Dressed in a black combat uniform with a jonin vest over it, Kei walked up to the main gate.
A Root ninja hidden behind the gate imdiately stood up, opened the door for him, and bowed slightly in respect.
Tap~ Tap~ Tap~ Tap~
As Kei stepped into the ANBU Training Division, the crisp sound of his footsteps echoed in the vast hall, which didn't even have a single window. As the door behind him shut, the entire space seed to be swallowed by darkness, gradually dimming.
A mont later, the captain of the second squad, whom Kei had t once before, appeared a few ters away using the Body Flicker Technique.
Kneeling on one knee, he respectfully bowed and spoke.
"Kei-sama, Danzō-sama has ordered to guide you and introduce the structure and responsibilities of the various departnts within Root."
"Lead the way." Kei gave a slight nod.
He thought to himself, No wonder this guy beca a captain while the other one was just a gatekeeper. Look at the difference in attitude—who do you think Danzō values more? That's not even a question.
"Yes. This way, please."
The captain, now standing, gestured forward before leading the way.
Officially, Root was called the "ANBU Training Division," and it indeed handled ANBU selection and training. The upper levels of the building mainly consisted of classrooms and various training facilities.
Due to the ongoing war, the Third Hokage had no imdiate plans to expand the ANBU forces. As a result, most of the upper-level structures were left unused.
But as Kei followed the captain into an elevator that descended underground, he finally saw the true extent of the power under Danzō's control.
There was the Interrogation Unit, responsible for detaining and questioning high-risk individuals. The Espionage Unit, in charge of spy operations. The Combat Unit, tasked with executing various missions. The Intelligence Unit, responsible for gathering and analyzing information.
And deeper underground, there were even more divisions— The Research and Developnt Unit, focused on jutsu developnt. The Logistics Unit, managing supplies and support.
"How many personnel does Root have in total?"
Kei frowned as he asked the captain beside him.
"I serve in the Combat Unit, which currently has 77 mbers. As for the numbers in other divisions, only Danzō-sama knows."
The captain then stepped into another elevator and pressed a button for an even lower level.
"I see."
Kei nodded slightly.
The ANBU, directly under Sarutobi, had around a hundred personnel. Root's Combat Unit was slightly weaker in numbers, which wasn't surprising. However, when adding in the Interrogation, Espionage, Intelligence, Research, and Training Units…
This was practically a miniature Konoha!
No wonder that even in later years, Danzō's subordinates were capable of causing so much trouble. The actual number of Root operatives was likely far greater than anyone had imagined.
Following the captain further underground, the elevator doors slid open. The sounds of training imdiately filled the air.
Stepping out, Kei felt a brief fluctuation of chakra wash over him. Turning his head thoughtfully, he noticed several barrier seals embedded into the walls. Inside the vast underground space, dozens of children, appearing no older than eight or nine, trained in chanical repetition, their eyes vacant and expressions numb.
Smack!
A whip cracked against a child who had montarily lost focus due to Kei's arrival.
No cry of pain. No complaints. Despite the intense sting, the child rely retracted his gaze and resud the monotonous movent of swinging a blade.
"Kei-sama."
Three Root trainers stepped forward and bowed in unison.
"Are these all of Root's current trainees?"
Kei gestured for them to rise before directing his question to the one who appeared to be in charge.
"There are currently five training groups, each with three assigned instructors."
"Group A consists of thirteen mbers undergoing final assessnt at Training Base No. 2. Their aptitude is promising—at least six are expected to pass and officially join Root next month."
"Group B, standing before you, has eighty-eight mbers. Their training is expected to continue for another year."
"Group C has one hundred and forty-five mbers training at Base No. 3. They have two more years left and won't be combat-ready anyti soon."
"Group D consists of..."
"Group E consists of..."
The Root trainer efficiently relayed all the information.
Kei nodded slightly before motioning for the captain to move on to the next area. He didn't want to stay here a second longer. Otherwise, he might just destroy this entire place.
From what the Root trainer had described, Kei had already deduced Root's training thodology.
For the first two years, the training focused on basic literacy and fundantal skills, but afterward, it turned into a brutal survival-of-the-fittest selection process.
Just looking at Group A, which had only thirteen survivors left, it was clear how many children Danzō had sacrificed!
That old bastard—he was truly inhuman!
Starting with a group of twenty, yet by the end of training, fewer than ten would survive?
Kei clenched his palm tightly, forcing himself to stay calm.
He admitted that he wasn't the kindest person, but Danzō wasn't just ruthless. He didn't even have a heart!
"Kei-sama, the tour of the facility is now complete. Danzō-sama is waiting for you in his office. Your office is located right next to his."
The captain led him back into the elevator and ascended to the first underground level, the area closest to the surface.
Following his guidance, they soon arrived at the office door.
The guard standing outside was Tatsuma, the sa boy who had been at Danzō's side at Konoha Hospital.
Opening the door, under the dim lighting, Danzō sat at his desk, swiftly reviewing a stack of docunts. As soon as he saw Kei enter, he set down the brush in his hand and motioned for the captain and Tatsuma to leave.
With the office doors now shut, Kei's gaze swept across the room's four corners, where four Root ninjas, each wearing a mask, observed him with a faint trace of mockery in their eyes.
"Sit." Danzō stood up and walked over to the guest seating area, leisurely preparing tea.
Kei sat across from him. Watching Danzō skillfully perform his refined tea-making technique, Kei clapped his hands lightly.
"As expected from a noble background."
"You flatter ." Danzō nodded slightly, pushing a freshly brewed cup of tea toward Kei before taking a sip himself.
After a brief mont of silence, Danzō spoke again.
"Hiruzen stands in the light as Hokage, while I am the root hidden in Konoha's shadows. The shinobi world is filled with things that cannot be exposed to sunlight—assassinating enemy leaders, inciting conflicts among rival factions, recruiting rogue ninjas, conducting human experints..."
Kei held the teacup in his hand, lifting it to his lips.
Just as he was about to take a sip, he hesitated, as if he had sothing to say, then slowly placed the cup back down.
Seeing that Danzō showed no reaction, Kei smacked his lips in boredom and lazily leaned back into the sofa.
"Let's get straight to the point."
"Did I reveal a flaw sowhere?" Danzō wasn't in a hurry to act—instead, he asked the question directly.
"I've seen too many of your secrets. Even Orochimaru might not know this much."
Kei chuckled. Too much exposure was a problem. Given his relationship with Danzō, there was no way the man would ever fully trust him! And yet, he had been shown so much classified information—there was no chance Danzō hadn't prepared a way to control him.
"That was indeed an oversight on my part." Danzō took another sip of tea before setting the cup down.
Then, he subtly signaled to the four Root ninjas, who had been prepared from the beginning.
However, the four masked ninjas stationed in the corners remained still, as if they hadn't seen the command at all.
Seeing no response from his n, Danzō lifted his gaze and stared directly at Kei.
His tone was indifferent.
"As expected of soone capable of defeating Jiraiya—you are indeed worth extra preparation."
—Buzz!
The mont Danzō finished speaking, a blinding purple light erupted throughout the room.
It was the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden barrier technique—Creation of Heaven and Earth!
In the original story, the Tsuchigumo traitor, Shiranami, had passed this technique to his four subordinates. And those four, in a single instant, managed to seal Naruto's chakra completely.
Even when Naruto instinctively called upon the Nine-Tails' chakra, he still couldn't break free from the barrier's grip!
Poof!
The "Danzō" in front of Kei exploded into a puff of chakra smoke. Clearly, from the very beginning, this was just a shadow clone!
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