Chapter 59: Entering the Root
"Heh. You're just a kid. Trying to compete with me? You're about two years too early for that," Tenchi said to himself with a smirk. He didn't look back as he walked away from the Senju district.
After another day of rest, which included a pleasant afternoon shopping with Tsunade, the scheduled day finally arrived. It was time for the monthly meeting Danzo had told him about.
Tenchi got up early and made his way to the far edge of Konoha. He soon found the location Danzo had described: a small, worn-down, and unassuming house.
Two masked shinobi, their faces hidden behind cat-like porcelain masks, immediately stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "This is a restricted military area. No unauthorized personnel are allowed," one of them said, his voice cold and impersonal.
Seeing them block his way, Tenchi simply pulled out the special token Danzo had given him.
The two Root ninja looked at the token and their posture changed instantly. "You may enter. Lord Danzo is waiting for you inside," one said, stepping aside. They didn't need to check further. Who would be crazy enough to try and break into the Root headquarters without permission, especially while holding the highest-level access token?
Entering the small, shabby house, Tenchi found a staircase leading deep underground. As he walked down, he looked around with curiosity. *'It's underground, but the air is fresh and there's plenty of light from the lamps. It's almost like being outside. It seems Hiruzen Sarutobi has given Danzo a lot of support to build this place.'*
At the bottom of the stairs, two more cat-masked ninja appeared. Without a word, they escorted Tenchi to Danzo's office.
When they reached the door, one of the ninja knocked three times. *Bang! Bang! Bang!*
"Enter," Danzo's voice came from the other side.
The ninja opened the door and bowed. "Lord Danzo, your guest has arrived."
"I am aware. You are both dismissed," Danzo said, waving a hand. His subordinates bowed again and silently vanished down the hall.
"Danzo, I made it," Tenchi said, walking into the room and looking around. "The facilities here and the quality of your ninja are quite impressive. You're like the underground Hokage. Hiruzen must support you a lot."
"Some tasks are... inconvenient for the Hokage to handle publicly," Danzo replied, neatly sidestepping the 'underground Hokage' comment. "So, I handle them. His support is necessary."
"Just say he's a hypocrite. Hmph. Hokage are all the same," Tenchi grumbled, a flicker of anger in his eyes. He was still annoyed about having his ninja status revoked.
Danzo almost smiled. He was happy to see Tenchi resent Hiruzen. The more Tenchi disliked the Hokage, the stronger his bond with Root would become.
"Enough of this pointless talk," Tenchi said, changing the subject. He didn't want to dwell on Sarutobi. "When is the meeting? And what am I supposed to do afterward?"
"First, these are for you," Danzo said, pulling open a desk drawer. He took out a folded uniform and a blank, featureless mask. "This is your Root attire and mask. From now on, you will wear this whenever you are on Root business, whether inside or outside the village. It will protect your identity. Your codename will be 'Tori.'"
Tenchi took the clothes. "The uniform looks good. It should fit. But the name... 'Tori'? It feels a bit plain, like a name you'd give to someone you expect to die." He shrugged and changed into the new clothes right there.
"The room next door is yours," Danzo said, pointing to a side door. "You can store your personal belongings and rest there. Put your civilian clothes inside. Then we will go to the assembly."
"Alright," Tenchi said. After storing his old clothes in the small, sparse room, he followed Danzo to a large, open chamber.
Over two hundred ninja were lined up in perfect, silent rows, all wearing the same masks and uniforms. They were waiting for the meeting to begin.
"Two hundred ninja. Not bad," Tenchi remarked as he followed Danzo to a raised platform. "Where did you find them all?"
"These shinobi are transferred from various clans or selected from the general ninja population," Danzo explained, a note of pride in his voice. "They are all elites."
"Transferred from clans?" Tenchi asked, curious. "Will they truly listen to you once they're here?"
"Specialists provide them with daily instruction on our philosophy," Danzo said, a sinister smile in his voice. "Furthermore, every Root member is placed under a powerful Cursed Seal technique. If they dare to betray me or show disobedience, the seal will kill them instantly. If I ordered them to take their own lives right now, they would do so without hesitation."
"I see," Tenchi said, finally understanding. "That's your method. No wonder they are so obedient." It made sense now. With their minds being reshaped and their lives held in Danzo's hand, betrayal was impossible.
Danzo then stepped forward and began to speak to the assembled ninja. "Those ninja who bask in the sunlight above are the leaves of the great tree... but we, who operate in the darkness, are its roots! Without strong roots, the leaves cannot survive! We are the foundation that supports Konoha's glory! Therefore..." He continued, delivering a long, passionate speech.
While Danzo was busy brainwashing the crowd, Tenchi stood slightly behind him and simply zoned out. He chose to ignore Danzo's words. He had no interest in drinking that kind of manipulative poison. Whoever wanted to believe it could.
"Let us work hard for Konoha!" Danzo shouted, raising a fist.
**"FOR KONOHA!"** the two hundred masked ninja roared back in perfect unison.
Finally, after what felt like an hour, the brainwashing session ended. Danzo led Tenchi back to his office.
"Danzo," Tenchi said, "surely you have more people than just this? With only this many, it would be impossible for you to expand your influence."
Facing Tenchi's doubt, Danzo gave an explanation. "I have many operatives stationed outside the village, gathering intelligence. To strengthen a village from the shadows, information is the most critical weapon."
"So that's it," Tenchi nodded. "I wondered why there were so few people here. They're all out on missions." He then narrowed his eyes slightly. "You're not selling the village's secrets to outsiders, are you?" He watched Danzo's face closely, looking for any sign of panic.
"Hmph, you think too little of me," Danzo replied, his expression completely serious and unwavering. "No matter what I do, I would never betray Konoha. Our village's problems are our own to handle. We don't need to involve outsiders."
"Good," Tenchi said, relaxing. He didn't detect a lie. "If you were to betray the village, our cooperation would end immediately."
He had to admit, for all of Danzo's flaws and his questionable methods, his loyalty to Konoha was absolute. A man with a bottom line was far better to deal with than a fool with no principles at all.
"Gather your things," Danzo said, changing the subject. "I have a mission for you. You are to leave the village immediately and resolve it." He pulled a sealed file from his desk drawer and handed it to Tenchi.
"Oh? A mission on my very first day?" Tenchi said, taking the file.
He broke the seal and opened it, scanning the contents. "Kato Tsuru... Kumogakure ninja... Elite Jonin?"
"Correct," Danzo confirmed. "This Cloud ninja, Kato Tsuru, is currently within the Land of Fire. His mission is to collect various secret techniques and scrolls to bring back to the Land of Lightning. We cannot allow him to succeed. However, he is a powerful Elite Jonin. You are the only operative I have who can reliably defeat someone of his caliber. That is why I am sending you."
"Your orders are to eliminate him and secure the stolen techniques. Bring the scrolls back if you can. If you cannot, then destroy them. They are not vital techniques, so it is not a great loss. Do you understand?" Danzo's face was stern as he gave the final command.