This Danzo Is Weird!

After Danzo left, Koharu and Homura exchanged glances.

Although Hiruzen and Danzo often quarreled, it was rare to see such a heated argument as the one they just witnessed.

But for them, this was actually a good thing.

The further Hiruzen distanced himself from Danzo, the more he would need to rely on them.

The Hokage was not omnipotent. Even though he held the highest authority, his orders still required their cooperation to be effectively carried out.

This time, Danzo had severely offended the Hokage, which meant that many tasks would now fall to them.

Thinking this, Homura couldn't help but say, "Hiruzen, it's about time you taught Danzo a lesson like you did today. Otherwise, he might stop respecting you as the Hokage altogether."

He had expected Hiruzen to agree with him, but instead, he was met with a murderous glare.

Already irritated from the argument with Danzo, Hiruzen was even more annoyed by Homura's attempt to stir the pot.

With a wave of his hand, Hiruzen said impatiently, "You two, leave for now."

Seeing Hiruzen's stern expression, Homura and Koharu had no choice but to bid their farewells and exit the office.

After they left, the Hokage finally took out his crystal ball.

He was about to channel chakra into it to check Danzo's location, but after a moment's thought, he withdrew his hand and instead placed his pipe in his mouth.

After taking several deep puffs, he managed to calm himself down a little.

Hiruzen looked in the direction of the Root headquarters, his expression complex, and muttered, "Did I go too far just now?"

This was Hiruzen Sarutobi.

On one hand, he worried that Danzo's growing influence might threaten his position as Hokage.

On the other hand, he didn't want to push Danzo too hard, lest he hurt his old friend's feelings.

It could be said that the longest-serving Hokage spent his entire life in a state of indecision and inner conflict.

---

Meanwhile, Danzo, who had just played out a classic scene, had returned to Root.

Why Root?

Because Root was his home!

Apart from Root, Danzo owned no property in Konoha. He had even sold off the land of the Shimura clan to fund his operations.

You could say Danzo was evil, that he craved power, but one thing you couldn't accuse him of was greed for wealth.

Back at Root, Danzo recalled the scene in the Hokage's office. There was no shadow of reprimand on his face; instead, he marveled, "No wonder the original Danzo loved storming out so much. It really is satisfying."

To be honest, he didn't feel much about Hiruzen's line, "I am the Hokage."

Well...

That wasn't entirely accurate.

While he personally didn't feel much, the body he inhabited still felt a trace of instinctive anger and resentment upon hearing those words.

After all, Danzo had spent his entire life pursuing that position, or rather, the honor that came with the title of Hokage.

It was just that back then, he lacked a bit of courage.

Who wouldn't feel resentful about that?

But these feelings of resentment didn't transfer to the current Danzo.

As for why he had staged that scene earlier, aside from wanting to recreate a classic moment, the main reason was to maximize his gains.

Based on his understanding of Hiruzen, the Hokage was indecisive and often wavered in his decisions.

This was evident from how he had let Orochimaru, a village traitor, escape in the original story.

The more fiercely Danzo argued with him, the heavier Hiruzen's guilt would be, and the more compensation he would offer.

Danzo guessed that Hiruzen's current thoughts were something like this:

"Danzo may be arrogant and domineering, but he's been my friend for decades. Without his support, I wouldn't have been able to maintain my position as Hokage all these years. Moreover, he's made significant contributions to Konoha this time. Did I go too far by attacking him with the one thing he cares about most—the title of Hokage?"

Under the weight of this guilt, Hiruzen would undoubtedly seek to make amends.

This was the main reason Danzo had provoked the argument.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered wasting his breath. The position of Hokage wasn't something you could argue your way into.

In this round, while the Third Hokage thought he had Danzo under control, the poor monkey was actually being played like a fiddle by Lord Danzo.

Putting all this aside, what now stood before Danzo was the feared headquarters of Root—the lair of the "Darkness of the Shinobi."

This was one of the most heavily guarded places in all of Konoha.

Hidden within were Konoha's deepest secrets, the absolute dark side of the village.

Intelligence from all over the shinobi world converged here.

Inhumane biological experiments were conducted here.

Terrifying spy interrogations took place here.

In short, this was the darkest place in Konoha, if not the entire shinobi world.

But that didn't matter, because the righteous Lord Shimura Danzo had arrived.

As a famously "good" man in the shinobi world, he would be like a warm beam of sunlight, illuminating all the dark corners of the shinobi world!

For others, Root was a place of strict vigilance, but for Danzo, it was an open book.

After all, this was his stronghold, a place even the Hokage couldn't directly interfere with.

After passing through the heavily guarded underground passages, Danzo was greeted by a massive shaft.

It looked like a vertical chasm that went straight down to the center of the earth.

Inside the chasm, steel walkways crisscrossed, leading to different levels.

Each floor in Root had its own purpose.

And the level Danzo was heading to now was the secret laboratory buried deep in the lowest underground level.

"Lord Danzo, are you alright?" Aburame Ryoma, his voice muffled by the black cloak he wore.

Behind him stood eleven Root ninja currently stationed in Konoha.

They were fully armed, ready to carry out any mission, even at the cost of their lives, at Danzo or Aburame Ryoma's command.

This was Aburame Ryoma's preparation in case Danzo was detained by the Hokage.

Although the likelihood was slim, when it came to Danzo's safety, Aburame Ryoma believed no precaution was too small.

"Good, very spirited!"

Danzo nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the twelve imposing figures before him.

As the training department for the assassination and special operations unit, Root's numbers were always fluid.

In theory, all ninja who became ANBU should have gone through Root's training.

However, under this fluid system, Root had a fixed number of 36 members.

Currently, 24 were out on intelligence or other special missions, leaving only these 12, including Aburame Ryoma, in the village.

"Alright, I'm fine. Everyone, dismissed."

At Danzo's command, the well-trained ninja vanished in an instant.

Only Aburame Ryoma remained by his side, awaiting further orders.

"You always make a big deal out of nothing," Danzo said, seemingly complaining, but his eyes showed satisfaction. "Now, take me to the lab."

"Yes, sir."

Aburame Ryoma lowered his head and quickly led Danzo to the secret laboratory on the lowest underground level.

As they pushed open the door, Danzo was greeted by a series of large test tubes.

Each tube was about two meters tall, filled with a greenish liquid in which floated children aged 1 to 4.

Although Danzo had seen many dark things, the sight of experiments on children still made him uncomfortable.

But he didn't show it.

Suppressing his discomfort, Danzo asked Aburame Ryoma, "Any progress on the experiments?"

The answer was exactly as expected.

"None. The children can't withstand the power of Hashirama's cells. Once transplanted, they're drained dry in a short time."

Aburame Ryoma reported.

Due to Danzo's absence, the experiments had been on hold for some time.

The data he was reporting now was from the batch before Danzo left.

The child before them was part of a new batch.

I'm truly despicable...

Danzo's eyes narrowed slightly.

Seeing this, Aburame Ryoma asked softly, "Lord Danzo, should we begin this round of experiments now?"

In his view, now that Danzo had dealt with the Hokage's interference, it was time to refocus on the experiments.

As for sacrifices?

Sacrifices were the least of Root's concerns.

Not just these children—if Danzo needed it, Aburame Ryoma himself would be the first to sacrifice his life!

That was the resolve of a Root ninja.

Seeing Aburame Ryoma's callous attitude toward human life, Danzo felt little emotion.

After all, Aburame Ryoma was nothing more than a weapon, a tool for Danzo and his predecessor.

For a weapon, emotions were perhaps the most unnecessary burden.

"Not yet."

Danzo, followed by Aburame Ryoma, walked around the lab.

He carefully examined each child but didn't see anyone who resembled Tenzo, also known as Yamato.

Of course, it was possible that Yamato was still too young to recognize.

But Danzo suspected that Yamato was currently in Orochimaru's lab.

After all, Orochimaru had always been ahead of Danzo in the field of Wood Release experiments.

In any case, Danzo had no intention of continuing these meaningless experiments.

"Terminate all Wood Release experiments. Release these children."

Danzo waved his hand, making the decision.

This decision caught Aburame Ryoma off guard.

But seeing the determination in Danzo's eyes, he wisely chose not to question it.

As Danzo had thought earlier, Aburame Ryoma was a weapon—Danzo's most loyal and sharpest weapon.

"Yes, sir."

Even though the decision seemed somewhat absurd, Aburame Ryoma carried it out without hesitation.

This was one of the things Danzo admired most about Aburame Ryoma.

"But Lord Danzo, what should we do with these children after releasing them?"

Aburame Ryoma asked.

The children were all between 1 and 4 years old, with no ability to survive on their own.

Releasing them would be no different from killing them.

Moreover, the sudden appearance of so many children would surely attract the attention of the ANBU.

To this, Danzo's solution was:

"Send them all to the orphanage."

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This Danzo Is Weird 330 advanced chapters: (5-10 ch updates everyday)

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