Danzo

At Team 3's meeting spot, Tenten looked at Neji. "You and Sasuke really seem to get along, Neji."

She had just seen Neji coming from where the Uchiha were gathered.

"Yeah," Neji answered absently. His attention was on the four Sealing Jutsu he had gotten from Sasuke.

The Binding Formation, Cloth Binding Seal, Four-Corner Seal, and Six-Combination Seal were not complicated. Neji planned to use them to learn the fundamentals of Sealing Jutsu.

Starting with advanced Sealing Jutsu had proved difficult. It would be better to work his way up from the basics.

Seeing Neji's distant manner, Tenten's spirits sank.

Not far away, Might Guy and Rock Lee were sparring with passion, giving it their all in the name of youth.

"I'm going to practice handling ninja tools," Tenten said quietly.

Neji glanced at her. "Okay, Tenten. Good luck."

Tenten nodded firmly, then walked to the other side of the Training Ground.

Team 3 had no missions today. They were spending the whole day training.

Team 3 had skipped both Chunin Ninja Exams this year. Might Guy thought Neji could have made Chunin on his own, but Tenten and Rock Lee still had too far to go, so they had passed.

The Chunin Ninja Exams required three-person squads. Both Rock Lee and Tenten had areas where they lagged behind and needed time to improve.

Neji did not care whether he was a Chunin. As far as he was concerned, he would not be staying in Konoha anyway, so being a Genin or a Chunin made no difference.

Once no one else was nearby, Neji headed into a secluded corner deep in the Training Ground and began studying Sealing Jutsu on his own.

He started with the Binding Formation. This time, he did not feel as though he was trying to make out an advanced Sealing Jutsu through a fog.

Recalling the details of the Binding Formation, Neji took out a stack of parchment and began practicing.

The key to the Binding Formation lay in the sealing runes written on its tags. Once activated, they could restrict the movements of a target within the area marked by four sealing tags.

Neji picked up this relatively easy Sealing Jutsu quickly. It took him less than an hour to master it.

The Cloth Binding Seal was somewhat more complicated than the Binding Formation, but it did not take Neji much longer. By that afternoon, he had mastered it too.

Finally, that smooth feeling is back. I was starting to wonder if I had no talent for this... Now it feels just like practicing the Gentle Fist. One idea follows another, and I don't even have to think about how to apply my strength... Having mastered two basic Sealing Jutsu, Neji felt immensely satisfied.

Looking at the Four-Corner Seal and Six-Combination Seal now, Neji felt he could master them in two days at most.

The Four-Corner Seal was not complicated. It used the power of the four directions to restrict an opponent's movements. Whoever had invented it had clearly aimed high, but the result was underwhelming.

The Six-Combination Seal drew on the power of the Twelve Zodiac Signs. It paired the twelve signs into six combinations and required sealing runes representing each sign to be drawn and joined together to form a seal. It was the strongest Sealing Jutsu Neji had gotten from Sasuke, and relatively more complicated.

The Six-Combination Seal was similar in concept to the Four Symbols Seal. The former divided the Twelve Zodiac Signs into six combinations and used their cyclical power to seal evil forces. The latter used the cyclical power of the Four Symbols to do the same.

The difference was what each seal drew upon: the Six-Combination Seal used the cyclical power of the Twelve Zodiac Signs, while the Four Symbols Seal used that of the Four Symbols Divine Beasts.

In essence, the sealing rune formulas differed in strength, but the two seals had similar structures. One was simpler and weaker; the other was more complex and stronger.

When it was time to leave, Neji returned to the Hyuga Clan, thoroughly satisfied.

Neji might have been satisfied, but Danzo's anger was like a volcano about to erupt.

Danzo had rushed back overnight, furious beyond measure. As the Darkness of the Shinobi World, he had always been the one sending Root to raid others and make trouble for them. When had anyone ever broken into Root and stolen its collection of secret techniques?

Hanzō was powerful, wasn't he? Danzo had still managed to undermine him!

The Uchiha Clan was powerful, wasn't it? Danzo had wiped it out without losing a single man!

Hiruzen Sarutobi was hailed as the Shinobi Hero, but so what? Danzo had formed his own Root and made it a rival power!

Who would have thought the hunter would become the prey? Root had suffered devastating losses this time. Its collection of secret techniques had been stolen, more than a dozen cleanup personnel had been killed or wounded, and even Danzo's deputy, Aburame Ryoma, had been reduced to a bloody pulp by the intruder.

How could Danzo not be furious?

"Have you restored the surveillance footage?" Danzo asked the Root ninja standing by below him.

"Lord Danzo, after a full day of work, our technicians have restored it. Please come to the Surveillance Department to view it," the Root ninja replied respectfully.

Face cold, Danzo said nothing as he made his way to the Surveillance Department, leaning on his cane.

The technicians there were already waiting for him. They had known Danzo would come.

To avoid getting into trouble themselves, they had not rested since the incident. They had worked nonstop to recover what had been captured in the blurry footage.

After all that work, they had finally improved it from a mosaic of pixels to 240p clarity.

"Lord Danzo, this is the person the cameras caught!" A technician worked the computer, bringing an image onto the screen.

"Madara!?" Danzo looked up, and his pupils contracted. That outfit stirred unpleasant memories.

On the night the Uchiha Clan was wiped out, when Root had gone to collect the spoils, Danzo had witnessed what the mysterious man calling himself Madara Uchiha could do.

Even now, the memory unsettled him. He still had no idea how that jutsu had rendered every attack ineffective.

How could it be Madara? Danzo could not understand it.

Madara Uchiha should have had no interest in the few things Root possessed.

As one of Konoha's two founders, Madara Uchiha could have read the Scroll of Seals whenever he wanted back then. He had no need to raid Root for it.

If it wasn't Madara, who was it? A cloak with red clouds on a black background... Had what happened in the Land of Rain come to light? Was an Akatsuki member taking revenge for Root joining forces with Hanzō against them? Danzo's mind raced through the possibilities.