tsunade answered, “Perhaps he was just putting up an act to reinforce his story. Or perhaps he was afraid of harming Shisui's eye. That would make sense if he was targeting it from the very beginning.”

Kakashi said thoughtfully, “I still don't understand how Akuro could have been aware of Elder Danzo's abilities and prepared counters for them…”

The abilities and strengths of every famous ninja were generally well known throughout the ninja world. Everyone kept some hidden cards, but the more one fought and gained fame, the more of their abilities would become public knowledge. However, Danzo had never publicly used his trump cards. He was more like Fujin in this aspect.

Danzo didn't reply. He turned his head and gazed at Hiruzen. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow and questioned, “Are you suspecting me?”

Danzo didn't agree or deny, but answered, “Apart from my subordinates, you were the only one who is aware of all my abilities. And, no one can extract information from my subordinates.”

Even though Danzo didn't state the obvious, everyone understood that Danzo was blaming Hiruzen for leaking his information. Hiruzen replied, “I have only informed Tsunade and Jiraiya about your abilities and asked both of them to not mention it to anyone. Do you suspect them?”

Danzo looked at Tsunade, who said, “I haven't mentioned it to anyone. I don't see any reason for Jiraiya to do so either.”

Danzo turned his gaze back to Hiruzen and asked, “What about Suzuki Fujin? Did you inform him? Or, could he have spied upon your conversation?”

Hiruzen replied with a frown, “I haven't, and that's impossible. Are you still suspecting a connection between Fujin and Akuro?”

Danzo sighed, “Even now, I have no proof against him. Akuro denied knowing him, but I can't trust his words. My instincts still tell me he had something to do with the attack on my headquarters. You may not believe me, but I have a grave feel that the boy poses a hidden danger to the village. Don't drop your guard, Hiruzen…”

Since he was the one who reanimated Danzo, Hiruzen could sense that Danzo didn't speak a single lie. The circumstances were no longer like when Danzo was alive. He wouldn't gain anything by pushing blame on Fujin.

Hiruzen frowned. On one side was his old friend and comrade, who aided him for several decades before their relationship soured. On the other side was a promising young ninja who represented Konoha's future. Even though Hiruzen was troubled by Fujin's greed, he never had a reason to suspect his loyalty. However, he couldn't ignore Danzo's instincts either.

He analyzed, ‘Danzo's instincts have helped the village several times, but I can't act based upon them. Were his instincts correct, or was he subconsciously biased as Fujin caused him to lose all political power? Besides, I have already done several investigations based on Danzo's suspicions and have never found anything wrong about Fujin…’

Hiruzen thought for a bit, before realizing, ‘Could it be that Fujin's actions somehow resulted in Akuro targeting Root? It should be an indirect result, with him not having any knowledge of the consequences of his actions. Or perhaps Root attracted Akuro's hostility due to something they did while targeting Fujin. Sigh, I'll look deeper into this. Regardless…’

Hiruzen said, “I'll be careful, but it doesn't explain the current situation. Fujin isn't aware of your abilities. Even if he was, how could he send information of your movement to Akuro when he isn't even in the village? Did you feel anyone trailing or tracking you when you moved towards the crystal vein?”

Danzo answered, “No one followed us. And no, I'm not accusing him of supplying information about my abilities to Akuro. He would have been my primary suspect if he knew. But since he didn't, it is pointless.”

Danzo let out a long sigh, “On surface, all of this seems to be one big coincidence. However, there are so many coincidences that I can't help but smell something fishy.

Shirabe and Higure just happen to run into a Lightning Crystal Vein within the borders of our country while returning from our mission. A vein we never discovered despite exploring our lands several times.
Soon after they inform me of the same, Akuro, who has only been spotted in the Land of Lightning for the past couple of years, just happened to discover the same vein and killed them.
He just happened to roast chicken at the same time we reached there, just like how he happens to do so when Kumo ninjas run into him.
And this self-proclaimed ancient ninja just happened to possess the ability to see past my seals and counters for each of my trump cards despite claiming ignorance of my abilities…”

The more he spoke, the angrier Danzo became. He cursed, “Either I was somehow set up and lured into a trap, or I have had the worst luck of any ninja in history! That bastard even ‘educated’ me about karma, making me subconsciously believe this string of unlucky coincidences were nothing but a consequence of my past actions!”

Others maintained silence, letting Danzo vent about the unfairness. They would have been just as angry if they were set up this badly.

Ironically, what annoyed and frustrated Danzo the most wasn't that he fell into such a trap and lost his life. No, what frustrated him the most was that he still lacked a single piece of evidence to prove it was a trap and not a bizarre coincidence and bad luck. For someone who prided himself on his ability to weave schemes, this was a big blow!