Tug-of-War at the Limit Within the Crystal Ball

Root and ANBU were two similar yet fundamentally different organizations.

ANBU served as the ninja village's first and last line of defense, while Root's duties leaned more toward internal purges.

In Ying Shu's understanding, it was an organization that specifically targeted its own people, something like a class representative.

Looking at the lifeless Root mask before him and the cold eyes behind it, Ying Shu fell into self-reflection.

Why did Danzo take an interest in me?

Could it be that I haven't acted innocent enough? Damn it!

Ying Shu was suffering inside.

Just think about Guy—a man who nearly kicked the story straight to its ending—begging Danzo desperately to let him join Root, only to be ruthlessly rejected.

What exactly had he done to catch Danzo's eye?

He was only six this year... He was still a child!

Ying Shu had misery he could not voice, yet his face wore an innocent expression.

No matter what, he would not join Root.

There was no other reason: the glory of the Senju Clan would not allow him to willingly sink so low!

"Elder Danzo? Root? I-I-I-I... I don't know anything about it!" Ying Shu looked suspicious. "What... do you do?"

The Hokage's office.

"Good child!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his palm onto the desk with a bang, then let out a long breath.

That damned Danzo—how was this any different from directly abducting someone else's child into Root!?

Thankfully, the child had remained vigilant...

Knock, knock, knock.

A series of rhythmic knocks sounded as Shimura Danzo strode powerfully into the Hokage's office.

The moment he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi staring so intently at his precious treasure, Shimura Danzo's eyes flashed with helplessness.

He was no longer young, yet he still could not break his habit of peeping.

And whenever he peeked at others, he completely lost the most basic vigilance expected of a ninja. With that, he was still the Hokage?

Shimura Danzo heavily struck the floor with his cane. "Hiruzen!"

"Huh? Danzo... Come, come, come, watch with me!" Hiruzen Sarutobi beckoned.

"..." Shimura Danzo's single eye was filled with disdain. "I will not."

"Hm?" Hiruzen Sarutobi froze, just about to say something when Ying Shu's voice came from the crystal ball.

Infiltration? Assassination? Gathering intelligence? Protecting Konoha? Isn't that just what they teach at the Ninja Academy? No, no... I only just graduated. I want to go to the battlefield and kill enemies. I want to face the enemy head-on!

Besides, shouldn't every Konoha ninja protect Konoha? Grandpa Hokage praised me this morning and even gave me a B-rank Water Release as a reward. No, no!

The office atmosphere froze for a second.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to take a satisfying drag from his pipe, Shimura Danzo's furious voice suddenly rang out!

"Monkey! What exactly have you been hiding from me!?"

"I didn't say anything bad about you, Danzo." Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly puffed out smoke.

Good child, Grandpa Hokage had not praised you for nothing!

Shimura Danzo's hands trembled with anger again. The rotten old man before him was truly wicked!

But just then, Ying Shu's voice rang out again.

Root's battlefield... is more advanced? How is it advanced?

Really!? I can fight the elites of enemy villages head-on? And I might even get a chance to assassinate an enemy village's Kage!?

I-I-I... Can I really do that!?

Ying Shu's voice was slightly excited, just like an elementary school student upon hearing he had been chosen as a model student.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's composed expression gradually stiffened.

The corners of Shimura Danzo's mouth curled slightly upward.

Didn't expect that, did you? My Root has stood tall in the Shinobi World for decades. What storms had it not weathered? A mere brat would be caught with ease!

"Danzo! Tell me honestly, just how many children has your Root deceived!"

Now it was Hiruzen Sarutobi whose hands trembled with anger. What a Danzo—like leader, like followers. His subordinates had quite the knack for fooling children!

Facing elites head-on? Assassinating an enemy village's Kage?

What kind of outrageous nonsense was that to feed a child!

"Hmph!" Shimura Danzo scoffed disdainfully. He could not even be bothered to explain.

Then what kind of benefits does your Root offer...?

Ying Shu's voice rang out again.

If I join Root, I can learn lots of Lightning Release and Water Release ninjutsu? And I'll get rewards as long as I kill enemies? Really, Masked Uncle!?

Can I really do that!?

It was over.

Upon hearing that, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart suddenly went cold.

The curve of Shimura Danzo's lips became increasingly obvious, and his single eye narrowed slightly. This was his signature expression whenever victory was assured.

Strategizing from afar, glimpsing the enemy's secrets and taking control of the overall situation, disrupting the enemy's arrangements and crushing them with ease—Danzo had long grown accustomed to the feeling of victory.

"Sigh!" Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and waved his hand. "Fine, fine. I'll inform Minato afterward... But Danzo, are you sure you want to bring him into Root for training at such a young age? He may have graduated, but after all..."

"That is none of your concern, Hiruzen," Shimura Danzo said flatly. "The training of spies differs from that of ninjas. Bonds are best severed from an early age."

If he had been the child of a major clan, there was no way he could have joined Root at such a young age.

What joining Root meant was an unspoken truth among Konoha's upper ranks: severing the past, severing the future, feeding on darkness, and walking in Konoha's shadows.

That was Root.

But Ying Shu's file listed him as an orphan, so that was another matter.

Shimura Danzo was in high spirits. Having basically foreseen the outcome, he did not even want to linger here any longer. He took out a scroll and tossed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"This is a list of suspicious people who have recently entered Konoha. Root personnel still need to monitor the Uchiha, so we cannot spare anyone. Have someone keep an eye on them."

Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted the scroll without even opening it. Distraught, he waved his hand, effectively dismissing his guest.

He had even begun considering how to explain this to Minato.

That little fellow might be a civilian ninja, but his role in Team 7 was no small one. Anyone with eyes could see that he vaguely occupied the core position among the three.

And he was also a medical ninja... It would truly be a pity to lose such a versatile civilian ninja.

But then...

"Um, Masked Uncle, can I make a request?"

The conversation inside the crystal ball continued.

"I really want to join Root. The benefits are good, and I can kill enemies and serve Konoha... But for something this good, I want to bring my companions with me."

"One is named Uchiha Obito. His Fire Release is insanely good. The other is Hatake Kakashi, Lord White Fang's son. He used to be the top student in our class!"

"The three of us swore that we would go to the battlefield together and serve Konoha together. Even when we get wives and have children in the future, we'll do that together, so..."

Thud! Thud! Clatter, clatter, clatter—

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe fell to the floor and rolled several times, scattering ash and tobacco everywhere.

Yet he paid it no mind. His disappointed expression gradually went blank, then slowly turned into wild delight!

There was hope!

"What? Those two aren't within Root's selection range? You have to be joking!"

"Masked Uncle, Obito is the Uchiha's greatest genius, and Kakashi is Uncle White Fang's son! I can't even beat him!"

"Your Root... doesn't seem all that impressive, does it? You don't even know something that basic?"

"Forget it, forget it. I'm not going... Unless you bring those two along, there is nothing to discuss."

After saying that, the little fellow turned and walked into the room, slamming the door shut with a bang.

His change of face was so swift that the Root elite failed to react in time, standing dumbfounded outside the door for quite a while!

Hiruzen Sarutobi swiftly shut off the crystal ball. Looking at his old companion, whose body faced the office door while his head remained turned toward the crystal ball, his expression stiff beyond belief, Hiruzen laughed without an ounce of sympathy.

No matter how hard Shimura Danzo racked his brains, he could not understand it. Just a moment ago, he had happily been preparing to leave, while his old companion had been ready to notify Minato.

How had things turned around in the next moment...

And gone cold?

"Don't worry, Danzo. Your Root is short-handed, so I'll have ANBU cooperate fully! Ah, with the relationship between us... Hm? Danzo, don't leave?"

As Shimura Danzo slammed the door shut with a bang.

Bursts of laughter immediately erupted from the Hokage's office!

Shimura Danzo, who had not gone far, wore a gloomy expression.

He coldly glanced toward the Hokage's office, and a strange light gradually rose in his single eye.

"Since that is the case, then do not blame me for resorting to other means, Hiruzen..."