Danzo

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

She had just seen Neji coming from the Uchiha compound.

"Yeah." Neji answered distractedly, his attention entirely focused on the four sealing jutsu he had obtained from Sasuke.

The Binding Formation, Cloth Binding Seal, Four-Corner Seal, and Six-Combination Seal were not particularly complicated. Neji intended to use them to master some of the fundamentals of sealing jutsu.

Starting with high-level sealing jutsu was still a little too difficult. It would be better to begin with lower-level techniques and work his way up.

Seeing Neji's indifferent response, Tenten's spirits immediately sank.

Not far away, Might Guy and Rock Lee were sparring passionately, reveling in their youth.

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

Neji glanced at her. "All right, Tenten. Keep at it."

Tenten nodded firmly, then walked to the other side of the training ground.

Team 3 was not taking any missions that day. Instead, they would spend the entire day training.

Team 3 had skipped both Chunin Ninja Exams that year. Although Might Guy believed Neji could advance to chunin even if he entered alone, Tenten and Rock Lee were still far from strong enough, so they had no choice but to pass.

The Chunin Ninja Exams required teams of three. Rock Lee and Tenten both had lopsided skill sets and badly needed more time to develop.

Neji did not care whether he was a chunin. As far as he was concerned, he definitely would not stay in Konoha in the future, so being a genin or a chunin made no difference to him.

Once there was no one else around, Neji headed to a secluded corner deep within the training ground and began studying sealing jutsu on his own.

Neji started with the Binding Formation. This time, he no longer felt as though he were peering through a fog, as he had when studying advanced sealing jutsu.

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

The core of the Binding Formation lay in the sealing runes inscribed on its talismans. Once activated, it could restrict the movement of a target within the area marked by four sealing talismans.

Neji learned this relatively simple sealing jutsu quickly, mastering it in less than an hour.

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

Finally, things feel smooth again. I was starting to wonder whether I had any talent for this... Now it feels just like practicing the Gentle Fist. Ideas keep coming one after another, and I don't even have to struggle to figure out 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 again, 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 of heaven and earth to seal an opponent's ability to move. Clearly, its inventor had grand ambitions, but the final result was not particularly impressive.

The Six-Combination Seal drew on the power of the twelve zodiac animals. It divided them into pairs, with each pair forming one combination, for a total of six. Sealing runes representing the twelve zodiac animals had to be drawn and combined to produce its sealing power. This was also the strongest sealing jutsu he had obtained from Sasuke, and it was relatively more complicated.

The concept behind the Six-Combination Seal was similar to that of the Four Symbols Seal. The former divided the twelve zodiac animals into six combinations and used their cyclical power to seal evil forces, while the latter used the cyclical power of the four symbols to seal evil forces.

The difference lay in what they drew upon. The Six-Combination Seal used the cyclical power of the twelve zodiac animals, while the Four Symbols Seal used that of the Four Symbols Divine Beasts.

In essence, the difference was in the strength of the sealing rune formulas used to construct the seals. The structures of the two formulas were similar, but one was relatively simple and weaker, while the other was more complicated and stronger.

When it was time to dismiss, Neji returned to the Hyuga compound, thoroughly satisfied.

While Neji was satisfied, the fury in Danzo's heart was like a volcano on the verge of erupting.

Danzo, who had rushed back overnight, was about to explode with rage. Known as the Darkness of the Shinobi World, he had always been the one sending Root to plunder and sabotage others. When had anyone ever broken into his Root headquarters and stolen his collection of secret techniques?

Hanzō was strong, wasn't he? Danzo had still managed to stab him in the back!

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

Hiruzen Sarutobi was hailed as the Shinobi Hero, but so what? Danzo had still established his own Root to rival him!

Who could have imagined that the hunter would become the hunted? Root had suffered devastating losses this time. Not only had its collection of secret techniques been stolen and more than a dozen cleanup personnel killed or wounded, but even his deputy, Aburame Ryoma, had been reduced to a bloody smear by the intruder.

How could Danzo not be furious?

"Has the surveillance footage been restored?" Danzo looked at the Root ninja standing below, awaiting orders.

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

His expression icy, Danzo walked toward the Surveillance Department with his cane, without saying a word.

The technicians in the Surveillance Department were already braced for his arrival. They knew Danzo would definitely come.

To keep themselves out of trouble, the technicians had not rested since the incident. They had been working continuously to recover the images from the blurry surveillance footage.

After their nonstop restoration efforts, they had finally improved the footage from a pixelated blur to 240p resolution.

"Lord Danzo, this is the person captured by the surveillance cameras!" A technician operated the computer, bringing an image up on the screen.

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

On the night of the Uchiha Clan's massacre, when Root went to collect the spoils, Danzo had witnessed the abilities of the Mysterious Man who called himself Madara Uchiha.

Even now, the memory sent a chill through Danzo. He still had no idea how to deal with that jutsu that rendered every attack ineffective.

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

By all rights, Madara Uchiha should have had no interest in the paltry collection Danzo kept at Root.

As one of Konoha's two founders, Madara Uchiha had been able to read the Scroll of Seals whenever he pleased. There was no reason for him to come to Root and steal anything.

If it isn't Madara, who could it be? A black cloak with red clouds? Has that incident in the Land of Rain been exposed? Have members of the Akatsuki come to avenge Root joining forces with Hanzō against them back then? Danzo rapidly analyzed the possibilities.