Chapter 157: Cold

~Flashback~

On a cold winter night, the wind blew strongly as it sent large amounts of the snowy ground in every direction.

And on this night, a young man with deep-colored black hair and a scar on his face walked calmly through it, as if the terrors of Mother Nature simply didn't affect him.

The man had guards that watched him from a distance, the masks on their faces and body language showing no visible emotion, as if the people were merely tools to be used to aid the goals of the man who led them.

The man arrived at a beautiful home, with the house having three stories and appearing as if it housed very important individuals, which it did.

The man knocked on the door, with him showing no surprise as a man with red hair opened it, a questioning look on his face.

"Councilor Danzo?" The man questioned before welcoming him in, showing no surprise to the men to surround the home as if to intervene if things went wrong.

"You all have a beautiful home, Lord Ashina." Danzo said as he was escorted to the private study, the room used by the family to meet special guests.

"I'm afraid I can't take all the credit. Hashirama and Mito designed their home to be one that showcased their love and care, and I'm confident to say they did just that. My choosing to live with them is one I enjoy nearly every day." Ashina replied with a smile.

The duo arrived in the room as Ashina began the conversation.

"So, what can I assist you with Councilor Danzo? I am afraid I was not expecting a visit today."

"I've come to have a conversation with my teacher. It's about time that I faced my questions with the man who could give me the answers to them." Danzo answered while taking a sip of his tea.

"I see. I'll let him know that you are here. Give me just a moment." Ashina said as he left the room.

Danzo stood in the room in silence, as he waited for the most difficult conversation that he had ever needed in his life to take place.

A man who was like his father figure had not chosen him as his successor, and he needed to know why. 

He couldn't believe that Tobirama would merely choose the person to take over the position of the Hokage over something as trivial as who would sacrifice themselves first.

A man as intelligent as he would have never made a foolish trial like that the basis of his choice, as he always thought that if Koharu or Hamura had volunteered, he would have told them to do so while the group escaped.

It wasn't to say he was heartless, merely, he was realistic and pessimistic enough to know the benefits and downsides of every situation.

And with that being the case, Danzo came to the assumption that Tobirama merely used Hiruzen's eagerness to sacrifice himself as a way to convince the rest of the group that Hiruzen deserved it more than they did, simply due to his selflessness. 

This would make the group fully aid Hiruzen as the new Hokage, while also ending any thoughts that the group may have had of anyone else deserving the position.

But Danzo needed to know why.

'Why was Hiruzen the better choice than me?'

Danzo's thoughts were ended as he watched the figure who entered the room.

The man, someone whom Danzo had always looked up to, still had the same authoritarian presence to him, as if his aura hadn't diminished with his age.

The man gained a small smile upon seeing his student, as he took the seat across from him as the two stared at one another.

Danzo could barely formulate his words, not knowing how to approach the situation, something rarely seen from him.

He had thought he let these thoughts go, but knowing his teacher was alive caused them to come back to the forefront.

And the sight of him now only solidified this further.

"Sensei. Why?" 

That was all Danzo could get out while using all his might to keep his face emotionless.

However, instead of feigning ignorance, Tobirama just sighed as he rubbed the temple of his.

"Because you were too much like me."

The response caught Danzo off guard, making the surprise grow evident on his face, though Tobirama paid it no attention as he continued.

"You and Hiruzen represented two sides of myself that I both equally respected and loathed. You represented all of my prejudice, all of my extreme tendencies, and all of my insecurities. You represented the entirety of my past. Hiruzen represented all of my hope, all of my goals that I wished I could achieve. He represented my hope for the future. So, instead of choosing the next leader of the Village to be a more pessimistic version of myself, I chose a more optimistic version. And while there is no doubt that I was uncertain about the future that either of you two could bring, I felt that even if things went awry, the Village would still stand stable." Tobirama explained.

"Yet Hiruzen lacks the drive to make major decisions, why choose someone who has no true drive other than a foolish dream of peace?" Danzo asked, the years of frustration finally showing as his emotionless mask broke apart.

"Because he has the will to achieve what his fellow Hokage before him could not. And perhaps he could be an integral part of the peace that is brought to the Village. That was the reason that the Village was built in the first place. Hiruzen has my faith that he can achieve something that neither I nor my brother have not." Tobirama stated.

Danzo stared at his teacher in utter silence, before he stood and began to leave, though he said something in the doorway before he left.

"I will accomplish something that even Hiruzen cannot. I will bring true peace to the Village, something none of the Hokages have accomplished nor will accomplish, and that shall be how I prove you wrong, Sensei." 

Danzo then bid farewell to Mito and Ashina who sat in the living room, with him once again going into the deep cold night, quite similar to himself.

It was this night when the plan of his came to be concocted in his mind, serving as the birth of 

Operation Whiteout.

Read chapters ahead on P@treon.com/KillerDJ2023

~Happy Thanksgiving, I have to go fight some grandmas at the mall now.~