Mount Sumeru.
The cold wind howled.
Layer upon layer of rock formations resembled enormous scales, interlocking like jagged fangs.
This place was shrouded in rain and thick fog year-round, while sporadic lightning strikes left the ground utterly barren.
The gray-blue and deep teal hues carried a suffocating sense of lifeless silence.
Yamanaka Fu carried Danzo, who had already been reduced to a limbless torso, to this place.
Danzo narrowed his eyes at the desolate sight before him.
"Hidden in such a barren place. No wonder it took so long to find."
"Let's go. Let's see whether this Hiruko truly has the ability."
"Yes, Lord Danzo."
Yamanaka Fu answered, leading three Root members swiftly up along the ridge.
Though the ground was slick, their pace did not slow.
About ten minutes later, they arrived before a massive cave.
Compared to the cold dampness outside,
a faint wave of heat actually drifted out from the cave entrance.
Before they could call out, a short white-haired figure in a trench coat emerged from within.
"It has been a long time, Lord Danzo."
A gentle young voice rang out.
It caught Danzo off guard.
"You are Hiruko?"
Hiruko had once been a friend of the Three Sannin, so Danzo had naturally met him before.
But the Hiruko he remembered had been 175 centimeters tall, a grown man.
The person before him was less than 130 centimeters tall, with bandages wrapped around his face.
There was not the slightest trace of the Hiruko he had once known.
Hiruko nodded. "It is me. Come inside, Lord Danzo. I trust you can hardly wait any longer."
With that, he turned and headed into the cave.
Danzo lifted his chin slightly, and Yamanaka Fu and the other three followed behind him.
A warm breeze wafted through the cave,