Chapter 606: You Have Been Strengthened, Now Go
"This is…"
Danzo slowly opened his eyes, his muddled consciousness gradually clearing.
He had been in the room prepared for him by the Rain Ninja, contemplating the matter of "Uchiha Madara," only to inexplicably lose consciousness.
Whoosh!
Danzo's body instantly tensed. He quickly rolled to his feet and put distance between himself and the Masked Man standing in the room.
"What did you do to me? Is this how you treat your partners?" Danzo sternly rebuked.
Without a doubt, his unconsciousness had definitely been caused by the Masked Man.
At this moment, Danzo's vigilance toward the Masked Man had reached its peak. If he could be made unconscious without a sound, then he could also be sent to his death without a sound.
"Heh heh, haven't I been good enough to you? I already gave you the promised reward so quickly," the Masked Man said with a smile, not caring about Danzo's attitude.
"Have you not felt it yet? A stronger body, and the Bloodline Limit you desire most."
After knocking Danzo unconscious, they had performed surgery on him, excising some of Danzo's body tissue and replacing it with Hashirama cells and White Zetsu body parts.
Hearing the Masked Man's words, Danzo immediately sensed the Chakra within his body. Then he condensed it and transformed it into Wood Release Chakra.
Bang!
Under the influence of Danzo's Chakra, a small tree burst through the floor and rapidly grew.
Looking at that single sprout of green in the room, Danzo could no longer control his expression. He almost burst into mad laughter.
For the sake of Wood Release, after Konoha sealed away the Hashirama cell experiments, he had secretly cooperated with Orochimaru to continue researching Hashirama cells, sparing no expense and even capturing people from villages around Konoha as test subjects.
Now, he had finally achieved his wish and mastered Wood Release.
However, this was not his territory after all, so Danzo still restrained himself and did not laugh out loud. Only the muscles of his face twitched.
"Moreover, my Chakra has also become much stronger," Danzo thought to himself.
The changes brought by this unconsciousness were not limited to Wood Release. The amount of Chakra in his body had also increased.
This made Danzo even more wary of the Masked Man.
Danzo had researched Hashirama cells for so long, so naturally, he had not done it for nothing.
Possessing Wood Release, a strengthened body, and increased Chakra, the Masked Man's method of granting him Wood Release had to be related to Hashirama cells.
It was highly likely that the Masked Man had mastered a Hashirama cell transplantation method with a high success rate.
However, this method should have unknown limitations. Otherwise, the Masked Man would not need to cooperate with Danzo. If he brought a team of Wood Release Ninja to the Shinobi Sect himself, would he still worry about being unable to take down Sōsuke? Would he still worry about being unable to seize the Rinnegan?
Thinking of this, Danzo felt slightly relieved.
Since the Masked Man was cooperating with him, that meant he possessed something the Masked Man did not.
"Hmph. This reward is what I deserve, but you should have discussed it with me before acting!" Danzo snorted coldly.
Although he had obtained Wood Release and more Chakra, Danzo still felt a lingering fear.
Just thinking of himself lying on an operating table without any ability to resist filled him with furious dread.
If the experiment had gone wrong, if the Masked Man had suddenly decided to kill him, what would happen to Konoha without him?
"Heh heh, that is not something you can decide," the Masked Man said impolitely.
Danzo was only a tool, and a tool should not know too much.
Danzo's face darkened.
Someday, if he uncovered the Masked Man's organization, he would definitely return every bit of humiliation he was suffering now before killing him.
"Then you should at least tell me about your personnel deployment. How much force will you deploy during the assassination of Sōsuke?" Danzo continued to ask.
The previous sentence had only been a prelude to this one. Danzo could tell that the Masked Man did not want him to know the Hashirama cell technique.
"You will know when the time comes. Besides, have we not already strengthened you? Perhaps you can kill Sōsuke yourself," the Masked Man said, still not directly answering Danzo's question.
Danzo frowned.
This Masked Man was truly treating him like a subordinate, telling him nothing and simply ordering him to act, just like how he sometimes commanded the Root Ninja.
However, Danzo did not want to withdraw from the cooperation now.
Although Wood Release was already in his hands, the Shinobi Sect inheritance and the Rinnegan were not yet, and those two were also extremely crucial.
The encirclement plan was set. Amegakure had been successfully persuaded. The Shinobi Sect inheritance and Rinnegan were now like two ducks about to walk into a trap.
Could Danzo let go of those ducks that were almost within his grasp?
"You have asked me so many questions. Now it is my turn to ask you," the Masked Man suddenly said.
Danzo focused his mind, ensuring he remained clear-headed and would not reveal any flaws during the conversation.
"What does it feel like to need to defecate?"
Danzo was slightly stunned, not expecting the Masked Man to ask that inexplicable question again.
After realizing what had been asked, Danzo's face darkened, and he remained silent.
In his opinion, the Masked Man was a cunning old schemer who hid things even from his collaborators, so he certainly would not do anything so low-level without reason.
As for why he still asked that question, Danzo felt that the Masked Man might be deliberately leading him into meaningless thought.
"Hiding so deeply. What kind of conspiracy is this?" Danzo watched the Masked Man leave, his eyes narrowing in thought.
He was certain that the Masked Man's goal of acquiring the Rinnegan and the Shinobi Sect inheritance was not his ultimate objective.
Just like Danzo himself. Danzo did not research Hashirama cells simply because he wanted Wood Release. His fundamental reason for researching Hashirama cells was to strengthen Konoha and give himself a chance to become Hokage.
The abilities and methods the Masked Man had displayed so far made Danzo feel that he was an even greater threat than the Shinobi Sect.
Danzo himself was in Amegakure, yet everything was still within the Masked Man's control.
The Masked Man knew that he had come to the Land of Rain, and quickly learned that he had persuaded Hanzō, as if an invisible Ninja had been constantly monitoring him.
Of course, Danzo knew this was impossible.
After all, he also possessed many secret techniques. Even if someone could become invisible, he should have been able to detect them.
Danzo believed the most reasonable explanation was that Amegakure had the Masked Man's spies, and the Shinobi Sect should have them too.
"I need to make more arrangements." Danzo felt that the previous plan was not secure enough.
The previous plan was enough to kill Sōsuke and Nagato, but if the Masked Man betrayed him after the deed was done, the outcome would become uncertain.
Soon, Danzo found a casual excuse, claiming that he needed to return to Konoha.
Holding an event was not something that could be settled with a few words. As a plan to kill a top-tier powerhouse of the Ninja World, Hanzō and Danzo had agreed on one month.
They would spend one month preparing for the encirclement.
Naturally, Danzo could not remain in the Land of Rain for the entire month. Otherwise, Hiruzen would definitely notice something unusual.
It was not that Danzo could not stay in another village for a long time, but that Danzo needed a suitable reason.
If Danzo were leading troops in battle, let alone not returning for a month, no one would say anything even if he did not return for a year.
On the other side, after leaving Danzo's sight, the Masked Man directly sank into the ground and reappeared in a hidden forest.
"Did you tell Danzo everything I told you to say?" Black Zetsu asked.
He had been the one who attacked Danzo, but Black Zetsu did not want to show his face, so he had left directly after the surgery was completed, letting Tobi deal with Danzo.
"Mission accomplished perfectly! The only regret is that he still did not answer what it feels like to need to defecate," Tobi said with a regretful expression, shaking off his black robe.
As a being who did not need to defecate, he was genuinely curious.
"Then ask next time," Black Zetsu said indifferently.
Although asking such a question in Uchiha Madara's name was somewhat embarrassing, Uchiha Madara was old and close to death, so he probably would not care about such things.
"With Hashirama cells and Tobi's body, even if the current Danzo cannot kill Sōsuke, with the help of others, achieving mutual destruction should not be difficult," Black Zetsu began deducing his plan.
On Uchiha Madara's side, Sōsuke's priority was very low, far lower than Hayate Mugetsu's.
But on Black Zetsu's side, Sōsuke's priority in the plan was lower than Hayate Mugetsu's, yet he was still a Ninja who needed to be eliminated.
Because Sōsuke might have some connection to the Six Paths Sage.
Ever since that conjecture arose, Black Zetsu had never personally approached Sōsuke again.
Even if there was only a slight possibility, Black Zetsu did not want to take the risk. After all, it was not yet time to use the Rinnegan.
This time, with an opportunity to eliminate Sōsuke, Black Zetsu directly raised the stakes, using Tobi's body tissue when performing surgery on Danzo.
Tobi was different from ordinary White Zetsu. Tobi himself possessed extraordinary strength and could possess Ninja, enhancing their physical abilities. He was the most special White Zetsu, Kaguya's ideal White Zetsu weapon.
Therefore, using Tobi's body to perform surgery on Danzo could maximize the surgical effect, though it would harm Tobi.
However, Black Zetsu felt it was worth it. Tobi's injuries could heal, and using Tobi to strengthen Danzo was better than having Tobi go himself, since Tobi was an important combat force on their side.
In a direct fight, Black Zetsu could not defeat Tobi either.
"If they kill each other, it just so happens that I can detonate the other arrangements ahead of time." Black Zetsu found that Danzo and Sōsuke dying together would be the best outcome.
Danzo, as Konoha's Hokage Assistant, was one of Konoha's representative Ninja.
If Danzo died, it would truly shake Konoha.
At that time, if Black Zetsu then used the arrangements in the other Ninja Villages, Hayate Mugetsu would soon be too busy to look after his disciples.
…
As soon as Hanzō left, Mugetsu created a Shadow Clone. Then his main body used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave Six Paths City and head straight for Konoha.
Aside from those disciples whose trust levels were maxed out, with anyone else, Mugetsu would first think, then investigate, then trust.
This was a Ninja World full of deceit and trickery. After working hard for so long, Mugetsu did not want to lose everything because of a single moment of carelessness.
Even though Mugetsu had already deduced that Danzo was causing trouble, he still had to investigate it himself first and confirm the truth.
Although Mugetsu had been in the Shinobi Sect for some time, Mugetsu's Yang Seal Shadow Clone had always been active in Konoha. So from the perspective of others, Mugetsu had always stayed in Konoha and never left.
After reaching a location close to Konoha, Mugetsu directly used Flying Thunder God to enter his bedroom in the main district.
After returning to Konoha, Mugetsu immediately activated his Kenbunshoku Haki at full power, enveloping all of Konoha.
"As expected, he is not in Konoha." Mugetsu could not sense Danzo's Chakra.
Mugetsu then secretly went to the Root Base, activating his Byakugan to observe the situation there.
He found that not only was Danzo absent, but there were also far fewer Root Ninja than usual.
At this point, it could basically be confirmed that Danzo was in the Land of Rain, and Hanzō coming to him was also the result of Danzo's schemes.
There was no major war in Konoha right now, and no mission important enough for Danzo, the Hokage Assistant, to personally lead his subordinates into battle.
Moreover, Danzo was not a Ninja who was eager to go to the front lines.
"Then Hanzō's words should be credible." Mugetsu continued considering how to deal with this sudden situation.
The easiest method was to directly report Danzo to Hiruzen.
This way, Mugetsu would not need to act, and Danzo would have to slink back to Konoha.
However, the drawback of this method was that Danzo would not die and might continue to cause trouble in the future.
After thinking about it, Mugetsu decided that this time, even if it took more effort, he had to eliminate Danzo.
At present, Danzo's existence brought him far more harm than benefit. He was an unpredictable bomb and could provide no help.
Over the next few days, Mugetsu remained in Konoha, continuing his investigation and trying to uncover the details of Danzo's plan.
Sōsuke, this alias, now had a greater reputation in the Ninja World than Mugetsu himself. Killing such a powerhouse was not something anyone would do on a whim, so Mugetsu was not in a hurry to return to Amegakure.
Since he knew that Danzo wanted to kill his alias, the initiative was actually in Mugetsu's hands.
Mugetsu did find some hidden information, but it was all irrelevant content, basically Root's submitted mission reports.
Those Root Ninja had not uncovered anything either.
Mugetsu could only determine from the missions Danzo had issued that Danzo was very interested in the Shinobi Sect inheritance.
Just as Mugetsu was preparing to return to Amegakure, Danzo came back.
Fortunately, Mugetsu had the good habit of scanning Konoha with Kenbunshoku Haki every day after returning. Otherwise, he might have just missed him.
"His Chakra has become stronger." Mugetsu noticed the change in Danzo's Chakra.
Chakra was an essential existence for Ninja. The change in Danzo's Chakra was like a person who was 1.7 meters tall suddenly becoming 2 meters tall. It was hard for Mugetsu not to notice.
Of course, this was mainly because he was very familiar with Danzo's Chakra, which allowed him to detect it.
If he did not regularly observe Danzo's Chakra, he would not have noticed such a change.
Danzo's sudden increase in strength gave Mugetsu a strange feeling.
So Mugetsu concealed himself and, using the super long-range vision of his high-purity Byakugan at the very limit of its range, performed an appraisal on Danzo.
.....
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