Danzo's Invitation

Holding an umbrella, Muzan followed beside Obito, unsure how to comfort him. He patted him on the shoulder and said,

"You should get back on your feet now and train hard until you become a qualified powerhouse. I believe that's what your grandmother would have wanted too."

He pulled Obito up from the ground and looked at Kakashi, whose body was covered in mud.

Out of respect for the deceased, they had not used ninjutsu to dig the grave. Of course, that sort of work could only fall to Kakashi.

"Starting tomorrow, train with me."

Even though Obito claimed not to care, his choked-up face betrayed him. In the end, he agreed, stood up, and gave Muzan a slight bow.

"Thank you..."

Because it was raining, they did not stay there for long.

However, Kakashi noticed that Muzan had kept staring at the grave as if he were watching for something.

He had also urged them to leave quickly. Though it seemed like concern for their health, Kakashi knew Muzan intended to do something.

Following Muzan's words, he called Obito and Rin away, leaving Muzan standing there alone.

Amid the wind and rain, a faint smile unconsciously appeared on Muzan's lips. With the lightning flashing behind him, he looked exceptionally eerie.

He slowly crouched down and pressed his hand against the ground.

Where no one could see, Muzan's hands had already transformed into strange vines.

They rapidly extended downward, the interwoven vines densely wrapping around the entire coffin.

Crack!

White Zetsu, who had been pretending to sleep, abruptly jolted awake. He discovered that he could not escape.

"What the hell is this? How could Konoha have a ninjutsu like this?!"

Bang! Bang!

Two muffled sounds came from beneath the soil. Because of the rain, the sound of the downpour concealed the knocking from inside the coffin.

No one would have imagined that another battle was taking place underground.

Muzan gave him no chance at all. He directly contracted the vines, instantly shredding White Zetsu's body to pieces.

Under his terrifying devouring power, no one could escape.

White Zetsu did not even manage to scream!

Muzan's hands then returned to normal.

But anyone familiar with Muzan would have been frightened by his current state.

That cold, sinister aura was even more intense and gloomy than Orochimaru's, as though a venomous snake were truly awakening within him.

The brutality hidden within the Man-Eating Demon genes still affected Muzan from time to time, even if White Zetsu was an artificial human.

"Phew! Finally, it's settled."

After a while, Muzan calmed himself and clenched his hands tightly together.

He could feel that both his Chakra and physical strength had increased slightly.

Looking down at the marks beneath his feet, he frowned slightly. Forming hand seals, he used ninjutsu to pile all the surrounding earth together, preventing anyone from noticing anything suspicious.

Muzan did not leave immediately. Anyone who saw him simply assumed he was paying his respects.

It was not until someone appeared that the tranquility in the rain was broken.

It was a black-clad man wearing a fox mask. He walked up to Muzan and bluntly said,

"Hatake Muzan, my lord wishes to invite you over."

When Muzan looked up, his blood-red eyes made the Root ninja feel slightly uneasy, as though those eyes could see through the face beneath his mask.

Those eyes were actually somewhat similar to Orochimaru's.

That brief fright turned into anger from humiliation, and the ninja said in an unquestionable tone,

"Please come with me."

"Your master has a rather unusual way of extending invitations."

Dressed like this, only Danzo's subordinates in all of Konoha could appear before Muzan in such a manner.

What surprised Muzan was that Danzo had noticed him so quickly. Though Muzan did not fear the Darkness of Konoha, he had no desire to fall under the man's gaze.

Especially in Konoha. Muzan knew his own standing very well. He was currently Orochimaru's disciple and was also in charge of medical equipment on the front lines, but he still could not compare to his standing in the eyes of the Third Hokage.

"I don't like this kind of invitation."

After he said that, the atmosphere grew even colder. Muzan could even sense killing intent from the other man. As expected of a Root ninja—one wrong word, and he drew a Kunai.

But the moment the other man moved, Muzan was faster.

He directly grabbed the man's wrist, snatched away the Kunai, and inspected it in his hand before saying teasingly,

"If your master only sent you, I'm afraid today's mission will end in failure."

Rainy weather affected Muzan's sense of smell, but he did not think things would be so simple.

Suddenly hearing movement behind him, he turned and flicked the Kunai away.

Clang!

A crisp sound rang out as two Kunai collided. Muzan was slightly puzzled, because the person approaching him had a Sharingan!

The Uchiha Clan would naturally never work for Danzo. There was a hatred between them that could not be erased. Having inherited the Second Hokage's will, Danzo constantly suppressed the Uchiha Clan.

Those eyes had most likely been taken from a Uchiha Clan ninja.

And since he dared to use them here, the man before him had likely already died on the battlefield and become one of Konoha's missing ninjas. In reality, he had become a member of Danzo's Root.

Of course, the Sharingan's weakness was obvious. For someone outside the Uchiha Clan, it would remain activated at all times. An ordinary ninja's body could not withstand that constant Chakra drain.

Kakashi was proof enough. Kakashi himself was very strong, but after obtaining the Sharingan, he was only a real man for three minutes.

After using a wave of ninjutsu, he could become so weak that he fainted.

"As expected of Konoha's top genius."

Unlike the previous man, this person was not so irritable. Powerhouses were respected wherever they went, even though Muzan was still a youth.

"Mu Lang, you were far too presumptuous toward my lord's guest. Go back and accept your punishment."

That casual remark made Mu Lang, who had been consumed by rage, tremble all over. It was as though that punishment would be a hellish torment.

"Yes."

With this kind of show of force, they were determined to make him meet Danzo.

Seeing that Muzan was still hesitating, the man assumed Muzan did not understand Danzo's status within the village and added indirectly,

"You should know that my lord serves at the Hokage's side and is one of Konoha's higher-ups. You need not worry. Moreover, my lord is also qualified to contend for the position of Hokage in the future."

Hearing the admiration in his tone, Muzan's eyelid twitched. Danzo was selfish and self-serving, yet whatever he did, he always claimed it was for the village.

The Third Hokage and Danzo were Konoha's masters of brainwashing!

Muzan had no desire to be brainwashed by the Will of Fire into becoming an idiot.

"You think I don't know what kind of person Danzo is? Don't forget those rumors from back then!"

At that moment, Muzan's killing intent locked onto the two of them. If they made even the slightest move, he would turn them into truly missing persons.