Just then, Danzo appeared in the office. No one knew when he had arrived.
Seeing him, Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brow, looking displeased.
Danzo seemed to want to meddle in everything.
"Shisui is my subordinate. Why shouldn't I trust him completely?"
"But he's still a member of the Uchiha Clan."
Danzo spoke coldly.
"To reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship? Even Hatake Sakumo never dared make such a boast. And now he's applying that kind of praise to a blind five-year-old. What is that if not nonsense?"
"Uchiha Chiba still needs to be observed."
"What matters more right now is Itachi Uchiha!"
At that, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Not now!"
"Konoha doesn't have the time to deal with the Mist Ninja right now."
"It would be best if the Uchiha Clan could hold them off!"
"There's nothing to gain from provoking Uchiha Fugaku at a time like this."
Sarutobi Hiruzen explained.
But Danzo seemed unusually aggressive.
"Uchiha Fugaku doesn't have the nerve!"
"Besides, he trusts you very much!"
"He naively believes that the Uchiha can secure a place for themselves in Konoha."
Sarutobi Hiruzen found this uncharacteristic aggression strange.
Normally, Danzo would have been more cautious.
Still, thinking of Danzo's attitude toward the Uchiha Clan, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't dwell on it.
It was just that, whether intentionally or not,
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Danzo and calmly asked, "Danzo, have you been short on people for your Root lately?"
Danzo was furious.
Last time, he should have sent Orochimaru to observe Chiba.
But the report Orochimaru had given him contained nothing but insignificant details, and was completely different from the report Uchiha Shisui had provided.
When it came to Orochimaru's report versus Shisui's, Danzo would rather believe Uchiha Shisui.
Even though Shisui was Sarutobi Hiruzen's subordinate, and even though he belonged to the Uchiha Clan.
Because Danzo still didn't trust Orochimaru.
If Danzo had known sooner just how monstrously powerful Chiba was,
he would have recruited Chiba into Root long ago.
He had acted so aggressively just now to make Sarutobi Hiruzen shift his attention away from Chiba and focus on Itachi Uchiha instead.
After all, as far as Sarutobi Hiruzen was concerned, Itachi was far more important than Chiba.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen's offhand remark at the end—"Have you been short on people for your Root?"—had left Danzo uneasy.
Had that old man seen through him?
Danzo wasn't sure.
But he knew he couldn't just sit around and do nothing.
Now that Chiba had displayed such impressive strength, Danzo needed to bring him into Root.
Danzo had no hope of recruiting Itachi Uchiha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen would never let him go, and Chiba's existence was Danzo's best alternative.
No one ever complained about having too many capable subordinates.
With a trace of anger,
Danzo made his way to Orochimaru's laboratory.
A laboratory that absolutely could not be made public.
Before Danzo even entered, the screams coming from inside were enough to make his scalp crawl.
Danzo frowned slightly.
Orochimaru was getting more and more brazen lately.
Once inside the laboratory, Danzo looked at the corpse lying on the examination table. Even he felt sick.
"Orochimaru, what exactly are you doing?"
"Don't you think you've been getting too arrogant lately?"
"People have been disappearing from the village more and more often!"
"Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile?"
Orochimaru didn't even look up. He simply spoke calmly.
"You provide me with a supply of test subjects, and I research the Hashirama Cells for you!"
"That was our agreement from the start, wasn't it?"
"Everyone who's gone missing was on your list."
"Their deaths can all be blamed on the war, can't they?"
Danzo's brow furrowed even further.
He had said that.
Occasional disappearances could indeed be blamed on the war.
But Orochimaru needed far too many people.
"In any case, keep a lower profile lately."
"There are already rumors going around the village, and Sarutobi Hiruzen has started paying attention!"
"Anbu will begin investigating soon!"
At that, Orochimaru finally set aside his work.
His research was at a critical stage.
This wasn't the time to let Sarutobi Hiruzen find out.
However, the research he was conducting wasn't what Danzo expected.
Danzo only wanted the power of the Hashirama Cells.
Orochimaru, on the other hand—
longed for immortality.
Chapter 36
What Danzo wanted was simple and pure.
Power and authority.
But it seemed the heavens were against him. Whether it was power or authority,
he had neither.
In terms of strength, the Shimura Clan had nothing special about it, and Danzo himself had no talent that made him stand out from the crowd.
He had reached his current position and become part of Konoha's High Command purely because Senju Tobirama had taken him on as a student.
That was all.
In terms of authority, Sarutobi Hiruzen would always outrank him, and in Konoha, a superior could crush you with just one rank's advantage.
He would always be beneath Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Danzo wasn't content with the status quo.
And in his eyes, the only thing that could change it was power.
In his youth, he had barely reached Kage Level. Now, as he grew older, his strength had already begun to decline.
No matter how he struggled or trained, his strength remained his greatest limitation.
It was true that Sarutobi Hiruzen faced the same predicament.
But he had already reached the top of the power structure.
So—
Danzo turned his attention to the First, the man who had brought an end to the warring era and subdued the entire Shinobi World—Senju Hashirama.
The Senju Clan possessed overwhelming physical prowess and vast reserves of chakra.
Physical prowess and chakra were the foundations of all ninjutsu.
And all of this came down to one thing:
the cells Senju Hashirama had left behind.
They were his hope of becoming stronger.
For that, he would stop at nothing.
And Orochimaru had become his greatest support.
But even so, Orochimaru's actions this time still displeased him.
"Orochimaru, did you hide anything about observing Uchiha Chiba?"
Orochimaru paused, then extended his tongue and licked his lips.
"I believe I included everything about Chiba in my report."
"No research value. Is that your answer?"
Danzo looked at Orochimaru, suppressing his anger.
"Your report and the information Sarutobi Hiruzen received are completely different."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"In my view, the Uchiha Clan lost their Sharingan, so they have no research value!"
"Even if he took an unconventional path and achieved something in swordsmanship, it still doesn't change the fact that he has no Sharingan!"
At that, Danzo furrowed his brow.
Orochimaru hadn't said that before.
But Danzo was used to Orochimaru contradicting himself.
The man had probably damaged his brain with all his research.
"Is that so?"
"Then you can leave Uchiha Chiba alone!"
"Even though you've decided he has no value..."