The Reaction in the Shadows

"Useless!"

On a distant cliff.

Shimura Danzō's face was dark as a storm cloud.

His lone eye locked onto the mangled corpse at the center of the explosion.

His chest heaved!

A Root ninja silently approached from behind and asked in a low voice:

"Lord Danzō, should we still..."

"Hmph!"

Danzō snorted, his voice cold and grim.

"Now that Hanzo is dead, he's of no use to us."

"We came here in secret. There's no need to show ourselves. We'll decide what to do once things settle down."

"Yes, sir!" The Root ninja immediately lowered his head and retreated into the shadows.

Danzō looked again at the shocking crater.

His gaze slowly shifted upward to the figure descending through the air.

A tangle of emotions flashed through his lone eye.

Shock, wariness, and an almost greedy desire to possess.

"Might Guy... I never imagined he was this strong!"

Danzō kept his voice low.

He had thought Guy was merely a talented Taijutsu fighter who had caught Tsunade's eye.

At most, he stood out among the younger generation.

But what he had just seen—

Hanzo of the Salamander, the "Demigod of the Ninja World," felled with a single slash!

Even if something about it seemed odd.

The destructive power Guy had displayed, and his grasp of the right moment to strike, far exceeded Danzō's expectations.

Guy was now strong enough to change the course of events!

Someone like him must join my Root!

Thoughts raced through Danzō's mind.

If he could bring that kind of power under his control, Root's strength would leap to another level.

It would be a tremendous help to his future plans.

And if I can't...

Danzō's eye abruptly turned vicious.

"Hmph!"

He snorted and stayed no longer.

Turning, he led several elite Root ninja into the