Epilogue 6 (III)

Sakumo stood inside of the underground base, his mind spinning as he looked at the intricate and complicated Seals that were embedded into the walls of the building.

'Now why in the hell would Danzo choose ME as his successor? I mean, Jiraiya has a spy network and Orochimaru literally is the perfect successor since he has the whole dark and gloomy thing down pact.' Sakumo thought to himself as he walked through the halls, with him finally finding himself at the office that previously belonged to Danzo.

Entering the room, Sakumo found himself surprised by how normal the room actually looked.

"I was kind of expecting more of a dark and demonic theme to be going on, especially when your nicknamed the 'Darkness of Shinobi'. Am I right?" Sakumo said as he looked at the guard hidden in the corner of the room, yet the guard seemingly ignored him as they only focused on their job.

'Of course, the emotionless puppet would not respond.' Sakumo thought as he saw a letter sitting on the desk, with him opening it as he saw it was addressed to him.

But, upon opening it, Sakumo dropped it and jumped back upon seeing the Seals spread across it and then the ground.

And, in a moment that Sakumo would swear that he didn't get slightly terrified by the phantom version of Danzo that appeared from the scroll and stood in front of him.

"Well, if you are seeing this message, then it's best to assume that I am either dead, missing, or have been eliminated due to a rebellion in the Village. No matter what the reasoning may be, I am now dead. And since the scroll is playing the first level of its message, then it's best for me to presume that you, Sakumo Hatake are the new leader of the ROOT." Danzo's projection spoke.

"Well isn't this some pure foolishness." Sakumo said as he sat down in the nearby chair while watching the projection.

"Now, while I'm not sure what killed me or if it even mattered, what I can tell you is that this is a job that you can not take unless you are absolutely sure of it. Your name may strike fear into the hearts of many, but the hard decisions that Hiruzen, or whoever the Hokage is at that time, are unable to make due to moral issues will have to be made by you. 

You will not receive a thank you for your job. The Shinobi who join you practically sign off on their lives not being a major focus for the Village, and their deaths will not be honored by the Village as the missions that they go on are completely unsanctioned. Are you willing to bear that burden, Sakumo? The Shinobi in the room will escort you out if you are not." Danzo's projection stated.

Sakumo thought back on the issues he had with Danzo, yet he couldn't doubt that the man had his uses.

'Perhaps I can turn the ROOT into a new version of the White Lotus rather than its current state. That way I can still do the job so that others won't have to.' Sakumo thought to himself as he nodded to the Shinobi in the corner, with the Shinobi then threw a kunai into the scroll that made the projection of Danzo change slightly.

Danzo's image started smiling as he spoke.

"I'm glad to see you made the right decision, Sakumo. I am already gone, so the way that you lead the ROOT is up to you, but I have scrolls similar to this one that can prove to be of assistance to you if you were to need my guidance on anything." 

However, Danzo then loses his smile as he stares at Sakumo, the change in demeanor being something that Sakumo easily perceived. 

"But, now that you have accepted, there is something that you need to know. Sakumo, there is a danger in the Shinobi World, one of an unprecedented scale that is merely hiding inside the chaos that was occurring in the world. It was the reason why my final operation, one that you can find the records for in my files, was canceled prematurely before I caused the true revolution in the Shinobi World.

This... group is dangerous. I am unsure of how I can stretch this enough. They have spies in every single Village, every Daimyo's Court, and every Government Officials office. Sakumo, if you truly wish to lead the ROOT and become the person who guards this Village from the shadows so that no one else has to bear that burden, then you must prepare to go against this group. They are so powerful that I was afraid that if they knew the Village was becoming aware of them, they would destroy the Village completely. I can't even trust all of my own organization, and I represented the very concept of having obedient subordinates." Danzo finished.

Sakumo couldn't believe the information that Danzo had just spoken, as it basically implied that a threat of an unparalleled degree was in the world, and even the Darkness of Shinobi seemed terrified by them.

Sakumo closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, with him glancing at the Shinobi in the corner and giving his first order.

"Looks like Danzo trusted you. Bring me all the information on this group that Danzo is speaking about, as well as all of his recorded messages like these."

The new leader of the ROOT then sat at his desk, with him seeing that he would be the one to take on the mantle of the leader of the Darkness.