Because Danzo had once been involved in research related to Hashirama Cells, Orochimaru was very familiar with one of the samples.
He could say with ninety-nine percent certainty that this sample belonged to Danzo.
That made the source of the other sample rather interesting.
Everyone knew that Danzo's father had died on some unknown battlefield long before the Second Shinobi World War, and there was no record of Danzo ever marrying...
In other words—
The man who had died on the battlefield was not Danzo's biological father, and Danzo had now found his real father through his own efforts—such a thing should have been impossible.
"Things have become interesting." After taking out the report, Orochimaru pulled out a communication scroll. Not long after he infused it with Chakra, a Root ninja arrived outside the base.
"The results are in." Orochimaru tossed the documents to him but received no reply.
The Root ninja simply vanished from his sight in an instant.
The results were delivered to Danzo as quickly as possible.
After receiving the report, Danzo did not open it immediately. Instead, he dismissed everyone and entered a secret chamber alone.
Setting the report on the table before him, Danzo pulled over a chair and sat down. His index finger tapped against the tabletop, producing crisp, rhythmic sounds.
The room's only source of light was a freshly lit candle. Its dim yellow glow fell over Danzo's face, flickering between light and shadow and making him look especially sinister.
"Hmph, since when did this old man become so indecisive?" Danzo shook his head mockingly, stopped his little movements, and picked up the report to read it by the faint candlelight.
"So it really is..." When he saw the line confirming a blood relation, the weight in Danzo's heart finally lifted.
He might have seemed somewhat cowardly, but an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai...
If properly cultivated, it could indeed fulfill his long-cherished wish.
Pressing a mechanism to open the secret chamber's door, Danzo appeared before the Root ninjas once more.
The moment he stepped out and saw the dim Root base, Danzo furrowed his brows and shouted sternly:
"Bing!"
Following Danzo's call, Bing appeared before him once again.
"Why is the base so dark? Didn't I tell you to install electric lights?"
"...This subordinate has failed in his duty." Bing lowered his head and admitted his fault.
"Then go do it. Ding Yi, go summon Ryoma." Seeing him admit his mistake, Danzo finally softened his tone and gestured for another Root ninja to fetch Aburame Ryoma.
At the same time, Danzo turned his gaze toward Oto in the distance.
"Oto, from today onward, restore your real name: Yamanaka Zen."
Upon hearing this, Yamanaka Zen strode over to Danzo's side and dropped to one knee. "Yes, Lord Danzo."
"Later, you and Ryoma will wait in the secret chamber for my orders." Having formed a plan for what came next, Danzo gave his command and strode away.
When Aburame Ryoma, who had been protecting Kazashiro, received the message and hurried back to the base, he happened to run into Bing, who was redecorating the base.
Though puzzled by his actions, every Root ninja obeyed only Lord Danzo's orders. Thus, Aburame Ryoma thought nothing of it and headed straight to Danzo's secret chamber.
At the entrance, Yamanaka Zen stood ramrod straight, waiting for Ryoma's arrival.
The two exchanged a glance and entered the secret chamber together.
"You're here, Ryoma." Danzo's attitude toward his most capable subordinate was considerably better than it was toward others.
"That boy—no, what is Kazashiro doing now?" Danzo's changed way of addressing Kazashiro made Aburame Ryoma sense that something was different. Recalling Oto's behavior—
"Kazashiro is currently fishing by the river with Hatake Sakumo and his only son." Aburame Ryoma truthfully reported what he was doing.
Fishing? What a waste of time.
Why would the great Konoha's White Fang take part in children's make-believe games?
Could this also be that bastard Hiruzen's scheme?
Danzo immediately thought of his old friend again.
That man truly had ill intentions.
It seemed he needed to make his stance known as soon as possible.
After pondering for a moment, Danzo laid out his plan. "First, suspend the assassination operations targeting the village's opposition."
"I understand." Aburame Ryoma did not ask why and obeyed Danzo's orders unconditionally.
"Also, gradually suspend some of the experiments in the Root base. Those involving human experimentation must be halted first." After weighing the gains and losses once more, Danzo finally made the painful decision to stop the experiments.
"Understood. Then what about Orochimaru—" Aburame Ryoma could guarantee that the Root base's experiments would stop immediately. But although Orochimaru was nominally a subordinate Hiruzen Sarutobi had assigned to Root, the status of one of the Three Sannin and the Third Hokage behind him meant that even Danzo treated him as a collaborator.
"Cut off his funding directly." Danzo had his own way of keeping Orochimaru in check.
Though he could not directly command Orochimaru, he could cut off the funds supporting him.
At present, Orochimaru's only human experiment involved Hashirama Cells, and that experiment had been declared a failure long ago.
Even that experimental base had—
As for the plan Danzo had proposed to fuse the Sharingan with Hashirama Cells, it had only just begun to be drafted.
In other words, it was still entirely possible for him to sever ties with Orochimaru now.
"You intend to abandon Orochimaru?" Aburame Ryoma sharply sensed Danzo's intentions.
Ever since Danzo and Orochimaru had begun working together, Danzo had promised to help Orochimaru become the next Hokage. In return, Orochimaru would grant Danzo greater authority.
Their partnership had been smooth, yet Danzo was suddenly cutting ties with Orochimaru on his own—
"Kazashiro is my son." Looking at Aburame Ryoma's puzzled expression, Danzo calmly dropped this bombshell.
So that was it!
Aburame Ryoma looked at Yamanaka Zen, who had long guessed the truth, with darkened eyes.
No wonder his behavior had been so strange back then.
"You intend to support Young Master Kazashiro..." Aburame Ryoma immediately changed the way he addressed Kazashiro.
"That is correct. He possesses an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, and he has me and Root behind him. As long as his strength is sufficient, he has a great chance of reaching that position." Danzo narrowed his one eye, seemingly already imagining his son seated in that position.
If he could not become Hokage, then he would become the Hokage's father!
Rather than support an outsider like Orochimaru—especially when he was Hiruzen's disciple—he might as well support his own son!
Before you continue