On his way to Orochimaru's laboratory, Yōkō passed by the Root training ground.
Danzo was inside the training ground.
He held a long sword and viciously smacked a newcomer, sending him flying.
During taijutsu training, this newcomer had failed to meet Danzo's standards.
Although it was struck with the back of the blade, the blow held no restraint. The newcomer was slammed into the wall, shattering the wall tiles.
After sliding down the wall to the ground, blood flowed out from under his mask.
"Trash! How can trash like this meet Root's requirements!"
Yōkō glanced at the tyrannical Danzo and continued towards Orochimaru's laboratory.
Danzo noticed the gaze from behind and saw it was Fox, heading to Orochimaru's to collect the progress report.
He grew even more furious internally.
So many people had come and gone through Root, enough to die out several times over, so why had none of them grown like Fox?
Did Yellow Dog even train Fox? He merely gave him a Squad Leader position when Fox was about to distinguish himself.
Now Fox had become the sharpest kunai in the ANBU, capable of handling any dangerous mission.
And Yellow Dog didn't even have to worry about mission failure or Fox dying.
Yōkō, with his back to the training hall, frowned slightly.
The suffering of these Root newcomers seems to have a little something to do with me.
If I hadn't killed off Root, would these newly recruited civilian ninjas not be so miserable?
No good, my conscience feels a bit unsettled. I must launch another strike against Danzo, or my thoughts won't be clear.
Need to find Yuka quickly. It's time to restart the retaliation against the Shimura clan.
Alternate between the Shimura clan and Root, sustainable strikes, sustainable torment.
Entering Orochimaru's laboratory, Yōkō saw it had changed dramatically.
Under the walls on both sides of the lab were rows of nutrient tanks.
Inside each nutrient tank was a child or infant.
Ten in total...
Orochimaru said excitedly, "Fox, you're here! Come see my experimental progress!"
The current Orochimaru was like a mad scientist, with a bit of madness, a bit of show-off.
"These are all special test subjects, test subjects with special bloodlines! They are the children born to women of the Senju clan who married out!
They all possess half Senju blood!"
Yōkō thought Orochimaru would try to conceal it, but it seemed Orochimaru had no such moral burdens.
Wasn't Orochimaru afraid of Tsunade finding out?... Probably not afraid. Danzo suffered heavy losses and is nearly driven mad, while Orochimaru... is a madman himself.
There was a post-war baby boom, but acquiring ten children with Senju bloodline amidst that boom was still quite difficult.
Orochimaru continued excitedly said:
"I originally requested 50 children with Senju bloodline, but Root was wiped out by Sarutobi Kanenosuke, and nearly all missions ground to a halt.
I don't know when they'll manage to gather 50 children for me.
When they do, I will officially begin the transplantation experiments!"
In the original work, Yamato was the sole survivor among 50 test subjects.
"Fox, look at these children. They easily developed dual-affinity chakra for Earth and Water.
Their constitutions are perfectly suited for these two attributes, very balanced. Unlike previous test subjects, who were either strong in Earth or strong in Water, unable to achieve balance."
Yōkō said, "Congratulations, Orochimaru-sama. I hope you can complete your secret technique research soon."
Taking the report, Yōkō returned to the ANBU and reported to Yellow Dog about the underground exchange mission with Nara Umeka and the Root experiments.
Yellow Dog praised Yōkō.
Meanwhile, Long-Armed Ape, who was nearby, took Yōkō's spy communication scroll.
Yōkō took an extra look at Long-Armed Ape before handing over the scroll.
After leaving the ANBU base, Yōkō went atop the Hokage Monument.
He looked towards the direction of Konoha Hospital.
The hospital was brightly lit; the village's only hospital had a heavy medical workload.
Should he remind Tsunade that Root and Orochimaru were systematically gathering children with Senju bloodline?
They weren't targeting children named Senju within the Senju compound, but they were targeting the children of Senju women who married out.
With ten children missing, the Senju clan must have noticed something abnormal.
Given Tsunade's personality, once she knew the truth, she wouldn't wait a moment; she'd charge into Root to rescue them tonight.
The Hashirama Cell transplantation technique was also something he urgently needed himself.
The alt, Sarutobi Kanenosuke, as long as his chakra reserves were sufficient, possessed Kage-level combat power just with the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack.
The main account, Fox, still lacked a trump card enough to deal with Kage-level ninjas.
Trying to exhaust a Kage-level ninja to death was impossible.
It seemed he currently shared common interests with Orochimaru and Danzo.
After hesitating repeatedly, Yōkō sighed.
Forget it. Although he wasn't a good person, he couldn't be too inhuman.
Delaying the experimental progress could also prevent Danzo from obtaining Wood Release too early.
He had just visited the Root lab today. If he alerted Tsunade today, he feared Danzo might connect his visit with Tsunade's subsequent actions.
He'd bring it up another time.
Yōkō jumped backwards, disappearing into the dense forest atop the Hokage Monument.
A few days later, Yōkō used the Ephemeral Technique to find Tsunade.
Traveling through the underground network of organic matter, Yōkō suddenly sensed a presence nearby!
He wasn't in human form at that moment, having transformed into a tiny cluster of organic matter like a mayfly.
But!
Another cluster of organic matter suddenly passed by in the distance!
Not the organic matter of a normal life form, but... a White Zetsu?
Yōkō quickly changed direction and followed it.
The White Zetsu noticed him too!
Yōkō chased it through the underground organic network for a while but found he couldn't close the distance.
The White Zetsu quickly left Konoha Village.
Yōkō emerged from the dense forest beneath the village walls and did not pursue further.
Both sides had the same ability; it was a stalemate.
He thought he could go anywhere he wanted within Konoha.
Turns out, White Zetsu thought the same.
It seemed Konoha held no secrets for White Zetsu and Uchiha Madara.
Probably the White Zetsu could also sense a cluster of organic matter; it wouldn't know who he was.
Yōkō returned to the place where he encountered the White Zetsu.
He saw an old man and a child coming out of a ninja tool shop.
Looking at the child wearing goggles, Yōkō understood what the White Zetsu was up to.
The White Zetsu had already set its sights on Obito...
A kunai appeared in Yōkō's hand.
Should he kill Obito now?
The Uchiha understood love best. The more passionate an Uchiha's emotions, the more extreme the power they could unleash after losing everything.
The reason Uchiha Madara chose Obito was that Obito, as a child, was a good person in every sense.
Whether towards his grandmother, his friends, or even strangers, he was genuinely good.
Taking everything from such a good person, trampling him into hell, could stimulate his most potent potential, allowing him to master the Uchiha's ultimate power, the Mangekyō.
The kunai returned to the tool pouch.
Forget it. The current Obito is a good person. If he killed Obito here, Uchiha Madara would just select another successor.
That would lead to a loss of intelligence control, making it even harder to deal with Uchiha Madara hiding in the shadows.
Yōkō continued on to find Tsunade. Preventing Danzo from obtaining Wood Release too early was the most important thing right now.
***
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(End of Chapter)