Chapter 606: You've Been Enhanced, Now Move!
Chapter 606: You've Been Enhanced, Now Move!
"What...what is this?" Danzo Shimura slowly opened his eyes, his hazy consciousness gradually clearing.
He had been pondering the matter of "Uchiha Madara" in the room prepared for him by the Amegakure ninja before losing consciousness mysteriously.
Whoosh!
Danzo's body tensed, and he rolled over to quickly get up, creating distance between himself and the masked man standing in the room.
"What have you done to me?! Is this how you treat your partners?" Danzo demanded angrily.
There was no doubt that his loss of consciousness was due to "Uchiha Madara's" doing.
At this moment, Danzo's wariness towards "Uchiha Madara" had reached its peak. If he could be made to lose consciousness so quietly, then he could just as easily be sent to his death in the same manner!
"Heh, haven't I been good to you? I gave you the promised reward so quickly," the masked man said, unperturbed by Danzo's attitude.
"Don't you feel it? A stronger body and the bloodline limit you desire the most."
After knocking Danzo unconscious, they had performed surgery on him, removing some of his body tissue and replacing it with Hashirama Senju's cells from the White Zetsu body.
As "Uchiha Madara" spoke, Danzo quickly sensed the chakra within his body and then condensed it, transforming it into Wood Release chakra.
Boom!
Under Danzo's chakra control, a small tree burst through the floor and rapidly grew.
Looking at the lone patch of fresh green in the room, Danzo could no longer control his facial expression and burst into maniacal laughter.
For the sake of Wood Release, he had secretly collaborated with Orochimaru after Konoha sealed away the experiments on Hashirama's cells, continuing to research the First Hokage's cells at all costs, even going as far as to capture people from the villages surrounding Konoha to use as test subjects.
Now, he had finally achieved his wish of mastering Wood Release.
However, this was ultimately not his territory, so Danzo restrained himself from laughing out loud, his face twitching instead.
"Moreover, my chakra has also become much stronger," Danzo thought to himself.
The changes brought about by this coma were not just the Wood Release; the amount of chakra within his body had also increased.
This made Danzo even more wary of "Uchiha Madara."
Danzo's long research into Hashirama's cells had certainly not been in vain.
With the Wood Release, a strengthened body, and increased chakra, the means by which "Uchiha Madara" had granted him the Wood Release must be related to Hashirama's cells.
It was highly possible that "Uchiha Madara" had mastered a method of Hashirama cell transplantation with a high success rate.
However, this method should have unknown restrictions. Otherwise, "Uchiha Madara" would not have needed to cooperate with Danzo; he could have just led a team of Wood Release ninja to find the jinchuriki and taken the Rinnegan by force.
Thinking of this, Danzo felt slightly relieved. "Uchiha Madara's" cooperation with him must be because he possessed something that "Uchiha Madara" lacked.
"Hmph, this reward is what I deserve. You should have discussed it with me before taking action!" Danzo coldly hmphed.
Although he had obtained the Wood Release and increased his chakra, Danzo still felt a lingering fear.
Just the thought of lying on the operating table without the ability to resist filled Danzo with a mix of anger and fear.
What if the experiment had gone wrong? What if "Uchiha Madara" suddenly developed murderous intentions? What would become of Konoha without him?
"Heh, it's not up to you to decide these things," the masked man said bluntly.
Danzo was merely a tool, and tools shouldn't be given too much information.
Danzo's face darkened. One day, if he could uncover "Uchiha Madara's" organization, he would make sure to return the humiliation he was suffering now before killing him.
"Then at least tell me about your manpower arrangements. When assassinating Sosuke, how much force will you deploy?" Danzo continued to ask.
The previous statement had merely been a lead-up to this question, as Danzo knew that "Uchiha Madara" didn't want him to know about the Hashirama cell technology.
"You'll know when the time comes. Besides, haven't we already enhanced you? Perhaps you'll be able to kill Sosuke by yourself," the masked man still didn't directly answer Danzo's question.
Danzo frowned. "Uchiha Madara" truly treated him like a subordinate, ordering him around without explaining anything, much like how he sometimes commanded the Foundation ninja.
However, even if Danzo wanted to back out of the cooperation now, he didn't want to.
Although he had obtained the Wood Release, he had not yet acquired the Ninshu legacy and the Rinnegan, both of which were also crucial.
The plan to ambush Sosuke was in place, and Amegakure had also been successfully convinced. The Ninshu legacy and the Rinnegan now seemed like two ducks that were about to walk into a trap.
Danzo Shimura focused his mind, ensuring he remained alert and didn't reveal any signs of weakness during their conversation.
"What does it feel like to have the urge to defecate?"
Danzo paused slightly, not expecting the masked man to ask such an incomprehensible question.
Realizing the intent behind the question, Danzo's face darkened, and he remained silent.
In his opinion, "Uchiha Madara," this cunning old fox who kept so many secrets even from his partner, was definitely not so naive.
As for why he asked this question, Danzo believed that "Uchiha Madara" might be deliberately leading him into meaningless thoughts.
"What conspiracy are you hiding, lurking in the shadows like this?" Danzo narrowed his eyes, deep in thought, as he watched "Uchiha Madara" leave.
He was certain that "Uchiha Madara's" true goal was not just to obtain the Rinnegan and the Ninshu legacy.
Just like himself, Danzo wasn't purely researching Hashirama cells for the sake of Wood Release; his true motivation was to strengthen the Leaf and increase his own chances of becoming Hokage.
Currently, "Uchiha Madara's" displayed abilities and methods made Danzo feel an even greater threat than the Ninshu Sect.
Danzo himself was in the Rain Village, yet everything was still under "Uchiha Madara's" control.
"Uchiha Madara" knew he had come to the Rain Country and soon learned that he had convinced Hanzo. It was as if an invisible ninja had been spying on him the entire time.
Of course, Danzo knew this was impossible.
After all, he also possessed many secret techniques, and even if someone could turn invisible, he should have been able to detect them.
Danzo believed the most reasonable explanation was that the Rain Village had spies working for "Uchiha Madara," and the Ninshu Sect was likely in the same situation.
"I need to make some more arrangements," Danzo thought, feeling that his previous plan wasn't failsafe.
The original plan was to kill Sosuke and Nagato, but if "Uchiha Madara" turned on them after the plan succeeded, then all bets were off.
Soon, Danzo came up with a random excuse to return to the Leaf.
Planning an event wasn't something that could be decided overnight, especially when it came to killing a top-tier ninja in the ninja world. Hanzo and Danzo had discussed and decided on a one-month preparation period.
They would spend this month making the necessary arrangements for the ambush.
During this month, Danzo, of course, wouldn't stay in the Rain Country the entire time; otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi would become suspicious.
It wasn't that Danzo couldn't stay away from the village for an extended period, but he needed a valid reason for his absence.
If Danzo were leading troops into battle, no one would bat an eye even if he didn't return for a year.
On the other hand, after leaving Danzo's sight, the masked man sank into the ground and reappeared in a secluded forest.
"Did you tell Danzo everything I asked you to?" Black Zetsu asked.
It was Black Zetsu who had operated on Danzo, but he didn't want to reveal himself, so he left immediately after the surgery and let Tobi deal with Danzo.
"Mission accomplished! The only regret is that he still didn't answer my question about what it feels like to have the urge to defecate," Tobi said, removing his black robe and expressing his disappointment.
As an entity that didn't need to defecate, he was genuinely curious.
"Then ask him again next time," Black Zetsu replied nonchalantly.
Although it was a bit embarrassing to ask such a question while pretending to be "Uchiha Madara," the real Madara was old and on his deathbed, so he probably wouldn't care about such trivial matters.
"With Hashirama's cells and Tobi's body, the current Danzo Shimura should be able to kill Sosuke, or at least take him down with the help of others," Black Zetsu began to elaborate on his plan.
For "Uchiha Madara," Sosuke was a low priority compared to Musuki Uzuki.
But in Black Zetsu's plan, while Sosuke was a lower priority than Musuki, he was still a ninja who needed to be eliminated.
This was because Sosuke might have some connection to the Sage of Six Paths.
Ever since this suspicion arose, Black Zetsu had never dared to approach Sosuke again.
Even if it was just a possibility, Black Zetsu didn't want to take any risks, especially since he didn't need the Rinnegan yet.
Now that he had the chance to get rid of Sosuke, Black Zetsu decided to go a step further and used Tobi's body tissue when operating on Danzo.
Tobi was different from the regular White Zetsu. He possessed incredible strength and could possess ninjas, enhancing their physical capabilities. He was the most exceptional White Zetsu and the ideal White Zetsu weapon in Kaguya's eyes.
Black Zetsu knew he couldn't defeat Tobi in direct combat.
"If we both die, it will be the perfect opportunity to detonate my other schemes early," Black Zetsu mused. He concluded that the best outcome would be for Danzo Shimura and Sosuke to perish together.
As the assistant to the Hokage of Konoha, Danzo Shimura was one of the village's representative ninjas.
"If Danzo Shimura dies, it will truly shake Konoha," Black Zetsu thought.
At that moment, if he also set in motion his other plans in the ninja villages, then Mu Yue would soon be too busy to focus on her disciples.
...
As soon as Hanzo left, Mu Yue created a shadow clone and then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave the Rikudo Castle and head straight for Konoha.
Except for those disciples with maxed-out trust levels, Mu Yue always investigated before believing anything anyone else said.
This was a treacherous world of ninjas, and after working so hard for so long, Mu Yue didn't want to ruin everything because of a momentary lapse in vigilance.
Even though Mu Yue had already suspected that Danzo Shimura was stirring up trouble, she still had to investigate personally and confirm the truth of the matter.
Although Mu Yue had been in the Ninja Sect for some time, she had always maintained a shadow clone in Konoha with her Yang Seal, so from others' perspectives, she had never left the village.
When she reached the vicinity of Konoha, Mu Yue directly used the Flying Thunder God Technique to enter her bedroom in the main city.
Upon returning to Konoha, Mu Yue immediately activated her Byakugan and used it to cover the entire village.
"As expected, he's not in Konoha," Mu Yue muttered, unable to sense Danzo's chakra.
Immediately after, Mu Yue secretly made her way to the Root base and used her Byakugan to observe the base's situation.
She discovered that not only was Danzo absent, but there were also far fewer ninjas in the base than usual.
At this point, it was almost certain that Danzo was in the Rain Country, and Hanzo's visit was likely due to Danzo's scheming.
Currently, Konoha wasn't facing any significant battles or missions that would require Danzo, the Hokage's assistant, to lead his subordinates into battle personally.
Moreover, Danzo wasn't the type of ninja who eagerly rushed to the front lines.
"Then, Hanzo's information should be credible," Mu Yue continued to ponder how to handle this sudden development.
The easiest way would be to directly report Danzo to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
That way, Mu Yue wouldn't have to lift a finger, and Danzo would be forced to slink back to Konoha in disgrace.
However, the downside of this approach was that Danzo wouldn't die, and he might continue to cause trouble in the future.
Mu Yue thought about it and decided that it would be worth expending extra effort to get rid of Danzo this time.
Currently, Danzo's existence was more of a liability than an asset to her, as he was an unpredictable bomb and couldn't provide her with any help.
Over the next few days, Mu Yue stayed in Konoha to continue her investigation, trying to uncover the details of Danzo's plan.
Sosuke, her alias, was now more famous in the ninja world than Mu Yue herself, so she didn't rush back to Amegakure.
Since she knew that Danzo wanted to kill her alias, the initiative was actually in her hands.
Mu Yue did find some secret information, but it was all trivial content—mostly mission reports submitted by Root.
However, even those Root ninjas hadn't uncovered anything significant.
Mu Yue could only deduce from the missions Danzo had assigned that he was very interested in the Ninja Sect's legacy.
Just as Mu Yue prepared to return to Amegakure, Danzo came back.
Fortunately, Mu Yue had maintained her habit of using her Byakugan to scan Konoha every day after returning, or she might have missed him.
"His chakra has become stronger," Mu Yue noticed the change in Danzo's chakra.
Chakra was an essential aspect of a ninja's being, and the change in Danzo's chakra was like a person suddenly growing from five feet seven inches to six feet tall—it was hard for Mu Yue not to notice.
Of course, this was mainly because she was very familiar with Danzo's chakra and could detect such changes.
If she hadn't regularly observed Danzo's chakra, she wouldn't have been able to perceive this transformation.
Danzo's sudden increase in power gave Mu Yue a sense of unease.
So, she hid herself and, utilizing the ultra-long-range vision of her high-purity Byakugan, she pushed it to the limit of its distance and cast Appraisal on Danzo.
(End of Chapter)
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