Chapter 60: My Eyes Can Discern the Truth
Root Base.
This was Tsukasa Kaede's first time entering here. His expression was normal, showing no hint of wariness despite entering Danzo's stronghold.
"So calm, Tsukasa Kaede. Besides your feigned humility, it seems you still lack true reverence for me. Hiruzen may not have noticed, but I can feel it clearly."
Danzo's geta clacked against the floor tiles, the sounds echoing through the dim underground chamber.
As they delved deeper into the Root Base, Root ninja continually appeared, spontaneously following behind the two. Should Danzo give the order, these individuals would swarm Tsukasa Kaede and apprehend him.
"There are already twelve people, all very excellent ninja. I also see Terai-sama, and the Yamanaka Clan member who targeted me with Mind Transfer Jutsu last time."
Tsukasa Kaede looked back, counted, and remarked.
The footsteps of the group were uniform, enacting a form of pressure through their actions, but Tsukasa Kaede was completely unfazed.
Danzo said, "Hmph, it seems you possess your own Sensory Perception method. Are you covertly attempting a tentative control over these living humans using the Corpse Release Secret Technique?"
Terai immediately responded, "Danzo-sama, I haven't detected anything unusual."
"I already guessed it. By the time you notice something is wrong, you'll probably already be caught in his Jutsu, just like a special Genjutsu. However, with your current strength, he doesn't yet have the ability to cast a Jutsu on you. You can generate more Chakra to flush your body," Danzo said.
Danzo had always been collecting various Intel on Tsukasa Kaede and analyzing it, already drawing conclusions from many subtle details.
A prime example was the battle where Tsukasa Kaede and Kato Dan killed Araki of the Sand. Araki of the Sand's strange behavior before his death was witnessed by many, and Tsukasa Kaede not forgetting to perform Hand Kaedegns and cast Jutsu even while constantly retreating and evading, already indicated the problem.
"A curse? A plague? Poison insects? A barrier? It's just one of these possibilities. As for which one, I already have an idea. Many of the corpses you've touched have long left traces."
As Danzo spoke, his gaze remained fixed forward, as if his attention wasn't on Tsukasa Kaede.
"Quite confident, aren't you? To arrange so many people just for me. If a few accidentally die, you'll surely be heartbroken."
Tsukasa Kaede was not surprised either. Although he didn't often make public appearances, especially after five months of intense training, Danzo hadn't had the chance to witness his strength firsthand. The three Root ninja who reported to him had also been killed by Tsukasa Kaede, making it even harder for Danzo to accurately assess him.
However, the existence of a Zombie Virus could not be concealed. With so many corpses, Danzo was no fool; even if he only obtained a small amount of flesh and blood, he could still figure things out.
"Tsukasa Kaede, don't think you're truly unique. The Aburame Clan has cultivated nano-toxin worms; those things are more subtle and troublesome than your Jutsu, and their destructive effect on the human body is even more severe. The village's foundation surpasses your imagination. Don't let your shallow understanding, stemming from your background as a war orphan, limit your perspective of the village."
Danzo overtly warned, "Among these people are several excellent ninja who have mastered Sealing Jutsu. No matter how fast you are at Summoning corpses, or how quickly you use Spatial Rift Jutsu, you won't be able to escape from here."
"Danzo-sama, this kind of probing is a bit redundant. Yes, I can indeed sense my zombies from a distance. Whenever I wish, I can leave this place at any time. There's no need to Summon zombies on the spot and then use a Jutsu for short-distance transfer," Tsukasa Kaede shook his head. "And while I'm at it, I can conveniently kill a few people."
"The line between confidence and arrogance is often blurry. However, it's surprising that an excellent ninja like you could emerge from a place like an orphanage." Danzo didn't move his head, but his eyes shifted to the edge of their sockets before quickly returning.
Tsukasa Kaede... seemed to be visibly growing more formidable. Each time they met, he always revealed unexpected methods.
And he was becoming increasingly assertive.
This gave Danzo a very bad feeling—a sense of something straying from expectation and control. Orochimaru was another individual who gave him the same feeling; a sinister character who also delved into Forbidden Jutsu research projects, requiring countless preventative measures against him.
However, Danzo didn't believe Tsukasa Kaede could reach Orochimaru's level, not now, and certainly not in the future—except for his ability to extract life force from corpses, which was a domain Orochimaru couldn't yet touch.
"We're here."
Danzo stopped, pushing open the door to a laboratory.
"You are the second outsider to enter here after Orochimaru."
"Really? That's quite an honor. However, I imagine this isn't your core laboratory, is it?"
"You haven't earned my trust yet. I cannot allow you access to Root's core secrets."
Danzo snorted coldly, his gaze sweeping towards the two captives in the iron cage. Immediately, a Root ninja stepped forward and dragged the two individuals out.
"These two are captives from Hidden Sand Village. After the village reached a peace agreement with Hidden Sand Village, a group of captives was sent back, but not everyone was eligible to return. These two killed the village's ninja on the battlefield; their crimes are unforgivable."
Danzo pointed to the one on the left, then to the one on the right: "Now, use this person as a sacrifice and perform your Forbidden Jutsu on the other one for me to see. As long as I witness it firsthand and confirm it's real, you will receive my full support."
Tsukasa Kaede knew that even if these two Sunagakure ninja hadn't killed Konoha ninja, if Danzo got his hands on these unlucky individuals, he would find a way to detain them and create the illusion of their death.
After all, various Forbidden Human Experimentation projects require a large amount of material for trial and error. Rather than capturing a group of enemy ninja during war and publicly faking their deaths, it's not like they could just capture ninja from their own village, right?
Of course, it wasn't impossible, but doing so would be too dangerous. Unless it was a critical moment in an experiment, and they couldn't wait even a second longer, there would be no need to do so.
"So that's it. What you meant by 'witness firsthand' is actually this."
Tsukasa Kaede watched as Danzo removed the bandages from his head, revealing his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
He then turned his head, looking at the Root ninja scattered around, and the various Sealing Jutsu formulas covering the laboratory.
Yamanaka Clan and Nara Clan ninja were already prepared to activate their Secret Techniques, ready to restrict Tsukasa Kaede's movements at any moment.
Danzo himself had probably prepared Genjutsu as well; even a momentary effect on Tsukasa Kaede would be enough.
Well, then, he truly wasn't holding back. If Tsukasa Kaede's Forbidden Jutsu turned out to be fake, these people would swarm him, determined to keep Tsukasa Kaede here forever.
"Such a setup is extremely cautious. It seems I've come into contact with more of Root's secrets, especially that eye of yours. If possible, I'm actually quite interested in that clan's Kekkei Genkai as well."
Tsukasa Kaede began to use Zombification, quickly transforming a Sunagakure ninja.
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