"Sir, this is today's battle report."
"Put it there."
Danzo didn't even look up, grabbing the first document and quickly flipping through it.
Three days had passed since Konoha began clearing out the black markets within the country. The fighting had gone from intense to hot pursuit, catching those who slipped through the net.
The resistance from the black markets was much weaker than Konoha had imagined.
After all, bounty hunters were a loose group. Those with a good sense of smell and plenty of information had run to smaller countries like the Land of Rain after learning that the Akatsuki and Kumogakure squads had been assassinated in the Land of Fire.
Among the remaining ninja, there were some strong ones, but very few.
So the Third Hokage changed his strategy, withdrawing half of the elite ninja and ordering them to become extra leaders for the new genin teams, turning this operation into a training exercise.
Having a horde of inexperienced Genin fight made the task go from easy to hard.
They needed to complete the mission, train the Genin, and keep them alive as much as possible. It was a tough challenge for the commander.
Even with Danzo's experience, he was swamped with paperwork, often working late into the night.
Danzo secretly hated being used like this by the Third Hokage, increasing his desire for the Hokage position.
Whoosh...
A figure appeared in the temporary command post with the sound of wind breaking. "Sir, the location of Orochimaru's secret lab has been confirmed."
Danzo looked up when he heard this, a dark light flashing in his eyes. "What about the experiment data on the First Hokage cells?"
"It's likely there too. We found a lot of expensive experiment equipment. It's definitely an important lab for Orochimaru."
The Root ninja paused and said slowly, "But Orochimaru is there too. He's submerged in a nutrient tank, seemingly asleep. He hasn't moved for three days and nights, but we don't dare act rashly."
As he spoke, he took out a scroll from his robes. "This is a picture of the lab."
Danzo looked at the image on the scroll, his eyes narrowing slightly, suddenly recalling what the Third Hokage had said that day.
'Could he really be practicing Senjutsu, or maybe healing injuries...'
'But whatever it is, it's been three days... he probably hasn't moved for even longer, and he's clearly in a state where he can't be disturbed.'
After thinking for a moment, Danzo ordered, "Don't worry about alarming him. Act immediately. Bring back all the experiment data from the secret lab. As for Orochimaru... whether or not there is data on the First Hokage cells, destroy that lab afterwards."
Whether or not they succeeded in stealing the experiment data, Orochimaru would notice, so he wouldn't have a second chance. Since that was the case, it had to be effective.
Under his mask, the Root ninja showed some alarm, but under Danzo's gaze, he could only nod. "Yes."
After the Root ninja left, Danzo sat behind his desk, thinking secretly.
Both his actions and Orochimaru's secret lab were things that couldn't be seen in the light, so the fight could only happen in the dark.
But he could destroy Orochimaru's lab. Was Orochimaru going to attack Root? Even the Third Hokage wouldn't allow Orochimaru to do that.
"But Orochimaru won't take this loss quietly. He'll definitely seek revenge."
A dark light flashed in Danzo's eyes. "Good. I'll use this chance to pull out some more of Orochimaru's spies in Root."
Besides Yakushi Kabuto, there should be other Orochimaru spies inside Root, like the person who revealed the Wood Release ninja Yamato.
He was sure Yakushi Kabuto didn't know about it.
...
Inside the underground lab, in a dark corner.
Yakushi Kabuto leaned against the wall, his scent completely hidden, his expression calm and faint, so his presence became almost nonexistent.
Whether it was a ninja's powerful senses, the infrared scanner in the technology, or anything else... they would just treat him like a cold, hard stone.
And he really was like a stone, as if he could stay there forever.
In the blink of an eye, a day and night had passed.
Suddenly, Yakushi Kabuto opened his eyes, his sight focused through the gaps in the desks and equipment, staring at a cloud of black fog that suddenly appeared under the lights.
To be precise, a cloud of insects.
Yakushi Kabuto closed his eyes, sighing slightly in his heart. "The Aburame Clan huh. No wonder. So that means it's someone from Root?"
Even the most sensitive ninja wouldn't be on alert for the insects seen everywhere, so naturally, his case was the same. It was unavoidable that the lab's location was leaked.
Of course, Orochimaru wasn't completely unprepared. This lab's defenses were originally designed for village's sensing ninja.
The Aburame Clan's insects could fool people, but not other animals like snakes. They were very sensitive to the intrusion of other creatures.
It was because of this that Yakushi Kabuto was able to detect a trace of it.
If it were in the past, with the lab's exposure found ahead of time, there would have been plenty of time to clear the lab and evacuate.
But now, Orochimaru was asleep.
This made the snake's advance warning almost useless.
"Should I get rid of this insect clone?"
Yakushi Kabuto was quietly thinking, his fingers rubbing the cap of the poison bottle and then stopping.
He also knew why the Root ninja had come here, to get Orochimaru's experiment data.
And the most talked about thing in the recent past was naturally the research on First Hokage cells.
If they couldn't get those things, the Root ninja would never give up.
They normally wouldn't even dare face Orochimaru-sama, but now they had found a good opportunity.
In the dim light, the black insect fog gathered into a human form. A man wearing a mask and black clothes quickly walked to the desk.
He took everything he could see, documents and other files.
Yakushi Kabuto quietly watched all of this, not doing anything.
He had already put the First Hokage cells research data inside. Right now, ensuring Orochimaru-sama's sleep was the top priority to him.
He believed that even if Orochimaru-sama was here, he would make the same decision.
And since they had gotten the experiment data, the other side would have no reason to invade again. The only thing to defend against was whether they would destroy anything when they left.
While Yakushi Kabuto was secretly on guard, soon, the Root ninja took all the files, leaving no paper behind.
After doing everything, the Root ninja slowly came to the nutrient tank where Orochimaru was. From his scroll, he took out dozens of explosive tags, planning to set up a time-delayed detonation device.
Just then, he suddenly felt cold all over. He slowly raised his head, facing a pair of cold snake eyes.
A surge of pressure pressed down on him. The Root ninja screamed in his heart and turned to run without thinking.
The explosive tags scattered and fell on the ground.
---
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