Root Base, the innermost secret room.
Danzo sat alone on the stone chair, his eyes bloodshot.
The air was thick with the strong sll of dicine and the cold aura emanating from him.
He pressed his hand against his faintly aching chest. The scenes from not long ago played uncontrollably in his mind on repeat: Sora’s half-dragonized form, like a demon god, reaping the elite Root mbers as if they were weeds with a wave of his hand, and finally, that world-destroying, soul-shaking ’Thunderclap Eight Trigrams’...
Fear, like a cold poisonous snake, coiled around his heart.
He had never imagined that after decades of dominating the shinobi world, he would suffer such a devastating, complete defeat at the hands of a thirteen-year-old brat!
More than twenty ticulously cultivated elite Root mbers!
They were the blades he had forged with countless resources and effort, his important capital for maintaining his position in Konoha and opposing Hiruzen Sarutobi!
Now, almost all were lost!
At this thought, Danzo felt his heart bleeding. A violent, destructive urge almost shattered his reason. He wanted to imdiately mobilize all of Root’s forces, to tear Sora to pieces at any cost!
But... he could not.
That all-devouring flash of lightning, those subordinates instantly reduced to ashes, and the fleeing figure of the Baku poured cold water on his impulse.
A direct confrontation, impossible!
At least not now!
That brat’s strength had already exceeded his previous estimations, reaching an unbelievable level.
Unless he used those forbidden thods kept as last resorts, or openly broke with Hiruzen to mobilize the Anbu for a siege, he stood no chance of winning.
Yet, whether it was using forbidden thods or openly clashing with the Hokage, the cost was too great, sothing he could not bear at present.
"Huff... huff..."
Danzo breathed heavily, forcibly suppressing the surging killing intent.
He closed his eyes. The scene of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, teaching him surfaced in his mind. When facing the powerful Uchiha clan, sotis, forbearance was more important than sharpness.
After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes. Though they were still filled with resentnt and unwillingness, what dominated now was a cold, coiled-snake-like forbearance.
’Sora...’
He silently recited this na in his heart, filled with bitter hatred:
’This old man admits, he underestimated you.’
’But it doesn’t matter. This old man can wait! Your power, your secrets, will ultimately belong to this old man!’
’And now... the foundation must be stabilized first.’
He pressed a hidden chanism beside him. Soon, a short figure wearing a tanuki mask appeared silently in the secret room, kneeling on one knee.
"Lord Danzo."
The voice still carried a hint of youthful immaturity. It was Kinoe, the currently surviving, sowhat promising seedling of Root, also known as Tenzō, who would later be called Yamato.
Danzo looked down at Kinoe, who only had Chunin-level strength. The fury in his eyes nearly broke control again.
When had Shimura Danzo’s subordinates ever been so depleted?
To be left with only a brat of this level to use!
An intense sense of crisis surged in his heart.
The base was empty, its experts gone. What if... what if that lawless brat ca to kill his way in...
Though unlikely, Danzo dared not gamble!
"Kinoe, imdiately use the ergency communication channel. Relay my order: recall all elite mbers on external missions to the base! Imdiately! Right now!"
"Yes!"
Though puzzled inwardly, his Root training allowed no hesitation. Kinoe acknowledged the order and instantly disappeared.
Watching the direction where Kinoe vanished, Danzo’s heart settled slightly, only to be replaced by deeper anxiety.
Even with all external elites recalled, Root’s strength was far from what it used to be.
Replenishing with fresh blood was urgently needed!
His first thought naturally went to his own clan, the Shimura clan.
Thinking this, Danzo stood up, straightened his robes to conceal his injuries, and stepped out of the dark secret room.
...
The Shimura clan compound was located in a relatively remote area of Konoha.
Unlike the prosperity of major clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga, the Shimura clan compound seed sowhat desolate and run-down.
Walking on the clan’s streets, one could hardly see any young adult shinobi. More often, there were elders, won, children, and so clearly diocre Genin with weak chakra.
Occasionally, clan mbers who saw Danzo would only bow respectfully from a distance, their eyes lacking genuine closeness or warmth.
Danzo walked with an expressionless face, but his heart was gloomy.
Once upon a ti, the Shimura clan was also a founding elder family of Konoha. Though not comparable to the Senju or Uchiha, it was still a prestigious clan.
But now?
Talent was withered, with no proper succession!
And to a large extent, Danzo himself was the cause of all this!
To fill Root, for his ambitions, he had absorbed almost all the clan’s children with any talent into Root.
And Root missions... always had an extrely high casualty rate.
Unlike the Sarutobi clan, which had grown stronger under Hiruzen Sarutobi’s leadership, over the years, the Shimura clan’s elites had almost been completely "ruined" by Danzo, their clan head!
What remained were either the dregs, the cowardly, or the elderly, weak, won, and children seen now.
How... ironic!
Danzo arrived at the clan head’s mansion and summoned the few remaining elders of the clan.
When he proposed recruiting another batch of youths from the clan into Root for "training," the faces of the elders turned extrely grim.
A white-haired, elderly man spoke tremblingly, pleading:
"Clan Head Danzo, the clan... the clan truly has no decent seedlings left! The three children you took last ti, it’s only been half a year, and... only one remains..."
Another elder chid in:
"Yes, Lord Clan Head. If this continues, our Shimura clan... will lose its legacy!"
Danzo glared, a cold aura emanating from him, instantly silencing the elders.
"Fools!"
He coldly shouted. "It is precisely because our clan is now weak that we need excellent descendants to enter Root, obtain resources, achieve rits, and revive the clan’s prestige!"
"Short-sightedness will only make the Shimura clan sink forever!"
He gave the elders no chance to argue, directly issuing the order:
"All children aged eight and above, with chakra aptitude of C-rank or higher, must report to Root in three days!"
After saying this, he snorted coldly, turned, and left, leaving the pale-faced elders sighing in place.
Leaving the Shimura clan head’s mansion, Danzo’s expression grew even darker.
His own clan’s situation was worse than he had imagined. It seed the Shimura clan could not be relied upon.
Then, he could only turn his gaze to those secret technique clans.
Though the cost would be greater, they would be more reliable.
He pondered for a mont, then made a decision.
With a movent, he headed in another direction within Konoha, the direction leading to the Yamanaka and Abura clan compounds.
To fill Root’s void, for future plans, he must spare no cost, and quickly rebuild his power, his "Root"!
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