"Let me make this clear: the New Root is to eliminate the elite forces of enemies for the protection of Konoha, not a tool for me, Uchiha Aomi, to leverage your strength for fame. Each of you has a name, a Konoha Ninja worth remembering, with rights like any normal person..."
"If you don't understand this, then learn from the Anbu; once you take off your masks, you are yourselves."
The original Root members were silent, no longer avoiding Aomi's gaze, but instead looking back at him in confusion.
They seemed to be wondering why anyone would want to turn tools into people.
"Go, do what you want to do, but don't forget to train..."
Aomi slowly looked at every member of the Root, engraving his Genjutsu into their hearts, silently erasing the impressions of Shimura Danzo and stirring their emotions.
In Aomi's view, the control Shimura Danzo had over the Root Ninja was twofold, and the methods were not particularly sophisticated.
Whether it was the child Yamato, the almost-adult Sai, or the already grown-up Yakushi Nonou, these Root members all had moments when emotional triggers led them to violate Shimura Danzo's orders.
The control by Shimura Danzo partly came through the oppressive seals that restricted their personal freedom, eliminated the ability to resist, and inflicted physical punishment.
The other part of control was through psychological brainwashing, similar to Stockholm syndrome.
These Ninjas, seized for the Root, developed a psychological dependence on Danzo through power, Ninjutsu, and wordplay, with Danzo controlling their fates, ensuring their survival, which earned their immense gratitude.
Additionally, the so-called Will of Root provided a grandiose excuse for the dirty deeds Danzo made them perform, intertwining their fate with his, aligning their future ambitions with his.
However, unraveling these bindings was not difficult for Aomi.
He easily undid the seals, and as for the brainwashing, Aomi just needed to express forgiveness for the past, show them a certain degree of respect, and finally use the Genjutsu of the Sharingan to erase their last shred of fear of Shimura Danzo from their hearts.
Yet, at the same time, Aomi also flexed his muscles, exerting an oppressive force many times greater than Shimura Danzo's, replacing their fear with a subconscious unwillingness to betray Aomi.
With one hand holding the carrot and the other the stick, once people become human, they no longer want to be dogs...
The Root members slowly stood up, looking at Aomi with complicated expressions.
But starting with Yakushi Nonou, who first passed by Aomi, the Root members successively saluted Aomi, finally taking off their masks with a heart full of emotion and a bit of trepidation, and walked towards the Root's gates.
Some of them wished to return home, and others simply wanted to wander freely around the village...
It seemed laughable, but these were the most genuine desires of those poor souls trained by Shimura Danzo since childhood.
Aomi watched Yakushi Nonou's back, chuckling lightly, "A clever one."
From responding to Aomi with her name to being the first to raise her hand and make requests, Yakushi Nonou cleverly used her status as a Root member to cooperate with Aomi's authority and rhetoric, helping him dismantle the walls in others' hearts.
"As expected from the Root, truly full of talents, Tobirama..."
Aomi spoke with an excited tone while conversing with Tobirama, "Look at these Ninja profiles!"
Senju Tobirama snorted, "Don't get ahead of yourself, kid. Root's missions aren't easy..."
But inwardly, Senju Tobirama felt pleased. The depth of Aomi's Chakra and ocular power unleashed earlier made his heart race, even causing him to have an illusion of facing Uchiha Madara.
But so what?
Aomi in front of him was still just a bragging kid!
Aomi ignored Tobirama, picked up a profile, and muttered, "Mountain Fuu, adept in the Mind Puppet Transfer Juinjutsu, uses puppets under the Jutsu's effect to assault enemies. Once the puppet is attacked, it seals the enemy's spiritual power, allowing the caster to possess them."
"What an excellent Jutsu..."
Senju Tobirama frowned, "Aomi, this technique can only control the enemy briefly and has no lethal power. At most, it can cause chaos on the battlefield. Don't overestimate this Jutsu."
"No, Tobirama, this is even better than your Reanimation Explosion!"
Aomi's eyes shone as if infused with the darkness of the Root:
"You only need to seal Explosive Tags in the puppet. When the enemy is possessed, pretend to be injured and call for reinforcements, which can result in the explosion taking out multiple enemies!"
"This technique also induces panic in the enemy, and after a few tries, who would dare rescue a wounded ally?"
"With trust broken, morale would plummet!"
"Compared to Reanimation Jutsu and Tandem Paper Bomb, this technique is more widespread and economically practical."
Aomi's mind wandered, "Perhaps we can capture some prisoners, engrave the Inner Four Symbols Fuinjutsu on them, then manipulate them to return to the enemy camp, what do you think?"
Senju Tobirama remained silent, realizing that Aomi's ideas, while valid, sounded so extreme...
Could it be that the Root's fengshui truly had issues?
"And then there's the Pot Poison Jutsu, which is even more formidable!"
Aomi sincerely admired, "Gathering corpses and disseminating poisonous insects among them, activating a Barrier to allow rapid insect propagation, causing toxic gas from dying cells, and using explosions to spread the poison to all organisms encountering the poisonous fog..."
"The biggest issue with this technique is its limited explosion radius, inability to move, and the poison mist being constrained by Wind Release Ninjutsu, potentially being dispersed before entering a fast infection phase, and possibly affecting our troops."
Senju Tobirama nodded silently.
Thankfully, Aomi still had reason...
"However, my Medical Ninjutsu fears not these insects, and my Fuinjutsu expertise should allow moving the poisonous insect Barrier. If quietly engraving the Flying Thunder God Seal on enemies, launching a midnight raid, teleporting the Pot Poison Barrier into the enemy formation and detonating it..."
Senju Tobirama took a deep breath, how did this child end up like this through learning!
Senju Tobirama interrupted Aomi's plan, heavily stating:
"Aomi, you've gone too extreme. Doing this would mean Konoha and the other Hidden Villages won't stop until one side is dead. Don't do it unless absolutely necessary; you will regret it..."
Aomi waved his hand, saying, "Tobirama, I am the leader of the Root!"
"If there's darkness, let me bear it; this is the duty of the Root of Konoha!"
Senju Tobirama covered his face, feeling Aomi's thinking was becoming too similar to his own.
But Aomi's eyes grew brighter, muttering:
"Inner Four Symbols Fuinjutsu, Pot Poison Jutsu, Reanimation Jutsu, Tandem Paper Bomb Jutsu..."
Senju Tobirama hesitated to speak; he wanted to say something but realized many of these Jutsus were his inventions...
Yet a hint of anticipation lingered in his heart.
When his forbidden Jutsus might appear limitlessly on battlefields, how would the enemies react?
Back then, he was still constrained by Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito...
But Aomi had no one to stop him.
Senju Tobirama cleared his throat, "Aomi, I have an idea. Listen..."
Senju Tobirama matched Aomi's pace!