A Nonfatal Mistake

Darkness seemed to exist only within this domain.

The echoing chill and fear wound through the deep abyss, enveloping and gnawing away at the last remnants of will in every Root ninja.

Even loud cries seemed unable to receive the slightest echo, only falling eternally into endless darkness.

The one who had personally created all this was the dark side of the shinobi world standing before Kato Xu—Shimura Danzō, his face obscured within black shadows.

"Roots dwelling in darkness can never touch leaves bathed in sunlight..."

"When roots buried deep underground foolishly try to emerge, all that awaits them is the scorching sun that will burn their hearts forever!"

Kato Xu knelt on one knee.

Danzo atop the platform looked exactly as he had when Kato Osamu first met him.

His cold, deeply meaningful gaze seemed even icier than a dark abyss as he merely examined the young man hanging his head before him.

"Everything for Root!"

There was no emotion in Kato Xu's voice, and not the slightest anomaly could be heard.

His hands extended over his head, holding two scrolls aloft. He remained as motionless as a statue.

"It seems you still remember your identity..."

Danzo gave a cold snort, and the cane in his hand suddenly struck the ground.

The dull sound seemed to startle the candles in the base. Light and shadow abruptly intertwined throughout the room, flickering along a boundary where darkness and light could no longer be distinguished.

A Root ninja at the side took the scrolls from Kato Xu's hands and slowly opened them, seemingly verifying something. He then nodded to Danzo.

"Wei, born of Root, shall die of Root. In all I do, I shall never betray Root!"

Kato Xu's low words carried a firmness that seemed to satisfy Danzo somewhat. Perhaps merely in response to the Root ninja, Danzo gave a slight nod.

Still hanging his head, Kato Xu remained wrapped in his cloak, like an inexplicable black boulder protruding from the ground, without the slightest movement.

Yet at some unknown moment, eyes as bright as jewels upon that black boulder seemed to faintly glimmer with a trace of deep blue light.

Danzo took the scrolls from the Root ninja and carefully read the mission report and intelligence Kato Xu had submitted.

The empty Root base was silent and cold as though frozen over. Nothing dared make a sound at this moment.

"Hmph..."

Danzo's emotionless snort made Kato Xu's heart sink.

As if pondering and probing something, Kato Xu restrained his senses to the utmost. His blue-glowing eyes shifted slightly as faint, silent soul fluctuations crept forward bit by bit, gradually spreading throughout the entire space.

The ninja who had taken the scrolls stood quietly at Danzo's side. He seemed to casually glance at Kato Xu, and his eyes behind the mask appeared somewhat strange, yet he remained silent.

After completely absorbing the souls of dozens of Cloud Shinobi Jonin and Chunin, Kato Xu's sensory abilities seemed to have undergone another transformation.

In that fleeting instant just now, he had suddenly discovered that he could even sense Danzo's faint emotions.

Without Danzo noticing...

Kato Xu narrowed his eyes slightly.

Most of the time, those who could not be read were deemed deep and calculating, causing those who faced them to feel inexplicable vigilance and fear.

Yet now, for the first time, he seemed to have the illusion that they stood on equal footing.

Elder Danzo, seated upon the platform and shrouded in dense, gloomy darkness, gradually revealed his human side before him.

And humans, once killed, died...

"Not bad..."

"You did well..."

Danzo's voice was hoarse, like rusted iron sandpaper scraping together.

Kato Xu's complete and detailed battlefield intelligence further confirmed Danzo's suspicions—Minato Namikaze was likely Hiruzen Sarutobi's chosen Fourth Hokage.

He slowly tapped his cane, seemingly thinking over something. Yet the occasional glances he cast toward Kato Xu allowed the kneeling Kato Xu to faintly sense a trace of subdued delight.

But mingled with that slight joy was even more inexplicable wariness and anger from an unknown source.

"Copy the Flying Thunder God Rune on your arm and hand it over to the research division..."

His cold voice rang out again. Without his special sensory ability, Kato Xu would have been utterly unable to distinguish such complex emotions from words alone. A man like Danzo would never reveal his thoughts through any phrase.

"Yes..."

Kato Xu slowly raised his head and looked at the Root ninja approaching him, the one who had taken the scrolls earlier. He felt a faint sense of familiarity, yet his senses detected nothing unusual.

The Root ninja, whose gaze held a hint of strangeness, silently copied the Flying Thunder God Rune on Kato Xu's arm.

Only when they were extremely close did a faint floral fragrance suddenly drift into Kato Xu's nose.

It seemed... to be the scent of lilies...

Danzo's hand rested lightly on the scroll describing the Asura Giant's training method. Its detailed and logical ninjutsu principles made him largely believe it was genuine, but it possessed the same unavoidable fatal weakness as the ordinary Spirit Transformation Technique, making it little more than a useless luxury.

Watching the utterly obedient Kato Xu, Danzo could not help narrowing his eyes slightly, sizing him up with an icy gaze that seemed capable of piercing through his entire body.

According to the scroll, all of Kato Osamu's reckless actions had merely been a disguise intended to deceive Minato Namikaze's team. For a moment, Danzo found himself unable to see through this almost "model" Root youth.

Was he also disguising himself now...

The Root base deep underground fell into an inexplicable silence. Danzo's gaze landed on the Root ninja walking toward him after finishing the copy, and a trace of inquiry flashed through his eyes.

Yakushi Nonō, despite her young age, was already Root's most outstanding master of disguise. In merely a few months, she had easily infiltrated the major shinobi villages and obtained vast amounts of intelligence. She had been offered a high bounty on the black market and earned the title of the Wandering Miko. Yet she seemed to have become a completely different person.

Disbelief faintly appeared in Kato Xu's raised eyes, but he tightly restrained his emotions to avoid exposing any flaw. Were it not for that familiar scent of lilies, he would never have recognized Nonō's identity...

Nonō shook her head slightly. The faint light in her eyes quietly reassured Danzo somewhat. After pondering for a moment, he spoke again.

"Wei... you are very good..."

Not another sound came from the darkness, only prolonged silence.

Even after Danzo departed, Kato Xu still found it difficult to believe. Only then did the cold sweat on his forehead slowly trickle down.

For the first time, his senses had made a mistake...

Watching the figures disappear slowly into the dark shadows behind Danzo, Kato Xu's eyes revealed complicated emotions.

For some reason, this girl had risked her life to save him twice. She seemed to possess secrets he had never discovered, though for now, she appeared to be a friend rather than an enemy...

His clenched hand had already gone white. Kato Xu stared for a long while in the direction Nonō had vanished.