Naruto: I'm Nine-Tails and My Host is Kushina

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"Bastard, it really is like that!"

Danzo Shimura glared at Uchiha Mikoto with a ferocious expression.

He hadn't expected her to attack so suddenly.

If not for Sarutobi Hiruzen stepping in at the last moment, his fate would have been the same as the shattered stone chair behind him.

Though Sarutobi Hiruzen often disagreed with Danzo, they had grown up together, fought side by side, and built an unspoken bond over the years. Their relationship was a twisted mess of rivalry and dependency.

Otherwise, in the original timeline, when Danzo was on the verge of death, why would the first person that came to mind be Hiruzen?

"You are the leaves bathed in sunlight, and I am the deep roots buried in the soil.

You are the light of the village, and I bear its darkness."

Danzo's final words had been nothing short of an emotional confession.

All of his emotions, his struggles, his sacrifices—everything was placed upon Sarutobi Hiruzen.