Root's report

"Lord Danzo, this is the mission report Fox submitted after waking up!" In the dimly lit Root Base, Danzo stood before a spiral staircase, leaning on his cane. Aburame Ryoma emerged from the darkness and handed him several pages covered in writing.

His face cold, Danzo took the mission report and read it without a word.

After a while, Danzo asked, "Ryoma, have you read this report?"

Aburame Ryoma replied, "Lord Danzo, I have."

"Then what do you make of this? They say Sasuke Uchiha's strength is already beyond that of an ordinary Chunin, very close to a Jonin's," Danzo said impassively.

After a pause, Danzo continued, "And then there is Neji Hyuga, that boy from the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family. Hound said Neji Hyuga might be even stronger than Sasuke Uchiha, fully on par with a true Jonin. The last person to possess that kind of strength at his age was Kakashi Hatake."

Danzo's tone was perfectly calm. After a moment's consideration, Aburame Ryoma asked, "Lord Danzo, should we eliminate them?"

"The Uchiha Clan is inherently evil. My teacher, the Second Hokage, already confirmed that, and Sasuke Uchiha is no exception. Originally, I had no intention of doing anything to him. After all, he fell far short of his older brother, Uchiha Itachi." At this point, Danzo's voice turned chilling.

"Sasuke Uchiha used to be not only naive, but stupid as well. Now that he has grown close to Neji Hyuga, he seems to have become a little smarter." Danzo spoke coldly, without a trace of emotion.

"Understood, Lord Danzo." Aburame Ryoma stepped back, ready to issue the orders.

"Stop, Ryoma." Danzo raised his voice slightly. "Sasuke Uchiha is Uchiha Itachi's only remaining attachment. We cannot simply eliminate Sasuke Uchiha now. That would put Uchiha Itachi beyond our control."

"Besides, Sasuke Uchiha growing stronger is a good thing. He may yet prove useful to me in the future!" Danzo touched his bandaged eye, a meaningful smile on his face.

Aburame Ryoma understood what Danzo meant. Danzo's right eye was one of Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan, and it held a terrifying Dōjutsu—Kotoamatsukami!

This Dōjutsu, called Kotoamatsukami, could directly control another person's thoughts without the victim even realizing it.

After some thought, Aburame Ryoma said, "Lord Danzo, Uchiha Itachi has been undercover in that mysterious organization for so long, yet he hasn't sent back any intelligence. Are we certain he hasn't leaked Konoha's intelligence to them? Could his loyalties have changed? Should we release some news about Sasuke Uchiha to make Uchiha Itachi send us information?"

Danzo glanced at Aburame Ryoma out of the corner of his eye. "Ryoma, as long as Sasuke Uchiha remains in Konoha, he will not betray the village. Besides, Hiruzen's so-called will of fire has influenced him far more deeply than you imagine.

"The most likely reason he hasn't sent back any intelligence is that he simply hasn't had the opportunity. If any intelligence does reach us, it will most likely be his last report to Konoha."

Aburame Ryoma nodded, then said quietly, "He'll die if he sends anything back? It seems he is being watched very closely. Even with his Mangekyō Sharingan, he can't get intelligence out."

"Yes." Danzo nodded and said gravely, "That mysterious Madara Uchiha is a member of the organization. When Uchiha Itachi wiped out the Uchiha Clan, he had help from that Mysterious Man who called himself Madara."

Danzo's words reminded Aburame Ryoma of something that had happened several years earlier, when the Uchiha Clan was wiped out. When Danzo led Root's members into the Uchiha Clan's compound to collect Sharingan as spoils, they encountered a mysterious Masked Man doing exactly the same thing.

"That man..." Remembering that night, Aburame Ryoma's face filled with deep apprehension.

The moment Root encountered the Mysterious Man who called himself Madara Uchiha, a conflict broke out. As far as Danzo was concerned, every Sharingan there belonged to him. How could he let an outsider lay hands on them?

A battle ensued, but it turned into a one-sided slaughter of Root's forces. None of their attacks worked. It was as though the man did not exist in this world. He completely disregarded every attack, whether Taijutsu or Ninjutsu.

In the end, Root recovered only a small fraction of the Sharingan they had planned to collect. Most were taken by the Mysterious Man who called himself Madara Uchiha.

That brief encounter alone had inflicted considerable casualties on Root. It ended only because their opponent seemed unwilling to cause too much of a commotion and withdrew of his own accord.

"If that is the case, then Uchiha Itachi would indeed have difficulty sending information back to Konoha," Aburame Ryoma reasoned.

"The Mysterious Man who calls himself Madara Uchiha is indeed a member of the Mysterious Organization. Uchiha Itachi told Hiruzen that himself before leaving Konoha. The price for getting Madara Uchiha to help him wipe out his clan was to join the Mysterious Organization himself and become one of its members." Danzo shared this secret with Aburame Ryoma.

As Danzo's right-hand man, Aburame Ryoma enjoyed his deep trust and was involved in nearly all of Root's affairs, great and small.

"I see! No wonder even someone as strong as Uchiha Itachi hasn't been able to send out any information. Given what that man showed us back then, it would certainly be difficult." Understanding dawned on Aburame Ryoma.

Then Aburame Ryoma changed the subject. "Lord Danzo, how should we deal with Neji Hyuga? Should we simply notify the Hyuga Main Family and have them dispose of him?"

Danzo shook his head. "He is nothing more than a caged bird. Besides, the Hyuga Clan's potential only goes so far. Still, since his strength has already reached the level of a Jonin, let him live and contribute something to Konoha.

"Send someone to notify the Hyuga Main Family. A little lesson will suffice. Let him know that a bird in a cage should not entertain any unnecessary ideas. Make him behave."

"Yes, Lord Danzo." With that acknowledgment, Aburame Ryoma disappeared into the darkness.

Danzo did not concern himself too much with Sasuke Uchiha or Neji Hyuga. In his eyes, Neji Hyuga's potential only went so far; the Hyuga Clan's ceiling was too low. Its members were not particularly outstanding in individual combat. What mattered more was their strategic role during wartime. The Byakugan was simply too useful.

As the Hokage Advisor, Danzo had more than Root's affairs to deal with. Hokage Advisor was not merely an empty title. How could he have time to bother with such trivial matters?

Konoha was currently amassing substantial funds to expand its ninja forces, and the issue had left both Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi at their wits' end. As the Hokage Advisor, Danzo was trying to find a way to secure funding from the Daimyō.

Compared with the matter of Sasuke Uchiha, Konoha's funding was the top priority. It could not afford the slightest neglect.