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Chapter 724: The Unveiling of Danzo's Crimes
Chapter 724: The Unveiling of Danzo's Crimes
B1 Arena.
"Round three, contestant number nine, Ai, versus contestant number thirteen, Makui!" the referee announced.
Upon hearing his name, the Fourth Ai strode confidently towards the arena.
Makui, well-prepared to face the village's Substitute Raikage, quickly followed the Fourth Ai onto the stage.
As an elite member of the Kumogakure's Jounin ranks, Makui had no intention of conceding defeat. Instead, he chose to engage in a serious battle.
Even if he lost, he might still discover his shortcomings through the fight and improve.
"Begin the battle!"
As soon as the referee finished speaking, Makui unleashed his chakra and charged forward.
During his sprint, Makui focused his chakra in his hands, causing a massive amount of lightning to manifest in his palms, enhancing his physical strength.
The Fourth Ai remained calm, and his body suddenly erupted in intense blue light, effortlessly catching Makui's incoming strike.
Kumogakure was renowned for its Lightning Release Taijutsu, and the Lightning Release Chakra Mode developed by the Second Raikage was the culmination of this art.
Ninjas who mastered the Lightning Release Chakra Mode were superior to ordinary Lightning Release Taijutsu users.
Bang!
The Fourth Ai swiftly threw a left punch, which Makui sensed and attempted to defend against. However, the Fourth Ai's heavy Lightning Release fist sent Makui flying, slamming him hard into the ground.
Sizzle!
Crackling sounds filled the air.
Lightning continuously flashed across the arena as the Fourth Ai's attacks were not only swift but also packed a powerful punch. In just over a minute, Makui struggled to hold on.
"What a youthful battle!"
Might Guy, watching this intense taijutsu fight where every strike landed, felt a surge of excitement.
This was the kind of formidable opponent he had been longing for.
As he realized this was already the third round of the preliminaries, Might Guy couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret.
The third round marked the final stage of the preliminaries, and victory guaranteed a spot in the elimination rounds.
If he wanted to fight the Fourth Ai, he could only hope to meet him in the elimination tournament.
"Round three, contestant number twenty, Might Guy, versus..." The referee continued announcing the matchups.
Might Guy's opponent in the third round was a Mist Village Jounin.
Without using the Eight Gates, Might Guy swiftly defeated his opponent by employing the Earth Style: Body Flicker Technique.
"Compared to ordinary taijutsu, the Lightning Release Taijutsu of Kumogakure is indeed superior," the Fourth Ai thought as he withdrew his gaze.
Might Guy was one of the most renowned geniuses of Konoha's new generation, and as a taijutsu specialist, the Fourth Ai took a brief glance at him but didn't pay him much attention.
Who wasn't a genius these days? When Might Guy's name was spreading throughout the ninja world, he might not have even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet.
"Contestant number twenty, Might Guy, advances to the next round."
After securing his spot in the next round, Might Guy left the B1 arena and headed to Area A to find his other Konoha teammates.
He first went to Area A4, where Kakashi and Haruno Rin were competing.
When Might Guy arrived, Haruno Rin's battle had just begun.
Scanning the contestants, Might Guy noticed that Kaito Shizuru and others had also come.
After a brief exchange, they learned that except for Asuma, who was fighting against Enma, and Haruno Rin, who was still in combat, all the others had successfully advanced to the elimination rounds.
"It's a real shame about Asuma-senpai," Asuma Sarutobi said with regret.
If it weren't for his matchup against Enma, Asuma's strength would have easily secured him a spot in the elimination rounds.
"The increased rewards have made the competition much tougher," Kaito sighed.
Initially, he had aimed for the top spot, but now, Kaito felt that reaching the top eight would already be a significant achievement.
After all, this Martial Arts Tournament featured not only the Five Kage but also many renowned experts from the ninja world.
After Haruno Rin's battle concluded, the group returned to their accommodations.
...
At 8 p.m., Enma sat in his room, reflecting on his fight with Asuma, analyzing Asuma's weaknesses displayed during the battle, and jotting them down on paper.
Knock, knock.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Enma said.
"Third Hokage-sama, the Fourth Hokage is looking for you," an Anbu member said as he opened the door.
"I understand," Enma nodded and headed towards the door.
"Why is he looking for me at this hour? Has something happened?"
Enma's thoughtful expression made him quicken his pace, worried that the plan to assassinate Son Ryouka might have encountered a problem.
However, after a moment of consideration, Enma dismissed this concern.
After all, they were in the heart of Shinshu, the ninja world's headquarters, and if something had gone wrong, there would surely be a commotion.
"The Fourth Hokage is here," the Anbu member said as he knocked on Yu Sheng Mu Yue's door.
Yu Sheng Mu Yue walked to the door, opened it, and invited Enma in, while the Anbu member remained outside, guarding the entrance.
"Yu Sheng Mu Yue, has something urgent come up?" Enma asked after sitting down.
"It's an urgent matter, but it's unrelated to our current plans. The training team discovered some leftover information from the Root in the base," Yu Sheng Mu Yue explained.
"Leftover information from the Root!" Enma was surprised, feeling both astonishment and curiosity.
Could the mystery of Danzo's death finally be unraveled?
Danzo had died several years ago, but his death remained an enigma in Konoha.
No one knew why Danzo Shimura had gone to the Rain Country, nor did anyone understand why he had targeted Son Ryouka.
"There's quite a lot here, take a look for yourself."
Yu Sheng Mu Yue handed Enma several scrolls and documents.
Enma nodded slightly and eagerly began examining the potential clues to Danzo's death mystery. After a few minutes of reading the first scroll, his brows furrowed.
It was a confidential file about the Root's secret cultivation of ninjas.
The number of Root ninjas was controlled, and to enhance their strength, Danzo had devised a clever plan.
He decided to cultivate multiple candidates simultaneously, subjecting them to a final test upon completion. Only the survivor would become a true Root ninja.
"This Danzo, he's always up to no good," Enma muttered in disgust.
Undoubtedly, this severely violated the laws of Konoha.
In the Leaf Village, it was a grave offense for ninjas from the same village to engage in mutual slaughter. Danzo, however, had forced his subordinates into such a situation, and this alone was enough to strip him of his position and sentence him to life imprisonment in Konoha's prison.
Moreover, Enma didn't believe that such a twisted and bloody cultivation method could produce the kind of ninjas Konoha needed.
This distorted and bloody cultivation mechanism would never nurture ninjas with the Will of Fire.
Enma glanced at Mu Yue, feeling a sense of relief.
When Danzo had conceived of this cultivation method, Mu Yue had already completed the old Root training process and escaped the harm of this mechanism.
Enma then picked up the second scroll and, after reading it, fell silent for a long time.
It was a record of the Hashirama Cell experiments.
What had Danzo done in this scroll? He had stolen the body tissue of the First Hokage, abducted children from Konoha and nearby villages for Hashirama Cell experiments, and then conducted these experiments.
Enma's first reaction was that Danzo had gone mad.
In his pursuit of recreating Wood Style, Danzo had committed such heinous acts.
Konoha had officially conducted Hashirama Cell experiments, but they had invited volunteers from the public to participate.
Due to the 100% fatality rate, the Hashirama Cell experiments were quickly halted.
Enma continued reading through the scrolls and documents.
After reviewing Danzo's numerous records of evil deeds, Enma finally found information related to the Rain Country and Son Ryouka.
The reason was simpler than he had imagined; Uchiha Sasuke and Danzo had conspired to obtain the Rinnegan from Son Ryouka's disciple, leading to their confrontation with him.
However, it was evident that Danzo had underestimated Son Ryouka's strength and suffered a thorough defeat.
After reading this, Enma no longer cared about the mystery of Danzo's death; it wasn't important.
Danzo deserved to die for his actions.
If Son Ryouka hadn't killed Danzo, Enma would have personally locked him up and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Looking at the silent Mu Yue, Enma didn't know what to say.
Mu Yue had undoubtedly read these documents before him, so what were his feelings about Danzo now? What was his opinion of him?
Moreover, as a former Root member, had Mu Yue only recently learned about these things?
It was understandable that he might not be aware of highly confidential matters like the Hashirama Cell experiments, but he should have some knowledge about the cultivation methods.
Enma's mind was filled with chaotic thoughts.
"I never imagined that Danzo would commit so many atrocities behind the scenes. It's my fault for neglecting my duties," Enma sighed heavily.
Whether Mu Yue had just learned about this or not wasn't important. What mattered was that Mu Yue had always acted in Konoha's best interests, working tirelessly to strengthen the village, and he had indeed made Konoha stronger.
As the Hokage, that was enough.
The bigger problem was with Enma himself. As the Hokage, he had failed to uncover Danzo's crimes in time, and this was an inexcusable mistake.
If he had known about Danzo's despicable actions, Enma would never have bothered the Shinshu for Danzo's sake.
Son Ryouka's killing of Danzo was a service to Konoha, eliminating a threat.
"Let's make this public when we return. We can't let those who died because of Danzo die in vain," Enma suggested.
His negligence was already significant, and further concealment for the sake of his reputation would only make it harder to face the First and Second Hokage in the afterlife.
"I've already made arrangements for this," Mu Yue nodded in response.
Danzo's lifetime of evil deeds was so extensive that even his early death couldn't absolve him of sins beyond ordinary imagination.
Mu Yue wouldn't allow such a person to gain a good reputation simply because he died early.
The previous lack of exposure was likely due to other considerations.
A Konoha advisor who sacrificed his life on a mission? Danzo didn't deserve such an honor.
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(End of Chapter)
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