Chapter 78: White Tooth Man

Kannin had expected Danzo to take some sort of interest in him at some point. His accolades in the war and skills were impressive, but he wasn't old enough to have his own agency and maturity, so a perfect target for Danzo's meddling. Add onto that the fact that Kannin had little immediate family, and Kannin basically had concentric rings painted on his back. The Root Anbu in front of him wasn't wearing much, just the basic Anbu attire and a single blade strapped to his back.

"Why would Danzo want to talk to little old me?" Kannin said with an ironic grin

"Can it." the Anbu said tersely

'How amicable...' Kannin thought

"Well," he said, "by all means, show the way."

The Anbu turned around, wordlessly goading Kannin to follow, before quickly turning back around and offering a blindfold.

"Put it on." the Anbu spat out

Kannin wasn't particularly worried about the blindfold--while not knowing where he was would be annoying, it wasn't anything he couldn't work with. Plus, he didn't really think anything terrible was going to happen; Danzo might be a power hungry, vulturous, shadow-dwelling bureaucrat, but right now, Kannin was confident in his ability to withstand his assault.

After putting the blindfold on, Kannin had to follow the Anbu by the sound of his footsteps, which was a little difficult at points given the natural stealth any Anbu member has, let alone a Root Anbu, but Kannin got by. When the Anbu stopped, Kannin could hear running water and a symphony of bird chirps in the distance, which was interrupted by an Earth Release technique which, to Kannin's ears, sounded like a stone lid scraping off its socket like on a sarcophagus.

Before going inside, Kannin tried to inconspicuously put his Flying Thunder God formula on a leaf as he walked along, which seemingly worked, but he had no way of truly knowing. After that, he followed the Anbu down into the underground facility. After shuffling through a labyrinthine arrangement of hallways, the whole way surrounded by cacophonous murmurings of clacking, beeping, and whirring of machines--Kannin could only guess what the facility was for.

At some point he was brought into an echoey room, with a single buzzing light fixture faintly swinging from the ceiling. His blindfold was finally taken off at that point, and after his eyes adjusted to the lighting, he saw a dark room enclosed by mildewed, grey walls, with a single lightbulb swinging from the center of the ceiling, beneath which sat an older man, with dark brown to black hair, bandages covering his forehead and right eye. An X-shaped scar sat on his chin.

"You may leave," he said in a calm tone, to which the Anbu that led him in vanished in response. Turning his visible eye back to Kannin, he grumbled a little before speaking again, "Uzumaki Kannin...What kind of man are you?"

"Huh?" Kannin hadn't expected this type of approach, "What kind of man am I..."

"It's a good question, isn't it?" Danzo said with a slight grin on his face.

"Pretty deep for a recruitment pitch" Kannin said with a chuckle

"I'm not kidding, Kannin" Danzo replied, "You're abilities are...exceptional. This is a tricky time for the village, and I have a way for you to make a real impact, besides babysitting some academy grads."

"You want me to join Root, right?" Kannin interrupted

"...If that's how you want to take it, sure." Danzo said with some apprehension, "It's more than that, though. You were on the front lines for most of the war. You saw things most of the village couldn't even imagine--surely you must want to keep such a thing from happening again. Surely you'd do anything to ensure this newfound peace. Just think of your mother, or Kushina, or any of your civilian friends-"

"Kushina's only a civilian because people like you keep her locked up in the village" Kannin said with some annoyance

"...A necessary precaution, I assure you" Danzo grumbled, "Just think of the good work you could do under me, Kannin. I could guide your growth, take care of your mother for you."

"..." Kannin never really entertained the idea of working in Root, but he had to give it to Danzo, for most other shinobi, his pitch would probably work. Kannin had pretty clear and distinct growth goals, but a lot of other ninjas didn't. What Kannin didn't like, however, was his repeated mention of Kannin's mom. It put him off is all.

"What if, despite all your offers," Kannin said slowly, "I refuse?"

"Well," Danzo sighed, "let's just say that I have more persuasive means of getting what I want. You may refuse me now, but give it a week, a month, you'll be begging to work for me," he said, a creepy smile crawling across his face.

Kannin stood up with a sigh, and said, "Well, I hate to disappoint, but nothing you've offered me is too terribly irresistible. Sorry to waste your time."

"Oh it wasn't a waste," Danzo said with a collectedness that unnerved Kannin, "I'll have one of my subordinates show you out."

"Oh, I can do that myse-"

"But before I do," he interrupted, walking up to Kannin, "I'll let you know that before you really finalize your decision, it would be a shame if someone told the disciplinary committee that you stole a high rank jutsu, the legacy of the Nidaime himself."

Kannin's face dropped a little, and looked up at the man in front of him, whose face hadn't changed in the slightest.

"Or worse" Danzo continued, "were something to happen to that dear mother of yours..."

At that point, what was left of the amicable smile on Kannin's face vanished. A chakra pressure so dense it cracked the walls of the room shot out of Kannin's body, and dust began to swirl around violently

"If you even look at my mother," Kannin growled between gritted teeth, "I'll bury you so deep they'll never find you."

Danzo was impressed by Kannin's display of power, and by his chakra's familiarity. He grinned a little before exuding his own chakra, easily matching the strength of Kannin's.

"I said you were strong, yes," Danzo said without perturbation, "But it doesn't mean you're stronger than me, just for your age. If I wanted, I could've plastered the walls with your entrails the moment I had you brought in here, but that's not how I operate. Now, would you please be rational about this."

Kannin's anger was barely restrained at this point, but he was surprised by the strength of Danzo's aura. Kannin had become used to having the most chakra around, so finding someone who could match his own was novelty.

'It comes with experience, I suppose' he thought to himself.

"I don't know where you learned your diplomatic skills, Danzo," Kannin replied, "but were it not for my deeply irrational belief that, despite all of this, you actually do want the best for the village, you would have made an enemy of me." Kannin retracted his aura and fixed his clothes, "I will not join Root, I will not work for you, and if you try anything to try and persuade me otherwise, I'll show you the extent of my own connections."