He nodded. "Yes. Back when I was locked up by the guard unit, I had nothing else to do, so I tried it out… and it seemed like I could gather chakra!"
Tsunade asked, "What kind of ninjutsu can you use now?"
"I still don't know any."
Tsunade turned and grabbed a piece of chakra paper from a nearby desk, handing it to him. "Try this—channel your chakra into the paper and see what happens."
Ranmo's eyes lit up as he looked at the chakra test paper. He had already confirmed that he could use Wind Style, Fire Style, and Wood Style. So what exactly was his chakra nature?
He was curious too, so he took the paper and infused it with his chakra.
Under everyone's gaze, the snow-white sheet of paper in his hand suddenly… vanished. It didn't burn, didn't split, didn't wrinkle, didn't soak—there was no elemental reaction at all. It simply disappeared.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared in bewilderment. Shizune rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Tsunade's mouth dropped open. No one could make sense of what had just happened.
Even Ranmo himself was stunned. "So… what's my chakra nature, then?"
"If I remember correctly… undefined chakra doesn't affect the paper. It just stays the same," Tsunade murmured, wide-eyed.
"But it vanished…" Shizune frowned deeply.
The Third Hokage looked utterly shaken. In all his years, he had never seen anything like this. Just then, the office door swung open—and Danzo entered.
"So this is the child Orochimaru tried to capture tonight?" he said coldly. "Hand him over to me. My division of ANBU is short on manpower. I've also just retrieved another child from Orochimaru's lab—someone who survived direct injection of Hashirama's cells. I'll take them both. I'll train them personally."
As he stepped forward, Danzo stared intently at Ranmo—as if appraising a rare, high-value asset.
A child that Orochimaru had tried to abduct multiple times clearly wasn't ordinary.
Danzo narrowed his eyes in thought. This one… I'll keep under my watch. Once I figure out what makes him valuable, I'll strip it from him. If it's a dojutsu—like the Rinnegan—then it's even more vital I get to him first.
Orochimaru, you schemer… you probably never imagined the boy you were chasing would fall into my hands instead.
A cold, calculating smile crept onto Danzo's lips. His very presence felt like that of a corpse.
Ranmo took two steps back and quickly ducked behind Tsunade, eyeing Danzo warily.
"What? You don't want to come?" Danzo said with disdain. "It's not up to you. Whether you like it or not, you're coming with me."
He didn't even bother showing respect to the Third Hokage—so a child like Ranmo was nothing in his eyes.
"I think I've heard your voice before," Ranmo said in a tone of wide-eyed innocence, pretending to be confused. "Maybe in Orochimaru's lab?"
Feigning childish naïveté, his voice was light and playful—but inwardly, Ranmo's heart was ice cold.
Trying to play games with me? You're just another scheming snake, Danzo.
He sneered internally. Whatever he wants, he's not getting it. I'm not going to ANBU. And if he tries to push it… I'll teleport out of here. He might be a big deal, but even someone like him won't be able to catch me once I move.
"What did you say?" Hiruzen turned sharply toward Danzo, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Child, don't speak nonsense," Danzo snapped, his face darkening. "When have I ever been to Orochimaru's lab? You didn't see me there yourself, did you? Don't make baseless accusations…"
His brow furrowed in irritation. Deep down, he wanted nothing more than to snatch the boy and silence him on the spot.
But Tsunade had already stepped in front of Ranmo, her posture radiating unmistakable defiance.
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