Shimura Danzō's fury

"Now that we've finished talking, I should be going. I'll be counting on your support in the future, Lord Orochimaru." Ye Feng stood up, ready to leave. Winning Orochimaru over this time had been quite a haul.

"Ye Feng, why not wait until I've treated you before leaving... er, how about leaving me some tissue samples to study?"

Orochimaru had originally wanted to treat Ye Feng's injuries, but suddenly noticed that Ye Feng seemed perfectly fine. As Ye Feng moved, some of the scabs on his wounds flaked away, exposing the newly healed flesh underneath. Orochimaru's professional obsession with research immediately kicked in.

Ye Feng had no desire to turn himself into a lab rat or have Orochimaru create a clone of him. The very thought made him uncomfortable, and he hurried out of Orochimaru's residence.

As Orochimaru watched Ye Feng walk away, his gaze grew serious. Rather than continue his experiments, he put on his coat, left the laboratory, and headed toward Root's stronghold.

Meanwhile, after hearing Gray Fox's account, Shimura Danzō was secretly shocked by Ye Feng's strength, but also delighted by it. To possess such strength at that age was not something talent alone could explain. There had to be a powerful secret behind it. If he could obtain the secret behind Ye Feng's strength, he would certainly be able to grow powerful quickly himself and have a better chance of securing the Hokage position. At that thought, greed showed in Shimura Danzō's eyes.

Just then, a Root ninja appeared before Shimura Danzō and spoke.

"Orochimaru has forced his way in."

Shimura Danzō frowned slightly. This was his territory, and no one could act as they pleased here. Even the Third Hokage's words carried little weight in this place.

He took the lead and headed toward the exit.

Upon seeing Orochimaru, Shimura Danzō barked, "Orochimaru, who gave you permission to trespass into Root?"

"Oh, if it isn't Lord Shimura Danzō, Konoha's Advisor. But you seem to have forgotten what I told you, Lord Advisor." Orochimaru directly addressed Shimura Danzō as Lord Advisor, making his protest against Shimura Danzō's actions clear.

Shimura Danzō realized that Orochimaru had come to demand an explanation. He also wondered what benefits Uchiha Yefeng had given Orochimaru for him to dare come here in person to demand answers over a single assassination attempt.

But Shimura Danzō was, after all, Root's leader. How could he allow someone else to act so brazenly on his own territory?

"Orochimaru, do you realize this is the Root Base? Are you trying to become a missing-nin by trespassing here?"

"Those words certainly roll off your tongue, Lord Advisor. You must have said them quite a few times. It seems our partnership cannot continue."

"Orochimaru, are you threatening me?"

"Think whatever you like, Lord Advisor. Uchiha Yefeng is my student. I would hate to fall out with you one day." Having achieved his purpose in coming, Orochimaru wasted no more words and turned to leave.

After Orochimaru left, Shimura Danzō crushed the cane in his hand to pieces, his hand trembling with rage.

"How dare you threaten me! Orochimaru, I'll make sure you come to a bad end," Shimura Danzō said furiously.

A Root ninja guarding Shimura Danzō from behind stepped forward. "Lord Danzo, should we..." He made a throat-slitting gesture.

"No. We still need Orochimaru's research results. This isn't the time for another conflict. Pass down the order to halt the assassination of Uchiha Yefeng. Once we have the research results, we'll deal with both of them." Shimura Danzō was calculating enough to endure even this humiliation.

The Third Hokage's office.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had already been celebrating the New Year at home, had been driven back to the Hokage Office by the sudden news. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also arrived at the Hokage Office.

"Have you gotten to the bottom of it?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

"Yes. Someone witnessed Uchiha Yefeng and two masked individuals wearing clothing resembling Anbu uniforms entering the scene of the incident. We have confirmed Uchiha Yefeng's movements. After the incident, he went to Orochimaru's residence covered in blood, then returned home. The other two individuals' whereabouts are currently unknown. We checked the Anbu personnel, and neither of them belongs to Anbu. They are very likely Root personnel," the Anbu squad captain reported.

"We should detain Uchiha Yefeng first and decide what to do once the matter has been clarified. As for the Root ninja, summon Danzo here for questioning," Utatane Koharu said first.

From her very first words, she sided with Shimura Danzō. Uchiha Yefeng was to be detained, while Danzo's Root merely warranted questioning.

"Uchiha Yefeng is Orochimaru's student. Until the nature of this incident has been firmly established, we cannot detain him." Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Utatane Koharu's proposal outright.

"Uchiha Yefeng is also a resident of Konoha. He must obey the village's orders," Utatane Koharu said loudly.

"Then just be prepared for Orochimaru to come knocking." Hiruzen Sarutobi discreetly rolled his eyes.

Ever since Konoha had stabilized, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that the three advisers had grown increasingly adept at making trouble. Shimura Danzō's Root refused to follow his orders, recognizing only Danzo and not him, the Third Hokage. Meanwhile, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were also fighting for power and putting their own interests first in everything.

"Go bring Uchiha Yefeng here. Send someone to summon Advisor Danzo as well." Seeing that Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had nothing more to say, he issued the orders directly to Anbu.

When Ye Feng returned home, he saw Inuzuka Clan Fengyu waiting outside his door.

Inuzuka Clan Fengyu spotted Ye Feng as well. At the sight of his tattered clothes and blood-covered body, she was first terrified, then tears began welling in her eyes. She rushed straight over to check his injuries.

Ye Feng patted Inuzuka Clan Fengyu's head and reassured her, "I'm fine. Most of this is other people's blood. Look, these wounds aren't deep. They're nearly healed."

As he spoke, he peeled a scab off his skin, revealing the tender pink skin beneath.

Only then did Inuzuka Clan Fengyu feel a little better and explain why she was outside his door. They had discovered Ye Feng was missing and searched all over the shopping street without finding him, so they had split up to check places where he might be. Inuzuka Clan Fengyu had been assigned to search around Ye Feng's home.

With everything over, Ye Feng wanted to wash up and change his clothes. Blushing, Inuzuka Clan Fengyu said she would stand guard for him, then rather suspiciously added that she would not peek.

Only after Ye Feng went inside to bathe did Inuzuka Clan Fengyu remember to tell the others to come back.