The ninja from the other Great Families were no fools either. Seeing the Root ninja acting so arrogantly made them grit their teeth.
You were nowhere to be seen when the village was in danger, but now that the fighting is over, you're the first to arrive. What exactly are Root ninja for?
"Danzo, something this serious happened to the village. Just where were you?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice turned cold.
"The Root Base holds vital intelligence. Root must protect Konoha's secrets. If they fell into outsiders' hands, it would destabilize Konoha."
Danzo spoke calmly, delivering his prepared excuse as though it were only natural.
In truth, he simply could not bear to sacrifice the forces Root had spent so long building up. Losing too many subordinates was unacceptable to him.
Besides, this whole affair had really been about finding an opportunity to seize Ryuuzaki Eiji's eyes.
He had already arranged it with the Third Raikage through their letters. All the Raikage needed to do was kill Ryuuzaki Eiji, and Kumogakure would have one less major threat in the future.
He, meanwhile, could find a way to obtain the "Six Eyes."
But from the looks of things, that was no longer possible.
Danzo glanced at the Third Raikage, who remained standing. Though half his body was gone, his head was still intact, making Danzo's brow furrow almost imperceptibly.
This is trouble. That useless fool didn't expose me, but his brain is still intact.
If someone from the Yamanaka Clan reads his memories, everything I've done will come to light.
The Raikage's body is extremely valuable, and Root needs to study it. The longer we delay, the greater the risk of his cells dying, so Root needs to requisition it temporarily...
*I'll use that excuse to ask Hiruzen for the body. Then