In the deepest underground chamber of Root.
The air was thick with the musty, earthy stench of a place that had gone years without sunlight.
And the sharp, distinctive smell of rusting iron.
Dried blood from some unknown year still stained the black stone floor, spread across a vast, dark patch.
Leaning on his cane, Danzo stood atop a large rock at the front.
A ring of yellowed grease stained the collar of his black coat.
It betrayed his current agitation and utter disregard for appearances.
Below him.
More than a hundred elite Root operatives, trained to die on command, wore deathly white animal masks and tight-fitting clothes.
They knelt in a dense, dark mass.
This was Root's final trump card, built up over more than a decade.
"Listen carefully."
An almost bestial madness flickered in Danzo's sole remaining eye.
He drove his cane hard into the ground with a dull thud.
"That little bastard Sen Senju repeatedly unleashed large-scale Wood Release that covered half of Konoha in yesterday's battle."
"Then he fought Orochimaru and the One-Tail back to back."
"No matter how strong his body is, his chakra must be nearly depleted by now!"
Danzo panted heavily, his chest heaving.
"This is our only chance, and our best one!"
"You have only one objective: eliminate him completely!"
Below him, the palms of a Root elite jonin wearing a monkey mask were slick with cold sweat.
Unable to hold back, he hesitantly interjected in a low voice.
"Lord Danzo... but that brat's speed and monstrous strength defy all reason. What if he..."
"There are no what-ifs!"
Danzo cut him off with a hysterical roar, spraying saliva straight onto the man's mask.
His deeply wrinkled face had twisted completely with extreme jealousy and madness.
"Each of you will carry three kunai