Teacher Orochimaru! You came to pick me up!

"My dream?" Despite everything, Sōkyū Hatake obediently asked the question back.

"Yes," Danzo said directly.

"My dream is to become Hokage! Then make Konoha the strongest village!" Sōkyū Hatake said outright.

"Good boy! That dream of yours is simply-what a good boy!" Danzo nearly stood up and applauded. This coincided perfectly with his own thinking!

This was a promising youngster. Whatever happened today, he had to take Sōkyū Hatake back with him, a promising youngster who suited him so well!

"Then what is your dream, Lord Danzo?" Sōkyū Hatake watched the excitement in Danzo's eyes. Sure enough, he needed to align himself with Danzo on this sort of thing.

If he said something about helping the Uchiha Clan integrate better into Konoha, Sōkyū Hatake feared Danzo would cleave him apart with a single strike...

"Your time is up for today, isn't it, little Sōkyū? Isn't it time to have a look at Root?" Danzo patted his backside and stood up, looking at Sōkyū Hatake very "kindly."

"Um... Lord Danzo, could I not go today? I need to discuss this with my Nii-chan Kakashi." Sōkyū Hatake still decided to try negotiating.

After all, he was only four, so saying that was not particularly out of place.

But after Sōkyū Hatake said this, Danzo's expression immediately darkened.

He had, after all, just spent all that time explaining Root's advantages, even mentioning many things that did not exist yet.

For instance, he had promised to buy Sōkyū Hatake the five social insurance policies and housing fund once he joined Root...

So after all those guarantees I gave you, you're still going to stand me up?

Or... are you hiding something? Could this brat know something about me?

At that thought, Danzo looked straight into Sōkyū Hatake's eyes. Yet all he saw reflected in his own eyes was Sōkyū Hatake's clear gaze.

Could I look more like a child trafficker or a swindler? It seems that recently, after receiving Hiruzen Sarutobi's approval, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura have been campaigning throughout the village, telling people not to go off with strangers...

And that proposal went through me beforehand, too...

Now Danzo seriously suspected that he had shot himself in the foot...

This brat's ideals were clearly so close to his own. He could not let Sōkyū Hatake slip out of his control just like that!

The Root ninja behind Danzo had long since grown somewhat impatient. Especially after sensing Danzo's displeasure, they stepped forward and moved behind Sōkyū Hatake.

At a single order from Danzo, they would knock Sōkyū Hatake unconscious and take him away.

"Heh heh heh, Lord Danzo, what are you discussing here with my little apprentice?" Just then, Orochimaru's voice suddenly came from the side.

Upon hearing Orochimaru's voice, Danzo's expression darkened at once.

Orochimaru really had come at a bad time.

"Teacher Orochimaru! You came to pick me up!" Sōkyū Hatake breathed a sigh of relief, pushed off the ground with both feet, and used Soru to reach Orochimaru's side.

When Sōkyū Hatake used Soru, both Danzo and Orochimaru happened to see where he applied his force.

There was no trace of chakra. In other words, what the Root ninja had said was true. This could very well be a secret technique hidden by the Hatake Clan!

At that thought, Danzo's gaze grew heated. A movement technique like this required no chakra, which meant it could raise the strength of Root's ninja to another level!

That was a tremendous temptation for Danzo as well.

"Teacher Orochimaru, I've mastered the way of applying force for that movement technique you taught me!" Sōkyū Hatake went straight to Orochimaru's side and spoke loudly.

Orochimaru paused for only a moment before quickly catching on.

"Good, you've mastered it. This is a movement technique unique to me, your teacher. All that matters is that you can master it." Orochimaru stroked Sōkyū Hatake's little head and crouched down.

"Cover for me," Sōkyū Hatake said into Orochimaru's ear.

"That will cost extra, you know. Heh heh heh." Orochimaru felt only the faint breeze of words brushing past his ear.

Sōkyū Hatake had also been thinking just now. Danzo was clearly waiting for him here, and judging by Danzo's frog jumps at the very beginning, the Root ninja might have discovered what he did during training.

That was why the Root ninja had told Danzo about his frog jumps. In other words, all of this connected.

So Sōkyū Hatake needed to attribute Soru to Orochimaru. Only then could everything be explained, and only that way could he take his Soru out of Danzo's sights.

"Lord Danzo, what business do you have with my apprentice, Sōkyū Hatake?" After saying this, Orochimaru straightened up and looked at Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru, I want to bring Sōkyū Hatake into our Root. Name your terms." Danzo was not nearly so polite with Orochimaru.

At the same time, he was also subtly reminding Orochimaru about the matter of terms.

"Lord Danzo, I'm afraid I cannot comply. Teacher Sarutobi just had me take Sōkyū Hatake as my apprentice a few days ago. You may need to discuss this with Teacher Sarutobi."

Orochimaru spoke with a smile. After Sōkyū Hatake had approached him, Orochimaru had told Hiruzen Sarutobi that he wanted to take Sōkyū Hatake as his apprentice.

Of course, Hiruzen Sarutobi had supported this one hundred percent.

At present, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still very fond of this student of his.

Of course, the slight discrepancy here was whether Hiruzen Sarutobi had actually told Orochimaru to take Sōkyū Hatake as his apprentice.

But Orochimaru was not worried about that either. He understood his teacher all too well, and he also understood Danzo very well.

Danzo would certainly go straight to Hiruzen Sarutobi and angrily bring this up. Then, provoked by Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi would simply tacitly accept what Danzo said.

In other words, this was all a setup.

As long as Danzo went, what Hiruzen Sarutobi said would become the same as what Sōkyū Hatake and Orochimaru had said.

"Hmph! I'll go to Hiruzen right now and have a proper talk about this!" Danzo knew that once Orochimaru appeared here, his plan for today had already failed. He might as well go straight to Hiruzen Sarutobi!