Root Also Has Clever Stratagems

Standing nearby, Orochimaru watched Shimura Danzo's impotent rage with amusement.

Danzo was a man with grand ambitions but limited talent, yet he was also arrogant.

Aside from some talent in combat, he mainly relied on 'ruthlessness' and 'greed' in other areas. Leveraging his relationship with Teacher Sarutobi, he commanded a vast network and resources, and was utterly unscrupulous in gathering intelligence.

After decades, he had earned the moniker 'Darkness of the Shinobi World'.

However, he was completely unaware of this, and also unaware of how much convenience his relationship with his teacher brought him. He often attributed all of Root's successes entirely to himself.

Over time, he naturally became more arrogant, even viewing Root as his personal property, tolerating no one coveting it.

It was a pity that Teacher Sarutobi only needed a single directive to demonstrate the fragility of his so-called 'deeply rooted' organization.

Forget about cutting his forces in half with a single word; even if Root were disbanded entirely, what could Shimura Danzo do?

Orochimaru stood in the corner, his soft, slender tongue flicking across his lips, his golden snake eyes coldly observing the scene.

He had no immediate intention of helping.

In recent years, Shimura Danzo had become increasingly oblivious to his own standing, even frequently treating Orochimaru as a subordinate, completely forgetting the circumstances when they first banded together.

Orochimaru hoped that Danzo would sober up a little through this incident.

However, Shimura Danzo was clearly not the type to admit defeat easily.

"Bastard!"

He paced in circles around the overturned desk, his brows furrowed tightly, his expression incredibly grim.

This incident is so tricky because it's an internal inquiry initiated simultaneously by Tsunade and Hatake Sakumo, suspecting the presence of an insider among the higher-ups.

Among the inquiry's demands, cutting half of Root's forces is even the minor issue.

The biggest problem is that Tsunade is demanding a comprehensive audit of the ledgers of all major departments.

If an investigation is launched, regardless of whether this mess was caused by En or Koharu, I, being the biggest suspect, will definitely be audited.

At that time...

The more Shimura Danzo thought, the more he felt that this time he had been hit in his vital spot.

Although all the money he had embezzled was for the betterment of Konoha, not a single cent was spent on himself or his family; it was all used for Root's expenses.

However, the amount he had embezzled... had reached a single-digit percentage of Konoha's total financial expenditure.

It was indeed not that easy to overlook.

As for Root's accounts, if it were just an audit, the most trouble would be fabricating a few false accounts.

However, how could he withstand a joint audit with other departments?

Damn it!

I just want Konoha to be better, why is it so hard to do something practical?

The current plan, since I can't solve the problem, is to find a way to solve the people who raised the problem.

That stupid woman Tsunade is Teacher's granddaughter, I can't touch her easily. But Hatake Sakumo is an immigrant from the Land of Iron, just a civilian with no foundation whatsoever, and he doesn't have a noteworthy Kekkei Genkai.

Most importantly, I absolutely cannot allow the Senju Clan, represented by Tsunade, to even consider uniting with civilian ninja like the Hatake!

For the Hokage lineage, this is the biggest threat.

Shimura Danzo's thinking was very simple.

As he thought this, he immediately turned to look at Aburame Ryoma beside him, and said coldly:

"Ryoma!"

"Reporting," the loyal Aburame Ryoma knelt on the ground.

"Find a way, and get rid of Hatake Sakumo for me!"

"..."

At these words, the entire Root office fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone quietly looked at Aburame Ryoma standing at the very front.

Aburame Ryoma was also stunned, the expression under his mask instantly freezing. He subconsciously pointed to himself.

Ah, me?

Shimura Danzo didn't hear a response, and for a moment, he didn't quite grasp what the problem was. His gaze swept towards Aburame Ryoma with some irritation.

How can even my most loyal subordinate be so disrespectful?

Just as he was about to speak and scold him, he heard a chilling voice from the shadowy corner.

"That might be asking too much."

"Lord Danzo."

"I'm afraid, all the ninja in Root combined might not be enough for Hatake Sakumo to kill, right?"

Hearing this, everyone present turned their gaze towards the direction from which the voice came.

Shimura Danzo's eyebrow twitched, and he looked over with his single eye.

A slender figure with pure white hair, completely shrouded in white robes, slowly walked out.

The man's voice was hoarse, but his face was handsome, with a slightly feminine quality, and a red mole was dotted between his eyebrows.

Orochimaru's gaze followed, a little surprised.

"Hiruko?"

Seeing this laboratory supervisor, whose abilities were quite outstanding, Shimura Danzo's voice paused, and his expression returned to indifference. "This isn't a place you should be."

Hiruko, however, paid him no mind, casually bending down to place the document in his hand on the edge of the overturned desk. "This is the battlefield trace investigation report collected by a Root squad."

"Based on the trace calculations, the Third Raikage's minimum movement speed is three times the speed of sound, and he's capable of using this high speed to directly smash through obstacles like rocks and trees in his path."

"My modeled estimates of his physique and Chakra armor strength are all written on it as well."

"Furthermore, according to intel from our covert lines, he once directly withstood an Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb head-on."

"Hatake Sakumo was able to fight head-on with a monster like that, and his speed was even faster."

"Also, according to reports from our inside sources in Hidden Cloud, when that muscle-bound monster, the Third Raikage, returned to the village, he had several new wounds on his body."

"This is unprecedented."

"Lord Danzo, do you know what this means?"

Shimura Danzo was taken aback by the words, turning to look at Aburame Ryoma beside him.

Aburame Ryoma nodded gravely, confirming it.

Hiss

He immediately took a deep breath.

Shimura Danzo was nearly fifty years old this year and had been away from the front lines for quite some time. He only knew that Hatake Sakumo was very strong.

But he never expected him to be this strong?!

Then this...

This was indeed insurmountable.

While Shimura Danzo was arrogant, he wasn't foolish.

The level of Root's meager forces was something he knew better than anyone else.

However, if this were the case, how would they solve the remaining problems?

Could it be that he really had to obediently wait for that bastard Hiruzen to take a huge bite out of him?

Just as Danzo was thinking this, his peripheral vision finally caught sight of Hiruko's confident expression.

"Ahem."

Shimura Danzo then cleared his throat in a feigned manner, sat back in his original seat, and calmly said, "Hiruko, since you have a plan, speak."

A slow smile finally appeared on Hiruko's face.

"Lord Danzo."

"Since Lord Tsunade and Lord Hatake Sakumo mentioned questioning the Konoha higher-ups in their report, why should we stop them?"

"On the contrary, for the future of Konoha, we should help them investigate thoroughly, investigate meticulously."

"The heads of each Ninja Clan, the leaders of organizations, the administrators of the Hokage Building, the commanding officers of the various frontline units... Are only the Konoha advisors considered 'higher-ups'? Aren't these people also 'higher-ups'?"

"For the sake of Konoha, we should investigate to the very end."

In short, two words – Amplify it.

For a village currently in a state of war, Hiruko's suggestion was undeniably vicious. He continued to speak volubly:

"At the same time, we must not only increase the stakes but also place bets."

"Exert pressure on the public opinion front, conduct comprehensive investigations on the economic front, dismantle the internal strength of the various Ninja Clans on the military front, and fully promote Konoha's cleanup operation on the political front."

Each of these sentences made even someone as audacious as Shimura Danzo feel a thrill of fear.

Just imagining it briefly, he could envision the catastrophic results:

"Aren't you afraid something will go wrong?"

Hiruko smiled gently. "This is all trouble caused by Lord Tsunade."

"What does that have to do with you?"

"Lord Danzo, you are merely expanding a part of the investigation scope under the instructions of Lord Third Hokage."

Shimura Danzo's eyes grew brighter the more he listened, and his gaze towards Hiruko became increasingly appreciative.

He had never imagined that this ordinary laboratory supervisor, who was neither particularly good nor bad, actually possessed talent in this area.

He had truly underestimated him before.

"Excellent, very good!"

"I never expected that among so many people in Root, it would be you, Hiruko, who guessed my thoughts ahead of time."

"Well done, it's decided!"

Hiruko's eye twitched violently, but he ultimately bowed to show respect.

He still needed Danzo's support for his experiments.

At least for the next few years, his financial resources absolutely could not decrease.

For this reason, he could only resort to this desperate measure.

He thought to himself, his peripheral vision secretly glancing at a certain man standing in the corner shadow, his expression taut.

No matter what the cost, he had to prove himself.

Even a mere mortal could surpass geniuses like them.

Just wait, Orochimaru.

(Hiruko ↑)

Sorry for the delay.