The blinding sunlight from outside shone into the tree hollow, making the unconscious Danzo's eyelids twitch.
With a jolt, he suddenly woke from his unconsciousness and leaped to his feet.
He had not expected activating the skills this time to place such a heavy burden on his body.
-- Main Attribute Panel Name: Shimura Danzō Age: Twenty-one Strength: B Body: B Speed: A+ Mental: A+ Skills: Strength Amplification (Activated) Critical Hit (Passive Skill) Damage Amplification (Not Activated) Body Amplification (Activated) Endurance Amplification (Passive Skill) Brass Body (Not Activated) Speed Amplification (Activated) Sprint (Active Skill) Potential Unleash (Not Activated) Mental Amplification (Activated) Mental Resistance (Passive Skill) Mental Projection (Not Activated) Skill Points: 83 --
Looking at the four newly activated skills on the skill panel, Danzo clenched his fists, making them crack.
The changes in his body were extremely obvious. He could clearly feel that his strength and every other aspect had become much stronger than before.
The activation of the four skills had raised his strength and body from their original Rank C evaluation to Rank B, skipping past Rank B- and reaching an even greater level.
Although his speed and mental strength had improved as well, the increase was still not enough for them to enter a new rank.
With his current condition and these skills, Danzo finally possessed the ability to protect himself.
In the coming battles, he could fight alongside the others. Once he earned a name for himself, he would only gain more Skill Points.
The passive skill Critical Hit gave Danzo a twenty percent chance to inflict critical damage with every close-range attack while his skills were activated.
Endurance Amplification compensated for his shortcomings in stamina, granting him even greater physical endurance than the original body had possessed in its youth.
With the passive skill Mental Resistance, Danzo could resist most mental attacks, such as genjutsu or the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Technique.
Sprint, the only active skill among the four, could increase Danzo's speed by twenty percent for one hour, with a cooldown of one day.
The four skills had made up for most of his weaknesses.
He still had eighty-three Skill Points left. He needed just over ten more to activate the next stage of skills.
Just as Danzo had expected, the Skill Points required to activate each stage of a skill increased tenfold.
He wondered whether the population of this world was enough to push all these skills to their ultimate levels.
Danzo looked outside with some concern. The ninja world already had a small population, and wars broke out all the time, killing people by the masses. It seemed he would have to control the population somewhat, lest everyone be killed off and his days of being a good man come to an end.
After loosening up a little, Danzo stepped outside and asked Might Guy, who was guarding the entrance beside the tree hollow, "How long has it been?"
"Lord Danzo!"
Might Guy cried out in delight. He had been waiting so long these past few days that he had started growing impatient.
However, he gave Danzo a puzzled look. He felt that the man before him seemed somewhat different, but he still answered respectfully, "Three days have passed since you entered the tree hollow."
"Three days?"
Danzo frowned. He had not expected activating the skills this time to take so long. However, when he noticed the Anbu Ninja still waiting quietly outside, he felt slightly reassured.
Since Kakashi was still here, there should be no problem at the front lines.
Kakashi's silver hair was far too conspicuous. Coupled with the fact that he was squatting there reading, it would have been difficult for Danzo not to recognize him.
"Let the Anbu outside come in," Danzo said to the Root Ninja standing farther away.
A Root Ninja flashed over to Kakashi, spoke a few words to him, and then brought him before Danzo.
The moment silver-haired Kakashi approached, Might Guy impatiently asked, "Are you Kakashi?"
When it came to the rival he considered his lifelong enemy, Might Guy observed Kakashi closely. A mask alone was not enough to stop him from recognizing his best friend.
Kakashi scratched his head awkwardly. It seemed that although his muscle-bound friend had been brainwashed by Danzo, he was still just as stupid as before.
They were still on a mission, yet Might Guy had exposed his identity so openly.
"How are things now?" Danzo cut in, glancing at the embarrassed Kakashi and Might Guy, who had already made up his mind.
"As for Lord Danzo leaving the team, I have already reported it to the Hokage. The Hokage Advisors have brought a considerable number of people to the front lines to replace you," Kakashi said, his body tense. At the first sign of trouble, he would use the Body Flicker Technique to escape.
Having worked under Danzo before, Kakashi knew very well what kind of person Danzo was.
He had disrupted Danzo's plans, and Danzo would definitely not let the matter rest.
Danzo nodded. He was not surprised that Kakashi had reported him. The moment he learned that he had been unconscious for three days, he had already prepared himself.
There were only two Hokage Advisors. Koharu was a Medical Ninja, so the one who had led people from Konoha to the front lines should be Mitokado Homura.
After thinking it through, Danzo asked, "What is the situation on Kumogakure's side?"
"Kumogakure's forces have been retreating steadily. They have already withdrawn to Si Ming Mountain and been surrounded," Kakashi reported what he knew, though his expression was somewhat surprised. He had not expected Danzo to let the matter of his report slide so easily.
Danzo's brow relaxed. This was not much different from what he had expected, but he continued, "Then what is the relationship between their three teams like?"
This was what had concerned him before activating his skills.
Other than Ryoma, the other two squad leaders were intelligent men with ideas of their own.
When they faced different enemies, they could fight separately. But now that Kumogakure's people had been forced into retreat, they had only one target left.
With him gone, who held the decision-making power now?
A bad feeling rose in Danzo's heart.
While Danzo was worrying, in a dense forest not far from Si Ming Mountain...
"Hizashi, the Kumogakure forces ahead seem a little off," Fugaku said with a frown as he watched the Kumogakure troops ahead maintain a fixed pace, keeping them hanging behind.
"It's fine. As long as we don't clash with their main force, none of the Kumogakure teams around here are worth worrying about," Hizashi Hyuga said confidently. Leading such a massive force for the first time and winning battle after battle, he felt that he was no longer the Hizashi Hyuga from three days ago.
Over the past three days, the nearby Kumogakure forces had either been killed or driven back to Si Ming Mountain. All of that was military merit.
This Kumogakure team retreating toward Si Ming Mountain was also one Hizashi Hyuga had found with great difficulty.
Looking at the high-spirited Hizashi Hyuga, Fugaku's heart filled with disdain. He stepped back and said to the ninja under his command, "Everyone, remain where you are and await orders."
"Since Brother Hizashi is so confident, I'll give this military merit to you."
It was obvious that Fugaku did not intend to follow Hizashi Hyuga. He had already given his warning. Although the relationship between their two clans was not very good, they were still from the same village. He had done all he could.
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