Danzo : This Time I Want to Be a Good Person

"You haven't let me down, Nagato."

Danzo remarked with a satisfied expression.

The Preta Path is one of the abilities granted by the Rinnegan. It possesses two main jutsu: Sealing Absorption Seal and Chakra Absorption.

The Sealing Absorption Seal works by forming a shield through absorption. When it comes into contact with an opponent's jutsu, it instantly seals it. In some ways, it resembles the Imagine Breaker from a certain Railgun series.

Of course, its effectiveness isn't nearly as overpowered. In the original story, it was only used against ninjutsu, and Danzo wasn't sure if it could counter senjutsu (Sage Techniques).

Even so, it remains a terrifying trump card, capable of neutralizing most conventional ninjutsu with ease.

The other ability, Chakra Absorption, is equally remarkable.

In the original series, Nagato even used it to absorb the chakra of Tailed Beasts. Furthermore, the Preta Path of the Six Paths of Pain utilized this ability to absorb Naruto's Sage Chakra, leading to its assimilation with nature and ultimately turning it into stone.

This is a crucial point to note.

In addition to these revelations, Danzo gained another significant reward from Nagato: a Golden Skill Point.

Unlike regular skill points, Golden Skill Points can bypass the restrictions of attributes, skills, and talents, forcibly increasing their level by one.

This unique characteristic means they are most valuable when applied to high-level attributes, skills, or talents.

Thus, Danzo once again summoned his status panel:

Host: Danzo

Ninjutsu: A

Taijutsu: B

Genjutsu: A

Strength: B

Speed: A

Stamina: B+

Talents: Wood Release (A), Sharingan (A-), Sealing Techniques (A-), Wind Release (A)...

Skills: Izanagi (S), Sealing Absorption Seal (A), Chakra Absorption (A), Wood Release: Violent Spear Tree (A), Wind Release: Vacuum Wave (B), Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere (B)...

Available Skill Points: 32

Available Golden Skill Points: 1

Currently, Danzo only had one S-level skill: Izanagi.

Logically, using the Golden Skill Point on Izanagi would yield the best return on investment.

But the problem was that his Sharingan had already been sacrificed!

Without the Sharingan as an offering, he couldn't activate Izanagi at all. From the perspective of immediate combat potential, using the Golden Skill Point here would be wasteful.

Interestingly, despite losing his Sharingan, the Sharingan talent still remained in his status panel, making Danzo curious.

Could this mean he might have the chance to awaken the Sharingan again through his own abilities?

After careful deliberation, Danzo decided to set aside the precious Golden Skill Point for now, reserving it for a critical moment when the system could maximize its value.

Regardless, this mission had been a fruitful venture.

As Danzo pondered, Aburame Tatsuma arrived.

As always, Tatsuma knelt on one knee before Danzo and reported, "Lord Danzo, we've received a message from the village. They request that you proceed to the battlefield on the border of the Land of Water to take over Orochimaru's defenses."

"The Land of Water, is it?"

Danzo narrowed his eyes.

By this point, several years had passed since the start of the Third Great Ninja War. With the relentless consumption of resources and lives, the economies and public morale of all nations had reached their limits.

As the largest ninja village and the strongest military force in the shinobi world, Konoha found itself simultaneously at war with the other four great nations.

Fortunately, Konoha's vast talent pool — boasting figures like the Sannin, the Yellow Flash, and prodigies such as Kakashi — alongside experienced veterans like Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, kept the village from being overrun.

Danzo picked up a map of the shinobi world, studying it carefully.

The current situation looked something like this:

Land of Grass: Minato Namikaze, the famed "Yellow Flash",

commanded this front. Leading a team of Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, Minato successfully destroyed the Kannabi Bridge, a critical supply route for Iwagakure, cutting off their logistical support.

Through his extraordinary speed, Minato continuously hunted down Iwagakure's elite forces, suppressing their morale so severely that whispers of retreat began circulating within the enemy ranks.

This front appeared stable.

Land of Lightning: On this front, Kumogakure posed a significant threat.

The newly formed A-B Combo — the Fourth Raikage and his partner, Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki — displayed seamless teamwork and devastating speed. Their relentless strikes deep into the Land of Fire's interior caused chaos in Konoha's supply lines and forced the village into a defensive posture.

Land of Water: This battlefield was fraught with uncertainty.

With Jiraiya missing and Tsunade retired due to her hemophobia, Orochimaru temporarily assumed command, relying on the Uchiha Clan as the main force.

Land of Wind: Tensions with Sunagakure simmered but were contained to minor skirmishes within the borders of the Land of Rain.

While Konoha fought on multiple fronts, the other nations were also under strain.

The Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning were at odds.

The Land of Wind and the Land of Water had their own localized conflicts.

The smaller nations, caught in the crossfire, only added to the chaos.

In short, the shinobi world was in complete disarray.

After analyzing the broader picture, Danzo finally broke the silence.

"They want me to move to the Land of Water front. What about Sunagakure?"

His brows furrowed deeply as his eyes lingered on a familiar location on the map — Kikyō Pass.

In the original timeline, Kikyō Pass had been the site of a famous battle: the Battle of Kikyō Pass.

This was a joint invasion by the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning against the Land of Fire. Konoha suffered tremendous losses, and the pass was reduced to ruins. Victory was only secured when Minato arrived in time to halt the A-B Combo.

It was after this battle that the future "Snake Sage" Kabuto Yakushi, lost his parents and was sent to Konoha's orphanage, where he formed a fateful connection with Nono Yakushi, an agent of the Root Division and the orphanage director.

On the map, Kikyō Pass was situated near the western border of the Land of Fire.

Yet the Land of Lightning was to the east of the Land of Fire. How did these two nations collaborate?

Did the A-B Combo form a coalition with the Land of Wind and Sunagakure?

Or was this battle split into multiple phases?

Faced with these uncertainties, Danzo sought clarification.

Tatsuma relayed the village's official stance:

"The higher-ups believe we've reached a secret agreement with Sunagakure to jointly attack the Land of Water. They think this alliance reduces the need to station significant forces in that region."

"Rubbish!"

Danzo's fist slammed down, shattering the table into splinters.

"They're staking the safety of an entire nation on a mere piece of paper?!"

"This is war! There's no such thing as honor in war!"

"Sunagakure might sign a treaty today, but tomorrow, they could turn around and ally with Kumogakure to march on us!"

He glared at Tatsuma, his voice resolute.

"Tell that monkey—Sunagakure cannot be trusted! I'll head to Kikyō Pass and prepare our forces!"