"It ended so easily. I still had some evidence I'd collected, but it looks like I won't need it. Orochimaru... no, Fourth, will Konoha reimburse me?"
Karn tossed Orochimaru a scroll containing evidence of Root's secret human experiments. There were three laboratories in the Land of Fire, but Kakuzu had destroyed two of them along the way.
He had originally wanted to ruin the reputation of the entire Konoha High Command, but he hadn't expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to back down.
"We'll still need you to allocate our funding. Let us owe you for now; you can allocate a little less later."
Orochimaru accepted the scroll with a smile. Then he opened it and took a look. It concerned Danzo's research into Hashirama cells, and research on this scale must have had substantial financial support.
Together with Utatane Koharu's financial irregularities from earlier, this scroll could very well nail the entire Konoha High Command.
Who did Danzo think he was? What right did he have to research cells from the First's remains?
There was nothing objectionable about the Second researching them. Tsunade had researched them to save Nawaki, and she had asked Mito Uzumaki beforehand.
Konoha had no shortage of Wood Release ninja now, so Danzo's research into Hashirama cells had lost its justification as serving the public good. A little thought made it clear that he was doing it for selfish reasons. Once this information came out, Tsunade would certainly be furious.
Orochimaru put away the scroll and smiled. "I'll give it to Tsunade. At least Root won't survive within the village. However, Danzo has deployed most of his personnel elsewhere now, and we have you to thank for that, Karn."
Karn chuckled softly. "They won't give up so easily, especially Hiruzen Sarutobi. Did you see the look in his