The atmosphere in the tent abruptly turned heavy.
Danzo Shimura sat there wrapped in bandages.
At this point in time, his right arm had not yet been replaced with a Wood Release arm, though it was still tightly bound. One of his eyes was also covered.
Hyūga Akira was certain of one thing—
Danzō was injured. Badly.
The faint scent of medicinal herbs lingered in the air. The bandages weren't hiding fresh wounds; there was no trace of blood seeping through. These were old injuries, deliberately concealed.
Danzō's gaze darkened slightly as he spoke.
"Where did you learn of Root's existence?"
Root was a shadow even deeper than ANBU—
Konoha's true underbelly.
Assassinations of fellow villagers.
Human experimentation.
Everything that could never see the light of day.
Despite how prominent Root seemed in later history, very few people in Konoha even knew it existed at this point. Part of that was because it truly was the village's sewer. The other part was simpler—
Right now, Root was weak.
Far weaker than ANBU.
Only after the Second Shinobi World War would Root begin expanding in earnest.
Akira realized he'd overlooked something important.
At his current rank, he shouldn't have been able to know about Root at all.
"I heard about it from Nawaki," Akira replied smoothly.
Danzō's expression eased slightly.
That answer barely passed—but it passed.
Danzō already knew Akira's background. Before leaving the front lines, Hiruzen's camp—and more specifically **Hiruzen Sarutobi's people—had passed along Akira's mission details.
Calling it "selling him out" wasn't quite right.
It was more like a formal handover.
After all, compared to Danzō, someone like Hiruko was just a jōnin. He didn't have the standing to resist.
Danzō also knew the infiltrator was Hyūga Akira.
But when intelligence from Amegakure named the killer as Uchiha Akira, Danzō accepted it without hesitation—and immediately turned his attention toward the Uchiha clan.
That, too, was part of why Akira was even granted this meeting.
Otherwise, a mere genin wouldn't get within ten meters of Danzō, no matter how "important" his intelligence supposedly was.
"I don't accept Hyūga into Root," Danzō said flatly.
He'd only wanted to see for himself what kind of man this "master of disguise" was—the one Hanzō spoke of.
Such talent was perfect for espionage.
Root badly needed people like that.
Unfortunately—
A Hyūga branch family member was unacceptable.
Root's most important principle was secrecy.
And a branch Hyūga could never keep secrets from the main house.
The Caged Bird Seal took priority over the Tongue Eradication Curse Seal.
That alone was enough reason for Danzō to reject all branch-family Hyūga.
If it were a main-house Hyūga, he'd gladly take them.
But the main house would never allow that.
Akira didn't argue.
Instead, he calmly removed his forehead protector, revealing the black pattern beneath.
"What if I've already solved the Caged Bird?"
Danzō's pupil shrank violently.
He slammed a hand down.
In an instant, several figures appeared, forming a barrier around the two of them.
"Do you understand what you're saying?" Danzō demanded coldly.
He had always wanted to break the Caged Bird Seal.
Who wouldn't want a Hyūga—
with their unparalleled surveillance abilities—completely loyal to Root?
"Danzō-sama," Akira said without hesitation,
"while in Amegakure, I obtained an ability that can解除任何封印—any seal."
"The Caged Bird is only one of them."
To gain leverage, you first had to show your worth.
Danzō didn't understand Akira's sniper-style battlefield control.
And frankly, Akira's current combat strength didn't impress him much.
But someone who could erase seals outright?
That was different.
Every great village relied on sealing techniques for intelligence, logistics, and security. Even with Uzumaki fūinjutsu in their hands, forcibly破解 them was never easy.
"Prove it," Danzō said.
At his signal, a kunoichi entered the barrier. She lifted her mask, opened her mouth, and extended her tongue.
Etched upon it were the characters of the Tongue Eradication Curse Seal.
Akira didn't hesitate.
He reached straight into her mouth and activated [Exorcism].
Unlike the careful approach he used on himself, this was brute force.
The characters shattered and vanished.
He withdrew his hand.
"It's done."
The woman spat out a mouthful of blood.
"There's trauma to the tongue, but nothing serious. The curse seal… it's gone."
A smile finally appeared on Danzō's face.
He stood, walked over, formed seals at lightning speed, and pressed his palm against her mouth.
"Tongue Eradication Curse Seal."
The curse was reapplied.
The kunoichi lowered her mask and exited the barrier.
"What you fear is the Hyūga main house," Danzō said calmly.
"Yes."
"That will no longer be a problem."
Danzō had never cared much for the Hyūga.
If he could target the Uchiha, targeting the Hyūga was trivial.
"Then tell me," he continued,
"what else do you want?"
Akira could not be treated like ordinary Root members.
Someone who could undo seals was immune to the Tongue Curse. Control would require a different method.
And someone like this—
Danzō would never let go.
"Killing," Akira said, lips curling into a thin smile.
"Anyone. As long as they're a shinobi."
To him, shinobi were monsters to be hunted.
Non-shinobi were just NPCs—
not worth his attention.
Danzō's eyes narrowed.
"And me?"
"You want to kill me too?"
A terrifying wave of killing intent crashed down on Akira.
His body trembled.
He could still move—but barely.
At this point in history, Danzō was one of Konoha's absolute peak combatants.
Even the Sannin could not yet compare.
He and Hiruzen were the village's twin pillars.
Akira grinned through the pressure.
"Yes."
The killing intent intensified—
and this time, Akira couldn't move at all.
Then, just as suddenly—
It vanished.
Danzō laughed softly.
"You are perfectly suited for Root."
A shinobi born with killing intent like this—
in ability and temperament—was exactly what Root needed.
Akira had thought about this for a long time.
Only Root was allowed to kill its own.
Uchiha Sharingan.
Nara shadow techniques.
Akimichi expansion jutsu.
If he wanted to farm Konoha shinobi—
Root was inevitable.
"Then, Danzō-sama," Akira asked calmly,
"may I participate in the Rain Country war?"
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