Chapter 126: Interlude 06 - Danzo's Plans

Chapter 126: Interlude 06 - Danzo's Plans

Leaf Village.

Somewhere in the leaf village deep underground, the construction of the Root's new base of operations was near its completion.

An elderly man with an eye bandaged and arm in a sling was walking the dimly lit hallway. He had much on his mind.

'It took a long time with Hiruzen keeping an eye on everything but at last it's done. The construction is completed and with the new added measures not even the Hyuga and their Byakugan would be able to see in here Things are proceeding according to plan.'

The man Danzo Shimura, leader of the Root, soon reached his office. He saw a red scroll with the Insignia of the Hzuki Castle on his desk.

Danzo opened the scroll and read its contents. 'So Isen has passed away huh. Serves right for that traitor. Because of Kensei, Hiruzen had been far too merciful with Isen's punishment. But now that's no longer a concern. He is now no longer a threat to me.'

At that moment the child he assigned to keep tabs on certain students in the academy appeared before him and knelt.

"Lord Danzo. I have an urgent update."

Without a word of acknowledgement, Danzo closed the scroll and placed it inside his desk. Only then did he turn towards the child Touma Asai.

"Report." The cold tone couldn't be mistaken for anything other than an order.

"Daichi has left the village."

Danzo's one visible eye slightly widened. It was the last thing he expected.

"Tell me everything you know." He needed to find out everything behind Daichi's departure.

-

It has been a month since Isen regained his memories and freedom. He had learned that the Hokage was the one who convinced Danzo to spare his life. At Isen's insistence Kensei sent word to the Hokage and arranged a meeting.

Night Time - Hokage Residence.

Hiruzen was in his home waiting for the man to arrive. Because of the secrecy of the meeting he had dismissed his guards. Before long he sensed a foreign presence in his home.

He turned around and met Isen's eyes. After a few moments of silence Hiruzen spoke.

"You look better than I thought."

Isen was silent for a moment as he looked at the old kage. "Am I supposed to say thank you for saving my life"

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "Yes. What you did was reckless, stupid and could have put a serious strain on our relationship with the Daimyo. Prison and the memory loss was a mercy compared to what Danzo would have done."

Isen let out a sigh as he heard those words.

"Thank you"

Hiruzen looked at the man and then nodded his head.

At that moment Isen spoke again. "Just to be clear, I'm not thanking you for saving my life. I'm thanking you for what you did for my wife Binami. Kensei told me that you made sure she had a new identity, provided safe passage to the capital and gave her the sufficient funds needed for a new life."

"I remembered you telling me she was pregnant a few weeks before the whole mess. I didn't want her to get caught up in all that." Hiruzen took his wooden pipe and lit up the tobacco.

"I see you haven't quit that habit."

"Everyone has a vice. This is mine."

The old kage sighed. After a short silence he asked the man a question. "Are you willing to work under me again?"

"No But if you want my help with Danzo then I can work with you."

Hiruzen looked into the man's eyes and relented. "I suppose that would have to do I have a task for you."

-

Leaf Village.

In an underground laboratory, 'Shigaraki' the researcher and scientist of the Root was performing experiments on a certain specimen using the genetic materials acquired from Orochimaru and Danzo.

At that moment Danzo walked into the laboratory and inspected the specimen. "How much progress have you made?" He asked the scientist.

"The sample Orochimaru provided is truly incredible. It can combine to any foreign DNA without rejection and can adapt its properties. Although the effects produced are not as powerful."

"What are the results of the merger with the blood sample of the first Hokage?"

"The DNA has adapted to the blood but there were some small mutations." With those words Shigaraki led Danzo to a certain area of the lab.

In a glass container filled with nutritional fluids a small child was kept suspended. There were several monitors connected to the child. Half his body was made of wood and the face of the first Hokage was present on the left side of his chest. But even with these mutations his vitals were reading normal.

"The first Hokage's blood contains too much power. More precisely Yang chakra. We need equally potent Yin chakra or something that requires the large reserves of chakra to keep the balance and the power of the first Hokage in check."

"I have something in mind. In a few months Orochimaru will be here with what I need. I need you to assist him with the surgery and graft the first Hokage's blood into my body when the time comes." Danzo told the man.

"I understand lord Danzo but"

"What is it?"

"It's just No matter how well the surgery goes, there will be some small mutation on your body. The power of the first Hokage is just too strong." Shigaraki bowed and spoke these words with slight fear.

Danzo was quiet for a few moments. "I'm aware of the risks. And your duty is to minimize the risks as much as you can when the time comes."

"Yes Lord Danzo!"

Danzo walked away from the lab and made his way to his home. 'If I had the best medic nin in the world then I could reduce the dangers of the operation down to Zero. But Tsunade would never perform the operation on me and if she learns that I've been using Lord Hashirama's blood for research like this, she'll be furious. She might make a rash move and bring Jiraiya and Hiruzen's attention to me and I don't want that right now. But then again, I don't necessarily need her. She has a new apprentice after all Should I delay the surgery and wait for her to teach Daichi everything before I go after him?... No. That will take too long. This must be done as soon as possible.'

The moment Danzo learned of Daichi's departure from the village he used his contacts and found out what had happened.

He learned that Kensei wanted Daichi to learn about his business operations and took the boy to the capital. But Hiruzen, not wanting to let Daichi go, made a deal with Kensei. Danzo learned that the plan was for Daichi to come back by the time his class graduates and become a Genin with them.

A month later Danzo learned from his sources in the capital that Tsunade happened upon the child and took him as her student.

'The boy leaving the village is a perfect opportunity. Once she's done training him I'll make my move. Kensei won't be able to protect him. But the mission needs to be covert. I can't have anything connecting me to it.'

With that thought in mind he summoned a few of his people and gave them a certain mission.

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Author's Note:

If you like my story and want to read ahead, then check out my P.a.T.R.E.0.N page. I've uploaded up to 30 additional chapters there.

Patre /MonkWithAPen (No space)