[Starting in Naruto with a Daily Login System] Chapter 52 Danzo Tries Recruitment. Kakashi Tries Violence.

The thing about Danzo Shimura? He never wasted time with pleasantries.

So when one of his Root operatives appeared in my apartment late at night, silent as a shadow but just not silent enough to avoid my Six Eyes catching him, I already knew this was going to be a long conversation.

I stayed seated on my couch, flipping a kunai between my fingers, and gave the guy the laziest stare possible. "You could’ve knocked."

The Root shinobi said nothing. Of course. They never did. Just stood there, blank-faced, like some kind of creepy, militarized sleep paralysis demon.

Instead, he handed me a message.

Danzo.

Wants to meet.

Tonight.

Of course, he did.

I sighed, flicking the kunai into the ceiling (which I’d regret later when I had to fix it) and stood up. "Alright, fine. But if this is a recruitment thing, tell him I charge extra for cult memberships."

The Root shinobi didn’t react.

Tough crowd.

Danzo had aesthetic choices. His underground base? Dimly lit, filled with emotionless drones, and just screaming "I definitely commit war crimes in my free time." The man had never met a candle he didn’t want to ominously brood beside.

He was already waiting when I walked in, half his face covered in bandages, the other half set in what I assumed was supposed to be an intimidating glare.

"Kakashi Hatake."

"Danzo Shimura," I replied, mirroring his serious tone before ruining it with a casual, "Oh, sorry—are we doing full names? Should I add a title? ‘Most Eligible War Criminal’ seems fitting."

Danzo’s one visible eye twitched. Good start.

"You waste words, Hatake," he said, voice as dry as his personality. "I have an offer for you."

I already knew where this was going, but hey—sometimes you have to let the villain monologue.

"You are wasted under Hiruzen’s leadership," he continued, steepling his fingers like a man who spent too much time in underground hideouts. "Your skills are unparalleled, your loyalty unquestioned. But your potential is shackled. Under my guidance, you would have the freedom to act as necessary. Without hesitation. Without weakness."

Ah. There it was. The good ol’ "Join me, and together we can rule the village" speech.

I crossed my arms, tilting my head like I was actually considering it. "Let me guess: the ‘freedom’ to follow your version of what’s necessary? The kind that involves kidnapping children, setting up massacres, and generally being a massive pain in my ass?"

Danzo didn’t even blink. "The village needs strength, Kakashi. You understand this. I have watched you. You are not naive, like Hiruzen. You see the cracks forming. The Uchiha. The Jinchūriki. If we do not act first, they will become threats beyond control."

And there it was.

The Uchiha paranoia. The obsession with power. The casual mention of Naruto like he was a thing to be controlled.

I smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile.

"Danzo," I said, voice almost pleasant. "I appreciate the offer. Really. It’s not every day someone tries to recruit me into their underground war crimes division. But here’s the thing—"

Faster than a blink, I was in front of him, Six Eyes burning, kunai pressed just under his chin.

"—I don’t take orders from dead men."

For the first time, Danzo looked genuinely surprised. Root shinobi flinched around the room, but I was already pressing chakra into my blade, sharp enough that even his oh-so-secret Wood Release wouldn’t help him regenerate if I really felt like testing it.

"You see cracks forming?" I continued, voice a whisper, sharp as the kunai. "Let me tell you what I see. I see a leech so desperate for control he’ll sacrifice an entire clan to keep it. I see a coward who sends other people to do his dirty work but hides behind excuses of ‘village security.’ And most importantly—"

I leaned in just enough for him to really see the burning blue of my Six Eyes.

"I see a man who’s outlived his usefulness."

For a long moment, nobody moved.

Danzo, to his credit, didn’t flinch. His one good eye studied me, calculating. Testing.

Then—slowly—he smiled.

Not a good smile. Not a pleasant one. A knowing, twisted little smirk.

"Interesting," he murmured. "I suspected as much. You’ve already chosen your side."

My grip didn’t waver. "And yet, you’re still breathing. Weird how that works."

Danzo’s smile didn’t fade. "We will speak again, Kakashi. Whether you wish it or not."

I stepped back, spinning the kunai between my fingers before slipping it back into my pouch. "Cool. Next time, bring snacks."

As I turned to leave, I paused at the doorway, letting the silence stretch just long enough to be uncomfortable. Then, with all the casualness of someone commenting on the weather, I said,

"Oh, and Danzo?"

I didn’t turn around, but I knew he was listening.

"Try anything—and I mean anything—against Naruto, and I won’t just stop you." I tilted my head slightly, my voice dropping into something almost thoughtful. "I’ll make sure no one even remembers you existed."

I let that sink in.

Danzo didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. But I knew him. I knew him. And in that moment, I had his full attention.

"Just a friendly warning," I added, stepping out into the hall. "Have a great evening."

Then I was gone, vanishing in a flicker of movement before his guards could even react.

Because I had my answer.

Danzo was moving. He was planning. And I’d just put myself firmly in his crosshairs.

Which was fine.

Because he was in mine too.

—

The air outside Root’s headquarters was thick with humidity, the kind that clung to your skin and made you feel like you needed a shower just from existing. I took a deep breath, letting the cool night air cut through the remnants of Danzo’s suffocating presence.

I wasn’t an idiot.

That conversation hadn’t ended anything. If anything, it had just escalated the inevitable.

Danzo was a man who hated being threatened. He would stew on this, simmer in his paranoia, and then—when he thought he had the upper hand—he’d strike. That was the kind of person he was.

But I wasn’t exactly shaking in my sandals.

I’d spent a year playing this game, dancing between missions, politics, and keeping Naruto safe. Danzo was a problem, sure. But he wasn’t an unsolvable one.

And if it ever came down to it?

Well. Let’s just say I’d already decided that if Danzo really tried something, I’d be the one digging his grave.

A flicker of movement caught my attention. A shadow shifting where no shadow should be. My Six Eyes flared slightly, focusing in on the anomaly.

Two ANBU.

Not Root—not yet, at least. Hiruzen’s men, watching, waiting. Maybe assigned to keep tabs on me, maybe just monitoring Danzo’s little underground playground. Either way, they weren’t subtle.

I sighed. “You guys might as well go home,” I muttered, not bothering to face them. “Or at least pretend you’re good at stealth. This is just embarrassing.”

Silence. Then, a whisper of chakra as they disappeared, retreating back into the shadows.

I smirked under my mask.

Konoha was getting really predictable.

By the time I reached my apartment, exhaustion had started to creep in. Not physically—I was past the point where standard fatigue meant much—but mentally. It was the weight of too many moving pieces, too many unknowns, and the certainty that this wasn’t over.

I locked the door behind me, pulled off my mask, and ran a hand through my hair.

One year.

One year since Minato died. Since everything changed. Since I started walking a path that wasn’t in the script.

I glanced over at my desk, where a single, half-empty cup of instant ramen sat next to a pile of mission reports.

Naruto’s and Kushina’s favorite.

A reminder.

I wasn’t doing this for the village.

I wasn’t doing this for some grand heroic purpose.

I was doing this because if I didn’t, no one else would.

And if Danzo—or anyone else—thought they could take Naruto away, they were in for a very rude awakening.