With a Shimura clan ninja leading the way, Li Anshi found his three students in the clan's basement without even needing to use his "Dagger Perception."
At this time, the three of them, though their spirits were slightly listless and their eyes vacant, seemed to still be under the influence of a genjutsu.
But there were no obvious injuries on their bodies.
Seeing them, Li Anshi let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he hadn't been too late.
But upon seeing the state of the three boys, the hearts of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane sank.
It seemed that Danzo Shimura had already obtained the secret of the flying dagger from them.
After all, with genjutsu, as long as one was immersed in it, the caster could hypnotize them and make them reveal any required information.
Hiruzen Sarutobi formed a hand seal.
"Genjutsu, Release!"
Chakra was a fusion of spiritual and physical energy.
The so-called genjutsu was a technique that created illusions in a ninja's mind by affecting the "spiritual energy" in their chakra.
To disrupt the flow of chakra in the body was primarily to cause fluctuations in this "spiritual energy," thereby allowing the affected soul to recover.
A powerful ninja could, upon realizing they were under a genjutsu, form a hand seal themselves to disrupt the chakra's flow.
But a weaker ninja, one who was lost in the genjutsu and unable to extricate themselves, would need someone else to disrupt their chakra flow to awaken.
Sagawa and his friends were clearly in the latter category.
Not to mention, the one who had used the genjutsu on them was a disciple of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju—Danzo Shimura!
Following Hiruzen's low shout, the vacant gazes of the three boys wavered for a moment before gradually regaining their spirit.
"Master Li! Lord Hokage!"
Upon seeing Li Anshi and the others, their hearts leaped, their faces filled with apprehension.
"Lord Hokage, Master Li, did we pass the test?"
"Test?"
"Yes, Lord Danzo said that Lord Hokage had tasked him with training reserve ninjas for the Anbu, who could be given priority to join when the Anbu recruited."
"We have received Master Li's secret flying dagger art and are destined to become powerful ninjas in the future. As long as we pass the test, he will give us preferential treatment with resources, allowing us to join 'Root' and become Anbu reserve ninjas."
"And if we fail the test, it proves we cannot protect the secret of the flying dagger, and a seal will be placed in our minds. It will destroy our brains if we are interrogated, preventing the secret from being leaked."
As he spoke, the expressions of the three boys were filled with unease.
Although such a seal posed no danger to them in normal times, what normal ninja wouldn't be afraid of having something in their head that could kill them at any moment?
Moreover, they were only three children, not yet ten years old.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback for a moment and glanced at Li Anshi.
He hadn't expected Danzo's excuse for seizing Li Anshi's secret art to be the authority he himself had given him.
Although Danzo had performed poorly in the battle with the Stone Village, and his status as an elder had been revoked for it, he still had to fade from public view.
After all, many ninjas had been sacrificed on the Stone front.
Until the emotions of their friends and families stabilized, no one could say what they might do.
Of course, attacking Danzo was impossible.
But no one would find a few sarcastic remarks inappropriate.
Before these people's emotions erupted, Hiruzen's punishment of Danzo could help to stabilize them. With a few explanations later, a little narrative shaping, and some praise for the difficulty of the Stone battlefield, he could make everyone understand Danzo's situation to some extent.
At that time, he could reactivate Danzo.
As a teammate and fellow disciple of many years, Hiruzen knew that while Danzo might have some character flaws, he was also capable.
Therefore, he had revoked Danzo's seat as an elder but had not expelled him from the Anbu. Instead, he had given him the additional responsibility of cultivating reserve forces for the Anbu.
This way, the ninjas who subsequently joined the Anbu would have some connection to Danzo. When he was reinstated as an elder, or his position in the Anbu was raised, there would be less resistance.
But Hiruzen had never imagined that in just a few days, Danzo would give him such a big surprise.
Looking at the state of the three boys, Hiruzen wouldn't believe it if someone said Danzo hadn't extracted the secret of the flying dagger from their minds.
And yet, from their words, Hiruzen could find no reason to punish Danzo.
Because even he felt that Danzo's actions were not wrong.
A ninja village must keep its important ninjutsu secret.
Why were there so few people who knew powerful ninjutsu?
On the one hand, powerful ninjutsu naturally had extremely high requirements for cultivation. Only those who met these requirements could learn it.
For example, the Flying Thunder God Technique created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
After the Second Hokage's death, this technique had been shelved by Konoha. Was it because they didn't want to learn it?
No, it was because they simply couldn't meet the requirements for its cultivation.
It wasn't until the appearance of Minato Namikaze that this technique saw the light of day again. Furthermore, Minato had taken it a step further, surpassing Tobirama in his mastery of the art.
On the other hand, it was for the sake of secrecy.
The more people who learned a ninjutsu, the greater the possibility of it being leaked.
Without a certain level of strength, mastering the cultivation method of an advanced ninjutsu was not a good thing.
This was like the main house of the Hyuga clan.
When they were weak, they would never leave the clan. Even when they went out, they were protected by numerous ninjas from the branch houses.
Because the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan could be transplanted.
The Byakugan of the branch houses were engraved with the Caged Bird seal, which would self-destruct upon death.
But the Byakugan of the main house had no such restriction.
The black market in the ninja world had always had a bounty on the Byakugan of the Hyuga main house.
For Konoha, the importance of Li Anshi's secret flying dagger art was even greater than that of the Hyuga main house's Byakugan.
However, Li Anshi's strength was like that of a member of the Uchiha clan.
The difference was that the Uchiha could protect their own eyes.
And what Li Anshi could protect was his own secret art.
The current Sagawa and his friends were like the weak branch houses of the Hyuga, possessing the secret art but not the strength to protect it.