"The Root must have known about the orphanage incident in the Land of Fire last time."
"Ever since then, all orphanages in the Land of Fire have been jointly managed by the Daimyō's manor and Konoha."
"The village even has a dedicated department for orphanage support and coordination—and coincidentally, it falls under the Intelligence Network."
"The Root's methods aren't sanctioned, you know."
Kazuyama Gekkō's rapid string of words directly declared Root's actions illegal.
Danzō remained unfazed. His voice was steady, his expression calm.
"So what? Selecting suitable talent from orphanages and recruiting them into the village is something every village does."
"My approach secures talent for Konoha. Even if it's technically against the rules, it hardly matters."
He wasn't wrong. Ultimately, these orphans would end up within the village anyway, serving its need for shinobi. It wasn't easy to fault him for it.
But once a violation was exposed, it would inevitably lead to bigger problems.
"Indeed. Then I hereby declare that all orphanages under Root will now be taken over by the village."
"That shouldn't be an issue, right?"
"Here, take this list. Secure it and send people immediately to take over these orphanages."
Danzō's face twitched slightly at that, but he held himself back and didn't explode.
The search continued, but Danzō had always kept Root concealed. Much wasn't stored here in this base.
Even after Kazuyama Gekkō's clones turned Root's headquarters upside down, nothing incriminating surfaced.
"Seems the Root base is squeaky clean. That's fine—at least I can give the Hokage a clear report."
"The rest of the cleanup is your problem."
Dismissing his clones, Kazuyama Gekkō had already mapped out every detail of the Root base. After all, a clone's memories were his own.
The list of orphanages was his only gain from this visit, but he didn't mind.
He knew well the proverb of the cunning rabbit with three burrows. He never intended to topple Root in one strike—everything had to be done step by step.
"Just leaving like this?"
"What else? Let's go, Midori."
Kazuyama Gekkō swaggered out of Root headquarters.
Midori and the ANBU squad could only follow.
Once they were gone, the Root shinobi finally lost their composure.
"Lord Danzō, are we really letting them walk away?"
"That bastard!"
Danzō raised a hand, silencing his subordinates. His eyes glinted with cold fury.
This wasn't Kazuyama Gekkō challenging him personally—it was the Hokage's will.
The newly appointed Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had already begun his reign.
"Issue the order. Covert operations. Destroy all experimental data, especially at the lake base."
"Not a single file from there must remain!"
"Recall every operative currently deployed. Our situation is about to become precarious."
"We may have to scatter and go to ground if we're to survive this crisis."
Danzō knew exactly how dire his situation was, and he was already preparing for the worst.
But events don't always unfold according to one's plans—as he was about to learn.
...
Behind Danzō and his men, a clone of Kazuyama Gekkō leaned against the wall, Transparent Escape Technique active as he listened to every word.
"Tsk tsk. Just as I thought—this old fox has bases everywhere."
"Without squeezing intel from him, we'd never find all the secrets hidden within Root."
Kazuyama had anticipated Danzō's paranoia, so he'd left behind a concealed clone specifically to eavesdrop.
With Transparent Escape Technique masking it, there was no way Danzō could detect its presence.
Meanwhile, Kazuyama Gekkō had already returned to the Hokage's office with Midori and reported everything.
"Kazuyama, you're certain Danzō will make a move?"
"Of course. My clone is still at Root headquarters. The moment they start destroying or moving anything, I'll be there instantly."
Seated on the crystal chair he'd made earlier, Kazuyama wore an air of absolute confidence. He handed over the orphanage list.
"Here's today's haul. Root controls several orphanages and was planning to groom kids from them."
"I'm sure there are some promising ones in there. Get someone to take charge."
"I'll keep following up on this."
He grinned. Kazuyama couldn't help it—anything involving Danzō motivated him like nothing else.
"Heh, Midori mentioned earlier—you gave Danzō no face at all. Aren't you afraid he'll get so angry he just keeps you in Root forever?"
Minato chuckled too. Since he had already resolved to dismantle Root, he felt no issue with Kazuyama's actions.
In fact, if not for the need to avoid openly clashing with his own shinobi inside the village, he would've arrested Danzō outright.
Before long, Minato dispatched personnel to take control of the orphanages.
...
Root remained eerily quiet for several days. But Kazuyama monitored every move.
Thanks to alternating his Shadow Clones with Transparent Escape Technique, Root headquarters was like his own backyard—he could come and go freely.
Before long, new stirrings emerged.
Root operatives began mobilizing. First, all external personnel were recalled. Then, one night, a small squad darted toward the outskirts of Konoha.
Kazuyama's clones followed closely.
Their destination: a small lake just beyond the village, beside which sat a hidden base.
The Root squad had no idea their movements had already been exposed.
When the clones dispersed and Kazuyama received the intel, he laughed aloud.
"Shadow Clone Technique."
Once again, he split into clones—one to notify Minato, one to inform Midori.
He himself rushed straight to the lake-center base.
The lake-center base—a crucial Root stronghold.
It housed numerous research projects too dark to be exposed, which was exactly why Danzō had ordered its destruction.
The Root squad had just entered when Kazuyama arrived.
"Tsk tsk tsk. So little vigilance?"
"Just what has Danzō been teaching you?"
But the instant he was about to step inside, a sudden chill of foreboding gripped him.
Without hesitation, he vanished in a flash of Flying Thunder God Technique.
BOOM!
Almost simultaneously, the spot he'd stood on was consumed by a massive explosion.