Danzo Makes His Move

As the winter snow melts, Konoha exudes a vibrant and lively atmosphere. The passing winter signifies the passage of time, Konoha officially bids farewell to the old year.

The warm spring weather and blooming Konoha of Konoha exude an atmosphere of peace, and the economy of the leading village among the Five Great Ninja Villages in the Shinobi World is rapidly recovering.

Underground research lab.

"Teacher Orochimaru, it seems that some of the experimental subjects recently provided by Root are ninjas from the village."

Orochimaru's research has always required test subjects. Apart from the Uchiha and Hyuga clans secretly attacking the Rogue Ninja outside the village, the Root provides a small number of test subjects. However, he has recently discovered some clues.

Some of the Konoha ninjas who went out on missions seem to have mysteriously disappeared. Fortunately, the Konoha Military Police Force is Uchiha department. This news seems ordinary now, but Uchiha Yoru saw it, he immediately became highly nervous.

In the original work, Orochimaru's crime was simply conducting Human Experimentation on his fellow villagers! Although according to his analysis, Orochimaru's defection should be next year, the world has already begun to change because of his existence. Therefore, he only used the known future as information for analysis, rather than relying on it.

"Heh, the village ninjas, interesting."

When Orochimaru heard this news, he revealed a hoarse smile, "It seems the rats hiding in the shadows couldn't hold back any longer, even my teacher has chosen to acquiesce."

After muttering to himself, Orochimaru turned to look at his disciple, a meaningful smile on his face. "So, Lord Yoru, in this situation, will you choose to inherit your master's legacy? Or will you be even bolder?"

Uchiha Yoru naturally understood the meaning behind those words, and immediately shook his head and laughed, saying, "Since you have already chosen to leave, I cannot let these people down. But perhaps you have forgotten, teacher, the Root leader in the shadows is obsessed with the Hokage Position. Some people don't need me to deal with them; others will take care of it."

The master and disciple were exchanging cryptic words, but it was clear that Orochimaru had chosen to leave the moment the Third Hokage tacitly approved of his departure; he simply wanted to see how far his teacher would go.

That's human nature. Even when they know something is wrong, they still cling to the last glimmer of hope, only choosing to let go completely after experiencing it with their own eyes.

"Looks like the village's going to get lively soon."

Orochimaru's hoarse laughter echoed in the research room, while Uchiha Yoru smiled. Although time was running out, he had to do something. After all, it was only right and reasonable for his disciple to receive the legacy left by his teacher.

To both capture fellow village ninjas and conduct experiments— Orochimaru has countless minds, and before his betrayal, he was a member of Root. Why wouldn't he use his power? Why would he go and capture ninjas and get himself into trouble? This is inherently illogical.

The Forest of Death.

In the oppressive and terrifying atmosphere, several dark figures flickered. When their faces were revealed, they were all Root ninjas wearing masks.

"These are the test subjects for this month."

The Root were carrying several young ninjas, all of whom were unconscious.

There were three ninjas at the rendezvous, all wearing cloaks and masked, completely concealing themselves. The leader stepped forward, calmly counted the number of people, checked the condition of the test subjects, and finally nodded slightly.

"Confirmed. No traps. They are all ninjas with Chakra, and all around ten years old."

A cold voice echoed in the dark, damp air. After completing his mission, the Root ninja used the Body Flicker Technique to vanish into the forest as a shadow.

After the Root ninjas left, the three confirmed their identities, and the leader slowly removed his cloak and mask, revealing his face—it was Uchiha Yoru.

At this moment, Uchiha Yoru looked at the ten unconscious children with a mocking smile on his face, and said with a taunting laugh, "Well, didn't you always want to know about the darkness of the village? Have you seen it now?"

The other two also removed their cloaks, revealing their faces. They were Uchiha Shisui and Hatake Kakashi. Hatake Kakashi, in particular, was seeing this situation for the first time, and his face was extremely gloomy, with his exposed right eye filled with gloom.

Uchiha Shisui had seen and experienced much more in the past two years, and his ability to accept things was naturally much stronger than Kakashi's, who was seeing this situation for the first time. However, he still found it difficult to control his anger.

"Brother Yoru, why! Why use the village children! They are all children of Konoha!"

Shisui voiced his angry and resentful question, while Hatake Kakashi silently stepped forward and carefully examined the faces of the ten children one by one, imprinting them all deeply into his mind. At the same time, a doubt lingered in his mind: were they really children from the village?

"Kakashi, I guessed you were sent by the Anbu when you were stealing information, right? Heh, do you see now? This is the order from the higher-ups. As for the difference between Root and Anbu, heh, you'll have to investigate that yourself. But you don't think that person wouldn't have discovered it after Root's actions lasting for months, do you?"

It was obvious that Uchiha Yoru was implying something; did that Hokage-sama really know nothing about the Root's methods?

Faced with this question, Kakashi fell silent for a long while before finally raising his head to look at Uchiha Yoru and saying hoarsely, "Since you already know, why did you still do it?"

"Why? Kakashi, your question is ridiculous. I can't reveal the classified mission Teacher Orochimaru received, but it definitely involved Human experimentation. So, are you saying these people were kidnapped by Teacher Orochimaru, or did he order his Teacher Orochimaru to kidnap them?"

At this moment, Uchiha Yoru looked at Kakashi with a mocking expression, and pointed at the group of children, saying, "Kakashi, do you know how much manpower and resources are needed to find experimental subjects from outside? Not to mention how many elite ninjas my Uchiha and Hyuga clans have sent to find suitable Rogue Ninja, we even need a lot of money to purchase them from other countries. But what about Root? Root is short of funds. So this is the answer you want, the information you want to know."

The scene before him truly shocked Kakashi. He had never imagined that the village was so dark, and that Root was using the children of his own village for human experiments.

"So, you're going to prepare these children!"

Kakashi fell silent. He loved Konoha, but he was also aware of the darkness of politics. Torn by this conflicting feeling, he wanted to save these children, but these were decisions made by the higher-ups. What could he do?

Looking at Kakashi's lifeless single eye, Uchiha Yoru sneered, "Everyone says Teacher Orochimaru is cold-blooded, but they don't know that some people's apparent kindness can cause countless tragedies with just a nod."

At this point, Uchiha Yoru sighed softly and said to Shisui, "Shisui, you should keep these children under your supervision for now. They can be released after Teacher Orochimaru's experiment is successful."

Upon hearing this, Kakashi's single, lifeless eye lit up, and the heavy pressure in his heart instantly eased. He looked at the group of children with a look of pity and said hoarsely, "How can I help?"

It was obvious that his classmate Uchiha Yoru, had brought him here to clearly tell him what they were doing. He had seen it, but at the same time, he was confused.

"Kakashi, you and Shisui are in charge of keeping an eye on these kids. Don't let them cause trouble, or I won't be able to protect them if they get exposed!" At this moment, Uchiha Yoru was clearly in low spirits, and even his voice was hoarse.

It seems to be saying that these children are now on the missing persons list, and if they appear in Konoha, Root will be the first to take action.

As a former member of the Anbu and now a member of Root Danzo, Kakashi naturally understands the nature of Root. If these children reappear in the village, there are only two possible outcomes.

One option is to silence them, to make them disappear from this world completely. Of course, he believes the Root wouldn't do that, as it would be too wasteful. So, the only other possibility is to take these children into the Root and train them into emotionless machines.

Such ninjas are commonplace within Root, with fresh blood joining every year.

Just as Kakashi and Shisui were about to step forward and take the children away, a slight sound suddenly echoed in their ears. In an instant, the three of them tacitly chose combat mode.

With the Kusanagi Sword drawn, Uchiha Yoru and Kakashi transformed into black shadows and attacked the distant tree stump, while Uchiha Shisui drew his Three Tomoe dagger and stared intently at the surroundings, guarding the children behind him.

Boom!

Kakashi quickly threw out several Kunai, and then revealed his other eye. With a shout, the Unseal: Release, and a Three Tomoe Sharingan wildly, staring at the back of the tree stump.

In an instant! When a hint of green appeared on the tree stump, Kakashi's pupils contracted, and in shock, he hurriedly shouted, "Night! Stop!"

Sizzle~

Silver arcs of electricity crackled within the dark, damp Forest of Death. Uchiha Yoru, wielding the Kusanagi Sword, feigned shock. Kakashi blocked Yoru's ninja sword with a Kunai stop it, but a small section still pierced Yoru's shoulder. The electric arcs of the Chidori Stream stimulated Yoru's body, paralyzing him, yet he offered no resistance, instead staring at the two of them in disbelief.

"Kakashi! Yoru! You two! You!"

The figure that appeared was Might Guy in a green bodysuit. He had secretly seen Kakashi and Uchiha Yoru talking furtively yesterday and had been following them. Today, however, his worldview was shattered and his understanding was overturned.

"Kai!"

Kakashi uttered a single word in a hoarse voice, while Uchiha Yoru's face was terribly gloomy. He reluctantly pulled out the Kusanagi Sword, which he had been gripping tightly, but he still stared intently at Might Guy and Kakashi.

"Kakashi! You had a tail following you and you didn't even know it! Do you know the consequences?"

Staring angrily at Kakashi, it was clear that Might Guy had come with Kakashi. At this moment, Uchiha Yoru's face was gloomy and angry, but in the eyes of the two, it felt different.

What he did was something shady and absolutely couldn't be discovered, but today it was discovered, and the person who discovered it was none other than his classmate, Might Guy. What should he do?

To silence them? Clearly, Uchiha Yoru's grim and frightening expression at this moment was filled with torment and resentment.

In the oppressive atmosphere, Uchiha Yoru's face was filled with a sinister look and barely suppressed rage as he stared intently at Might Guy, his Three Tomoe Sharingan spinning rapidly.

"Kai! You didn't see anything today! Don't talk nonsense! For the sake of the village! I don't want to lay a hand on my comrades."

Uchiha Yoru's voice was hoarse, revealing his exhaustion, while Kakashi was filled with self-reproach for not noticing that someone was secretly following him.

The shock on Might Guy's face had not yet subsided. He had been worried about Kakashi and wanted to check what Kakashi had been up to lately, but he never expected to discover something like this.

With a crisp sound, the Kusanagi Sword was sheathed. Uchiha Yoru glanced at the two with an unpleasant expression before using Body Flicker Technique to leave.

"Kakashi, it's me!" Might Guy looked at Kakashi with a complicated expression, not knowing what to say. He had been worried about Kakashi, but he had unexpectedly come across such a secret.

Kakashi looked at Might Guy, sighed softly, and slowly lowered his Forehead Protector to cover his Sharingan, while simultaneously forming hand seals to unleash another attack.

"Kai, as you can see, this is a top-secret research mission for the village. Just pretend you didn't see it."

Kakashi was capable of killing Kai, but that was impossible. He was filled with self-reproach at that moment.

However, Kakashi and Might Guy didn't see the smug smile that appeared on Uchiha Yoru's lips as he turned to leave. He had deliberately leaked his whereabouts; otherwise, how could he have lured Guy into the trap?

Sometimes I hear people say that even if the person is a close friend or relative, it may not be the most effective. It's better to see the truth for yourself and let the other person make their own judgment.

All of this is true, so he's not afraid of being investigated at all.

Someone once said that one lie requires countless lies to cover it up, but the information he reveals is all true. If the other party investigates, the truth will naturally emerge once the mysterious lie is uncovered. Therefore, he doesn't need lies to cover it up at all.

Investigate! He's not afraid at all.

He has already begun to make his plans. Just as the Third Hokage said when he took office, the new generation has not yet grown up, and there is almost a gap in the middle. He now wants to win over the new generation. Even if they don't directly come to him, they will definitely show goodwill.

Might Guy, although he cannot open the Eight Gates at this time, his future achievements are dazzling. He only wants to be a friend, not an enemy.

"Brother Yoru?"

Seeing Uchiha Yoru return, Shisui turned serious, as if he were asking a question. However, Uchiha Yoru's expression was extremely grim, and he couldn't help but say in a deep voice, "Shisui, from now on, change the location for every contact with Root."

"Yes!" Although he didn't know what had happened, seeing his elder brother's extremely ugly expression, Shisui knew that the person following them was probably an acquaintance. Otherwise, given his Brother Yoru's usually calm demeanor, his expression wouldn't be so bad today.

Seeing Shisui's solemn expression, Uchiha Yoru raised his head with a gloomy face and looked at the sunlight blocked by the towering trees in the Forest of Death.

Soon, these branches will no longer be able to block the sunlight, and some things will need to be brought to the forefront.

Thank you to all my brothers for your continued support. Don't worry, I will update 8,000 words every day after the book is published, if there's nothing else to do.