Secret Collection of the Second Hokage

"Uchiha Ao... single-parent household, four family members, mother, younger brother, younger sister... currently residing at..."

Danzo recited the information on the scroll in his mind, and when he saw the grades from the Ninja Academy, a cold sneer curled the corners of his lips.

Overall score 61... barely reaching the passing line for graduation?

They consider an Uchiha clansman capable of unleashing Wood Release ninjutsu and awakening the Three-Tomoe Sharingan to have "barely" graduated from the Ninja Academy!?

Since when did the Ninja Academy have such stringent graduation requirements?

Sarutobi's evaluation process is truly incompetent!

It should be phased out as soon as possible and replaced with the Anbu selection system he created.

This evil little Uchiha brat has disguised himself quite well.

Graduated at twelve, only became a Genin this year...

Yet he possesses the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, a level of Chakra no weaker than a Jonin, and even gained the trust of Orochimaru, earning the opportunity to have First Hokage Cells transplanted.

Hiss!

This kid hides even deeper than Orochimaru!

Danzo vaguely remembered noticing this little Uchiha brat at Orochimaru's secret base. At the time, aside from the Uchiha surname, he hadn't seemed to have any standout qualities; he was completely ordinary.

If one ignored his bloodline, he was entirely a commoner.

Who would have thought he possessed such strength and even replicated the First Hokage's Wood Release, displaying two or three tenths of that man's power the very first time he used it.

A genius like this, and with Uchiha blood to boot... he will inevitably become a thorn in my side in the future!

Is there any weakness that could threaten Uchiha Ao?

Danzo stared at the scroll in his hands, his knuckles turning white. A wave of irritation surged within him, and uncontrollable killing intent leaked from his gaze.

"Lord Danzo, I have heard that Uchiha Ao values the bonds between brothers very much. He often takes Uchiha Ran to train with him and has a very close relationship with his family..."

Yamanaka Fu suddenly reminded him from the side. This intelligence came from his younger brother, who had been bullied by Uchiha Ao back in school.

"That kid was a thug from a young age..."

Yamanaka Fu described some of the things his brother had told him about Uchiha Ao.

During his student days, Uchiha Ao's behavior was atrocious; he frequently used his status as an upperclassman to bully lower-grade students.

He even collected protection money at school.

Relying on the Uchiha name, he oppressed other civilian ninjas.

"A younger brother?"

Upon hearing these words, Danzo's eyes suddenly lit up, and a plan immediately formed in his mind.

A peripheral member of the Uchiha clan.

Perhaps he could be recruited into Root.

Not only could he help him gather intelligence from within the Uchiha clan, but he could also be used to coerce Uchiha Ao in the future...

"Fu, make arrangements to secretly recruit Uchiha Ao's younger brother... let me see... Ran... right!? Absorb him into Root if at all possible."

"This will be a fine blade..."

Danzo looked toward the Uchiha clansmen tied up in the distance, his wrinkles bunching into a radiant smile.

Uchiha Inabi noticed this and couldn't help but feel a chill run through his entire body.

It was as if he had been targeted by something unclean.

It's over!

Now that they have been captured by the Anbu, he didn't know if the Clan Head would save them.

What price would the clan have to pay...

Damn it!

It's all because of Uchiha Ao that they have ended up in this situation.

Once he sees the Clan Head, he will tell the truth and expose Uchiha Ao's evil deeds to the entire clan.

He will trigger a Clan Execution Order!

And execute this Uchiha traitor.

Beneath the Hokage Rock.

At the entrance of a hidden secret chamber.

Two Root members collapsed to the ground without a sound.

Uchiha Ao stood at the doorway, a small snake on his arm flicking its tongue incessantly, twisting its head to point the way.

Ao stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and caught sight of the Hokage Building in the distance.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"He really hid this deep! Who would have thought that right near the Hokage Building lies the former underground laboratory of the Second Hokage."

Hokage Rock, the most sacred place in Konoha.

It was the secret laboratory where the Second Hokage once researched forbidden techniques.

"Orochimaru really has some tricks up his sleeve; even a place this well-hidden was discovered by him."

Ao manifested a twenty-centimeter elongated Chakra Scalpel in his hand, crouched down, and casually finished off the two Root members with a strike to their necks.

He wouldn't give them any chance to return as undead.

Afterward, he skillfully rummaged through their ninja tool pouches, tucked them against his chest, and followed the small snake into the secret chamber.

As soon as Ao stepped into the chamber, a wave of musty, earthy decay hit him; it seemed no one had entered in a long time, and the air was stagnant.

He casually pulled out a match and struck it, noting that it ignited easily, meaning there were no issues with air density... Only then did he step inside.

Following a pitch-black corridor for about fifty meters, he saw a spacious hall.

Orochimaru was rummaging through everything, kicking up a cloud of dust within the hall.

"Ao, you're here already!?"

"You came at the right time. Hurry up and search for what we need! They'll react within half an hour at most... and we'll have to leave by then."

Orochimaru turned his head, glanced at Ao, and let out a sigh of relief upon seeing he wasn't injured.

At this moment, Ao saw that Orochimaru was already laden with a pile of items and had even summoned a massive snake, nearly two meters thick, waiting on the side to swallow the larger pieces that couldn't be carried.

The ten-meter-long snake was coiled in the corner, its belly already bulging significantly.

It looked like it had swallowed quite a few treasures.

So, Teacher intends to empty out the entire secret chamber!

Ao was curious about what kind of treasures could be in a place that his teacher had planned for so long and valued so highly.

He didn't linger in the hall, scanned the various passages leading to other areas, and walked toward the one labeled "Experimental Operation Area."

Orochimaru noticed his movement, curled his lips, and reminded him, "Ao, I've already been there. The first-hand research data on the 'Impure World Reincarnation' you once asked about is all in my hands."

Upon hearing this, Ao paused, flashed a brilliant smile, and said, "Is that so! Teacher, I'm just going over to see the layout of the Second Hokage's old laboratory and see if there's anything worth learning from."

With that said.

He walked straight in.

What could he possibly find under Orochimaru's watchful eyes?

Orochimaru's eyes were anything but ordinary, and his personality was cautious and suspicious; he wouldn't give anyone a chance to scavenge leftovers.

Ao had no real interest in the equipment, materials, or various documents placed in the hall.

Orochimaru would collect them for him anyway and take them along.

Given their relationship.

Everything that belonged to his teacher in the future would be his.

There was no need to worry too much about these things.

Orochimaru watched Uchiha Ao's back with a thoughtful look, seemingly sensing his inner thoughts, and his mouth twitched involuntarily.

He chuckled and shook his head.

Then, he continued his work.

Uchiha Ao passed through another corridor about twenty meters long, walked past two auxiliary rooms, and took a brief look: one was for changing and washing up, the other was a lounge.

Then, he entered the actual laboratory.

The Second Hokage's laboratory was small, about twenty square meters.

The layout was simple.

One operating table, two storage racks, and a sink.

There were no chairs.

All six surfaces of the room had been smoothed over, forming a flawless, white plane made of an unknown white clay.

There were no windows; aside from the main door, there were only two sets of air intake and exhaust vents.

"Interesting. This scientific predecessor even created a ventilation system... and smoothed the entire room to eliminate cleaning dead zones! It's even more advanced than Teacher's laboratory!"

Ao gazed at the two ventilation ports, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

It was just that the vents were slightly crude and lacked filter screens.

It seemed he hadn't yet discovered the interference of microorganisms on experiments.

He had only provided a simple layer of protection to prevent visible dust from entering the laboratory.

On the eastern storage rack, there were some instruments: two twenty-centimeter-long pointed knives, two scissors of varying lengths, four metal clamps similar to hemostats, three bamboo tweezers that were somewhat decayed, and a pile of gauze.

On the western storage rack sat two boxes, one of which was still sealed.

Ao walked over and took a few looks, discovering that one of them appeared to have been opened recently; the dust marks were fresh, and the contents inside had likely been taken by Orochimaru.

The other box remained untouched, still covered in a layer of dust.

Through the crystal-clear surface, one could see that the box was empty, yet it had been completely sealed shut by a layer of special gelatinous substance.

Perhaps Orochimaru had seen that there was nothing inside and therefore hadn't bothered to open it!

The other one had been opened, which meant there was a high probability that something had been stored inside.

What kind of thing would be worth the Second Hokage sealing away and preserving with such importance?

He had even gone out of his way to keep it in the laboratory where he frequently conducted research.

Was there something special about it?

Ao couldn't help but recall the various research projects the Second Hokage had once undertaken... a guess began to form faintly in his mind.

Subconsciously, he released the Spirit Transformation Technique; a spectral arm detached from his body, and the moment his hand touched the box, he felt a tremendous resistance.

His spirit body, which could pass through all matter, had failed at this very moment.

The gelatinous substance covering the outer layer of the box isolated his soul's perception, making it impossible to learn anything about what was inside.

"Interesting... just as I expected, it isolates the soul... has something been sealed away in here?"

"I wonder what was inside the box the teacher took; I'll ask him about it once we get out of here..."

The corners of Ao's mouth curled up as a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared in his eye sockets. He carefully observed the entire box, occasionally wiping the gelatinous substance on the surface with his hand.

Connecting this to the things the Second Hokage had once researched, a hint of excitement surged within him.

He quickly gathered both boxes and took out a scroll, sealing them inside.

After moving the boxes aside.

Ao's Three-Tomoe Sharingan swept across the wall casually.

Suddenly, his expression shifted, becoming serious.

He noticed that the wall behind the boxes was slightly different from the surrounding area; on the smooth surface, there was a trace of Chakra fluctuation that was difficult for the naked eye to see.

If not for the minute dynamic vision and genjutsu perception of the Sharingan.

He would never have been able to discover it!

The wall had been tampered with.

A genjutsu had been used to conceal it.

There was another space behind the wall!