The appearance of Root had already allowed Gekko Chizan to confirm that the old bastard Danzō had definitely taken refuge in the Daimyō's residence.
"Didn't expect this, Shimura Danzō...."
"Made me search so hard. We really need to have a good talk about this."
Now that he had a direction, Gekko Chizan knew exactly what to do.
Transparent Release activated, and Gekko Chizan directly snuck up.
After all, he wasn't worried at all about being discovered. What a joke—did they think Transparent Release was just for show?
Very quickly, that Root member arrived at a house within the outer ninja forces.
"Captain Kazuma, Danzō-sama asked me to tell you."
"The new batch of ninjas has finished training. He wants you to hurry and screen the next group of candidates."
"Also, people from Konoha have already come to gather information no fewer than five times."
"Danzō-sama hopes the Guardian Ninja can increase their patrol intensity."
Kazuma glanced at the masked Root member, then calmly replied:
"Tell Danzō to put his heart back in his stomach. It's been years already, and Konoha still hasn't found you."
"As long as you stay in the Daimyō's residence, Root will never be discovered."
That single sentence nearly made Gekko Chizan—who was hiding nearby with Transparent Release activated—burst out laughing.
Seriously, where did Kazuma get the confidence from? Absolutely never be discovered?
Then what exactly had he discovered?
Forget it. Once he found that old bastard Danzō, he'd settle the score with Kazuma afterward.
After the Root member finished relaying Danzō's orders, he immediately left. His movements were quick, but in Gekko Chizan's eyes it was like watching children play house.
Following him all the way, they arrived at a gambling house.
"Holy shit, this old bastard actually opened a gambling den?"
"Pretty well hidden. Very well hidden."
Watching the man walk into the gambling house, Gekko Chizan's eyes nearly popped out.
Who would have thought—Danzō actually understood the principle of hiding in plain sight, setting up a gambling den as a front.
And sure enough, there were quite a lot of people.
Inside the gambling house, the place was noisy and bustling. Shouts and the clatter of dice intertwined together. Merchants, commoners, nobles, and even ninjas were all gambling wildly.
The gambling den run by Root was actually quite successful. Based on Gekko Chizan's visual estimate, it was making a considerable amount of money. Even he began wondering whether he should open gambling houses in a few other countries as well.
"Shameless! Shameless Danzō! Running a side business!"
"Hmph!"
Gekko Chizan spat in annoyance before continuing to follow the Root member.
The Root member had already used a Transformation Technique before entering the gambling house. After stepping inside, he made a gesture toward the staff at the front desk.
The other party nodded after seeing it. Clearly, the person in charge at the front desk was also from Root.
After the two communicated, the Root member headed toward the back hall.
Gekko Chizan hurriedly followed.
Entering the back hall, the Root member twisted a switch, and soon a secret passage appeared in the corner of the room.
Gekko Chizan looked carefully.
Good grief—Root, Root… do you people just not know how to live unless your base is underground?
Back in Konoha their base was underground, and now that they were in the Daimyō's residence it was the same story.
The underground area beneath the Daimyō's residence was also quite spacious. At least, that's how it looked to Gekko Chizan.
But the moment he stepped underground, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
When his foot touched the ground, it actually made a splash.
Where did this water come from? What the hell?!
The instant his foot stepped into the water, Gekko Chizan felt something was off.
The next second, the door behind him slammed shut.
Cold voices rang out from all directions.
"There's an intruder!"
"Everyone, be on guard!"
After a series of alert shouts, a calm voice slowly sounded.
"To walk into my base in such a state."
"Gekko Chizan, did you really think I had no precautions at all?"
That voice—Danzō....
Gekko Chizan clicked his tongue in irritation, then dispelled his Transparent Release.
His Transparent Release could block chakra perception and eliminate his presence, but it could still come into contact with physical objects.
The water covering the ground was meant to prevent someone like him from walking in.
No—it should be said it was specifically meant to guard against him.
After all, in the entire ninja world, he was the only one with such an ability. Decades ago there might have been the Second Tsuchikage, but that man had long since died.
"Danzō, didn't expect this."
"You're really this cautious about guarding against me?"
"Keeping water everywhere every day—aren't you afraid you'll grow mold?"
Under the dim light, Gekko Chizan looked toward the figure not far away.
Half his body wrapped in bandages and leaning on a cane, Danzō stood there. Dozens of Root members surrounded him.
Clearly, this was Root's main headquarters within the Daimyō's residence.
"To deal with you, such methods are necessary."
"From the moment I left Konoha, I knew that someday someone would come looking."
"And there's a high probability that person would be you."
"After all, in all of Konoha, aside from you, no one else is so dedicated to capturing me."
Danzō's words directly made Gekko Chizan laugh.
What did he mean, aside from him there would be no one else?
But actually… it wasn't wrong.
As for hunting down Danzō, Gekko Chizan would absolutely never hand that task to someone else. He would personally handle it.
"Hmph. Everyone, hold him off. I'm going to release the seal."
"Although the numbers might not be enough, with you all added in, it should be possible to deal with him."
Danzō opened his eyes, a trace of viciousness flashing within them.
And his words—Gekko Chizan knew exactly what they meant. He hadn't expected that the First Hokage cultivation plan Orochimaru had once created would already be applied to Danzō himself in such a short time.
This bastard truly had guts. Although there had been successful cases before, one small mistake would mean death.
"That arm of yours?"
"I wonder how many Sharingan you prepared to supply your Izanagi."
Gekko Chizan casually waved his hand, completely unconcerned about Danzō's so-called backup plan.
In his view, that useless dōjutsu—unless it was truly in the hands of someone extraordinary, like Uchiha Madara—
Otherwise, it simply couldn't unleash its original power.
But his casual words caused Danzō's heart to jolt.
"You know about Izanagi...."
"How is that possible? You're not an Uchiha..."
"Oh, I almost forgot. You were Orochimaru's disciple back then, following him in research. It's normal that your research on the Uchiha would be deeper."
Danzō had been a little puzzled at first, but quickly came up with an explanation for himself.
Gekko Chizan almost wanted to applaud him.
"Hehehehe, Danzō… relying on the enhancement of the First Hokage's cells and Sharingan, how much combat strength do you really have?"
"Even with all these Root members beside you, how much combat strength can you actually muster?"
As Gekko Chizan spoke, he spread his arms wide. The fluctuations of chakra visibly surged around his body.
It was a momentum born purely from overwhelming chakra—just like Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama.
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