Chapter 102: Root Base Research, Revenge Never Waits Overnight
Evening came. The sun had set, and the sky gradually darkened.
"Alright, you two stay here and guard the entrance. No one is allowed in. I'll go inside alone."
After leaving the Uchiha compound, Danzō turned to look at the two Root ninja following behind him.
He ordered them to watch the door and prevent anyone from entering. Then he personally unraveled the complicated seals at the entrance and walked straight inside.
As the hidden dark department buried in the shadows of Konoha, the Root base was deliberately built far from the village in an extremely concealed location. Even the sealing techniques were layered meticulously to prevent discovery and intrusion.
Once inside the Root base, several pitch-black, damp passages greeted him. The pathways were intricately interconnected and riddled with numerous deadly traps.
Anyone unfamiliar with the layout who wandered in had a high chance of triggering hidden mechanisms. Even jōnin could easily lose their lives here if they were careless.
"Welcome back, Lord Danzō!"
"Lord Danzō!"
Familiar with the safe route, Danzō avoided every trap and continued forward.
Along the way, he passed Root ninja who were all elite members of the base. They had long been brainwashed into becoming the organization's disposable suicide troops—completely obedient to Danzō's commands, each possessing at least jōnin-level strength.
Whenever they saw Danzō pass by, they would mechanically stand at attention and bow respectfully in perfect unison.
"Hm."
Danzō was in a fairly good mood today, so he unusually nodded back to the Root ninja and openly enjoyed their deference.
"Lord Danzō, there has been new progress in the research on the First Hokage's cells. Would you like to come to the lab and take a look?"
At that moment, a Root ninja wearing a white lab coat suddenly appeared in front of Danzō, blocking his path and speaking in a low voice.
"So soon already? Take me there—quickly."
Ever since being injured in the battle against the Land of Earth, Danzō had secretly set his sights on Hashirama Senju's corpse.
And after witnessing Ling Yu's terrifying Wood Release last night, his desire for that overwhelming power grew even stronger. He had basically redirected the full research efforts of every Root scientist toward Hashirama's remains.
Hearing there was new progress, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. He hurried forward, eager to see how far the research had come.
Passing through several complicated passageways, Danzō quickly arrived at the Root base's laboratory.
The moment he entered, he was greeted by rows of sophisticated instruments and a massive array of human-sized cultivation tanks that occupied half the room.
Inside those tanks were ordinary civilians abducted from outside the village, as well as ninja imprisoned in Konoha's jails. Some of them even possessed rare kekkei genkai.
Almost all of them had been captured to serve as living experimental subjects—nothing more than raw materials for researching Hashirama Senju's cells.
Passing through the outer laboratory area, Danzō and the Root researcher in charge of the project opened a heavy, intricately sealed door and stepped inside.
"Lord Danzō, look—when we first obtained the First Hokage's body, our research astonishingly discovered that his cells were not completely dead."
"Even after decades, some cells are still alive. This is simply a miracle. After extraction, we found that the First Hokage's cells possess extraordinarily vigorous life force—dozens or even hundreds of times stronger than an ordinary person's."
"This means they can divide indefinitely. If successfully transplanted into an injured patient, their powerful healing ability could rapidly restore damaged areas and even potentially revive failing organs."
"However, precisely because the cells' life force is too overwhelming, every attempt at cellular fusion has failed. No other cells can resist them—they are completely devoured by the First Hokage's cells. True fusion has not yet been achieved. So this research remains in the developmental stage."
The Root researcher led Danzō to a small observation window outside one of the inner labs and explained their findings while pointing inside.
Through the glass, Hashirama Senju's corpse lay on the central table. Around it, several ninja were cruelly dissecting the body while conducting various experiments.
"No wonder the First Hokage had such incredible recovery power. Aside from Ling Yu of the same clan, no one else has ever awakened Wood Release. With life force this strong, it's almost impossible for anyone else to match."
Danzō listened with growing excitement, but he still caught the key limitation. He turned to the researcher beside him and asked:
"How much longer until we can achieve transplant-level success?"
"This… we can't say for certain. It will likely take several more years. Moreover, our supply of human test subjects is nearly exhausted. If that happens, progress will slow down even further."
The researcher replied somewhat awkwardly.
"Running out of test subjects? Fine. From now on, I authorize you to abduct people from Konoha. But do it cleanly—leave no traces. Understood?"
Hearing the reason for the shortage, Danzō thought for a moment. A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he gave the order.
"Understood! Thank you, Lord Danzō!"
"Good. Accelerate the research. I want results as soon as possible. Fail me, and you will atone with your lives."
After receiving the latest research update, Danzō's mood was excellent. He wandered around the base for a while longer.
That night, Danzō left the Root base accompanied by two guards. On his way back to his residence, he suddenly felt a faint killing intent surround him.
Without the slightest hesitation, Danzō activated Instant Kill Technique and flashed away from his original position.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique!"
In the next instant, four fire dragons burst out from the darkness about ten meters behind him, rushing toward where Danzō had just stood from four different directions.
"Ahhh!"
The fire dragons moved with terrifying speed. While Danzō had escaped using Body Flicker, the two Root ninja escorting him were directly hit by the ninjutsu. They let out miserable screams before falling silent forever.
"Who are you? Why are you attacking me?"
Having narrowly escaped death, Danzō's face turned so dark it looked like water could drip from it. He glared furiously toward the source of the ninjutsu.
"Lord Danzō, you couldn't have forgotten me already, could you? You only just left the Uchiha compound not long ago."
Opening his Mangekyō Sharingan, Uchiha Fugaku—controlled by Ling Yu—slowly stepped out from the darkness. His vivid red eyes shone like beacons in the night.
"Uchiha clan head? What is the meaning of this? Didn't we agree to work together against the Senju clan? Why are you attacking me now?"
Danzō glanced at his dead subordinates, his expression growing uglier by the second. He turned and loudly questioned Uchiha Fugaku.
"Heh… sending your own puppet to deal with me? Danzō, you really are full of good ideas."
The voice that answered him was not Uchiha Fugaku's, but a very young—and very familiar—boy's voice.
"Your puppet? Impossible! You…"
Hearing the same voice that had tortured him for twenty-four hours last night, Danzō's eyes widened in disbelief as he shouted toward Uchiha Fugaku.
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