In Their Shadow

Chapter 22

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"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."- Martin Luther King
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"So Yuma, what is it you want to learn first?" Danzo said, his false smile ever present on his face.

"...Please stop that." Yuma said with a certain meekness to him.

Danzo responded, smile still planted on his face.

"Stop what?"

"That. Stop faking it. I-I know what you are..." Yuma said, looking at the ground, avoiding Danzo's piercing gaze.

Danzo froze, smile evaporating from his face, replaced with a cold stone expression.

"Impressive, how did you figure it out?" Danzo asked.

"I may be a weakling mister Danzo, but i'm not an idiot. I first suspected something was off when a seemingly kind old man just happened to have a book on espionage and battle tactics only available to those who are ninja."

"Oh~?" Danzo said with mirth.

"On top of that, when I came back from my first serious mission in the wave, the Hokage himself assigns you to train me. Not to mention I've heard people talk of a man called the Yami no Shinobi, a man who is said to resemble a mummy, and is the boogie man of the shinobi world. It all just kind of clicked." Yuma said, finally looking up, only to be met with the sight of Danzo standing a mere foot away from himself, looking down at Yuma with a pervasive gaze.

Yuma froze, swept up in the maelstrom dancing within the eyes of the now amused Danzo Shimura.

"So what next, Yuma? Now that you have unearthed who I am and now know that I am not the kind old man you thought I was, whats next? What do you hope to gain from revealing to me that knowledge?" Danzo asked.

Yuma began shaking, and with a lick of his lips, he spoke. Not yet knowing that the reason he was shaking like a wet cat was the overwhelming force of killers intent being exuded by Danzo.

"I-I know that you are only interested in me because of my unique ability to meld into any shadow or dark surface area. You probably knew about it before I did. If I were being honest I am feeling kind of pissed that your only interested in me for that and not because you genuinely care, but..."

"But what?" Danzo asked.

"But, I don't care, because I know your strong. Strong enough to enable me to one day stand as Naruko and Sasuke's equal, no more than that..."

"As their superior!"

Danzo's face morphed into a sick smile, chuckling darkly.

"So the weak link of Team Seven now wishes to surpass the Uchiha golden boy and the villages hero eh? Great, simply outstanding! Fine I will train you! But on one condition!" Danzo said.

"And what's that?" Yuma asked.

"Once you have obtained the rank of Jonin in the future, you will join my organization." Danzo said with a smile that sent a chill up Yuma's spine.

"B-But I haven't even became Chunin yet, how am I going to become a Jonin?" Yuma asked.

"It is not a question of how, but of when. With my training you will not have to worry about any adversity or pitfall that may come in your way. I will train you into the perfect ninja." Danzo said.