Gekko Chizan had indeed never been to Root before and was completely unfamiliar with the Root base, but that didn't mean he couldn't find the things hidden away inside.
Don't forget what he had always been best at.
Finding things—especially things that were deliberately hidden—was his specialty.
"Ah, ah, ah… I really didn't expect this. I truly didn't."
"The Root base is actually this big."
"If I'd known earlier, I should've brought more ANBU with me. At this rate, how long will it take to turn everything upside down?"
Having just finished strolling through one room, Gekko Chizan started complaining. Then, with a grin on his face, he looked toward Danzō in the distance, malice swirling in his heart.
"So I don't delay everyone in Root, I'd better speed things up."
"Multiple... Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
White smoke symbolizing shadow clones erupted along with continuous popping sounds, and a shocking scene appeared.
The clones surged out as if they cost no money—no, as if they cost no chakra at all.
Fifty? One hundred? The number of clones continued to grow wildly.
"My god… is this really still the Shadow Clone Jutsu…?"
"How can there be so many?"
The eyes beneath an ANBU member's mask nearly popped out. He could use Shadow Clone Jutsu too, but why couldn't he split into anywhere near this many clones?
Shinnosuke shook his head and began explaining to his subordinates.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu and Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu operate on exactly the same principle, because their purpose is the same—to create shadow clones."
"But the risks of these two techniques are completely different."
"Ordinary Shadow Clone Jutsu doesn't consume that much chakra. But the latter, because of the sheer number of clones, consumes an enormous amount of chakra. If the caster doesn't have enough chakra, it can even endanger their life."
"It's classified as a forbidden technique..."
By the time Shinnosuke finished explaining, the final number of clones had stabilized at around eight hundred.
Eight hundred Gekko Chizans wearing wicked grins—what a terrifying sight.
"With this, we won't have to worry about not having enough manpower."
"Danzō, I'm starting now."
"Everyone, move out!"
Eight hundred Gekko Chizans charged straight into the Root base.
Before long, chaotic noises began to ring out.
"What's this? Root actually has people reading this kind of book? I told you this department wouldn't last! Confiscated!"
"The environment is gloomy and cold, completely unsuitable for normal people to live in. You can't even guarantee basic daily sunlight—terrible!"
"As for food, it's all emergency rations? This is treating people like they're not human at all! Confiscated!"
Shinnosuke: …
ANBU squad: …
Everyone in Root: …
Just how fast was Gekko Chizan's efficiency?
In such a short time, all kinds of problems came flooding in one after another.
The clone army had only been in action for five minutes, yet the issues uncovered were already countless.
From hygiene to overall atmosphere—any place with even the slightest problem was deemed unacceptable.
Even Danzō's expression changed ever so slightly. Clearly, he wasn't as calm as he appeared.
Danzō: No… I'm very calm. It's just that this bastard is infuriating!
[Ding! Detected the host conducting a large-scale search and destruction within the Root base, causing all Root members—including Danzō—to seethe with anger and curse the host countless times in their hearts. Special reward: taijutsu +1.]
After hearing the system notification, Gekko Chizan couldn't help but sigh softly. Rewards really were getting stingier these days.
"It looks like the outer areas have basically been checked."
"Next up is the laboratory—and your office, Danzō."
Gekko Chizan gave Danzō a smiling glance, then directly led the team toward the laboratory and the office.
He knew very well that everything so far was just minor issues. The real big haul would be in the laboratory and the office.
...
Inside the laboratory, all the staff put down their work. After all, with several hundred people flooding in at once, it was impossible to keep working even if they wanted to.
This operation was carried out covertly, which meant many personnel hadn't evacuated the Root base in advance.
This was a decision made after Namikaze Minato discussed it with Gekko Chizan and the others—if they were going to investigate, they had to do it thoroughly and leave Danzō no time to prepare.
The incident in Amegakure had distracted Danzō, and that was exactly what allowed them to seize such a perfect opportunity to strike at Root.
"Yo? Everyone doing research?"
"Let me see what you're all researching."
"Hmm… pharmaceutical research?"
One clone casually picked up a report, glanced at it, and revealed a trace of disdain.
Pharmaceutical research? Who would believe that?
Very quickly, the clone army gathered all the research reports placed out in the open and began inspecting them.
Of course, these inspections were meaningless. Anything important wouldn't be left out in the open in the first place.
After that came the rummaging. The poor laboratory ended up looking like it had been hit by a band of robbers.
"Huh? What's this? A hidden door?"
Soon, a clone made a discovery. The hidden door was extremely well concealed, tucked beside some experimental apparatus—but Gekko Chizan was the very embodiment of a master thief.
This kind of small mechanism couldn't possibly escape his search.
However, the instant the clone touched the door, light flared up all around it.
"Damn it, a sealing technique?"
"Too bad—it won't stop me."
Gekko Chizan had dealt with dozens, if not hundreds, of seals. This was thanks to Orochimaru's precautions against him back in the day, which had forced him to learn about all kinds of restrictions.
As the seal was removed, the hidden door opened, revealing nothing more than a single room inside.
"Tsk tsk, Danzō, you don't look nervous at all."
"Hmph, why would I be nervous?"
Gekko Chizan's true body had been staying beside Danzō the entire time. Even as the hidden door opened, Danzō showed no reaction whatsoever.
Soon, everything inside the hidden room was laid bare.
There wasn't anything explicitly forbidden—just various Root personnel lists, along with some special sealing techniques, such as the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal that Danzō had implanted in all his subordinates.
"Oh? Personnel lists?"
"Those really aren't very useful. But, Danzō…"
"These reserve candidates—don't they seem a bit off to you?"
Others might not understand what was wrong, but Gekko Chizan certainly did.
He even saw familiar names on the list. This particular list had been submitted by an orphanage, and two names stood out clearly: Shin and Sai.
"If I remember correctly, this is an orphanage, right?"
"What? Does Root take in children now?"
"When did Root turn into a charity organization?"
Holding the list in his hand, Gekko Chizan spoke with unmistakable mockery.
After all, ever since the incident involving Nonō, the village's management of orphanages had become extremely strict. All orphanages were now uniformly administered by the village.
Danzō had been hiding things in plain sight.
What kind of things could Gekko Chizan uncover from Root?