A Request from Danzo
After a long silence.
In a tense atmosphere, Shimura Danzo raised his hand and tossed the scroll over, saying, "Next time, I want to see a successful Cursed Seal test subject."
His reasoning was: Once I acquire the secrets of the Cursed Seal, I can become stronger, and Root can become stronger too. Then it won't be too late to deal with the traitor.
He completely failed to consider that the other party might have already leaked the information during this time, or perhaps had leaked it long ago. As expected, Danzo-sama, you haven't changed...
"No problem." Yakushi Kabuto smiled, saying, "Danzo-sama, then, it's a pleasure doing business with you."
There were plenty of Cursed Seal test subjects. Even if they gave the Cursed Seal to the other party, it wouldn't matter. They had already developed new powers to the next stage.
In a little while, they would be able to apply them. It wouldn't be long before the Cursed Seal, as an incomplete Sage Mode, would be eliminated.
"As a token of sincerity..." He gestured for the person behind him to step forward.
Another hooded figure walked to the center, removed the hood, revealing Kimimaro's face.
"This is a test subject who survived the Cursed Seal experiment but lost his power." Yakushi Kabuto spoke a lie without hesitation.
For a former spy like him, lying was as easy as breathing.
"He didn't gain power, and he even lost his original Bloodline Limit, the Shikotsumyaku. However, he did gain powerful regenerative abilities..."
Shikotsumyaku?! Isn't that from the Kaguya Clan...
Shimura Danzo's expression remained unchanged, but his heart was a little fiery. When luck came, it was unstoppable. Good things were happening one after another.
Gaining the Daimyo's support, becoming Hokage, leading Konoha to dominate the world, reaching the peak of life, seemed to be just around the corner.
"This is the sincerity." Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "Danzo-sama, are you satisfied?"
"Kimimaro, you can go over there."
After he spoke, Kimimaro, standing in front, walked over expressionlessly and was stopped by Root members, searched, and then taken away.
Shimura Danzo's expression was calm as he said, "Then, let's put the next transaction location in the Land of Rivers. I heard Orochimaru also has a base there..."
"No problem." Yakushi Kabuto agreed easily. Coincidentally, the next experiment on the Original Body would also be conducted in the Land of Rivers.
War often meant profit and a large number of test subjects. In recent years, the Land of Rivers was the most chaotic place in the entire ninja world.
Shimura Danzo took a deep look at him, waved his hand to signal his subordinates to retreat, and allowed him to leave using the Reverse Summoning Technique.
...
—Night, in the forest.
"Awoo~"
A long wolf howl came from the distance. The samurai, leaning against the carriage with his sword, became slightly alert, looking into the deep dark forest, and silently sighed.
His family all lived in this country, and he didn't know how they were doing now...
Temari leaned on her fan, boredly poking at the bonfire with a wooden stick. Kankuro was maintaining his puppets beside her.
Gaara was sleeping soundly next to them, even showing a relaxed smile.
Since Konoha Village re-sealed Shukaku, although he couldn't use Shukaku's power anymore, he had regained some of his rights as a human.
During this time, he basically slept all the time, except for performing tasks and eating three meals a day.
It was as if he couldn't get enough sleep.
Because he had taken action during the day to deal with a group of enemies of unknown origin, he was allowed to continue sleeping well tonight.
Lin Ke sat on a tree branch, leaning against the trunk, looking up at the round moon in the sky. He felt a little sleepy. In the night environment, especially in a forest filled with obstructions, the shadows were simply the best scouts. With a hundred or so shadows densely distributed around, he was not worried that anyone could sneak over silently.
"Huh?" He opened his eyes, and his body instantly disappeared.
The tree branch swayed slightly. Kankuro and Temari immediately prepared for battle, and Gaara slowly opened his eyes.
"Whoosh!"
Lin Ke landed about dozens of meters away from the camp, looking at the four Anbu surrounded by shadows, and said in a low voice, "Password."
Ninjas were very good at hiding their identities and infiltrating. It would be strange to directly treat a group of people dressed as Konoha Village Anbu as allies in this environment.
After the other party quickly reported the special password, the shadows re-integrated into the darkness.
"What's the matter?" Lin Ke asked. As a Special Jonin, he was qualified to ask this question. Mitarashi Anko could command Anbu, and he was no exception as a Special Jonin.
Especially since his teacher was also the Jonin squad leader, theoretically commanding several Anbu teams would be a piece of cake.
The Anbu wearing the monkey mask at the head tossed a Scroll Kit over, saying, "Lord Lin Ke, please take a look."
"Pa!"
Shadow caught the scroll, opened it, and Lin Ke glanced at the code inside, quickly analyzing the content in his mind.
This was the set of spy codes used by the Jonin and Anbu of Konoha Village. After a period of time, the code department would update and pass it on to all the Jonin. During his time in Konoha, he wasn't just cultivating. He had to learn things like the duties of a Special Jonin, codes, and how to send rescue signals.
Being promoted was due to his strength and role, but to do well, there was too much to learn.
After reading the scroll, Lin Ke looked up and said expressionlessly, "You are Root?"
The content wasn't complicated. The person who wrote it was Shimura Danzo. That guy hoped that he could hand over the Daimyo's son to the four 'Anbu' in front of him, and the mission could be judged as completed through his channels.
The wording wasn't condescending, let alone an order, and even lowered his posture, discussing it in a friend's tone.
For Danzo, who could be so arrogant in the manga, it really felt like he was being humble.
However, the implicit meaning in his words was that the affairs of the Land of Rivers were beneficial to Konoha and the Land of Fire...
In other words, the Land of Rivers Daimyo's matter was Danzo's doing.
Why confess to him at this moment? Did he want him to join in destroying the peace of the Land of Rivers and continue the chaos?
The forest was silent, and the monkey-faced Anbu bowed his head and replied, "Yes."
The Third Hokage shouldn't know about this. Being able to influence the final settlement of the mission, one or both of the two advisors may be involved...
Lin Ke's thoughts flowed. Sending him and the Jinchuriki team out meant they weren't aiming for mission failure.
Perhaps, even if the Land of Rivers was now in dire straits, the Third Hokage still recognized the alliance with the Land of Rivers in his heart.
After all, the Daimyo hadn't spoken...
Was there a political consideration behind this matter? "Tch~" Lin Ke held the scroll he had replaced, using Earth Release Chakra to turn it into dust on the ground. With Shadow's cover, he quietly stuffed the real scroll into the Scroll Kit at his waist, and said, "You can leave."
In any case, he had no reason to listen to Danzo's words.
The four Root ninjas didn't linger, and didn't even show any other emotions or actions. After bowing their heads, they left, followed by Shadow.
-----------
This high quality machine translation is powered by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
To read the full translation, as well as more than 130+ full translations or to request new translations, check out: https:// randomtranslator.com/
You can also join the Random Translator Community on Discord to connect with other readers: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------