Footsteps.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had just been about to lead his people down when faint steps echoed from below, approaching from the passage beneath.
Step… step…
The pace seemed calm, almost deliberate.
Hiruzen and those ready to descend immediately grew cautious. They fixed their eyes on the exit of the chamber, prepared to strike the moment whoever emerged wasn't someone from the Root or a familiar ally.
Even Hiruzen began forming hand seals!
The moment the figure wasn't recognized, they would attack without hesitation.
Footsteps.
As the sound grew clearer, everyone held their breath.
But when Danzo emerged, they finally exhaled in relief. Danzo… it was Danzo. That meant nothing was wrong.
"Danzo?"
Yet Hiruzen immediately sensed something amiss. Danzo's expression was dark, far darker than he had expected.
It seemed whatever had happened must have cost him dearly.
"It's fine. Let everyone disperse," Danzo said, glancing at Hiruzen, not wanting to say more. He gestured for those around him to leave.
Hiruzen nodded, signaling the ANBU and Sarutobi clan members who were not essential to step aside, leaving only those they trusted most. After all, what was about to be discussed could be extremely important.
Once everyone else had left, Hiruzen finally looked at Danzo. "Did you eliminate the intruders?"
This was the critical question. If the villagers' use in experiments was leaked, the consequences would be enormous—so great that even Hiruzen, as Hokage, could not suppress it.
It could even lead to the village abandoning Danzo entirely, as had happened in the past.
But Danzo was not like Orochimaru, who could be manipulated and discarded without resistance. Danzo was capable of anything, and if pushed, he might resort to extreme measures.
So… unless absolutely necessary, Danzo had to be kept safe.
"No… he escaped," Danzo said, shaking his head in frustration.
Huh?
Hiruzen was momentarily stunned, then his expression darkened. "Could it be… your laboratory has another exit?"
If that were the case…
It meant Danzo had been hiding something from him. They had built the lab together, and if there was an exit Hiruzen didn't know about, it was proof that Danzo had kept secrets.
"No," Danzo replied. "That person used the Flying Thunder God Technique, and in the end, he even took many of the subjects that were about to be experimented on."
He looked at Hiruzen, whose expression showed rising anger, and his tone grew gravely serious.
"Flying Thunder God?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was even more shocked.
Since the death of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, he had not seen anyone use space–time ninjutsu.
No… back then, that Konoha assassin seemed to have used a similar space–time technique.
Could it be…?
As this thought surfaced, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply.
"The person you're talking about… could it be that Konoha assassin wearing a monkey mask?"
"Yes." Danzo Shimura nodded.
"Go down first."
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.
He glanced at Danzo Shimura, then led the others straight down into the laboratory.
The moment he entered—
The stench of blood hit him head-on.
Setting everything else aside… the situation was indeed similar to what Danzo had described, but even more brutal and cruel.
The reason that the assassin had left these people alive was to continue "taking care" of these test subjects.
Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help but sneer.
"Heh. Looks like this assassin cares quite a bit about these test subjects."
"Does he intend to come back again?"
"How ridiculous."
"If he dares to return, then we'll make sure he dies without a burial."
As his words fell, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze turned completely cold.
"He really might come back." Danzo Shimura led him to the deepest part of the lab and pointed at a mark on the wall.
"Perhaps he'll return at any moment."
Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes and looked toward the mark on the wall.
What—?
In the next instant, his pupils shrank, his expression filled with shock.
"The Flying Thunder God mark… it really is a Flying Thunder God mark!"
As this cry rang out, those who had followed him down— including Eisuke Sarutobi— felt their hearts tighten.
It truly was the long-lost Flying Thunder God mark.
This technique was practically a bug-level existence.
Back then, the Fourth Hokage had relied on Flying Thunder God to almost dominate the entire ninja world.
No one had expected that this insane assassin could also use Flying Thunder God.
Did that not mean he could come here whenever he wanted?
That he could freely enter and leave Konoha?
"Yes. It's the Flying Thunder God mark." Danzo Shimura spoke heavily.
From the moment he saw this mark, his expression had been unbearably grim.
The Root base had now become that man's private garden.
How could that not fill him with rage?
"Someone, come here." Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted coldly.
"Scrape this Flying Thunder God mark off the wall."
Because a Flying Thunder God mark could not be erased— it could only be removed by force.
Fortunately, this was only a stone wall.
"No, the laboratory must be relocated!" Danzo Shimura shook his head decisively, then continued, "The Flying Thunder God Mark can be big or small. Before we arrived, he might have left marks in other places as well!"
"No more accidents are allowed inside the lab!"
Danzo didn't want any more mishaps, and he would not allow the Konoha assassin to harm Root again.
"Relocate?" Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and looked at Danzo. "What are you planning? Where would you move it?"
Hiruzen understood Danzo's concern. As Danzo said, he feared that the assassin might actually do something like that.
"Move it to Root's headquarters," Danzo said slowly.
Hiruzen exhaled sharply. He looked at Danzo seriously. "You're insane. If you really move it there, once it's discovered, Root won't be able to get away!"
Hiruzen still had his reservations. Root was deeply connected to him, and if Danzo couldn't escape the consequences, even Hiruzen would find it hard to separate himself.
"Heh. I know his identity," Danzo snorted coldly before continuing, "Once the First and Second Hokage are resurrected, I will make him destroy them!"
In recent days, he had almost perfected the Impure World Reincarnation technique, even creating a batch of Root ninja as reanimated corpses.
Heh, these immortal ninjas, if given the right vessels, were even stronger than in life. They could heal from injuries.
With such ninjas, he could easily destroy a small country, and they would obey his commands without question.
"Are you sure it's the Konoha assassin?" Hiruzen asked again.
"Yes, it's him. I know all of his methods!" Danzo frowned, speaking seriously. "He's from Atsukara—the assassin who protects the Uchiha clan!"
Thinking of this,
A cold sharpness appeared in Danzo's eyes.
Once he reanimated the First Hokage, he would annihilate the Uchiha clan… Of course, to destroy the Uchiha clan, he would need Uchiha themselves.
Fugaku.
****
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