The Root Base.
In the dimly lit secret room, Danzo slowly opened his eyes, their sharp gleam fixed on the empty space before him.
After several weeks, Danzo had finally understood what kind of power he had gained.
Not only was he now free of the side effects of implanting Hashirama cells, but after connecting to the natural energy river, he could draw on as much chakra as a tailed beast. His right eye, previously only at the three tomoe stage, seemed to have reached a new level. Even casually cast genjutsu could control a jonin.
His rapid surge in strength had also inflated Danzo's ego and ambitions.
He even wanted to lead Root to Amegakure, wipe away the humiliation Akatsuki had inflicted on the village, and become the Fifth Hokage amid glory and cheers.
Reining in his wandering thoughts, Danzo also realized that achieving everything in one stroke was unrealistic.
Setting aside Akatsuki's many elite jonin and even its "Five Kage" members, the Akatsuki Leader's Rinnegan alone was enough to bring him back to reality.
His new power was formidable, but the actual increase in his fighting strength was extremely limited.
Danzo had not forgotten his earlier idea of forming a Wood Release Army. His research had shown that giving his subordinates a portion of his chakra beforehand could temporarily suppress the aggressive effects of Hashirama cells.
Although the Wood Release Army he had envisioned had fallen through, he could still form a Special Forces unit and personally lead it to hunt down Akatsuki's members.
Slowly rising, Danzo walked out of the gloomy secret room.
As he passed through the doorway, he suddenly felt that Root's surroundings were far too dark and did not suit his bearing as the future Hokage.
Beckoning Aburame Ryoma over, Danzo put on his