Damp, cold, and silent—the faint, distant sound of dripping pipes echoed in the ears. Passing through one training field after another built inside the subterranean steel towers and bustling offices packed with people, Hyuga Yu arrived before the office at the very top of the steel structure.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Hyuga Yu knocked on the austere, frosty heavy door.
"Enter."
From inside the apex office of the Foundation's primary headquarters, a voice quickly drifted out. Low, flat, and entirely devoid of emotional warmth, the vocal line sounded as if it were seeping directly out from the shadows.
Hyuga Yu pushed the door open and stepped inside, casting his gaze around to size up the room. This office was buried deep beneath the Foundation's headquarters. Near the wall stood a colossal floor-to-ceiling window. The air inside the room was sparse and stagnant, with only the low, heavy hum of the ventilation system reverberating through the space.
Danzo Shimura sat behind an office desk that resembled a judge's bench. Aside from the necessary documents, brushes, and ink, the only thing upon the desk was a single, solitary lamp. While it illuminated the files on the desk, it also caused the upper half of Danzo's face—particularly his right eye, which was wrapped tightly in bandages—to sink into deep shadow.
It looked rather eerie...
At this moment, Danzo Shimura, who had been endorsing a mountain of documents behind the desk, lifted his head and glanced toward Hyuga Yu. When his cold, gloomy gaze fell upon Hyuga Yu's somewhat constrained face, it warmed slightly, and his tone softened a fraction: "Tennin, you have arrived."
"Yes," Hyuga Yu responded, his tone carrying a trace of hesitation. "Teacher Danzo."
Danzo caught the unfamiliarity within Hyuga Yu's words, but he paid it no heed. He made no urgent attempt to patch up his already flimsy master-disciple relationship with Hyuga Yu, choosing instead to suddenly offer praise: "You have done exceptionally well."
"Uh..." Hyuga Yu wasn't entirely clear on which aspect Danzo Shimura was praising.
"The matter with Iwagakure, the situation regarding the Hyuga clan, and even your handling of the attitude toward the Daimyo and other nobles—you managed them all beautifully."
Danzo's tone was indifferent as he dissected the stakes for Hyuga Yu in an incredibly concise, direct manner. "In doing so, the Daimyo's faction is left with absolutely no room for retreat, and their reliance on you will increase exponentially. However, your conflict with Sarutobi's lineage has now become completely irreconcilable. You must prepare yourself for this early on."
"That monkey Sarutobi might verbally promise you certain benefits, but he will absolutely never condone this sort of thing."
Speaking up to this point, Danzo paused, then followed up by asking: "Regarding what transpired today, how do you view it?"
Hyuga Yu's eyes flashed slightly. Recalling what Terai had just mentioned concerning Orochimaru campaigning for Hokage, he understood in his heart that Danzo must be referring to this matter.
For Hyuga Sodo to be able to appear within the Hokage Residence today—a place heavily guarded by layers of Foundation operatives—this attack clearly had the internal cooperation of someone within the Foundation.
Yet within the Foundation, among Danzo's primary factions, neither Ryoma Aburame nor the executives of the Special Operations Unit and Information Division managed by the Walking Miko [Yakushi Nono] had any reason to strike at Hyuga Yu. Through simple elimination, it was exceptionally easy to deduce that this matter was covertly instigated by Orochimaru.
However, Hyuga Yu and Orochimaru shared no past grievances or recent enmities; he didn't even know how he had managed to offend the man.
Instead of expressing his thoughts directly, Hyuga Yu looked toward Danzo and asked, "What do you wish for me to do?"
Yet, completely defying Hyuga Yu's expectations, Danzo shook his head and spoke in a flat tone, "The one campaigning for Hokage is you, it is not this old man who is running for Hokage."
"I have already caught wind of today's disturbance. Judging from it, the Hyuga clan still lacks proper discipline, and as for the person cooperating with the Hyuga main house behind the scenes, you should already have a clear idea in your mind."
"This old man summoned you here precisely to ask for your thoughts—"
Danzo paused, narrowing his solitary eye as he gazed eerily at Hyuga Yu. "Tennin, how do you wish to handle it?"
Hyuga Yu felt a brief wave of surprise. Listening to Danzo's tone, it seemed as if the moment he harbored the intention, Danzo would cast Orochimaru aside at any second?
He looked at Danzo Shimura. Instead of answering how he would deal with Orochimaru, he countered: "You have no objections?"
Danzo nodded slightly, withdrawing his gaze from Hyuga Yu as he stated calmly, "Every single leaf of Konoha will ultimately transform into nutrients to nourish the roots buried deep beneath the earth, thereby supporting this towering tree that is Konoha."
"The core focus is the roots, not the leaves. Tennin, can you comprehend this old man's meaning?"
Hyuga Yu nodded, having already formed a calculation in his mind, and said, "I have other uses for Orochimaru, so there is no rush to expel him from the Foundation for the time being. However, temporarily cut off all of his funding, isolate his subordinates within the Foundation, and suspend all of his scientific research projects inside the organization, handing them over to Tanuki Shigiraki to take over."
"I will meet with Orochimaru later. I will make my final decision after I uncover his calculations."
Hearing this, Danzo nodded with gratification, making no inquiry into what Hyuga Yu intended to do with Orochimaru. He naturally had no objection to Hyuga Yu's organized, methodical way of handling things.
Following this, Danzo Shimura beckoned with his hand, gesturing for Hyuga Yu to come over to his side.
Hyuga Yu walked around the office desk and quickly stood behind Danzo.
Once Hyuga Yu was in position, Danzo said nothing more. He simply continued to lean over his desk, handling the massive pile of documents right in front of Hyuga Yu.
Very quickly, the continuous swish, swish of the fine hair brush endorsing page after page of documents reverberated throughout the office.
Hyuga Yu was somewhat at a loss, unable to gauge what Danzo's intention was. He could only stand silently behind Danzo's back. However, simply standing there like that was truly far too boring. Hyuga Yu quickly lowered his head, his gaze falling upon the various documents Danzo was currently processing.
Psychological Dynamic Analysis of Konoha Executives, Approval for Covert Formulations in Foreign Negotiations, Internal Purge List, Foundation Mission Dossiers, Application for Special Resource Allocation, Mangekyo Sharingan Research Progress, Uchiha Clan Surveillance Logs, Uchiha Coup d'État Contingency Plan...
Danzo made no move to halt Hyuga Yu's audacious behavior. On the contrary, he pulled the documents slightly upward so Hyuga Yu could better observe how he endorsed these files.
These files were mostly specialized scrolls or documents bound inside leather folders, their covers stamped with the crest of the "Foundation" or marked only with serial numbers.
One exceptionally interesting point was that Danzo's personal handwriting was actually quite decent, leaning toward a lean, rigid, and sharp style. The turns in his brush strokes frequently carried abrupt, hurried hooks and angles, and he rarely utilized emotional vocabulary.
Furthermore, the responses and endorsements he gave carried quite the flavor of an ancient emperor reviewing imperial petitions, generally utilizing only a few choice terms:
Approved or Denied—this was a direct adjudication, leaving absolutely no room for discussion.
Thorough Investigation—this likely demanded a deep, exhaustive excavation, frequently accompanied by an underline.
Useless—a contemptuous dismissal and rejection directed at emotional suggestions or compromising proposals.
Cost?—noted right beside action blueprints, the core point of concern was likely resource consumption and the risk-reward ratio.
Archive—not to be destroyed. This type was mostly seen on top-secret documents involving historical characterization or future strategic layouts, largely tied to the Uchiha clan.
And finally, the single most common one: Kill!
In this manner, by the time Danzo finished processing the entire pile of documents on hand, exactly an hour had passed. Hyuga Yu did not find it tedious. On the contrary, because he was abruptly detached for a brief moment from the threat of the extraterrestrial visitors, he felt a peculiar sense of relaxation. He would also subconsciously reflect on how many lives would be affected, and how many incidents would be engineered or erased, by a single stroke of Danzo's brush.
However, during the interval where Danzo pressed the desk bell at his side and shrugged to relax, Hyuga Yu suddenly came to his senses—an hour.
He had stood Danzo up for an hour while holding his meeting at the hospital, so this sinister old man used this exact method to hard-lock him in place for an hour, didn't he...
Very quickly, a second batch of documents was brought into the office by a Foundation shinobi from below. Once the operative withdrew, only then did Danzo open his mouth, asking out of the blue: "Did you see clearly?"
Hyuga Yu blinked. "What?"
"The Application for Special Resource Allocation—what did this old man endorse upon it?"
Hyuga Yu replied subconsciously: "It was... Thorough Investigation?"
"Investigate what?"
Hyuga Yu continued to answer: "A batch of ninja tools transported from the Land of Artisans."
Danzo pressed further: "Why must it be thoroughly investigated?"
"Because according to the intelligence, during the journey of this batch of ninja tools being transported to Konoha's Training Ground No. 43, three successive waves of merchants inside the village approached them to inquire about prices. This exceeded the threshold of the Accidental Surveillance Regulations."
Hyuga Yu recalled the contents of the document and continued: "Normally speaking, the phenomenon of merchants purchasing goods only surfaces after arriving at the shops in the training grounds. However, the ninja tools from the Land of Artisans are of excellent quality, creating a situation where supply falls short of demand. In theory, merchants intercepting them midway to scramble for them is a reasonable phenomenon that could occur."
Danzo Shimura couldn't resist curling the corners of his mouth, revealing a sinister yet gratified, peculiar smile as he asked next: "Then why do you think this old man endorsed a 'Thorough Investigation'?"
Hyuga Yu thought about it and estimated: "Because what is reasonable... is precisely the most unreasonable part?"
Danzo suddenly leaned his back completely against the backrest of his chair, closing both eyes as he ghostily exhaled a long breath. It looked as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders, yet it also resembled the completion of some monumental task.
He lay there in this manner for half a minute before slowly opening his solitary left eye, staring intently toward Hyuga Yu as he spoke: "Tennin, you are very exceptional."
Hyuga Yu observed this scene. Looking at Danzo's face full of gratification, he wondered if, generally speaking, this kind of situation meant it was time to begin transferring authority, like an emperor on his deathbed entrusting his heir?
Was Danzo going to transfer the authority of the Foundation to me next?
However, very unfortunately, Danzo did not act in accordance with Hyuga Yu's wishes. He merely offered that single line of praise, with absolutely no substantive action to reward Hyuga Yu with anything. He then proceeded to pull out two documents from the newly delivered files, handing them toward Hyuga Yu.
Hyuga Yu cast his eyes over them. These two documents were respectively titled:
Report on the Recent Infiltration and Investigation of the Land of Wind and the Land of Demons — The Walking Miko
Summary of the Anomalous Development of Biotechnology in the Land of Lightning — Ryoma Aburame
Seeing the titles of the two documents, Hyuga Yu's pupils shrank slightly. He was just about to reach out his hand to snatch the two files to flip through them, but at this exact moment, Danzo yanked his hand back, withdrawing the two documents and smoothly locking them inside an office desk drawer equipped with a sealing jutsu.
Hyuga Yu: "..."
"You wish to read them very badly?" Danzo cast a sideways glance, asking coldly.
Hyuga Yu immediately adopted an air of total nonchalance. "Well... I don't want to read them that badly. If you want to show them to me, I'll read them, I guess~"
"This old man explicitly won't let you read them." Danzo let out a cold snort, locking the drawer right in front of Hyuga Yu's face.
Hyuga Yu instantly felt thoroughly speechless.
Two documents—one concerned the recent situations of the Land of Wind and the Land of Demons, personally investigated by Yakushi Nono. Its degree of credibility was exceptionally high, and it could allow him to learn the movements of the moon's Otsutsuki who had descended upon the shinobi world.
As for the alternative document, its very title dripped with a peculiar flavor. Prior to this, the Land of Lightning only possessed mechanical manufacturing technology that stood unparalleled in the shinobi world; he had never heard of Kumogakure investing massive amounts of funds into the biological and medical fields. Yet now, judging solely by the title, their technology had experienced a sudden, massive leap forward. This was clearly highly abnormal.
It caused Hyuga Yu to connect it to the hidden organization, Kara, which only surfaced more than a decade after the Fourth Shinobi World War.
That was an organization主导 by Isshiki Otsutsuki, lurking within the shinobi world for a millennium, secretly cultivating a second Divine Tree while manufacturing Karma and vessel equipment. Could it be that Isshiki Otsutsuki had already begun enacting his layout during this exact period?
Hyuga Yu felt an itch in his heart, unable to resist looking at this cheap excuse of a teacher before him.
At this time, Danzo Shimura suddenly spoke up, asking flatly: "Hyuga Yu, exactly how long has it been since you have had a proper rest?"
"?"
Hearing this, Hyuga Yu was somewhat perplexed. Danzo, however, darkened his face, stating ghostily: "From five and a half months ago when you begged this old man for Wind Release: Vacuum Wave, to plundering and transplanting the Byakugan of the Hyuga main house, the battle in the nameless forest, the Kirigakure collapse plan, and then moving across the Land of Hot Water, the Land of Rain, the Land of Rivers..."
"Even after returning to the village, you merely rushed through the motions of the celebration before heading straight for the Konoha Hospital to conduct whatever experiment of yours."
"Exactly how long has it been since you have slept a proper, sound sleep?"
Danzo knit his brows into a tight knot. Turning his chair, he reached out his hand and forcefully yanked Hyuga Yu's clothes open. His gloomy gaze fell upon that patch of deathly pale flesh on Hyuga Yu's abdomen, its color completely distinct from the surrounding skin.
"Merely standing behind this old man, this old man can sense it—"
"The Hashirama cells injected into your body... In a short span of less than a few months, they have already deteriorated to a state that is practically on the verge of death?"
Hearing this, Hyuga Yu's gaze drifted slightly. He yanked his clothes down with a single motion to cover his abdomen, taking two steps back as he spoke to the cheap teacher before him: "There is no need to mind this point, Teacher Danzo. I naturally have my own plan."
Clearly, all jutsus carried a price. Achieving the passive Yang Release evolution of the body on one hand granted Hyuga Yu the capability of limb regeneration and even eyeball regeneration, but this capability was by no means water drawn from a boundless source; all regenerations would consume a massive amount of vitality.
Even Hashirama Senju, who was revered as the God of Shinobi, could be no exception to this rule.
The Hashirama cells clearly possessed an incredibly terrifying degree of vitality, yet Hashirama Senju still passed away during the prime of his life. The fundamental reason for this was precisely because the Hashirama cells were also incapable of supplying the consumption required by Hashirama Senju's terrifying Sage Body forever.
And at this moment, the one paying this exact price for Hyuga Yu was precisely the eighteen experimental Hashirama cells transplanted into his abdomen.
Now, the vitality of the eighteen experimental Hashirama cells had already been completely exhausted. Once this power was drained to nothingness, what would be drawn upon next would be Hyuga Yu's own vitality!
Seeing this scene, Danzo's brows instantly knit together tightly. Following this, he gave a cold order: "Go to the laboratory attached to the Foundation to perform a comprehensive physical examination, and bring the report to this old man!"
"Before the results come out, all of your duties—including the positions in the Medical Department and the Konoha Hospital that the monkey promised you—are completely, temporarily revoked."
"You are not permitted to engage in any further combat within the interior of Konoha."
"Do not think about sneaking off to the Konoha Hospital behind this old man's back. This old man will arrange for men to notify every single department in Konoha."
"During this period of time..."
"You will honestly stay within the village and take a furlough!"
Hyuga Yu's face instantly collapsed; he grew anxious.
Even if he could obliterate Konoha with a single move now, what he wanted right now was by no means to slaughter people. If he beat someone into a cripple, he still had to beg the other party not to die, hoping they would crawl back up to cooperate with his experiments. "Wait a moment... I cannot go to the hospital, and I cannot conduct experiments,"
"Then what exactly can I even do?"
"Come to the Foundation at a fixed time every single day to study the processing of public affairs alongside this old man and take over my network of connections. This old man is about to retire shortly; you must be thoroughly prepared to take over the Foundation."
"As for the rest of your time, as long as you do not go to the hospital, you may do whatever you wish."
Danzo Shimura cast a sideways glance, revealing a trace of disdain as he threw another document toward Hyuga Yu. "Furthermore, go clear up that mess regarding the Hyuga clan! Exactly what level have you reached, yet you are still like a little child, fighting and killing all the time."
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