Chapter 77: Danzō and the Wood Style
Konoha Year 45, April 1st.
With his long hair tied back, dressed in a black high-collared windbreaker and black pants, Kinoshita Genichi walked out of his house under the watchful eyes of his parents.
"Don't worry about me, relax!" Genichi raised his hand and waved, bidding his parents farewell, and left without looking back.
He was carrying the backpack he usually took on missions, and under it was another, horizontally placed scroll.
However, Genichi did not leave the village immediately. Instead, he went to the Konoha Hospital. Before he even entered, he saw Tsunade sitting on a bench under a tree.
"Lady Tsunade!" Genichi went up to greet her.
Tsunade looked Genichi up and down, then said, "Don't you go dying out there!"
Genichi smiled. "You know me, Lady Tsunade. I'm terrified of death, so of course I'll be extremely careful."
Tsunade nodded, then waved her hand with feigned nonchalance. "Then get going, you're an eyesore!"
Genichi didn't mind Tsunade's attitude in the slightest. He smiled. "Although I've already said my goodbyes, could you please pass on a message to Shizune for me, Lady Tsunade? I'll bring her back a gift when I return."
Tsunade muttered, "I know!"
Genichi waved and turned to leave, but then he suddenly turned back. "Lady Tsunade, drink a little less. Alcohol can slow down your reaction time, you know!"
Tsunade's face turned red. "Less nonsense, now get lost!" She had indeed had a little drink this morning.
Genichi laughed loudly and left.
As for his master, Sakumo, there was no need to go see him. Sakumo had left on a mission two days ago. Kakashi was not at home either.
And so, Genichi made a turn and came to Minato's house. He didn't go in, but from downstairs, he waved goodbye to Kushina, who was by the window upstairs. "Kushina-neesan, I'm leaving! I'll see you again in a year or two!"
Kushina already knew about his plans to travel. She also waved. "Be careful when you're out there on your own!"
Genichi chuckled. "Don't worry!"
"But speaking of which, by the time I get back, you should have finished that sealing technique, right, Kushina-neesan?"
Kushina immediately clenched her fist, her red hair flying. "Of course I will!"
"You just wait and see!"
Genichi turned and left. He could feel that there were Anbu ninja monitoring him nearby.
"Two groups. The Hokage's direct Anbu and Root. That old geezer Danzō is really..." Genichi snorted to himself.
By the window, Kushina watched Genichi leave, her eyes filled with both worry and envy. She wanted to go out too! Unfortunately, the situation in the shinobi world had changed recently. On that bastard Danzō's suggestion, she was no longer even allowed to leave the village for missions.
...
After leaving Minato's house, Genichi headed straight for the village gates. He had already said all his goodbyes. As for Orochimaru, in the end, Genichi still didn't go to confirm whether the Eight-Tails' horn was still in the research base. He had already gotten it for free, anyway.
After leaving the village, Genichi headed in the direction of the Land of Grass. His speed was not fast. This was a journey, not a mission. So he traveled at a leisurely pace, pondering the power of the Kuji-kiri, as if he were on a spring outing.
Hmm?
Suddenly, Genichi stopped, looking with puzzlement at the four people who had appeared before him.
Black robes, masks... Root?
"Kinoshita Genichi, Lord Danzō wants to see you," a Root ninja wearing a pig mask said.
Genichi looked around, then asked with amusement, "Are you sure?"
"This isn't the village."
The pig-masked Root ninja said coldly, "Are you going to defy Lord Danzō's order?"
Genichi said faintly, "My apologies, I am not a Root ninja. I only obey the orders of Lord Hokage."
"Since that's the case, then we can only take you to see Lord Danzō by force!"
As they spoke, the four Root ninja were about to make a move, but then they discovered... their bodies couldn't move.
"This is..."
"The Temporary Paralysis Technique (Kanashibari no Jutsu)!"
"When?"
"Damn it, my body is completely immobile!"
The four Root ninja were horrified. They had been staring at Genichi the whole time and had not noticed any hand seal movements at all.
Genichi walked past the four Root ninja. "Considering your meritorious service to the village, I won't kill you this time. But there won't be a next time."
"Oh, right..."
"If Danzō wants to see me, then let him come himself!"
The elite of Root... they're nothing special. Unfortunately, there was no one else around, so Genichi couldn't say this line.
But still, both the Hokage's direct Anbu and Danzō's Root were indeed elites, but not every one of them was a Jonin. Otherwise, the number of Jonin in Konoha would be far too high. After all, both the Anbu and Root had nearly a hundred members each, or even more. The vast majority of ninja in the Anbu and Root were still Chunin and Special Jonin; Jonin were a minority. But even the Chunin and Special Jonin were handpicked, so it was not wrong to call them elites.
And the rules of the Anbu and Root were far more brutal than for ordinary ninja. Especially Root, whose members were nothing more than killing machines, tools.
...
After Genichi had gone far, the four Root ninjas' bodies finally regained their freedom.
"Quick, report to Lord Danzō immediately!"
The four of them did not dare to pursue Genichi. They all used the Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu) to go and find Danzō.
Danzō was not in Konoha at the moment, but nearby. He was preparing to go to the research base he shared with Orochimaru. He had happened to notice Genichi leaving the village alone, and on a whim, he had wanted to meet him to get some intelligence on the Sharingan. Orochimaru had mentioned to him before about the powerful genjutsu ability Genichi possessed after obtaining the Sharingan. This had piqued his interest. He had even intended to try and recruit Genichi as a spy.
But he had never expected that his four subordinates would be instantly defeated. And Genichi's attitude was so unyielding, even filled with hostility and dissatisfaction towards Root and himself.
Danzō's expression immediately turned grim. He naturally knew why. But he didn't think he was in the wrong. As a ninja of Konoha, one had to be prepared to make sacrifices for the benefit of the village. On the contrary, Genichi's attitude was very dangerous. A person like that would probably sell out the village and betray it for his own benefit at any time. And the stronger he became, the more dangerous he would be, and the greater the harm he would cause in the future.
"Lord Danzō, should we take him down?" a Root Jonin beside Danzō asked. He had not gone just now, staying with another squad to guard Danzō.
"No," Danzō was not impulsive. "We'll talk about this matter later. The matter over there is more important."
On another front, Genichi suddenly stopped. "That old geezer Danzō never does anything without a reason. Why would he want me to see him in a place like this?"
"What is that guy doing out of the village?"
"And with my attitude, he didn't even come to kill me."
"It seems he has something more important to do."
Turning around, Genichi followed the tracks left by the Root ninja. However, he only followed from a great distance, not daring to get too close. Genichi would not truly underestimate the Root ninja. Root was full of talented individuals, many of whom were skilled in secret techniques, and their sensory abilities were also diverse. Getting too close would be easy to get discovered.
The setting sun burned the sky red.
On a mountaintop, Genichi hid in the dense canopy of a tree, watching as Danzō and his group left the mountain.
"There's one more person..." Genichi's eyes narrowed. The distance was too great; he couldn't see clearly. But he already had a vague guess.
Swish!
Genichi vanished from the canopy. Not long after, he found an entrance in a valley. Entering the mountain's belly, he discovered that this was a large-scale research base.
"As expected..." Genichi confirmed his thoughts. This was clearly the research base where Danzō and Orochimaru collaborated, and it was very likely where they were conducting the Hashirama Cell experiments.
Soon, Genichi found many giant glass-sealed pods, inside which were soaked the bodies of young children.
The Hashirama Cell transplant experiment!
"So, that one was Yamato!" Genichi stopped in front of a broken glass pod.
Wood Style...
Genichi turned and began to quickly search the research base. Unfortunately, he did not find any particularly valuable intelligence. Many of the remaining documents were discarded materials.
"I wonder how many children had to die for there to be one Yamato. This is a complete game of chance."
Genichi walked out of the research base in disappointment. "I just don't know when Orochimaru will discover the close relationship between the Wood Style and the Sharingan."
His previous plan had been to use this information to trade with Orochimaru for the Eight-Tails' horn. And this was to be used in the future, to get the horn for free. In the original timeline, Genichi was not sure when Orochimaru had made the connection between the Sharingan and the Wood Style. Perhaps it was after he had seen Itachi's training and was shocked by the Sharingan.
Now, will he try to get a Sharingan to study ahead of time? Genichi's own display of genjutsu power should have been quite a shock to Orochimaru.
"Wood Style (Mokuton)..." Genichi touched his right eye.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted. Especially with his cheat system in hand, even if he failed, it wouldn't endanger his life. At most, it would be a wasted opportunity. And he could also make a plan in advance, to try and transplant the Hashirama Cells in the last year of the next ten-year overdraft. That way, even if it failed, he would only waste one year of time, not ten.
"I'll look into this matter after I get back from my journey!" Genichi did not break his own plan. He continued to head in the direction of the Land of Grass.
Four days later, Genichi entered the Land of Grass, experiencing its different customs and culture, and tasting its unique mushroom feast. The colorful mushrooms, to be honest, if he hadn't seen other people eating them, Genichi would not have dared to touch them, even with the antidote pills specially made by Tsunade that he carried with him.
Red umbrella, white stalk, eat it and you'll lie on a plank...
Ah, so delicious!
After wandering in the Land of Grass for three days, Genichi disguised himself as a wandering monk, began to display his medical skills, and made his way to the Village Hidden in the Grass.
After displaying his medical skills in the Grass Village for two more days, as he had expected, the Grass ninja came to invite him. The one who came was an acquaintance, Mui, who he had been on a mission with before, the future warden of Hōzuki Castle.
After some feigned reluctance, Genichi was ultimately hired by the Grass ninja and entered the hospital of the Village Hidden in the Grass.
(End of Chapter)
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