"Co out!"
In a secluded forest within the Land of Fire, Danzo leaned on his cane, accompanied by several masked Root ninja. They arrived at a relatively sparse area among the trees. With one hand on his cane, Danzo softly commanded.
"So many people here!"
With a voice that carried a playful tone, Zetsu rose from the ground not far in front of Danzo. The pitcher plant split open, revealing a face divided into black and white halves.
"Shut up! You're too noisy!"
Black Zetsu snapped at White Zetsu before turning his gaze toward Danzo.
"It seems you're interested in working with us."
"I'm only here to see who's hiding in the shadows," Danzo replied coldly, waving his hand. Two Root ninja imdiately leapt forward, drawing their blades toward Zetsu.
"How ruthless!"
"Cooperation failed! Let's run!"
"No, eliminate them!"
"Huh? You want to do it?"
Even as their dialogue sounded like a split personality argunt, Zetsu's movents showed no hesitation.
Clapping his hands together, under Danzo's narrowing gaze, a mass of tree branches erupted from the ground in front of him. Like living creatures, the branches stretched and twisted in the air.
Wood Release!
The branches ford a network of interwoven trees, binding the two Root ninja mid-attack. Sharp wooden spikes pierced through their bodies, draining their blood, flesh, and chakra, turning it into nourishnt for the trees.
Danzo's hand gripped his cane tightly, veins bulging as he watched.
He wasn't angry over the deaths of the two Root ninja. After all, every mber of Root who underwent its training and embraced its philosophy had long relinquished control over their lives.
As long as their deaths served a purpose, even if it was only marginally valuable, Danzo would not mourn their loss.
As long as he was alive, even if every Root ninja perished, with Konoha as his backing, he could always cultivate and rebuild the organization anew.
"Let's end the probing here. I've already shown you what you wanted to see. As you can see, I have mastered the First Hokage's Wood Release power! You want this power too, don't you?"
After easily taking down two Root ninjas, Zetsu didn't take advantage to attack again. Instead, he stood still and spoke to Danzo across from him.
"Wood Release has already resurfaced in Konoha!" Danzo scolded.
"Are you talking about that Wood Release that can only be used to grow plants? Don't be ridiculous!" White Zetsu imdiately retorted, "What use is that kind of Wood Release?"
"Looks like you know a lot about Konoha. Was it Nara Kagetsu who created you? Is it that kid Nara Kagetsu behind you, or Orochimaru?"
As Danzo spoke, the surrounding Root ninjas had already surrounded them. Four of them ford seals and summoned four purple barriers.
Barrier Technique: Four Purple Flas Formation!
"Oh dear! This is bad! We're trapped in a barrier!" White Zetsu placed his hand in front of his eyes, shielding himself, and looked around at the four tall purple barriers rising. Half of his face was dramatically reacting.
"I see. You took for a creation of Orochimaru and his disciples?" Black Zetsu ignored White Zetsu's antics and the rising barrier. Instead, he stared at Danzo with a strange look.
Of course, he knew Orochimaru. One of the Legendary Sannin, the Third Hokage's disciple, and a contractor with the Ryūchi Cave, he was a ninja known for inventing strange things.
He also knew Nara Kagetsu.
The most famous descendant of the Nara clan's younger generation, Orochimaru's disciple, imrsed in research just like his teacher.
It was under the hands of these two that the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai had resurfaced in Konoha, especially among the Senju clan.
And Uchiha Shisui, whose death led to Hanzo's, was Nara Kagetsu's partner or rather, his enforcer.
In other words, if Uchiha Shisui could stand on their side and act as a replacent for Madara, the plan for the Infinite Tsukuyomi might have gone much more smoothly.
But unfortunately, after observing him, Uchiha Shisui was not the type to agree with their ideals, nor was he willing to disregard everything and stand with them as an Uchiha descendant.
"We have no relation to Nara Kagetsu or Orochimaru. We are loyal to Madara-sama!" Zetsu denied Danzo's guess and revealed their true allegiance.
"That's impossible! Uchiha Madara is already dead! He died at the hands of the First Hokage!" Danzo's heart skipped a beat, and his one eye widened in shock at the earth-shattering revelation from Zetsu.
"Is that so? Then where is Madara-sama's body?" A mocking expression appeared on Zetsu's face. "You could take the First Hokage's corpse and experint with it, but would you really give up the body of Uchiha Madara, who was on the sa level as him?"
Danzo fell silent for a mont after being questioned.
If they claid to respect the bodies of their predecessors, that would be self-deceiving.
Why did Tsunade hold such deep resentnt toward them and speak without holding back?
Besides the burdens of war and the loss of their loved ones, it was also because of the experints they secretly conducted that disappointed her greatly.
It just so happened that so old mbers of the Senju clan were involved, and they kept it all hidden from everyone, including her. Various complicated ties made it hard for her to explode with anger.
Since the First Hokage ended up as a subject of research, how could Uchiha Madara's corpse, a traitor and failure, escape such a fate?
At least Danzo knew very well that his ntor, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, had studied the Uchiha clan and inford them about the dangers of the Uchiha.
Madara's corpse went missing in Konoha, and it was indeed a secret only a few high-ranking individuals knew.
In Danzo's mory, besides him and Hiruzen, there were only two old comrades left: Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
And the four of them were the least likely to leak such information.
So, this strange ninja who can use Wood Release... could they really not be an experintal subject from the Technology Developnt Departnt?
"The death of Uchiha Madara was witnessed in full view of the First and Second Hokages, as well as us," Danzo said, looking at Zetsu.
"Even if Madara used genjutsu to deceive us, he couldn't have fooled the First and Second Hokages! Especially the Second Hokage, he personally checked and confird Madara's death!"
"Who says soone who is dead cannot co back to life?" Black Zetsu narrowed his eyes and said.
"Are you saying Uchiha Madara could defeat the Grim Reaper himself? Don't be ridiculous!" Danzo snorted coldly.
"Looks like you still have a shallow understanding of the Uchiha clan!" Zetsu said in a calm tone. He had already figured out Danzo's intentions.
If cooperation truly broke down, or if he had no interest in Wood Release and the alliance, he wouldn't need to waste so many words here.
At the mont the barrier was established, he could have launched his forces to take it down or eliminate this threat.
****
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