Late at night, in Konoha.
It was an unremarkable little cabin built for a single occupant.
But its location was unusual: on the northern cliffside, between the Hokage Building and Hokage Rock.
As such, however ordinary it looked, its location alone told everyone that this was an important, classified facility, strictly off-limits to unauthorized personnel.
This was an important base for Konoha's Anbu, with a secret passage leading into the mountain.
Following that passage would bring one to the headquarters of Root, Konoha's Anbu division.
Root... an Anbu organization independent of Konoha's other Anbu, the Anbu within the Anbu.
Even its chain of command was completely independent, entirely separate from the Anbu serving directly under the Hokage.
Although it had only been established a few years earlier, it had already grown considerably.
From its inception, Root had recruited many outstanding young ninja from Konoha, even gathering a group of exceptionally gifted children and bringing them back to its base for elite training. It could even bypass the Ninja Academy's educational system, possessing a complete, independent training system of its own.
That degree of independence was unique within Konoha.
Thus, in the eyes of many Jonin who knew of its existence, its leader, Danzo, was like a "Kage" in Konoha's darkness, maintaining his formidable deterrent power through unconventional means.
In just a few short years, the influence this organization had developed had put ninja from every nation on high alert.
At that moment, in a room deep within the base, no sunlight reached inside. Only enormous candles burned quietly around it.
The candlelight flickered over Danzo's grim, corpse-like face. Seated in his chair, he resembled a Buddha statue looming indistinctly in the darkness, eerie and sinister.
Anyone facing him would immediately feel immense pressure.
Two figures stood ramrod straight before him.