Chapter 21

Tsunade said nothing, coldly staring at him for several seconds before speaking. Her voice was like a blade scraping across ice. "Today is just a small lesson for you. If I find out you really did those things, and if I find the evidence—watch your life."

After saying that, she did not even spare the Third Hokage a glance before turning and leaving.

Third Hokage: "..."

Had Danzo taken that blow for me, or had Tsunade been targeting him from the start?

The Third Hokage pondered it for a moment and decided it was the latter.

Yes, it definitely had to be the latter.

He was Tsunade's teacher, after all. She would not go so far as to attack him.

At that moment, Danzo spoke coldly. "Hiruzen, are you satisfied? Is this the fine disciple you taught? Does she still regard me, her Hokage advisor?"

"Give me a break."

The Third Hokage leisurely pinched some tobacco from his pouch and stuffed it into his pipe. He rubbed his fingers together, using chakra nature transformation to light it, then took several puffs.

Then he sat down on the sofa and looked at Danzo. "The two of us know perfectly well what this is really about."

"This time, you brought it on yourself. Even if it upsets you, you'll have to endure it."

"You should be glad Tsunade has no evidence and held back instead of dealing a fatal blow. Otherwise—"

The Third Hokage stopped halfway through his sentence. He glanced at Danzo's face, black enough to drip water, and shook his head. "In any case, I'll warn you one more time. Stop, Danzo. The Wood Release experiments won't work. We already tried this back then."

"Stop being so stubborn."

"Honestly return the First Hokage's **, and I can pretend nothing ever happened."

Not to mention that Danzo might not even succeed. Even if he did, the Third Hokage could not let him succeed.

He did not want to see Danzo get his hands on Wood Release again.

If things reached that point, suppressing him would not be so easy.

Danzo abruptly stopped in his tracks, turned around, and glared at the Third Hokage. His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice rose sharply. "You don't believe me? You actually don't believe me?"

"I told you, I didn't! I didn't do it!"

After throwing out those words, he turned and left, his footsteps quick and heavy.

Whether he was genuinely furious or simply taking the opportunity to slip away and cut the conversation short, no one knew.

The Third Hokage watched his departing figure, brows tightly furrowed, and sighed inwardly.

"Danzo, I hope you can turn back. Stop meddling in these matters."

Lately, he had increasingly felt that the number of times he argued with Danzo was becoming abnormal.

How had things ended up like this?

On the way home, Danzo's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, and his gaze was gloomy enough to drip water.

"Who exactly is scheming against me from the shadows?"

He suddenly remembered the four Root Jōnin he had sent to capture Uchiha Yan.

They still had not returned.

"Could it be that brat?"

He narrowed his eyes, then shook his head.

"No. No matter how talented that kid is, he's still only a brat barely over three years old. It must have been Uchiha Senichi!"

"I never thought that **, who looks so crude and rough, would be hiding such schemes. As expected of a seed of that clan."

"A family like that should never have been allowed to exist."

"Just wait. I'll wipe you all out."

His hatred for the Uchiha deepened another level.

As for whether his speculation was correct, he did not care in the slightest.

In any case, the blame belonged to the Uchiha.

A week later.

[You analyzed the Cursed Color Eradication Jutsu formula and gained tremendous insight. You have mastered the methods of casting and dispelling it.]

[You thoroughly researched the Cursed Color Eradication Jutsu formula. Combining it with your accumulated knowledge of Sealing Jutsu, you comprehended a new technique: Mental Sealing Technique: Slave Seal.]

[Enslavement Seal: Condense spiritual power into an Enslavement Mark and implant it into the target's spiritual sea. Those whose spiritual power is lower than the caster's have an extremely high chance of being enslaved. As time passes, they will unknowingly be transformed into the caster's devoted followers.]

Yan digested the information about this new technique and could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

"Tsk, tsk. This technique is vicious."

But soon, he smiled.

"It's perfect for dealing with enemies and those who commit evil."

"Paired with the Soul Refinement Art, it's practically a divine technique."

In terms of spiritual power alone, he had already surpassed most Kage Level experts.

In a few more years, there probably would not be more than a handful of people in the entire Ninja World who could contend with him in spiritual power.

"Since I comprehended it from you, I'll test it on you first."

He looked at the four Root ninjas bound tightly before him. He directly mobilized his spiritual power, condensed an Enslavement Mark, raised his hand, and drove it into one of their spiritual seas.

"Ah—!"

The ninja suddenly convulsed and let out a painful howl.

After quite some time, Yan's emotions finally settled down. There was clear reluctance and struggle in the depths of his eyes, but he still lowered his head and bowed to Yan. "Dove greets his master."

"Not bad. Very good."

Yan could naturally see the emotions in his eyes, but he still nodded in satisfaction. He knew that it would not take long for the Enslavement Mark to completely control Dove.

Unless Dove had the ability to break free of the mark.

But given the difference in spiritual power between him and Yan, that possibility was virtually nonexistent.

The other three Root ninjas watched the entire process from the side. Their hearts instantly turned cold.

This method was too ruthless—far more horrifying than Danzo's Cursed Tongue Eradication Jutsu.

But they did not even have a chance to struggle or resist.

"Ah—"

After several screams rang out, Yan quickly planted Enslavement Marks in all four of them.

After finishing this, Yan thought for a moment, then altered the Cursed Tongue Eradication Jutsu marks on their bodies as well. He directly removed all the restrictions and control Danzo had imposed, doing so so subtly that Danzo would not be able to sense it.

Next, he raised his hand and slapped each of them once on the abdomen, undoing the Chakra Seals on their bodies.

Yan instructed the four of them, "After this, find a way to return to Danzo and keep a close eye on his every move."

"Work in secret and do not expose yourselves. Use every method available to gather evidence of Danzo's crimes. Once the time is right, hand it over to me."

"Also, under no circumstances are you to reveal anything about me or my family."

"You already do this kind of work yourselves. You shouldn't need me to teach you how to come up with a plausible excuse, right?"

He was not certain whether Danzo would notice something wrong when these four returned and stop trusting them from then on.

This could only be considered a test.

"Yes."

Dove accepted the order with the other three. However, he quickly added, "Master, I suggest leaving two people behind to serve you under different identities. Crow and I can return."

"That way, it will be easier to make Danzo believe us."

"After all, we've already been delayed for more than a week. If all four of us return completely unharmed, it will only make Danzo more suspicious."

"Even if only Crow and I return, we'll have to disguise ourselves as injured if we want any chance of fooling him."

The Enslavement Mark had only been in place for a short time, so Dove was not genuinely convinced by Yan. He obeyed because the mark was forcibly suppressing him.

However, just as Yan had said, Dove was a true expert in this field.

Therefore, he knew how to complete Yan's task while ensuring that he stayed alive.

Although they had been enslaved, they had not completely lost their own consciousness.

As long as there was even the slightest possibility, they naturally still wanted to live.

"Oh?"

After hearing this, Yan's brows moved slightly. An understanding look appeared on his face, and he nodded. "That makes sense. We'll do as you suggested. Go quickly."

"Yes."

Dove and Crow immediately took their leave of Yan. Yan's Shadow Clone led them out of this underground base first. Soon, the two figures completely disappeared into the Uchiha Compound.

Yan looked at the two people who had remained behind and asked, "State your names. What are you skilled at?"

"Master, my name is Turtledove. I'm skilled in Earth Release and swordsmanship."