Chapter Thirty-Eight: Old Bastard Danzo

No one objected to Moriyue's idea. After all, after a day of traveling, what could be more relaxing than a good meal after a soak in the hot springs?

Moriyue also wanted to see if he could gather any intelligence during the meal. The third exam wouldn't start until tomorrow, so Moriyue planned to gather information tonight.

Although he had a good grasp of the strength of each village now, he still had to put on a show. Otherwise, it would be difficult to report back to Darui in the Hidden Cloud Village.

Although it was a treat, the hot spring village actually had a cafeteria specifically for the examinees. Moriyue had simply led everyone to a quieter restaurant.

"Order whatever you like, it's not my money anyway. Konoha, as the host, is really showing great hospitality."

"Hmph, of course. Our Konoha is very humane. We'll make you feel at home." Tenten crossed her arms. Hearing Moriyue praise Konoha made her naturally happy. It was always an honor when her village was recognized.

"Indeed 'humane'." Moriyue nodded. The mention of humanity immediately reminded him of Konoha's old scoundrel, the failed Hokage candidate, the eternal scapegoat, the one who stabbed Susanoo with a small kunai and misused Izanagi, Shimura Danzou.

He colluded with the Third Hokage to slaughter the Uchiha Clan with Obito, and teamed up with Orochimaru to conduct forbidden human experimentation. He would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, constantly claiming that all his wicked deeds were for Konoha. In reality, when Konoha faced a crisis, he ran faster than anyone. He was truly a pioneer of humanitarianism.

"Cough cough..."

Danzo, who was peacefully staying in his Root Organization office, sneezed inexplicably. He rubbed the bandages over his eyes, flipped through the mountain of documents before him, and massaged his temples.

There were quite a few participants in this exam. He could barely finish reading the intelligence files of the examinees alone. Even so, Danzo still selected a stack of files from among them, and Moriyue's name was prominently displayed.

"The brat from the Hidden Cloud Village, the noisy girl from the Hidden Waterfall Village, and the summoning ninja from the Hidden Rain Village. You, keep an eye on these individuals..."

With a command from Danzo, several masked figures darted out from the darkness. They knelt on one knee, glanced at the information on the files, and then vanished from their positions like ghosts.

"We cannot let what happened with Orochimaru happen again. Anyone who threatens Konoha's stability must be eliminated."

At the same time, Moriyue, who was chatting happily with Tenten and the others, glanced out the window. In the dark night, something seemed to be moving back and forth. He could only see afterimages, and no sound could be heard at all.

"Captain, what's wrong?" Ando was closest to Moriyue and noticed his expression was a little off.

"It's nothing, just being moved by everyone's enthusiasm." Moriyue stretched, trying his best to cover up the anomaly. Their meal wasn't for nothing; at least Moriyue had gained quite a bit of intelligence from this dinner.

First, there was Ajisai. Moriyue knew that Konan had sent her to find the Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beast, and that person was Kaede. He had thought Ajisai had already confirmed Kaede as the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, but judging by her frequent, subtle glances at Kazeki during the meal, she seemed to have misunderstood something.

As for Tenten, he couldn't see any other motive for her. She seemed to be genuinely there just to discuss sealing Jutsu and summoning Jutsu with Ajisai. Kaede, even more so, was very simple-minded. The idea of her having any ulterior motives would be as likely as the rock golem Malphite growing a brain, which was highly improbable.

"Burp~ I'm so full, I can't eat anymore~" Kaede patted her bulging belly, like a satisfied orange cat, stretching out on her back and wriggling happily.

"I'm full too. So... see you tomorrow?" Kazeki didn't quite know what to say. She felt that Ajisai's gaze towards her was strange, and it made her uneasy.

"Mhm, mhm. We'll be opponents when we meet tomorrow, and I won't hold back~" Tenten adjusted her odango hairstyle. It was the first time she had chatted so happily with someone from another village.

Although Ajisai wanted to stay by Kazeki's side to gather more information, forcing herself on her at this moment would only arouse suspicion. Reluctantly, she waved goodbye to everyone, and they parted ways.

"Captain, that Ajisai..." Kazeki immediately went to Moriyue. That Ajisai definitely had a problem!

"No need to say it, I know. Her intentions are indeed impure, but she seems to have gotten a few things wrong." Moriyue suddenly grabbed Kazeki's delicate wrist, startling her.

"There's still reverse chakra flowing within her. That guy... did she mistake this chakra for Tailed Beast chakra? I see... so Ajisai really got it wrong..."

Moriyue sensed the chakra within Kazeki, and he could clearly feel the assimilated chakra within her responding to him.

He released her hand and walked ahead on his own. Since Ajisai's intentions were impure, he wouldn't mind setting a trap for her.

Ando sneakily approached Kazeki and asked her in a very straightforward, blunt manner.

"Did you do something wrong? When the captain grabbed your hand just now, I thought he was going to electrocute you. Hey, why are you hitting me?"

Such a direct remark naturally earned Kazeki a powerful slam. The two followed behind Moriyue, completely unaware of the Root Organization ninja observing them from the shadows.

Root Organization, office. Danzo closed his eyes. The Root ninja kneeling at the steps below reported everything they had just observed faithfully.

"Those brats have gathered together. I understand. Is there any news about Gaara?"

"According to secret reports from the Hidden Sand Village, Gaara set off for Konoha on the second day of the exam. At his speed, he is expected to arrive tomorrow..."

Danzo opened his sharp, wolverine-like eyes. The new Kazekage was coming to Konoha, and he could not allow it.

"Tsunade is too foolish, thinking of helping other ninja villages grow stronger. Feeding a tiger that will bite you back, utterly stupid."

"Gaara is not only the Kazekage but also the Jinchuriki of the One-Tails. He has had a past incident of rampaging in Konoha..."

Danzo stroked the cross-shaped scar on his chin, his eyes gradually turning sinister.

"Notify the factions in the Hidden Sand Village that oppose Gaara. Prepare to act."

That's right, the forces that had been opposing Gaara in the Hidden Sand Village were all fostered by Danzo. He not only provided them with strategy and funding but also offered them a certain degree of weapon support. It could be said that Danzo, that old scoundrel, was indeed very skilled at sowing discord.