[Root's Secret Ward]
Danzo, who had been in a coma for an entire week, finally opened his eyes slowly under the desperate rescue efforts of his subordinates, regardless of the cost.
"Ugh...", Danzo let out a muffled groan.
The pain in his eyes was nothing compared to the pain in his mind.
Danzo had been dragged into the Tsukuyomi world and tortured for a full seventy-two hours.
His spirit had suffered severe trauma, and the pain still lingered in his body.
"Lord Danzo! You're awake!"
The Root personnel were overjoyed; with Danzo in a coma, it felt like they had lost their backbone.
Because Danzo had been placed under a bounty, these personnel didn't dare to act recklessly and had all gone into hiding.
"Damn Uchiha Itachi!", Danzo didn't expect that after hunting geese all day, one would peck him in the eye.
Itachi had turned on him and even dug out his Sharingan.
'That was Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan!'
'Damn it!'
"Cough cough...ah...", Danzo's emotional fluctuations triggered sharp pain in his head.
"Lord Danzo?", The nearby medical ninja immediately came up and injected medicine, feeding pills to Danzo.
This barely allowed Danzo to suppress the pain.
At this time, Yamanaka Fu, Aburame Torune, and Fujiwara, who had received the news, all arrived.
Under the effect of the medicine, Danzo slowly calmed down.
With his intelligence, he naturally knew that many things must have happened during his coma.
"Tell me what happened after Itachi attacked me," Danzo barely managed to sit up and gave instructions to his subordinates.
The few exchanged glances, and finally Yamanaka Fu spoke, "After Uchiha Itachi attacked you, the Uchiha led their people in a counterattack."
"Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Fugaku, and Uchiha Rengoku all revealed Mangekyo Sharingan..."
As Yamanaka Fu recounted, Danzo's face completely darkened.
'There were actually more Mangekyo Sharingan in the Uchiha?'
'Besides Itachi, there are two more?'
If Fugaku had Mangekyo Sharingan, that was still acceptable to Danzo.
But this Uchiha Rengoku also had it, that Danzo could not accept.
No wonder those who ambushed him died, it was because of Mangekyo Sharingan.
When he heard that Itachi had betrayed Konoha and, through the Black Market, placed a five hundred million bounty on his head, Danzo flew into a rage, "Rebellion! The Uchiha dare place a bounty on me! Where is Hiruzen? Just watching this happen?"
Yamanaka Fu paused and exchanged glances with Fujiwara. Then he said, "The Third Hokage wants to thoroughly investigate this matter after Lord Danzo wakes up."
"Since the Uchiha placed a bounty on you, people have already infiltrated."
"The Third Hokage used this as a reason to station ANBU in our Root base."
"Now that the news of your awakening has spread, the Third Hokage should already know."
Danzo's fury gradually subsided, and his gaze turned cold and venomous.
Fujiwara was under tremendous psychological pressure, sweating profusely on his forehead.
Yamanaka Fu knew that if he didn't help speak now, Fujiwara would be dragged out and buried.
So he quickly said, "Please calm your anger, Lord Danzo. If we hadn't allowed ANBU in, the Third Hokage would've forcibly taken you to Konoha Hospital for treatment."
"Fujiwara had no other choice."
Danzo of course knew everything about his body couldn't see the light of day.
The Third's tacit approval and being taken directly to the hospital were two different things.
Seeing Danzo's expression relax slightly, Yamanaka Fu immediately said, "Lord Danzo, ever since the Uchiha placed a bounty on you, spies from all factions have been heading toward Konoha."
"Our spies have discovered the Third Hokage is recalling a large number of personnel from outside."
"Even Jiraiya has returned to the village. Lord Danzo should start planning early."
Danzo thought for a moment and immediately understood the deeper meaning behind Uchiha's bounty on him.
His body involuntarily shuddered.
'This kind of strategy, how could it come from the Uchiha?'
'Whether it is Fugaku or Rengoku, neither has such a brain.'
'When did such a clever person emerge in the Uchiha?'
'But now it depends on what Hiruzen intends to do.'
'Although I hold a lot of blackmail material on Hiruzen, it isn't enough.'
"Fujiwara!"
"Yes! Awaiting your command, my lord!", Fujiwara jolted upright, quietly waiting for Danzo's verdict.
But Danzo had no mind to punish his subordinate now.
"Activate the Gyuttenko Plan. Complete it in the shortest time possible."
Fujiwara's face slightly tensed. The danger level of this plan was many times higher than anything before.
"My lord, to complete it in a short time, we'll need a large number of Hashirama cells for experiments. Our stock is no longer enough."
Danzo certainly knew that this experiment required many Hashirama cells.
And the shorter the timeline, the more materials would be consumed exponentially.
That was the reason this plan had remained untested after its proposal.
"Contact Orochimaru. He has some."
Danzo looked at his own arm, 'This thing was made by Orochimaru.'
'Although Orochimaru is a rogue ninja now and is hiding everywhere, he still has a lot of useful stuff.'
"Tell the ANBU, I will meet Hiruzen tomorrow."
———
[Outside Konoha]
Zetsu, who had scouted around Konoha's outskirts, came into a cave.
In the flickering firelight, several shadows were cast on the wall.
It was Akatsuki's temporary gathering point.
Konan, Kakuzu, and Sasori were all present.
"Konoha is loose inside and tight outside. There are patrols all through the surrounding forest."
"People from all factions have basically gathered, but none have acted yet."
Zetsu, possessing the Mayfly technique, was most effective in intelligence gathering, and in just a few words, he made the situation clear.
"However, Konoha's patrols deliberately avoid the Uchiha. There are basically no patrols outside the Uchiha compound."
Kakuzu let out a muffled laugh, "Konoha's intentions are clear, but the others aren't fools either."
Inside Hiruko, Sasori spoke slowly, "Everyone knows that charging ahead is suicide, so of course no one wants to go first."
Konan had her own plan, "The situation in Konoha won't hold for long. Whether Konoha strikes first, or the other factions do, it'll be our best opportunity to act."
"The Uchiha's position is unclear. This operation has many uncertainties."
"Our organization must not be exposed to the ninja world just yet."
Hearing this, Kakuzu flung open the black cloak with red clouds, "Good then. This robe is getting in the way of my fighting."
Konan didn't mind. Kakuzu's robe was always the one to break fastest. As soon as Earth Grudge Fear extended outside, holes would appear in the clothing.
"When do we act?"
Sasori didn't remove his robe in front of others. After all, he was currently using Hiruko, and it was best to reveal its structure as little as possible.
"Zetsu, continue gathering intelligence. I'll scout the Uchiha's situation."
"When Juzo and Kisame arrive, we'll act together," Saying that, Konan turned into sheets of paper and vanished.
Zetsu also sank into the ground.
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