The one you are betraying is Sarutobi Hiruzen, what does that have to do with me, Shimura Danzō

Inside a secret base located somewhere beneath Konohagakure.

Shimura Danzō walked into the hall with a gloomy expression. The Root members passing by, seemingly sensing his foul mood, didn't even dare to breathe loudly, merely bowing their heads in salute.

Although he had once lost his power and been stripped of his positions as elder and advisor, and his Root organization had been ordered disbanded by the Third Hokage, many of his subordinates still served in the Anbu or remained loyal to Root.

Furthermore, he was a man who kept many bolt-holes, leaving behind various hidden bases throughout Konohagakure to gather Root members and conduct research into certain unspeakable things.

"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"

Sitting alone in a dim room, Shimura Danzō felt a shadow cross his eyes as he muttered to himself.

After saying this, Shimura Danzō felt as if he had been holding something in for a long time; he felt instantly relieved, and his mood quieted down significantly.

Regarding Sarutobi Hiruzen, his old comrade of many years, Shimura Danzō felt deeply conflicted.

Although he had long since seized Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan with Kotoamatsukami, he had never intended to use it on Sarutobi Hiruzen.

First, although Uchiha Shisui had claimed that the effect of Kotoamatsukami was to manipulate others at will without them noticing, and to permanently and thoroughly alter a person's will and thoughts.

He did not know if it was because he could not perfectly control the Mangekyō Sharingan to unleash the full power of Kotoamatsukami, or if Uchiha Shisui had exaggerated.

Suspicious and cunning by nature, he did not fully trust Uchiha Shisui's words, especially since he had previously discovered that the First Hokage Cells in his possession could significantly shorten the cooldown time of Kotoamatsukami.

After obtaining the Mangekyō of Uchiha Shisui, he did not use it on Sarutobi Hiruzen first, nor did he use it on the village advisors or clan heads; instead, he used it on his own subordinates.

Through experimentation, he discovered that Kotoamatsukami was not nearly as powerful as Uchiha Shisui had claimed. The so-called "manipulation without notice" was spotted at a glance by a member of the Hyuga branch family who belonged to Root.

It also did not permanently or thoroughly change a person's will or thoughts; instead, it could only alter the target's will for 10 to 15 days, a duration that varied based on the strength of the individual's will.

This was one of the reasons why, after obtaining the Mangekyō, he had not used it on Sarutobi Hiruzen to turn him into his puppet.

Second, deep down, he did not want to change the will of this old comrade.

It was just as he often said to the Third Hokage.

"You are the leaves bathed in sunlight, while I am the roots buried in darkness!"

He had lost to that Third Hokage, the leaves bathed in sunlight, and this was the greatest thorn in his heart.

He could use all sorts of conspiracies, schemes, and underhanded methods to deal with the Third Hokage, or even kill him.

But that was limited to the Third Hokage who was the leaves bathed in sunlight, not a Third Hokage who had become a root of darkness after being turned into his puppet.

If the Third Hokage were like that, whether he defeated him or assassinated him, it would feel utterly meaningless.

"This eye is too much of a burden for me..."

Coming back to his senses, Danzō touched the bandage covering his right eye and muttered.

The Sharingan consumed a massive amount of chakra for those outside the clan and could not be deactivated at will. Even a genius like Kakashi found it difficult to bear the consumption of the Sharingan during his prime, let alone Danzō, who was now approaching seventy.

However...

Danzō unwrapped the bandages on his right arm, his expression turning incredibly grim.

His arm, from palm to elbow, had completely necrotized and turned into a woody state. Looking at the arm, the woody portion was still constantly eroding and spreading.

"Can even the Mangekyō Sharingan not stop the First Hokage Cells from eroding my body?"

Danzō felt deeply troubled. He knew the First Hokage was powerful, as he had watched the battle at the Valley of the End from afar under the guidance of his teacher, Senju Tobirama.

He had witnessed the two of them unleash power that felt like something out of a myth!

But he never expected that the Mangekyō Sharingan would be unable to suppress the First Hokage Cells, even though Uchiha Madara's Sharingan was also just a Mangekyō.

Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō was currently a heavy mental burden, but in order to barely resist the erosion of the First Hokage Cells, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and transplant it into his right eye.

It was truly drinking poison to quench thirst!

He had to find a solution quickly!

Danzō could feel that in ten years at most, even if he didn't die of old age, he would be completely consumed by the First Hokage Cells and die.

Thinking of this, Danzō stood up with a gloomy gaze and walked toward a biological research laboratory within the base.

"Lord Danzō!"

After Danzō entered the room, a group of researchers dressed in white lab coats knelt and saluted him.

Danzō nodded slightly, glanced at the corpses soaking in formalin and the pairs of scarlet eyes submerged in nutrient solution around the room, and spoke indifferently:

"Has there been any progress in the research on the Uchiha corpses and their Sharingan?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the researchers broke out in a cold sweat, stammering and unable to say a word.

"Hmph! Useless!"

Seeing the performance of his subordinates, Danzō already had his answer and reprimanded them with a sinister tone.

Their research progress on the First Hokage Cells was already near zero, and after losing Yamato, they had lost all direction.

To solve the problems with his own body, Danzō had no choice but to shift his focus to the Sharingan.

Danzō's request to the Third Hokage tonight for Uchiha Sasuke was naturally sincere; it was not to kill him, but to observe and study him at close range, attempting to uncover the secrets of the Uchiha bloodline and the Sharingan.

Although he had many Uchiha corpses and Sharingan, the only living Uchiha in this world were the rogue Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke in the village.

The dead were, after all, different from the living.

As for Uchiha Itachi's threat before leaving—that if Shimura Danzō dared to harm Sasuke, he would sell the village's intelligence to enemy nations?

Shimura Danzō felt not a shred of panic in his heart; in fact, he almost wanted to laugh.

In the original timeline, Konoha faced three crises that threatened to annihilate the village, and one even resulted in its total destruction, yet he never saw Uchiha Itachi step forward.

Furthermore, Shimura Danzō himself had colluded with foreign villages and sold intelligence countless times; how could Uchiha Itachi's threat possibly intimidate him?

If you want to sell out the intelligence of Sarutobi Hiruzen's Konoha, what does that have to do with me, Shimura Danzō?

Fool!

Shimura Danzō sneered inwardly, slowly sweeping his gaze over his subordinates, who didn't even dare to breathe loudly, and said indifferently, "I hope you can give me a result as soon as possible, otherwise..."

He did not finish the rest of his sentence, but he assumed they all understood.

Now that his Root organization had been disbanded, he did not have many capable people left, but if anyone dared to slack off on the tasks he assigned, he wouldn't mind killing a few to make an example of them and warn the others.

"Yes! Lord Danzō, we will definitely do our utmost!"

A lead researcher acting as a team captain hurriedly stepped forward and replied loudly.

"Hmm!"

Shimura Danzō nodded slightly, and just as he was about to say something more, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in!"

"Lord Danzō! A classified document!"

A Root ninja wearing a mask walked in, knelt on one knee, and presented a document with both hands.

Shimura Danzō took the document, and after opening it and reading for a moment, an expression of surprise appeared on his face as he muttered:

"Orochimaru?"