Danzo Wakes Up

Swish, swish, swish—a group of people appeared in a forest southwest of Konoha.

When they arrived, everyone fell silent. The scene was a complete mess.

Blood and chunks of flesh were scattered everywhere, and the trees and earth had been churned up over a wide area.

It was easy to imagine how fierce the battle must have been.

(In fact, Duy had just knocked out one kid after another with a single punch. It only looked so brutal because he couldn't control his strength.)

After inspecting the scene, they found Might Duy's charred corpse nearby.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. "Let's go back. Bury Might Duy, the Special Jonin, with the honors due a hero."

The Third Hokage emphasized those words, then brought his hands together. The ground churned, burying the heaps of unidentifiable things scattered across it.

Might Duy, the "Eternal Genin," had made a name for himself in a single battle, nearly wiping out the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Judging by the scene, they had found two and a half bodies. That meant he had killed at least three of them.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had also taken notice of Guy. That green-skinned kid, just like his father, was probably a little monster too.

At this critical moment, Might Duy had traded one Genin for several elite Jonin from Kirigakure.

Giving him the heroic honors of a Special Jonin was only fair. As for whether the Third Hokage would go back and trick Might Guy out of his secret technique, the Eight Inner Gates Formation, that would depend on his mood.

The next day, Sarutobi Hiruzen sought out Bing San again. He carefully explained why they hadn't continued fighting the Sand Ninja, to keep Bing San from doing anything rash and getting himself into trouble.

The Sand Ninja's situation was complicated. The main problem was that they were now a desperate force, and cornering them could lead to considerable losses.

After all, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had completely cut off their supplies. They had already taken everything they could, and now they were a pack of red-eyed, battle-ready wolves driven by hunger.

They had to wait until the Sand Ninja had lost all hope and the will to resist. Then they could do whatever they wanted with them.

The two also discussed Danzo's situation. It was troublesome. First, Danzo's injuries were too severe. Given his age, it would take him a long time to recover on his own.

Second, Pakura had coated her weapons with poison. This kind of biological toxin wasn't difficult to remove, but it caused severe damage to the body.

Third, Danzo already had plenty of lingering injuries. Many of the problems left over from past battles had flared up as well.

All of this had left Danzo unconscious.

Meanwhile, Konoha was stretched thin on every front, and Sarutobi Hiruzen urgently needed more fighters. But somehow, Danzo had made it so that Root obeyed only his orders.

They would follow the Third Hokage's orders if there was something in it for them; otherwise, they refused. Sarutobi Hiruzen was frustrated. He hoped he could use Bing San to mobilize the Root Ninja.

They also discussed the Sealing Scroll. Sarutobi Hiruzen deeply regretted what had happened. He had only meant to fool a kid, never expecting his scheme to backfire and end up like this.

Bing San also learned why "Peerless of the West" had ended up in his hands: it had been the hush money Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo had agreed upon.

The Third Hokage stressed again that, from now on, Bing San was not to pass on any of the techniques in the Sealing Scroll without his permission.

After all, Bing San was now his grand-disciple, practically one of his own.

He just didn't know whether Orochimaru would hang him out to dry if he found out.

After Bing San left, Sarutobi Hiruzen hurried to the Uchiha Clan Compound. Somehow, the Third Hokage had promised them something, and the Uchiha family, who usually took their pay without doing the work, had agreed to head to the Land of Water front and defend against its forces.

That night, Bing San returned to the Shimura estate. Tomoko, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, prepared a late-night snack for him, her face full of worry.

Danzo's unconsciousness seemed to have had a major impact on the Shimura family. To reassure them, Bing San decided to gather everyone in the family first thing the next morning and talk to them.

That night, with nothing better to do, Bing San opened the system and started drawing. He had already gotten used to the lottery system.

When Bing San saw a pale blue orb, he opened his inventory without much thought. But the moment he looked inside, he froze.

This thing looked like it could be very useful.

Scroll: Body Regeneration (Passive); LV0 (Variant). When cells are severed, a special membrane forms and gradually repairs the body.

(From a certain obsessive man. Maniac: Her, and only her, must never be tainted by this filthy world.)

Bing San was so moved that tears welled in his eyes. The man had done plenty of terrible things: driven Hatake Sakumo to his death, ruined the Uzuki clan, squeezed smaller Ninja clans out of their room to survive, and placed curses on his subordinates.

But he had still used his own body to block Pakura's furious attack.

Early the next morning, Bing San gathered every member of the Shimura family.

After reassuring them, he headed for Konoha's medical unit, where security was tighter than at the Hokage Building.

Bing San looked at the pale man, his entire body wrapped in bandages.

His feelings were impossibly complicated. For so many nights, he had lain awake in fear. He knew perfectly well that he was an experimental subject, yet he had been powerless to do anything. He could only suffer alone, terrified that if he closed his eyes, he might never open them again. Even when agonizing pain wracked him every day, he didn't dare speak up. He could only endure it in silence, pretending everything was fine as he smiled at everyone.

Bing San had always known he was different from everyone else. Every day, every time, every moment was especially precious to him.

He had no parents. He was nothing more than the accidental product of an experiment, living a feeble, insignificant life in this world.

Every day, he lived in fear, afraid the man lying there would suddenly decide he was useless and cut him up.

He was afraid that if he made a mistake, the man named Shimura Danzo would kill him.

He was afraid that one day he would suddenly break down and turn into a heap of flesh.

He had lived in fear and fear, until suddenly the man had fallen—just like that, flat on his back, for Bing San, the monster accidentally created during an experiment.

The blood that had splashed across his face had been so hot, burning its way into Bing San's young, battered soul.

"My lord, I finally, finally..." Bing San murmured, then began to sob.

Hiruko, who had come with him, watched the scene. Whatever he was thinking, he lowered his head and quietly went outside.

Bing San took the scroll from his item space and gently pricked Danzo's finger with a shuriken. Blood dripped onto the scroll, which flashed and turned into a beam of milky-white light that entered Danzo's body.

Danzo's skin changed color for an instant, then returned to normal.

Bing San watched Danzo anxiously. He could use items from his system on other people, but the system didn't show him what effect they would have.

The last person he had used an item on was Minato Namikaze, and all he had given him was a blue potion.

This time, though, it was a scroll containing a passive skill. He had no idea what kind of change it would bring.

Bing San simply stared at Danzo. Time passed quickly, and before long, night had fallen.

At some point, Bing San had dozed off beside the bed. After all, he was only ten years old and still recovering from serious injuries.

In the quiet hospital room, a faint sound suddenly broke the silence. Bing San sensed something and opened his eyes. Delighted, he cried out, "Doctor! Doctor, come quick! My lord is awake!"