Quickly skimming through the documents, Ren was already experiencing the start of a headache. He couldn't just frame Danzo. Even if he fabricated evidence and put it among the documents for people to find, nothing would have come out of it.
Danzo had positioned himself in a very unique position. He was too useful for many influential people to get rid of, while also being invisible enough for the masses not to really care about him.
The prefecture lord? Oh, people were going to go apeshit once they heard about his crimes. Because he was a public figure. But Danzo, who? After the initial outrage, people will forget his existence in a week.
Taking a certain document into his hands, Ren frowned. It basically hinted at Danzo being the perpetrator in a very roundabout way. To an amateur it would be damning evidence. But to somebody with more understanding, it was a clear attempt to frame Danzo for these crimes.
But it was not a document Ren prepared. No. This one was already here.
Ren's eyes narrowed. "That overly-competent old fox." He muttered under his breath in astonishment.
He only had to think about what the most likely scenario to happen was if this was found among the evidence, and the image was not very satisfying. The investigators would come to the same obvious conclusion as he did.
That somebody was trying to frame Danzo. And that would put doubt on all the evidence. Enough for Danzo to weasel out of the accusations.
Some people would probably realize that it was Danzo who was framing Danzo just so Danzo could pull exactly that Uno reverse card for the evidence. But how were they going to freaking prove that?
This was exactly the level of circular logic that worked in the ninja world.
"Well, he is certainly prepared." Ren exasperatedly shook his head as he used wind chakra to shred the document into pieces. Then his eyes fell on the bundles of documents on the nearby shelves, and he suddenly felt a chill go up his spine. With a shudder, he cringed.
Fortunately, he was not here to frame Danzo personally, otherwise, he would have had to go through all of that, so he could remove anything that could put doubt on the evidence.
No. Even if everything went perfectly, Danzo could just buckle up and use his connections to get out of it. He'd just need to stay out of sight for a year or so.
But Ren was prepared. Instead of Danzo himself, he was going to frame Konohagakure.
A smirk spread on Ren's face. These documents hinting at Danzo's complicity in this matter... he could use them.
Put some pressure on the old monkey. Have the Daimyo drop the book on him and the village. But also put enough doubt about Danzo's participation in the whole mess.
That was Ren's end goal. Danzo could easily weasel out of it, but Konoha as a whole could not. The village's higher-ups will suspect foul play from one of the other villages. Hell, even the Daimyo would do that.
And these documents that Danzo prepared to get himself an easy way out will neatly redirect that suspicion to him. Who knows? Maybe Ren would be lucky enough for some of Danzo's allies in the village to abandon him?
And... he glanced at the corpse on the floor. Having a ROOT ninja's corpse be found here was actually a good thing for his schemes. Poor Sarutobi. Ren chuckled. He was going to have a few very bad days in his immediate future.
...
After hours of setting the scene and putting some documents into the pile while taking some away, Ren was finally done with his work. Honestly, never again.
This was not for him. Trying to be all sneaky-sneaky and cosplay as some sort of supervillain mastermind in the shadows was exhausting. He preferred to simply explode his opposition fair and square.
That was a lot less of a mess.
He promised to himself that he would never make plans that depended on the survival of some scum like Danzo in the future after dealing with Orochimaru. That way lies madness.
Ren left his clone to take care of the rest and ensure that the rebellion would go smoothly while he teleported home. After a nice hot shower, he put his nicer kimono on and started walking toward the academy.
It was almost time for the kiddies to finish their exams, and he promised Ino to pick her up. Sadly, Hinata had to go through some inane Hyuga clan traditions after graduating.
Apparently, the elders wanted to meet her to 'ascertain her worth' or something equally asinine. Ren was already prepared for her to come to him in the evening, all huffy and steaming in her own anger.
He didn't envy her circumstances. They were treating her like trash. But at the same time, they were still her family, and she was too kind to pull Itachi on their collective geriatric posteriors.
She had it harsh.
Ren arrived at the academy, and his lips twitched into a smile when he saw Ino proudly preening in the middle of a gaggle of overly excited teenage girls, her headband sitting proudly on her forehead to show it off to the world.
Despite spending most of her time training under Ren, she was still a very popular girl among her peers. She simply had those social maneuvering skills down pat without needing to think much about it.
Suddenly, a boy approached the group, all shaky and clearly on the verge of a mental breakdown. He had dark hair and dark eyes, looking quite average, but the forehead protector on his head was a bit worn out, so it was most likely not a recent graduate.
For a moment, the boy just stood near them, clearly not knowing what to do. But then the girls noticed his presence and turned toward him, making him sweat a bit more as he hunched under their attention.
Ren started to feel a bit of pity for the guy. His fingers involuntarily twitched, and he considered giving the poor boy some hel-
"Ino Yamanaka! I love you! Please go out with me! I will make you happy!" The boy abruptly shouted as he straightened up, surprising everybody.
Some hel-l. And there went his pity. Ren's lips twitched in irritation. Fuck that guy.
He sighed. Schoolyard drama. Joy. He almost forgot what things were like in the academy.
Ren noticed Ino glancing at him as she awkwardly stood in front of the boy, and the telepathy seal pinged him, alerting him to a new 'message'.
He curiously opened the channel, and Ino instantly asked, 'A little help, please?'
Ren grinned at her. 'You are on your own, baby girl. I have faith in your ability to handle a love-struck genin.'
'What!? No! You traitor!' Ino inwardly exclaimed while outwardly cringing under the all too hopeful puppy dog-eyed stare of her would-be suitor.
Ren quickly turned the seal off, cutting the telepathic connection between them. What kind of boyfriend would he be if he didn't let her experience and find joy in her embarrassing moments?
He pulled out a camera...