Danzo's Fury Soars Sky-High (Please Keep Reading)

To maximize the benefits, selling Yakushi Nonō's intelligence to Orochimaru would obviously yield the greatest return. There was no point in telling Uchiha Tori about it.

"The Wandering Miko?"

Orochimaru was briefly stunned upon hearing this information, then let out a hoarse laugh. "Hehe, I never expected the Uchiha elders to possess so much intelligence. It seems the Uchiha are quite familiar with Root."

Clearly, Orochimaru had misunderstood. He assumed that, due to Danzo's hostility toward the Uchiha, the Uchiha had also been secretly watching Root, which was why they possessed so much intelligence.

After all, there had first been Root's Wood Style Ninja, 'Kou,' as a token of sincerity, and now there was the 'Wandering Miko.' Both were Root's most closely guarded secrets, yet the Uchiha elders knew about them. Who would believe there was nothing suspicious going on?

Not only did Uchiha Yoru not explain this misunderstanding, he was happy to let it stand. Smiling, he shook his head and said, "Teacher Orochimaru, the clan head said he would give his full support to help you become Hokage."

There was a great deal of information hidden in those words. Orochimaru immediately smiled. It seemed the Uchiha Clan was not as united as it appeared. Judging by this, the elders had their own intelligence network, while the Uchiha clan head belonged to another faction. Still, that had little to do with him.

"Hehe, Yoru, clean this place up. We no longer need it. Let's move on to the next base."

After turning away, Orochimaru let out a hoarse laugh that sent chills down one's spine. Yet Uchiha Yoru felt entirely at ease. So long as one remained useful, one could act freely under Orochimaru. Perhaps that was Orochimaru's magnanimity and personal charm.

Konoha, Root.

Within a dimly lit chamber, Danzo's expression beneath his eye bandages was terrifyingly grim. Looking at the two people kneeling on one knee below him, he asked in a low voice, "Still nothing?"

At his emotionless question, the two masked Root Ninja kneeling on the floor replied in equally cold voices, "Our apologies, Lord Danzo. Root has been thoroughly searched three times, from top to bottom, but we still found no trace of any Spy infiltrating us."

The moment he heard that answer, Danzo flew into a rage. Slamming his hand heavily onto the table, he roared, "No one infiltrated us? Then how was the information that Kou is a Wood Style Ninja leaked? Tell me! Konoha's most deeply hidden root was infiltrated, its intelligence leaked, and yet you cannot find even the slightest clue? Useless! A bunch of useless fools!"

Danzo was truly burning with rage. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi had never been told about Wood Style Ninja Kou, yet Orochimaru now knew.

He had even openly demanded the records and some flesh and blood for research, saying he wanted to restart the Wood Release Project.

When Danzo had received Orochimaru's message, he had immediately exploded with fury. What angered him was not the supposedly precious records and flesh, nor even the fact that Kou's existence had been leaked. It was that he knew Root had a problem, yet still could not uncover it. That was what enraged him most.

"Useless!"

As Danzo cursed furiously, the two Root Ninja lowered their heads and remained silent. They did not dare show the slightest dissatisfaction. In fact, they themselves were frightened. Root had been infiltrated—one could imagine just how terrifying that was.

"Hiruzen, was it you?!" Danzo narrowed his eyes in rage. At present, the only possibility he could think of was his old friend, the Third Hokage.

After all, in Konoha today, only the Third Hokage, who had held power for so many years, possessed the capability and influence to quietly place people within Root while ensuring Danzo could not find a single trace of them.

"Lord Danzo, all Root Ninja bear the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. The possibility of leaking intelligence is practically nonexistent."

Hearing one of his subordinates speak so confidently, Danzo sneered. "Practically nonexistent? There has never been a perfect ninjutsu. Since it is a Sealing Jutsu, it can naturally be undone. And another seal can likewise be placed over it."

Danzo was now certain that this had to be Hiruzen Sarutobi's doing. After all, only the Third Hokage had the means to seal the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, obtain Root's intelligence, and then remove the Sealing Jutsu.

At that thought, Danzo felt as though he had been played like a monkey, while he had smugly believed the other side knew nothing. His face nearly turned green with fury as he gritted his teeth. "Hiruzen! Good! Good! All these years, you've been playing me like a monkey!"

He could already imagine that everything in Root had surely been under Hiruzen Sarutobi's watchful eye. All his secret plotting, which he had been so proud of, had turned out to be nothing more than the antics of a clown.

Inside the Hokage Office, the Third Hokage tiredly puffed on the pipe in his mouth. After slowly exhaling a thick cloud of smoke, he frowned at the intelligence sent from the Border.

"Alas, fortunately, the other great nations have yet to emerge from the shadow of the Third Shinobi War. As for the provocations of certain small countries, I only hope things settle down soon."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had suddenly been forced to shoulder the burden alone once more. It would be a lie to say he felt no pressure. Within the village was the exceedingly dangerous Uchiha Clan. After all, the Uchiha were known as the shinobi world's foremost Noble Houses.

Some small countries along the border sought to provoke another war among the great nations in order to weaken them, while spies from every country continually probed Konoha's true strength.

Konoha had just lost its youngest and shortest-serving Fourth Hokage, along with a large number of elite ninja. These truly were troubled times.

At that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help looking toward the portraits of the previous Hokage on the wall. When he saw the final one, with its golden-haired young man's bright smile, he sighed. "Minato, you really left this old man with a mess to clean up."

With so many elite ninja gone, many departments were severely understaffed. Now, the major clans and the Sarutobi Clan could only step forward to fill the gaps. Recently, he had also noticed that the gradually stabilizing border situation seemed to have made certain members of his clan reluctant to relinquish the power they had obtained.

Internal troubles and external threats—this was Konoha's current state.

"Hokage-sama, this is all the information on Uchiha Yoru."

A black shadow flashed past. Clearly, it was an Anbu ninja. After a stack of intelligence appeared on the Hokage's desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression grew solemn.

During such troubled times, Orochimaru had taken an Uchiha as his disciple. What exactly was going on?

"Orochimaru, do you need the Uchiha's power because of the Hokage position? Or is this an Uchiha Clan conspiracy?"

Muttering to himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened Uchiha Yoru's file. It clearly documented everything from his background and time at the Ninja Academy to whom he had gotten along poorly with at school, whom he had argued with, and whom he had fought. It was truly exhaustive.

Yet after seeing all this information, Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows furrowed even tighter, and the pipe between his lips crackled as he puffed on it.

"He awakened the Sharingan on Nine-Tails Night? Was it because of fear, or anger? An orphan... Or did he awaken his eyes out of anger over Konoha's enormous losses?"

As a disciple of the Second Generation, he understood the Uchiha very well. He muttered to himself for a while, then finally narrowed his eyes at an inconspicuous piece of intelligence.

A plain sheet of paper clearly recorded that Yūhi Kurenai, the daughter of the late Elite Jonin Kurenai Yuhi, had an ambiguous relationship with him.

Greedy for money! Lustful?

Thanks to brother 'Pigeon Spirit Ocean' for the gift of 100 Qidian coins.