Danzo

"That Danzo..." Sakura Haruno muttered, carefully examining the two corpses on the ground, "He's only been behaving himself for a while, and now he's trying to cause trouble again?"

Sakura's heart stirred, and without any visible movement of her hands, a girl exactly like her appeared out of thin air in front of Sakura Haruno.

Ninjutsu as powerful as a Chakra can be accomplished by a single hand Hand Seals and a simple inhale and exhale of chakra in the hands of many skilled Ninjutsu. However, Chakra Sakura Haruno do it without Hand Seals. Her chakra moves with a seemingly natural fluctuation, and her Ninjutsu is executed with the exquisite precision of a gazelle leaping across the sky, as ethereal as drifting clouds, without a trace of smoke or fire. Such a feat is truly rare in the world.

Perhaps due to the profound influence of the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha, many ninjas, in the dialectical relationship between "technique" and "strength," unhesitatingly chose to enhance their own strength, yearning to approach the overwhelming power of the First and Madara, rather than deeply developing their skills. As a result, Sakura Haruno often felt that no one was walking with her on her own path.

Uchiha Itachi was probably one of the few peers who had explored the details and essence of Ninjutsu to a very deep degree. Unfortunately, the battle between the two of them was just a theatrical performance on stage. They didn't get to have a real fight and appreciate Itachi's exquisite Ninjutsu skills, which was truly regrettable.

In any case, simply overwhelming the enemy with Chakra seemed like an unfair and unsatisfying victory to her. But if Kisame, one wonders what he would think.

Perhaps because her mind had relaxed after the fierce battle, Sakura Haruno's mind began to wander with all sorts of random and whimsical thoughts.

The Ice Clone, who was squatting at her feet examining the corpse, tapped her leg, pulling Sakura out of her inexplicable sense of relief that she wasn't alone in this situation.

"Two corpses, a man and a woman, both very young, between 5 and 0 years old."

"The corpses had wide-open eyes, terrified expressions, and bloodshot eyes, indicating that they had been under Genjutsu before their deaths."

"The root of the tongue is sealed with a restriction. The restriction takes effect at the moment of death, turning the corpse's brain into a mess. This is a typical Root practice. Danzo is ruthless to Danzo even the corpses of his own people like this. Sakura, I suggest you learn from him."

"Their limbs were naturally straight, without bending or stretching, and there was no sign of exertion, indicating that they did not make any effective struggle from the moment they encountered the enemy until their death. It seems that the Genjutsu was very powerful, and the two of them died in a completely daze."

"Aside from the Kunai that killed him instantly in the heart, there were no other wounds on his body. The wounds were very fresh, the blood had only recently clotted, and judging from the lividity and rigor mortis, he must have died not long ago, probably less than an hour ago."

"Judging from the muscle distribution, the male corpse was skilled in Taijutsu, and the thick calluses on his hands from long-term gripping indicated that he was also a master of swordsmanship, such as the katana."

"The female corpse is well-proportioned and slender, without any imbalance caused by prolonged use of one side of the body... Hmm, still not good, but judging from the scrolls on her body, she should be skilled in Sealing Jutsu..."

Other information, such as what Ninjutsu they are good at or whether they are sensory-type ninjas, is difficult to discern in a short time.

The Ice Clone's cold voice echoed through the cave as it analyzed each point.

"Sealing Jutsu..." Sakura Haruno stroked her smooth chin, pondering for a moment, "This is probably intended to seal the Seven-Tails... Could their target be Fu?"

This is very likely.

Master Tsunade could guess that there might be Seven-Tails Jinchuriki in the Land of Waterfalls of Danzo probably could too. Knowing that there Jinchūriki in the Land of Waterfalls, directly sending subordinates to seize him is exactly the Root's consistent style of doing things.

He never considers the negative impact of his actions; as long as it benefits him, that's all that matters. He belongs to the school of thought that acts without any moral boundaries.

However, it was precisely because of this unscrupulous behavior—through various scams, swindles, arson, murder, Danzo— that Danzo amassed a considerable amount of valuable goods. Therefore, although Danzo was extremely disliked in the village, everyone tolerated him because many villagers needed the valuable items he possessed but did not want to dirty their hands or make enemies out of thin air.

Many things were only understood by Sakura Haruno after her strength and status became more prominent and she came into contact with more and more things in the past two years.

Behind the glamorous facade of Konoha lies a host of dark conflicts.

Danzo's self-proclaimed role as the dark side of Konoha wasn't without reason. Many things that couldn't be done openly could be entrusted to Danzo —convenient, quick, highly efficient, and with minimal repercussions.

Take Sakura Haruno, for example. If she had cooperated with Danzo, many things wouldn't have needed to be so complicated. Need materials to develop Ninjutsu? Danzo could kidnap hundreds of people from who-knows-where at any time, and she could do whatever she wanted with them. Need more information when Ninjutsu progress stagnates? Danzo has a large number of Ninjutsu scrolls, Secret Technique, and even the Ninjutsu notes of Hanzō, the leader of the Rain Ninja Village, who is known as a "demigod"—that was the reward he received after he and Hanzō jointly wiped out Akatsuki. Want to do cloning? Danzo could also make a deal with Orochimaru and get cloning data from him. From technology to materials, Root can provide it all; their methods are incredibly ruthless!

He even had quite a bit of information on Ice Release Kekkei Genkai —when Orochimaru went to the Land of Water as a human trafficker, he didn't just bring Kimimaro back with him.

Danzo's demands weren't high, and he did all the hateful things, while Danzo simply reaped the benefits. He was purer than a white lotus flower. With such a good deal, it's no wonder that Danzo and Root were always able to withstand attacks. So even though the Third suppressed him time and time again, as long as the various ninja clans in the village had needs, Danzo could rise again and again. Root, like an indestructible force, remained hidden in the shadows of Konoha, constantly growing by absorbing the village's darkness.

Even the Third and Fifth Hokage probably harbored the idea of keeping Danzo alive, so that if anything went wrong, they could use him as a scapegoat to protect Konoha...

This is the mentality of everyone at the top, no wonder Danzo, despite being universally disliked, lived a very comfortable life...

Sakura Haruno inwardly scoffed at this kind of mentality.

When Danzo stirring up trouble and causing chaos outside, did the victims really think they would carefully identify him as Shimura Danzō of Konoha or Root of Konoha's Root? No, others would only think that Konoha was doing bad things, and when they retaliated, they would only target Konoha, rather than precisely separating Danzo from Konoha and only taking revenge on him!

When an avalanche occurs, no snowflake is innocent.

The Hyuga, Yamanaka, Aburame, and other ninja clans that made deals with Danzo might believe that Danzo was responsible for those dirty deeds and that they themselves were innocent, but others wouldn't see it that way. When they see that some members of Root possess the Byakugan, some can use Yamanaka Secret Technique, and some can manipulate insects, they will only think that these ninja clans have already colluded with Root.

The same applies to Konoha.

Thinking of this, Sakura Haruno could only sigh. The village's tolerance of someone like Danzo was a recipe for disaster, and it would inevitably bring about dire consequences sooner or later.

Unfortunately, she doesn't yet have the ability to change anything.

There were too many things she couldn't stand about the village, or even the entire Shinobi World, but so what? She couldn't just defect... She had to wait until Sakura Haruno and her friends who were influenced by her grew up before she would have the right and ability to talk about change or even reform.

Before that, we can only silently endure and slowly accumulate strength.

Has the fighting stopped?

Shimura Danzō, who had just been harshly criticized by Sakura Haruno, was standing at the deepest part of the cave, hidden in the darkness, and asked slowly in a voice as hard as withered wood.

The abundant water and limestone environment of the Land of Waterfalls has created numerous karst landforms, with caves and underground rivers everywhere. The giant pit where the Hidden Takigakure is hidden is a typical example, and the cave where the Root ninjas temporarily took refuge is just one of the thousands of ordinary caves.

"Yes," the Root ninja, with half his face buried in a special Chakra sensor on his head, answered without turning his head, standing at the cave entrance, always facing the distance. "Just now, Uchiha Itachi suddenly unleashed an extremely strong Chakra, after which both of their Chakra declined. However, Uchiha Itachi's stamina seems to have decreased more, so Sakura Haruno should have the advantage now!"

After observing for a while, the Root ninja said again, "But so far, I haven't sensed any Chakra fluctuations. The two should still be in a standoff; no battle has broken out yet. Wait...!"

"The Susanoo's Chakra sensing has disappeared! Uchiha Itachi and the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki are moving rapidly away from the battlefield! They're retreating!"

Danzo's wrinkled face creased into a deep frown. He looked up, a glint of light flickering in his cloudy eyes. "Where's Sakura Haruno? Didn't she chase after her?"

"No... She took Sasuke and moved in the opposite direction. The distance between them is getting bigger and bigger. It doesn't look like they're going around in circles. The battle must be over!" A bead of cold sweat dripped from the ninja wearing the sensor device. Sensing two targets that are getting closer together is not an easy task for a sensory ninja.

"Hmph! Womanly compassion!" Danzo his face, and he slammed his cane down, pressing it into the ground and creating a dent.

If he were Sakura Haruno, given Danzo's personality, he would definitely rush in and leave the enemy behind. As for abandoning his comrades in the process, he would see it as a necessary sacrifice; sacrificing one current comrade to kill the enemy's general in exchange for fewer future comrades would be an extremely worthwhile trade!

Of course, in Danzo's dark scheme, the best thing would be for Sakura Haruno to fight Uchiha Itachi to the death, resulting in both of them being severely injured, and to take care of the White Zetsu nearby. Then, his Root could go up and reap the benefits, taking Itachi, Sasuke, Sakura Haruno, and the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki into their fold!

Unfortunately, with the ceasefire between the two sides, Danzo's schemes came to naught...

(1/. More updates to come.)