Brainwave Amplification, Here We Go~

Near noon, the sunlight over Konoha's streets was just right, and pedestrians flowed past in endless streams.

Yamanaka Kei ate the Red Bean Chestnut Yokan he had bought from Sweet Chestnut Sweet as he strolled toward the Jonin Waiting Station.

His gaze occasionally swept over the merchants, civilians, and ninja along the street.

Ordinary villagers rarely had entries.

Even when they did, they were usually white or green entries with little practical use.

By comparison, ninja had a much higher chance of possessing entries, though not everyone did. Blank-slate ninja still made up the greater share.

"No matter what world it is, there are always more ordinary people."

Yamanaka Kei sighed inwardly, casually tossed the yokan wrapper into a trash bin, and was about to enter the Jonin Waiting Station.

A solid three-seat wooden sofa shot out through the front entrance with a shrieking whistle.

Before he could make out what had happened—

A powerful surge of Chakra erupted from within the Jonin Waiting Station.

Then, with a boom—

All the glass in the Jonin Waiting Station shattered at once. A crack more than ten feet deep ran across the ground all the way to the entrance, while the walls tilted and collapsed to varying degrees.

A perfectly fine Jonin Waiting Station had become a dangerous ruin in the blink of an eye!

Immediately afterward, a basic Wind Release: Air Current Wild Dance swiftly dispersed the billowing smoke and dust.

It also revealed the two people still confronting each other inside the Jonin Waiting Station.

Kushina Uzumaki, and Shimura Danzo!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

A series of piercing whistles rang out as three Root ninja clad in Anbu uniforms and animal masks used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Danzo, taking up attacking stances toward Kushina.

Yamanaka Kei narrowed his eyes slightly and moved, appearing behind Kushina in an instant.

Arriving alongside him were Akimichi Choza and Akimichi Todo of the Akimichi Clan, Nara Suzaku of the Nara Clan, Inuzuka Agito of the Inuzuka Clan, and Kurama Murakumo of the Kurama Clan.

As for the other jonin who had originally been in the Jonin Waiting Station—

Perhaps they were intimidated by the Hokage Assistant's authority, or perhaps they simply did not want to get involved in a conflict among Konoha's upper ranks.

Either way, they had already vanished without a trace.

"Shimura Danzo! I already made myself perfectly clear. I will never hand over the Uzumaki Clan's sealing secret techniques to you!"

Seeing that she was not alone, Kushina's already fierce presence rose several more notches.

Hearing that, Yamanaka Kei understood. No wonder not only the Ino-Shika-Cho clans aligned with the Hokage's faction, but even the head of the Kurama Clan had stood behind Kushina.

So Danzo had crossed the bottom line of the ninja clans this time?

"A Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki incapable of controlling her emotions will only bring disaster to the village. I will ask Hiruzen to have you undergo Root training."

There was not a trace of extra emotion in Shimura Danzo's cold, sinister eyes.

He did not even spare Yamanaka Kei, Akimichi Choza, Kurama Murakumo, or the others a second glance.

After throwing out that threat, he turned and headed straight outside.

Kushina looked somewhat stunned. Even Akimichi Choza and the others could not help being slightly taken aback by how easily he had left.

Yamanaka Kei had not witnessed the entire conflict, so he could not judge Danzo's true purpose in coming here.

But judging from the old bastard's willingness to give up so easily, what he was plotting was probably not the Uzumaki Clan's sealing secret techniques at all.

Nor did he truly intend to send Kushina to Root for training.

After all, even if Sarutobi Hiruzen had been kicked in the head by a donkey, he would never give Danzo an opportunity to interfere with control over the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki.

Yamanaka Kei could not guess Danzo's purpose, but he was certain of one thing.

That old bastard definitely wasn't up to anything good.

Before, he might have been unable to do anything to him due to Danzo's status and influence.

But now...

"System, give Shimura Danzo the Brainwave Amplification entry!"

A black, ghostly gleam visible only to Yamanaka Kei flashed into Shimura Danzo's body in an instant.

As Shimura Danzo walked, he felt a faint chill at the back of his head.

Assuming it was merely his body's subtle response to Kushina and the others' intense hostility, he failed to notice danger closing in.

Crack~!

After a sharp snapping sound, a roof beam of the Jonin Waiting Station came crashing down.

The entire building began rapidly collapsing along with it.

The instant the beam broke, Yamanaka Kei and the others instinctively used the Body Flicker Technique to escape.

The three Root ninja who had been following Danzo closely were just as quick to react.

But after the rising dust settled—

The three Root ninja exchanged glances. When they did not see Shimura Danzo, they hurriedly began digging through the collapsed rubble.

Holy crap~ Is this thing really that powerful?

Yamanaka Kei was both shocked and delighted. The effect of a black entry was truly explosive!

He had only just equipped it on Shimura Danzo, and the man had already been buried alive!

"Hahahahaha~! People who do too many bad things really never meet a good end!"

With her hands on her hips, Kushina laughed freely at the buried Shimura Danzo.

Especially after the three Root members went through immense effort to drag Danzo out of the ruins, his clothes in tatters and blood pouring from his head, her laughter became even more delighted.

Shimura Danzo's head was spinning as he continuously circulated Chakra through his body, checking his injuries.

Just as he had used the Body Flicker Technique, his calf had suddenly cramped for no reason.

As a result, the broken beam had slammed straight into his forehead.

If he had not protected his vital points with Chakra in time, he would likely have already lost his life.

"Did the transplanted Sharingan cause insufficient Chakra supply and muscular nerve dysfunction?"

Feeling no abnormalities in his body, Danzo could only attribute it to side effects from transplanting the Sharingan.

Ignoring Kushina, who had deliberately come over to mock him without restraint, he barely raised an arm and gave several hand signals to his subordinates.

After quickly bandaging him and stopping the bleeding, the three Root ninja carried him toward the Root base.

Yamanaka Kei watched Danzo's retreating back, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.

Name: Shimura Danzo

Occupation: Konoha Ninja

Entries: Single-Eyed Three Tomoe (Blue), Wind Release Mastery (Blue), Brainwashing Expertise (Blue), Sealing Art Proficiency (Green), By Any Means Necessary (White), Ruthless and Heartless (White), Brainwave Amplification (Black)

In terms of the number of entries, Shimura Danzo had the most of anyone Yamanaka Kei had seen so far.

Especially those entries unrelated to combat.

Brainwashing Expertise controlled thoughts, Sealing Art Proficiency controlled behavior, By Any Means Necessary lowered one's likability while raising the success rate of achieving objectives, and Ruthless and Heartless lowered the limits of humanity while increasing intimidation.

With all those effects stacked together, it was no wonder the Root he had created had been able to run rampant within Konoha for decades without falling.

"What lovely weather today! Mm~ Thank you all~!"

In a remarkably cheerful mood, Kushina praised the weather before thanking everyone who had stood behind her just now.

With her sweet smile, there was not the slightest trace of the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero from earlier.

"You're too polite, Jonin Uzumaki."

After giving a nod of acknowledgment, Kurama Murakumo maintained the bearing of a clan head and turned to leave gracefully.

He had stood behind Kushina only because Danzo's demand for the Uzumaki Clan's secret techniques had crossed the bottom line of the ninja clans.

Had Danzo used any other excuse to make trouble, he would have left the Jonin Waiting Station long ago.

Kushina did not mind his distant attitude.

After turning to say a few words to Akimichi Choza and the others, she slapped Yamanaka Kei on the shoulder as he was deep in thought and spoke bluntly.

"Pig Girl, long time no see~"