Shedding Snake, Infiltration

"What did you say?! You let him get away!"

Danzo Shimura's cane instantly punched a dent into the floor, sending chips of stone flying. The fury in his eyes was almost tangible as he practically roared the words at Orochimaru before him.

"Heh~" Orochimaru chuckled dismissively.

"Danzo, don't get so worked up. It's only a Sharingan. Just pick another target. I nearly died at Mo-kun's hands. His strength is nothing like what you told me."

"Died at his hands? What kind of joke is that! You're one of the Sannin. No matter how much of a genius Uchiha Mo is, he's still just a ten-year-old brat. A few months ago, he only killed Maki by resorting to petty tricks."

Danzo stared fixedly at Orochimaru, his tone agitated and utterly unconvinced.

Hearing that, Orochimaru coldly asked in return.

"Petty tricks?"

The entire course of that battle surfaced in his mind once more.

Now that he thought it over, Orochimaru understood. From the very beginning of the battle—no, it should be said that even while they had still been facing off—the rhythm of the fight had already been firmly grasped by Uchiha Mo.

Everything that followed had been nothing more than him, one of the illustrious Sannin, being led around by the nose by the brat Danzo spoke of. First, Mo had displayed his strength through their taijutsu clash, making him lower his unnecessary guard. Then, in the end, he had used his emotional shift to lure Orochimaru into dropping his guard against "Shisui"...

Every last bit of it had been within Uchiha Mo's calculations! If not for the fact that his raw strength was sufficient and his base attributes held such a great advantage, one of the Sannin truly might have died at the hands of a ten-year-old brat...

"Battle instincts and skill like that are not some petty tricks."

Orochimaru stared coldly into Danzo Shimura's single eye.

Danzo's tone faltered. Seeing Orochimaru react so strongly, suspicion rose within him as well.

"That brat is really that strong?"

"Hmph! Didn't Root agents accompany you? Why not ask them?"

With that, Orochimaru turned directly around and headed for the door.

"Our cooperation regarding the Sharingan is temporarily suspended. I have something more important to do now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Orochimaru vanished through the doorway without another pause.

"Such a perfect body... truly enviable. How can I make it mine? Perhaps I can connect this to the art of immortality..."

On the other side, Danzo Shimura watched the spot where Orochimaru had disappeared with a vicious expression, the cane in his hand creaking under his grip.

"That insatiable viper! If not for those experiments and the Hokage plan still requiring you..."

After a long while.

Danzo came back to his senses. He called out softly, and four figures clad in black robes instantly appeared before him.

"Tell me everything about Uchiha Mo and Orochimaru's battle. Do not leave out a single detail!"

"Yes!"

The four replied in unison, then began recounting the scene of the battle to Danzo in detail.

About a quarter of an hour later, the air had fallen silent once more.

With an ugly expression, Danzo waved his hand. The four figures swiftly dispersed and vanished from the room.

Once no one remained around him, Danzo's right hand suddenly clenched the armrest of the stone chair. He gripped it so hard that his fingertips turned white, yet he seemed entirely unaware of it. Frowning with a grim expression, he muttered under his breath.

"That Uchiha brat, evil by nature, is actually this strong. Even Orochimaru nearly fell at his hands... Damn it!"

"Damn... at this rate, even if I act personally, I may not be able to kill him! Most importantly, that brat protects Shisui like an overprotective parent. If this continues, when will I ever be able to bring Shisui into Root..."

"Must I simply give up like this?"

Danzo Shimura slowly released his right hand. His lone eye flickered in and out of the darkness before him.

"Uchiha..."

"Tap..."

Above the Root base, a figure in a black high-collared robe landed atop a thick tree branch.

Uchiha Mo's eyes narrowed slightly, and the scene underground was instantly brought into his view.

The Uchiha had not yet reached the point of tearing apart all pretense with the Hidden Leaf, and the moment Mo was waiting for was still far away. Though he had many concerns, that did not mean Mo had no way of dealing with Danzo.

Root was structured similarly to the ANBU. Though there were minor differences, they meant little to Mo.

His gaze swept rapidly across the area, quickly forming the defensive layout within the Root base in his mind.

Danzo Shimura was currently resting in his office, which was located in the lower-right section of the base.

About a quarter of an hour later, Uchiha Mo quickly calculated a route to Danzo's office. Just as he was about to act, his gaze inadvertently swept over the very center of the Root base.

Mo's gaze immediately stopped, and he frowned as he focused his attention once more.

"Heh~"

The corner of Uchiha Mo's mouth lifted slightly, and his body vanished with a faint breeze...

The composition rules for Root squads were similar to those of the ANBU. Most consisted of three members, one of whom had to be a sensory ninja.

However, sensory ninja were exceedingly rare. Even the Hidden Leaf could not possibly assign one to every squad. After the various departments and ANBU squads had received their allotments, naturally not many were left for Root. Thus, only a small number of elite Root squads and squads with specialized needs had sensory ninja.

As a result, even fewer people remained in the base.

Using his invisibility, Mo swiftly moved through the Root base. The route he had planned avoided every Root member from the Yamanaka Clan or those with obvious sensory-ninja traits. If he still encountered a sensory-type ninja who could notice something without actively using their abilities, he would have no choice but to kill them.

Most ordinary sensory ninja were only somewhat sharper than regular ninja when they were not using their sensory abilities. Ninjas like Hashirama, who possessed such astonishing perception even passively, were rare.

Still, to be safe, Mo chose to avoid them.

With invisibility on his side, Uchiha Mo could not possibly be spotted by the naked eye. He soon arrived outside Danzo's office without incident.

After passing through a long, dark corridor, Danzo's office lay around the corner.

For some unknown reason, none of the rooms in Root had doors, apart from the hidden iron hatch that originally led underground!

Even the changing rooms and dormitories Root provided for its members had no doors!

Mo had noticed this while observing the Root base. Though he had no idea what Danzo was thinking, it certainly made things much more convenient for him. Otherwise, he might have had to use Earth Release to infiltrate from here, and the risk of exposure would undoubtedly have increased.