"Has Yū returned?"
Orochimaru reconfirmed the news with the Root ninja before him.
Shimura Masato nodded. He had just received the news from Danzo, who had returned.
Having finished the task Orochimaru had asked him to keep an eye on, Masato headed for the door without the slightest reluctance.
Orochimaru licked his lips, his gaze suddenly growing heated. He was so excited that others could easily overlook the dark circles beneath his eyes.
"Finally, he's back..."
"Now I can be a little more aggressive!"
Danzo considered Orochimaru the most outstanding talent of Konoha's next generation, as well as the most suitable reserve Hokage to take over in a crisis.
Orochimaru understood this clearly, too. Danzo had repeatedly, both openly and indirectly, entrusted things to him in case he died.
On the eve of his departure for the Madara Uchiha incident, and immediately after learning of Takahashi Yū's disappearance, Danzo had specifically brought his three great "generals"-Aburame Hideki, Yamanaka Arashi, and Shimura Masato, who had just left-to discuss subsequent arrangements with Orochimaru.
Whenever Danzo led troops into battle, he never took all three of these trusted aides, who had struggled alongside him for years, at once. These three also respectively controlled the Eastern Front forces, the village's central administration, and Root, Konoha's three most important institutions during wartime.
An outward-facing military force, an internal administrative body, and a Shinobi World intelligence agency. Moreover, the three were close and shared their resources; in an emergency, the other departments would also obey the remaining two men's orders.
Orochimaru believed the three of them understood Danzo's intentions as well.
This gave Orochimaru not only the satisfaction of being highly valued, but also endless pressure.
Clever as he was, he had long noticed something amiss with Danzo and the others. Konoha's current military strength was