Wind and Torune

Konoha ANBU Training Base, Root...

Danzo returned here in frustration. He had just been stripped of his positions as Hokage's advisor and head of Root by the monkey. Then Itachi had threatened him with the Mangekyo, forbidding him from touching Itachi's younger brother. This was simply too much.

The monkey was the Hokage, so it was one thing for him to keep Danzo down. But what was Uchiha Itachi? He actually dared to threaten Danzo with the village's intelligence.

Yet Danzo truly had no way around it. He always claimed everything he did was for the village. If he ignored Uchiha Itachi's warning and touched Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi really would leak the village's intelligence.

He had no choice but to swallow this silent loss. Never doubt a double agent's resolve. He had even exterminated his entire clan; leaking the village's intelligence was merely a trivial matter for someone that ruthless.

"How many Sharingan did we collect this time?" After thinking for a moment, Danzo finally calmed himself and asked the subordinate beside him about tonight's gains.

"Lord Danzo, we only obtained seventeen Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Some Uchiha eyes mysteriously vanished and had already been dug out by the time we arrived..."

"Who did it?" Danzo raised a hand and lightly stroked his chin. He was asking a question he already knew the answer to. Before the operation, he had informed Orochimaru. That man would certainly not miss such a good opportunity to obtain Sharingan.

"We found traces of snakes crawling, and the deaths of the Uchiha from the Police Force were different from those killed by Itachi..."

"A third party? Could it be the monkey's people?" Danzo could not help but grow suspicious. What did the monkey want with Sharingan? If they were not the monkey's people, then who else was collecting Sharingan?

Only Konoha's upper echelon knew about tonight's operation against the Uchiha. Even the ANBU had not known before the mission began. Only after arriving at the Uchiha District did they learn that their task was to seal it off.

"Forget it. Seventeen Three-Tomoe Sharingan are enough. How are the children you were told to look into?" Danzo continued asking his subordinate for information. Since the monkey had removed him as Hokage's advisor, he could use this time to train subordinates.

"Lord Danzo, the candidates among children inside and outside the village, as well as those from the orphanage, are all here..." The subordinate set down an intelligence scroll and waited for Danzo to inspect it.

"You may leave." Danzo picked up the scroll and waved lightly, dismissing his subordinate. Tonight's gains had been fairly good. With this reserve of Sharingan, he could begin learning that technique. He also needed to find time to contact Orochimaru.

When it came to research on the Uchiha, aside from the deceased Second Hokage, Orochimaru was the only one who had delved deeply into it. To understand that Uchiha technique and transplant Hashirama Cells, Orochimaru was an indispensable partner. Otherwise, Danzo would never have been kind enough to tell him about something as significant as the Uchiha clan's extermination.

Then, setting aside his thoughts, he slowly opened the scroll and carefully examined its contents by the bright candlelight. It contained information on children with considerable ninja talent whom he had ordered his subordinates to gather, children to be trained as his underlings.

As he read through the information one by one, he found children from the major clans as well as several civilian prodigies. Then one name caught his attention again: Chiba Lin Chuan.

Chiba Lin Chuan, seven years old, first in his grade, all examination scores at A rank. His strength had already reached Genin level. He was proficient in the Three Body Technique and shuriken throwing, and could use four Water Release ninjutsu: two C-rank techniques, Water Clone and Water Shock Wave, and two B-rank techniques, Water Formation Wall and Water Dragon Bullet.

"A genius." Danzo stared at Lin Chuan's profile, his eyes gleaming with fervor as he circled Lin Chuan's name.

He then looked over the talented children of clans such as the Nara Clan, Yamanaka Clan, Akimichi Clan, Aburame Clan, and Inuzuka Clan, selecting among them...

In the end, he chose children from the Yamanaka Clan and the Aburame Clan: Fū Yamanaka of the Yamanaka Clan and Shino Aburame of the Aburame Clan.

Finally, he looked through the talented children from the orphanage and picked several more with decent aptitude. All that remained was for him to personally test whether they were qualified to join his ranks.

He would naturally go after the toughest bones first. He planned to visit the major ninja clans first. As long as he could obtain children from the Yamanaka Clan and Aburame Clan, the others would have no power to resist when he asked for their children.

The next day, Danzo set out with his subordinates for the Yamanaka Clan's compound. Faced with Danzo's arrival, the Yamanaka Clan was sensible enough. When Danzo specifically demanded Fū Yamanaka, the clan head directly handed him over.

Fortunately, he had not asked for the clan head's daughter. Otherwise, the man would have struggled no matter what. But for any other Yamanaka Clan child, if Danzo wanted one, he would give him one.

Danzo was very satisfied with the Yamanaka Clan head's compliance. He had his subordinates take Fū Yamanaka back to Root first, then continued on to the Aburame Clan's compound.

When Danzo demanded Shino Aburame, the Aburame Clan head, Shibi Aburame, could not resist. He could only lead Danzo to find his son in the forest. But after finding his son, he discovered that Torune Aburame was there as well...

"Is that your son?" Danzo followed behind Shibi Aburame and looked at Shino Aburame, who wore a hood and dark glasses.

"Yes." Shibi Aburame answered Danzo somewhat unwillingly.

"He is just the right age to enter the ANBU." Danzo greatly admired the child's talent. At the very least, he would grow into a Jonin in the future. Danzo continued, "You should know that Root is an ANBU training institution responsible for cultivating all kinds of talent from a young age. Root is currently being reorganized, and I hope the Aburame Clan can provide someone..."

"This matter... is it the Third Hokage's intention?" Shibi Aburame felt immense pressure before Danzo, but for his son's sake, he still forced himself to ask. He knew what Danzo's Root was like and naturally did not want his son going to such a place.

"Root's talent selection is entirely under my authority. Clans possessing secret techniques, such as the Yamanaka Clan and Nara Clan, must all provide talent for Root." The corners of Danzo's lips curved almost imperceptibly. Unless the monkey was present, no one could stop him.

"But Shino..." Shibi Aburame knew he could not avoid this. If even the Yamanaka Clan and Nara Clan had to provide someone, he could only obey. He had no room to resist.

Suddenly, Shino Aburame noticed his father's grave expression. They had long noticed the people nearby, so he immediately asked, "Father, what are you discussing?"

"Shibi, this is an order. I hope you think it through." Seeing the two children looking over, Danzo had no choice but to quietly remind Shibi Aburame beside him.

"This..." Shibi Aburame hesitated. He truly did not want to see his son join Danzo's ANBU. That was no place for a person to stay.

Suddenly, Torune Aburame, who stood behind Shino Aburame, stepped forward two paces and smiled confidently at Danzo. "If we are talking about excellence, wouldn't I do?"

"You? It seems you are not even a Genin?" Danzo looked at Torune Aburame, who wore an eyepatch. He did not seem to have seen this child before, and there had been no information on him among the materials gathered by his subordinates.

"I am Aburame Shikuroo's son. My name is Torune Aburame." Torune Aburame carried Nano Venomous Insects. Aside from Shino Aburame, he had no other friends. He had not even attended the Ninja Academy, for fear that the insects would lose control and harm others.

"Shikuroo has a son?" Danzo was deeply puzzled. He had truly never heard that Aburame Shikuroo had a son, much less one who had not gone to school.

"For certain reasons, Shikuroo's son is temporarily staying in my home." As Shibi Aburame watched Torune Aburame step forward, he could not help but sigh in relief. Yet he also worried for Torune Aburame. He could not let Torune leave with Danzo, or he would fail to fulfill his old friend's request.

"Oh? Is he unable to be seen in public? Interesting." Danzo had heard of Aburame Shikuroo, an expert in venomous insects and a formidable Jonin in the village. He simply did not know what abilities Shikuroo's son possessed.

"You are a little older, two years older than your son." Danzo walked over to Torune Aburame and looked at him with admiration. "From this day forward, you are a ninja of Root..."

"Let me make this clear first. I cannot partner with anyone." Because of the Nano Venomous Insects, Torune Aburame could only explain this to Danzo.

"Put away your arrogance. You are not the only ninja with secret techniques." Danzo had clearly misunderstood something and did not yet know about the Nano Venomous Insects. But it was irrelevant to him. Turning around, he instructed Torune Aburame, "Come to Root tomorrow morning and find me..."

"Yes." Torune Aburame answered, watching Danzo depart.

Then he turned to Shibi Aburame and bowed lightly, thanking him for his care during this time. He silently returned to the house to pack his belongings and prepare to enter Root.

[Danzo]