Strolling along the canopy of the forest, Danzo looked down at the fleeing Akatsuki members. With a few casual hand seals, he sent rows of Wood Release Creations rising from the ground to block their escape.
Lost in the power coursing through him, Danzo let out one sigh of wonder after another.
Perhaps this was how the First had felt when he held the entire shinobi world in awe.
At last, I've reached his level.
Reining in his wandering thoughts, Danzo flickered forward, appearing like a phantom before Hiruko and the others. Looking in the direction they had been watching, he smiled. "You seem to be waiting for something?"
After a pause, Danzo continued pointedly, "Are you looking for the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, or waiting for reinforcements from Amegakure? I've had people watching Amegakure all along, and the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki is under my subordinates' personal guard. Let's see what you're capable of."
With that, Danzo clapped his hands, and Root operatives immediately brought the Jinchūriki, Fū, forward.
The moment he saw Fū, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Hiruko's gaze sharpened. He asked Shinnō beside him, "Shinnō, is that really the Jinchūriki?"
Shinnō sensed her for a moment before saying, "There's definitely the presence of a tailed beast, but it's hard to say for certain..."
Normally, merely coming into contact with tailed beast chakra would infect a ninja with its presence, gradually robbing them of their reason, let alone deliberately trying to imitate it.
But once they had joined the Akatsuki, common sense had become irrelevant. Far too many things about its members defied it.
What they needed to establish now was whether the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki before them was bait or a substitute.
After exchanging glances with Hiruko, Shinnō turned to Kakuzu. "You're a missing-nin from Takigakure. Can you tell whether she's real or