Chapter 66: Root
Entering the huge dark hall, Danz calmly walked across the long wooden bridge. The sound of his footsteps and the sound of his cane echoed in all directions, bouncing off the walls. It was the most familiar sound in this place. Usually only Danz would break the silence without worrying about anything. Any member of the Anbu Root acted as quietly and inconspicuously as possible. This was one of the important rules of the organization.
When Danz walked all the way to the end of the bridge, he opened the large gate and walked slowly inside. Directly beyond this gate was another huge corridor, with dozens of numbered doors. At the end of the corridor was a small, unmarked door that Danzou was heading to.
Entering the familiar study, the old man immediately settled down at a large table, on an easy chair. This writing desk was located in the middle of a spacious and empty room. All there was was a single cabinet filled with scrolls and a human-sized statue with a hairless head and completely flat features. It would seem that this is an ordinary sculpture, but in fact, it had some unique features. A huge number of fuin seals all over the body of the statue were even faintly expressed, but still noticeable. She was a very important subject for Danz.
The old man's desk was neatly furnished. On one side were a few scrolls, on the other a pair of inkwells, and in the middle a small pile of parchment. As soon as the old man sat down at the table, at the same instant a flash flashed in front of him and a tall masked girl appeared in front of Danzo. This mask had several markings and a small cut in the eyes. In shape, it resembled a wolf's face, and all that could be seen behind it were two bright purple eyes. The girl also had two blades behind her back and Root's standard shinobi clothes, which were difficult to distinguish due to the dark cloak that covered almost the entire body, even covering the girl's gray hair.
As soon as she appeared, Danz unrolled one of the scrolls on the edge of the table and calmly said:
- Yuero, did you manage to find out something?
The girl, without getting up from her knee and without raising her head, answered in a calm tone:
"No, Orochimaru completely covered his tracks. All we could find was a couple of scrolls with calculations. Even the equipment has completely disappeared.
- Hmm, it's clear ... - the old man nodded slightly: - He knows his business, - after his words, Danzo paused for a long time, examining the scroll. After about a minute, he spoke again:
"Okay ... All this is expected," putting aside the scroll, Danz frowned slightly. "Yuero, order the sixth squad to start spying on Uchiha Shisui." They are the only ones with the greatest chance of being overlooked. But let them also be careful. This ninja can be even more dangerous than before ... As for your task, - a little thoughtful, the old man nodded: - Go to Kiri and find the Kaguya clan, in recent years they often change their location. But, they never leave the territory of the Land of the Mist. Try to find an instance of one of their representatives, preferably with an improved Shikotsumyaku genome. Of course, it will be almost impossible ... If everything goes like this, then just get one of their people. Find out all the information you can, and then bring him to me. Try to choose someone who is helpful and knowledgeable, like an elder, and keep his mind intact. If you can't pry something out, Sun can handle it here. Although, you can take it with you in case.
"Got it," the girl nodded briefly and stood up, just at that moment Danz added: "And yet ... Take Shinra away from watching Shikamaru, now there is no need for that.
"Got it." With another shake of her head, the woman named Yuero immediately disappeared, leaving Danzo in quiet solitude.
The old man immediately returned with a frown to the table and took another scroll, of which there were many more. The reports had accumulated enough, so Danzo began to familiarize himself. Shikamaru's situation had changed, so he decided not to get involved in it for now. It was clear to him that it was almost impossible to take a guy to the Root.
Unfolding the scroll, Danz muttered in displeasure:
- Jinchūriki ...
Continuing to read the scroll, Danz remained in his office for many more hours.
The next day, Shikamaru got up early as usual, and quickly sorted out breakfast, washing, and training. After finishing here and creating a couple of clones, the guy sent them to a restaurant, and he went to the Hokage's residence. He wanted to teach a little technique, and also discuss with the Hokage a problem called Danz. There was no time for that yesterday ...
"Yes, what a wonderful day ..." - calmly walking around his block, Shikamaru enjoyed the fresh air and light cloudy breeze. It was going to rain, which was not very often for Konoha. But the guy's favorite weather was similar. So it was no surprise that his mood was even better than usual. And the morning workout gave him a lot of energy.
Shikamaru had planned to use several clones for training today, so the day was expected to be wonderful ... Just as Shikamaru turned his eyes back to the road, his gaze caught someone he knew. A short, fair-haired boy was walking slowly in his direction. Shikamaru instantly recognized this blond with the unusual stripes in the mustache video. Naruto was already very noticeable ... Although, people passing by him threw not very welcoming glances at the boy. But, Naruto seemed used to not seeing them, so he lowered his head and walked slowly towards Shikamaru.
Shikamaru immediately grinned and headed off to meet Naruto, remembering their recent meeting along the way ...
About four months ago.
Shikamaru held another training session, as he always did. But, this time something was different. The guy was a little late due to some trouble with Chоji. The fat man caught a bit of a cold, so Shikamaru went to training alone this time after visiting a friend and bringing him some medicinal herbs. What was a little overkill, Chоji's mother had taken care of everything for a long time ...
In general, having finished for lunch, Shikamaru decided to go to an unfamiliar training ground and mark shurikens there ... It just so happened that it was there that he met the famous Naruto Uzumaki. Although, so far not particularly famous. True, Shikamaru did not care, he was already glad of this meeting.
When the guy approached the training ground and exhaled with relief, his gaze unconsciously slid to the side, where he immediately noticed a lonely guy.
"Hmm, that's ..." Noticing the blonde hair, Shikamaru immediately became suspicious. It was not often in the villages that one could meet people with such hair. But, while it was too early to draw conclusions, so Shikamaru decided to make sure for sure ...