"Hmm...?"
Noticing that his view had abruptly changed from the interior of his tea room to a cube-shaped stone room covered in paper sealing talismans, Danzo's brows furrowed. He didn't panic, but after habitually looking left and sweeping his gaze right, his furrow deepened at the sight of Hiruzen, Minato, and Jiraiya gazing at him from opposite a wall of gridded, black-iron prison bars.
"Hiruzen...what is the aning of this...?" asked Danzo, his raspy voice calm, masking his growing displeasure as he directed a withering stare at Minato with his sole visible eye, asking, "Don't tell you've decided to support Minato's bid for the position of Hokage. No one can deny that he distinguished himself during the war, but being a Hero doesn't qualify him to lead a village. And being the most skilled doesn't necessarily grant one the competency, experience, and the other traits necessary to navigate a village through tumultuous tis such as these..."
"This guy...I know you've never been the sharpest kunai in the pouch, but tell ..." started Jiraiya, standing with his arms crossed and sporting an annoyed expression as he asked, "You're even older than Gramps here. If he's reached an age where he believes it's ti for him to step aside and make way for the next generation, how can you possibly think you're even remotely suitable as his replacent? You're older, weaker, and less liked, and the only reason your subordinates in the Foundation obey your orders is because the alternatives are torture and death. You don't know the first thing about being a true leader. All you know is control."
"And what of it?" asked Danzo, eting Jiraiya's gaze as he asserted, "It isn't compassion or inspiring speeches that win wars. It is the willingness to do whatever it takes—including sacrificing one's life. So long as Shinobi live in the shadows of society, we will forever remain tools. Those who fail to comprehend that they have no place at the helm of a hidden village. If such weak sentints were to spread among the villages, Konoha's hard-earned superiority would diminish, and the other villages would devour us to our bones in the next war..."
Shifting his gaze to Hiruzen, a glimr of deeply rooted hatred flashed across Danzo's eye as he proclaid, "Your predecessor and our Master, Tobirama-sensei, understood. The other villages are not friends—they're breeding pens for the animals known as Shinobi. Because those born with power can't help but use it to wage war, impose their beliefs on others, or seek vengeance against those they believe have wronged them. And the only way to keep beasts in line and prevent them from baring their teeth and biting those they shouldn't is to bring them to heel..."
"Danzo..." sighed Hiruzen, closing his eyes and appearing to age ten years with a single, exasperated exhale. He had hoped against hope that his old friend would be reasonable and accept the sentence about to be imposed upon with him solemn defiance. Then, perhaps in ten to twenty years, he could be freed to see how their world had changed—hopefully for the better.
"You're wrong, Shimura-san," said Minato firmly, stepping forward. His tone wasn't loud, but it rang with the quiet authority of soone who'd confronted death a thousand tis over and chosen rcy as often as circumstance allowed. "Though I did not know him personally, I refuse to believe Nidai-sama viewed Shinobi as beasts or weapons. If that were the case, he would not have chosen Hiruzen-sensei as his successor, nor would he have sealed so many Jutsu within the Forbidden Scroll. No, even more than Shodai-sama, I believe Nidai-sama wanted Shinobi to break free from the Cycle of Hatred. That's why he chose to sacrifice himself to ensure the lives of his team when he could have readily escaped with the Flying Raijin..."
"Addressing your elders casually...such impertinence..." growled Danzo, unable to refute Minato's logic, so he defaulted to shielding himself with formality and decorum.
"Respect isn't the reward of age—it is the burden of those who live and inspire others by example..." contended Minato, his expression and tone firm as he elucidated, "And your presumptions regarding this situation are incorrect. You are not being detained because you are an obstacle on my path to becoming Hokage. What I aspire to beco is sothing more..."
"You...you've joined hands with that thing..." concluded Danzo, his glower darkening and jaw tightening as he interpreted Minato's words to indicate he was colluding with the Dragon's Pavilion.
Shaking his head, Minato closed his eyes and calmly asserted, "You speak of propriety but refer to a God as a thing. Vahn-sama is the Dragon God of Interwining Fates and Infinite Possibilities, and I have chosen to embrace the possibility of a world without the need for war, as you put it. And such a world can never be under the administration of individuals entrenched in the past..."
Hearing the blonde-haired Shinobi's rebuttal, Danzo's sole visible eye twitched, his face hard as stone. Behind his gaze was a resentnt that had been brewing since the day Hiruzen refused to let him induct a young Minato into his Foundation. Had he been allowed to groom Minato himself, the prodigious Namikaze could have beco a blade to efficiently cut the throats of his enemies to secure Konoha's future. Now, Minato was still a blade, but it was being directed at his own throat, wielded by a being that had nothing to do with the founding or shaping of their village...
"You've been seduced by illusions..." Danzo hissed. "Possibility is chaos, and chaos is the road to ruin. History has shown that the future is secured through blood, sweat, and tears, not courted like a cheap whore seducing a nobleman. If we permit our fates to be shaped by an absent hand, we'll beco less than beasts. We'll beco pawns..."
"Hmmn...he's not entirely wrong..." conceded Jiraiya, tilting his head and thoughtfully caressing his chin with his right hand. Danzo was one of the few people he comprehensively despised, but the Dragon's Pavilion truly did reduce people to Pawns—not in the sense they manipulated them at will but via the existence of Peerages and Rating Gas. Settling disputes through Rating Gas was preferable to brutal, full-scale wars, but it also ensured that those organizing the gas had an unshakable advantage in negotiations and politics. If the Dragon's Pavilion later pivoted to beco oppressors, any worlds that joined hands with and beca dependent on them would suffer a heavy toll...
"But this is the fastest way to seize the present and undermine the Cycle of Hatred at its source," contended Minato, turning to et Jiraiya's gaze over his left shoulder, smiling as he stated, "If it were sothing that n could end, soone would have done so before now. I choose to believe in Vahn-sama—not because he's a Dragon God, but because he's willing and able to empathize with mortals he could just as easily ignore without penalty. That may not always be the case, but if we can secure even fifty years without war, we'll be doing our children and their children a service. By then, it will be their turn to shape the future..."
"A compelling argunt. As expected of the protege of the great Jiraiya-sensei..." affird Jiraiya, nodding approvingly and placing a supportive hand on Minato's left shoulder. Danzo wasn't finished throwing a tantrum, but once it ca to light that Hiruzen knew whose eye was hidden under his bandages and that he had been goading Orochimaru to delve deeper into profane research, any hope the man had of being released, much less becoming Hokage, disappeared with the loss of his composure...
"I swear...if you don't kill , I will get out of here! And once I do, you'll all pay for this treachery..." growled Danzo, seething with such intensity a few strands of hair fell from his head. Unfortunately, the cell he had been confined to not only stopped him from molding Chakra—it prevented him from aging or taking his life. And, with the only way in and out of the room being Space-Ti Ninjutsu or Teleportation, he and Hiruzen were going to have a lot of ti to reflect on his actions...
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After witnessing the three-versus-one confrontation between Minato, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Danzo from beginning to end, like the climax of a political arc in ani, Vahn couldn't help but voice his thoughts aloud, comnting, "That went well. I never doubted that Minato would co out ahead in the exchange, but he practically had Danzo backed into a corner from his first response."
"The setting undoubtedly helped," contended Venelana. "After all, not many people, particularly those with an ego, can maintain a cool head when being chided behind bars. Truthfully, I expected Shimura-san to lash out the mont he realized he was in prison."
"I feel bad for Saru-chan..." remarked Serafall, sporting a sad, pouty expression as she appended, "He barely spoke a word after Danbozo ntioned their Master. And I really liked his portrayal in the—"
After covering her sister's mouth before she could ntion the Naruto ani in front of Alpha, Sona flatly asserted, "It's late. After confirming Minato-san's intentions, we should recess."
"I'm fine with that," affird Vahn, nodding. He wasn't quite satisfied with the amount of ti he and Orihi had spent together, so he was thinking of inviting her and Miu—or perhaps Rukia over for a threeso. The latter had spent the past Tower cycle clearing Dungeons and amassing as many Enhancent Crystals as possible, so she was due for so tender loving care...
"Alright, then. Let's disperse for now and reconvene when Minato-san is prepared to summon the Proxy Tower and confront the other four Kage," suggested Venelana, shifting her gaze to Alpha as she added, "Alpha-san, please attend ."
"Understood..." responded Alpha, rising from the comfortable chair she had been provided and offering a deep, lingering, respectful bow toward Vahn before accompanying Venelana to her room for a private discussion. Sona and Serafall elected to stay behind, as they had jointly been placed in charge of SW-2092's integration, so after giving both sisters protracted kisses, Vahn departed with Grayfia and Misla to spend so ti with his children before night fell...
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Though he invited her first and foremost, Rukia apologized and refused Vahn's invitation. She was occupied with her duties as Lieutenant of the 14th Division, which had beco very busy in the wake of the last Tower cycle, but, more than that, she confided that she wasn't comfortable with the idea of sharing his bed with other won—particularly if that woman was soone she knew and regarded as a friend.
Fortunately for Vahn—after reassuring Rukia that she had every right to set boundaries between them—Orihi and Miu readily agreed to et him. As such, he found himself sitting atop his bed with his legs stretched out, leaning back on his elbows and sporting a smoldering, narrow-eyed smile as the two buxom won vigorously rubbed their pussies together with his cock sandwiched between their steamy, moist vulva.
"I can't believe I'm doing sothing so...lewd..." muttered Orihi, but instead of looking disturbed, her eyes were wide as she bit her lower lip and maintained eye contact with Miu.
"Truthfully, I expected things to develop in this direction much sooner..." sighed Miu, willfully controlling the pace to make things easier for the less physically inclined Orihi. The latter had the strength of dozens of well-trained athletes, but since she wasn't a martial artist and generally fought in the back line, she wasn't as accustod to moving her body.
"If it bothers you, we can keep things between the three of us..." offered Vahn, his expression softening—suffused with affection as he supplanted, "Retrogressing to individual encounters is also an option. I want to spend more ti with both of you, but that doesn't an it has to be together..."
"I...I don't mind sharing..." panted Orihi, having understood from the very beginning she could never have Vahn to herself. The only thing she cared about was spending more ti with him, and if that ant sharing him with others, that's precisely what she would do.
"I'd be lying if I said the sa..." muttered Miu, drawing her and Orihi closer together by pulling on the latter's leg as she added, "But as long as it's soone kind like Orihi-san, it's not unbearable..."
"Miu..." sighed Orihi, biting her bottom lip a second ti and seizing the initiative to pick up the pace. She and Miu had known each other for nearly two years at that point, so as strange as it was to admit, she was happy their first threeso was together...
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