It was not just the hospital that had seen many patients; a small number of sick people had also appeared within the major clans.
At first, the clans' shinobi believed some terrifying virus was ravaging the village. But after investigating, the clan heads looked at them thoughtfully.
All those poisoned were Root shinobi. Danzo's power had not yet expanded to the point where he could act without restraint. If he wanted to expand Root's ranks, he could only select people from the ANBU and shinobi of certain great clans.
He also needed the clan heads' approval. After taking stock of everyone affected, they were even more confused. What exactly had happened in Root? Had it suddenly been invaded by some unknown virus?
Since it involved the Hokage's upper-level decisions and the safety of quite a few jonin, the various clan heads immediately went to the Hokage's office.
The Hokage, who had been quietly smoking, nearly choked on the spot. Staring at the group of clan heads, he asked in confusion,
"What happened in the village that brought all of you here?"
They were all senior members of their clans, though a few had not come. The higher-ups of the Hyuga Clan and Uchiha Clan remained calmly within their clan compounds.
"This is bad, Third Hokage. For some reason, a group of people in our clan has fallen ill, and quite a few jonin have become weak. If this continues, lives will be at risk."
"The Yamanaka Clan has also had a group of shinobi fall ill. We called in shinobi from Konoha Hospital, but they couldn't find the problem."
"It is the same for all of us. We need to ensure the jonin do not suffer any problems."
Even though they knew Danzo's shadow lay behind this, they did not