"Did that brat from the Uchiha Clan really say that?"
Inside the Root Base, Danzo sat in the highest position, with a framed calligraphy hanging behind him. "Where Konoha dance, fire is also ever-burning," signed by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Yes, Danzo."
Beside Danzo, Ichikyu knelt on one knee and personally confirmed the accuracy of the information.
Having received an affirmative reply from Danzo, Danzo leaned back, his eyes narrowed, and after a moment snorted coldly, saying, "Hmph, it's rare to find a Seimei child in the Uchiha Clan."
Seimei mind...?
Iku Uchiha Obito was completely far from being a "Seimei- headed" person.
But Danzo has said so, let's accept it as such.
"Just like Kagami Uchiha back then...?"
Meanwhile, Danzo, still pondering Obito's words, superimposed the images of Obito and Kagami in his mind.
"If I remember correctly, this child seems to have always firmly believed in the Will of Fire that Hiruzen spoke of?"
Opening his eyes, Danzo gently tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers.
"Yes."
Yiku's answer was simple and concise.
"I see..." Danzo supported himself with his arm, his single remaining eye filled with calculation.
"Danzo"
Before Danzo could give his next instructions, Ryoma, who had just finished handing over his mission to Hiruzen, appeared in front of Danzo.
Ryoma Danzo respectfully to Ryoma, ignoring Ikko kneeling to the side, and walked straight to Danzo's side, leaning down to whisper something in Danzo's ear.
"Okay, I understand. Ichiku, you won't be in charge of Kazashiro's training for now. From now on, you just need to protect him closely. By the way, the lighting system in the tunnel leading from the mansion to the base seems to be having some problems. Check it out when you go back. That's all."
After listening to Ryoma's whispered words and confirming that there were no major discrepancies between the reports, Danzo slightly raised his head, glanced at Ikko who was kneeling on the spot without moving, and indicated that the other party could leave.
"Yes!"
"In that case, let Kazashiro and the others participate in this year's Chunin Ninja Exams." After Ichiku left, Danzo turned to Ryoma and said, "You've worked hard these past few days. Once Kazashiro is promoted to Jonin, you can focus on your work at Root."
Although Ryoma is serving Jonin the Jonin leading Team Eleven, he hasn't neglected his work with Root either, so Ryoma is currently in a dual-task situation.
"Yes, Lord Danzo, regarding the new recruits..." The new recruits Ryoma was referring to were a group of children selected from the orphans of the Konoha war by Danzo's Danzo to fill the vacancies left by the Root members who had died in the recent battle.
As is customary in training, these children will be thrown into a secret training ground to fight to the death against a group of hardened criminals with no background, no connections, and no one to care about their lives.
Only the surviving children are qualified to enter Root and become the true guardians of Konoha.
Upon hearing Ryoma's words, Danzo tapping the armrest. For the sake of Kazashiro, he had stopped all of Root's human experiments, and now he was even less likely to let Kazashiro's path to power be tarnished by training.
"Aren't we the Anbu Training Department? In that case, we should select members according to the Anbu's methods." Danzo's meaningful words made Ryoma understand the other party's attitude, and he nodded without saying anything more.
Seeing that Ryoma remained silent, Danzo was about to get up when he suddenly remembered that there were still two secret bases in the village where human experiments had been conducted that had not yet been cleaned up. Because the experiments were conducted without Hiruzen's permission, only he and Orochimaru knew about them.
It's necessary to go there myself and completely consign those secrets to the dustbin of history.
Danzo thought to himself, his face remaining expressionless.
On the other side, Hiruzen, who had just finished a remote inspection, also took some free time to ask the Jonin front of him about his son's training progress.
The Jonin standing in front of Hiruzen was from the Sarutobi Clan and, by relation, Hiruzen's cousin.
"Besides Fire Style, Asuma also possesses extremely high talent in Wind Release. It's just a pity that neither I nor the others in the clan know much about Wind Release. Only you can teach him." Sarutobi Sandō looked at Hiruzen, who was known as the professor of Ninjutsu, with a shameful expression.
"It's alright, Asuma is still young. It's already quite good that he can master Fire Style. After all, you can't bite off more than you can chew, hahaha."
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a hearty laugh, indicating that the other party didn't need to be so reserved.
"Our Sarutobi Clan was renowned for its Fire Wind Release techniques during the Warring States period. As for Fire Style, the Shimura Clan is the best. So..." Hiruzen finished speaking with a smile, then suddenly realized something and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
Seeing that the Hokage had begun to think, Sarutobi Sandō did not dare to disturb him and stood quietly in place, his eyes also fixed on the calligraphy work personally written by Hiruzen.
"I'm so sorry, I guess I'm really getting old." After pondering for a long time, Hiruzen finally figured something out. He looked up and saw Sarutobi Sandō still standing respectfully in front of him. He was stunned for a moment, then realized what was going on and apologized to him.
"You flatter me. You've sacrificed a lot for the village, and besides, you're not that old. Didn't Ōnoki, who was your contemporary, also control Iwagakure?"
San Tang dared not accept Hiruzen's apology and hurriedly offered his compliments.
"Haha, anyway, I'll leave Asuma's matter to you. As for Wind Release, I'll find a good teacher to instruct him." Hiruzen smiled kindly and didn't continue the topic.
Is he a good teacher...?
In Sarutobi Sandō's mind, the best teacher in the entire Konoha was his cousin, the Hokage, and he had come here hoping that the other party could personally guide Asuma's training.
But...
Looking at the other person's wrinkled face, Sarutobi Sandō sighed inwardly, said nothing more, and respectfully bowed to Hiruzen before leaving the room.
After watching Sarutobi Sandō leave, Hiruzen lit his pipe and turned his gaze to the photograph of the First Hokage not far away.
He was well aware of Sarutobi Sandō's thoughts, but having received instruction from the First Hokage and Second Hokage, he had always been committed to eliminating his clan's influence on the village. To this end, he deliberately Shinsuke Sarutobi, into the Anbu, keeping him out of the public eye.
"It's time to visit an old friend."
Exhaling a puff of smoke, Hiruzen looked at Tobirama's photo and made a decision in his heart.