Chương 66: Danzo’s Recruitment

Shintaro looked up and saw that from the perspective of the Six Eyes, he could clearly see a large amount of fine chakra in the body of the masked man.

'Insects? They seem to be from the Aburame Clan.'

He had met students from the Aburame Clan during his time at the ninja academy. They had special insects with chakra that nested in their bodies. These insects usually fed on the host's chakra and aided them in battle.

The Aburame Clan was considered a wealthy clan in Konoha and was renowned as a family of insect controllers in the ninja world.

"Danzo-sama has called you. Please follow me." The masked man from the Aburame Clan repeated his request.

Shintaro looked at the face of the masked man and could see through the mask that there seemed to be some kind of seal on his tongue.

Combining this with his special identity and the way he observed Danzo's actions, it was not difficult to conclude that this was a prohibition against divulging secrets.

"Who are you?" Shintaro asked.

The masked man removed his mask, revealing a face wearing dark sunglasses. There was a purple tattoo mark on the right lip of his face. He spoke expressionlessly: "Aburame Ryoma, member of Root."

"Root? That's the code name for the ANBU training department, right?" Shintaro thought aloud.

Ryoma put on his mask and continued, "Danzo-sama invites you to the Root headquarters."

While Shintaro silently wondered whether all members of the Root Organization were so rigid, he said, "Alright, you can lead the way."

❀❀❀

The Root Organization base was located deep underground, and the ANBU training department building on the surface could directly access the large space a hundred meters below ground.

Hidden so deeply, it was indeed worthy of the name Root.

The Root organization's base was like the roots of a tree buried deep underground, hidden beneath the shadows of Konoha's great tree.

The entire base's framework was a solid reinforced concrete structure, and at such depth, the destruction of the Konoha Village on the surface would not affect the Root organization's base at all.

The depth and breadth of the Root organization's base were vast. Each level was connected with wooden bridges, and the layers were distinct, symbolizing that the Root organization was a hierarchical place.

Ryoma led Shintaro to the innermost part of the headquarters and knocked on Danzo's office door.

"Danzo-sama, we have arrived."

"Enter." Came Danzo's voice from inside.

Ryoma then opened the door.

Danzo sat behind the desk with his hands folded, staring at Shintaro with bright eyes.

"Ryoma, please leave us for now."

Ryoma obeyed and stepped back, closing the door.

"Danzo-sama." Shintaro bowed slightly, his posture very proper.

Danzo looked at him with dark, sharp eyes, and slowly said, "You received information that Sunagakure is preparing to attack Konoha."

"What do you think about this?"

Shintaro thought for a moment and then replied, "I think Konoha should at least take countermeasures and build fortifications in the Land of Rivers to prepare for war, or take the initiative to attack and drive the Sunagakure ninja out of the Land of Rivers."

Danzo's eyes softened a bit and he said, "It seems you still have some spirit."

"Do you know what Hiruzen's actions are?"

Shintaro was used to Danzo calling the Hokage by his first name, so he replied, "I don't know."

"The so-called active defense he talks about is just sending a few more troops to patrol the western border of the Fire Country. The so-called diplomatic condemnation is just sending people to Sunagakure for peace talks."

"How can he lead Konoha to victory with such a weak attitude?!"

As Danzo spoke, he slammed his palm on the desk, causing cracks to appear on the surface.

Shintaro did not comment on this, but his heart felt a bit disappointed.

Although Konoha was the strongest ninja village, with such a weak Hokage, the village might still face decline in the future.

Maybe we can only hope the next Hokage will be stronger.

Danzo's anger gradually subsided, and after calming down, he changed the topic and said, "It seems you and I are quite compatible. You can join Root."

He seemed not to be asking, but commanding.

"You are an Uchiha. Under normal circumstances, if you want to work in an official Konoha department in the future, you can only go to the Konoha Security Forces which are managed by the Uchiha Clan."

"You won't gain real experience there, and you can only handle trivial disputes in the village. This will truly bury your talent."

"I can make an exception and recruit you into Root."

"Here, you can gain full experience, and I can give you special treatment. You can choose from all of Root's ninjutsu resources. You can also decide the tasks assigned to you."

The conditions Danzo offered were not unreasonable.

However, Shintaro remained unmoved. First, he did not like the hierarchical and gloomy nature of the Root organization, which reminded him of the bureaucratic Jujutsu world system in his previous life.

Moreover, the curse mark on Ryoma also reminded Shintaro that despite Danzo's kind words, he was highly distrustful of his subordinates.

Secondly, Shintaro did not need ninjutsu resources. The Uchiha Clan behind him could provide ample ninjutsu resources.

Finally, he considered that if he joined Root, he would be buried deep underground like the entire Root network and never see the light of day.

As a Root member, no matter how great you were, you could not bask in the sunlight.

And the hidden ambition in Shintaro's heart would not accept such a limited future.

"Thank you for your kindness, Danzo-sama, but I am not suited to serve in the Root Organization."

Danzo's face turned grim and he said, "Are you trying to refuse me?"

He asked knowingly, while at the same time starting to activate his chakra to spread his aura.

The majesty of his high position and his power comparable to that of the Hokage was enough to make ordinary ninjas feel frightened and submissive.

However, he could do nothing.

Shintaro still stood calmly in front of Danzo, already thinking of a way to escape.

Seeing that neither recruitment nor intimidation worked, Danzo grimly prepared to take action.

At this moment, a faint smile appeared on Shintaro's face.

'It seems there's no need to expose the Limitless Technique.'

Shintaro was confident he could escape from Danzo's hands, but the prerequisite was that he would have to use the Limitless Technique.

Danzo would certainly not let go upon seeing the Limitless Technique.

Shintaro did not want to have a deadly conflict with Danzo, a high-level executive of Konoha.

"Danzo-sama, you don't want to do anything to my assistant, do you?"

A magnetic voice came from outside the door. Then Orochimaru pushed the door open.

Orochimaru wore a Jonin vest, with black hair hanging behind his back. His eyes glanced at Shintaro and stared directly at Danzo.

"Orochimaru, what do you want to do?" Danzo asked in a deep voice.

Orochimaru stretched out his hands and said, "I don't want to do anything, I just want to take my assistant back. If there's nothing wrong with Danzo-sama, I'll take him away. I have research to complete later."

Danzo looked coldly at Orochimaru and uttered a few words: "Alright, fine."

Orochimaru lifted the corners of his mouth, turned around and waved, "Danzo-sama, I'm leaving."

"By the way, the research we're working on is making good progress. It might take some time to bear fruit. Please be patient."

Danzo watched the figures of Orochimaru and Shintaro retreat without saying a word.

'I must not clash with him for now...'

Danzo thought twice and could only swallow this anger.