The Sucker

"Long time no see, Lord Danzo."

In the dim underground base, Orochimaru wore a strange smile as he watched Danzo slowly approach.

Danzo's expression was grim. The faint lights in the underground passage left half his face concealed in shadow, giving him an eerie, cold-blooded air.

"Heh... Orochimaru, why did you call me here? Our relationship should still be a secret, shouldn't it?"

"I never expected you to come running the moment I called, Lord Danzo."

Orochimaru chuckled, making Danzo clench his fists. No matter what, he had effectively fled Konoha this time. Even if Orochimaru did not know the truth, he could certainly see how bedraggled Danzo was.

"Enough. I didn't come here to discuss Konoha affairs with you! I only want to ask one thing—was the Wood Release Ninja taken by you!?"

Danzo demanded fiercely. However, he held no intimidation whatsoever for Orochimaru, who had long seen through his true nature. Orochimaru replied with a cold smile.

"That was originally my creation, wasn't it? It only became your subordinate because of your concealment, Shimura Danzō. In the end, it was completely taken from your hands by that teacher of mine."

"Now he has merely returned to his rightful owner. What is it? Could it be that Lord Danzo wants this Wood Release Ninja back?"

Shimura Danzō snorted. He did want to seize that Wood Release Ninja back from Orochimaru, but he knew it was practically impossible. Orochimaru was the same kind of person as him; trying to take advantage of him was far too difficult.

"Hmph... I'm not that naive. Since the Wood Release Ninja is back in your hands, have you produced any results from your research?"

Orochimaru's expression turned inscrutable as he spoke.

"Results? What kind of results does Lord Danzo want? Do you think that because there has been one successful example, I can endlessly replicate Wood Release Ninjas?"

"If I truly had that ability, I would have already counterattacked Konoha and become Hokage!"

Shimura Danzō's face darkened further. A mere rogue ninja wanted to become Hokage? Keep dreaming!

Still... Orochimaru was right. It seemed creating Wood Release Ninjas truly was not so easy.

Even Yamato had only succeeded with a one-in-sixty chance, and his modification had begun when he was still an infant. Shimura Danzō was no researcher, but he understood some basic principles. Performing Wood Release modifications on an adult would definitely be many times more difficult than doing so on an infant.

That disappointed Shimura Danzō, but it also made him breathe a sigh of relief. He was disappointed because he could not obtain the power of Wood Release, while his relief stemmed from his wariness of Orochimaru.

"However... I have discovered something interesting. I wonder whether Lord Danzo would be interested?"

"Hm!? You seem quite confident. What exactly did you discover?"

"Hehe... Although I cannot perfectly fuse Hashirama Cells, I have figured out how to control their corrosive power. So, Lord Danzo, are you willing to undergo a few modifications?"

Shimura Danzō's breathing immediately quickened. The power of Wood Release was far too tempting. Even if it was not a perfect fusion, merely transplanting Hashirama Cells was an irresistible temptation for the increasingly aged Darkness of Konoha.

After a moment of silence, Shimura Danzō finally could not help asking.

"What do you want?"

"Not much. As long as you can obtain all the resources on this list, I will naturally modify you, Lord Danzo."

As if he had expected this all along, Orochimaru handed over a list. Shimura Danzō took one look at it and gritted his teeth.

"Are you joking? The combined value of these materials is enough to cover Konoha's expenses for an entire year!"

"Hehe, take it or leave it. In the entire Shinobi World right now, I'm the only one who can help you obtain the power of Wood Release."

Orochimaru remained perfectly composed, showing no shame at all over his extortion. After gritting his teeth for a while, Shimura Danzō saw that Orochimaru's expression had not changed and finally drew a deep breath.

"Fine, I agree! But before modifying me, you must first modify one of Root's ninjas."

"No problem! But the materials are your responsibility!"

Orochimaru raised a brow. He knew Shimura Danzō wanted to use a Root Ninja as a test subject first, but he did not care. As long as the materials were delivered, that was enough.

The materials he spoke of naturally did not only include Hashirama Cells, but Sharingan as well. Ordinary Three Tomoe Sharingan could not completely suppress the power of Hashirama Cells the way Mangekyo could, but as long as there were enough of them, they could likewise maintain the balance of power.

According to Orochimaru's calculations, roughly four Three Tomoe Sharingan could balance the Hashirama Cells in about one arm. At the same time, the burden imposed by the Sharingan would also disappear.

For two experiments, he would need eight Three Tomoe Sharingan. Orochimaru had little interest in ordinary Three Tomoe Sharingan, so he did not have that much stock on hand.

Shimura Danzō, on the other hand, had diligently targeted the Uchiha Clan for decades. He had at least a dozen Three Tomoe Sharingan in his possession, so taking out eight from his reserves should not have been much of a problem.

After the battle, Shimura Danzō immediately slipped away from Konoha Village, while Uchiha Itachi returned to the Uchiha Clan with Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami.

Shimura Danzō had certainly suffered devastating losses. Many of his elite subordinates had died, and he had even lost Shisui's Kotoamatsukami Mangekyo. Yet Uchiha Itachi was also at the end of his rope.

Leaving aside the Mangekyo he lost by using Izanami, the mental damage caused by the clash between Kotoamatsukami and Izanami—their genjutsu powers crushing against each other—had left his vision dark, his head splitting with pain, and his body nearly exhausted.

If Shimura Danzō had been a little braver and his will to fight a little firmer, no one knew what the final outcome of the battle might have been.

Unfortunately, Shimura Danzō had spent his entire life hiding in the shadows. He had already become unaccustomed to living and fighting in the light, allowing Uchiha Itachi to narrowly claim the final victory.

Only after the battle ended, when the taut string in his heart finally loosened, did Uchiha Itachi realize just how terrible his condition was.

For shinobi, mental injuries were not as easy to recover from as physical wounds. Uchiha Itachi in particular was a Mangekyo Uchiha with exceptionally powerful Mental Power; once injured, his recovery would instead be even slower.

So he immediately returned to the Uchiha Clan and sought out the person he trusted most—Uchiha Shūichi.