Shimura Danzo never could've imagined that this kid, Ito Hirofumi, would have the guts to say something like that to his face!
Isn't a fiery spirit what makes a young ninja?
Good!
Very good!!!
Danzo loved this kind of rebellious, untamed youth!
And he especially loved turning rebellious, untamed youths into his loyal dogs!!!
Staring intently at Ito Hirofumi standing before him, a glint of appreciation flickered in Danzo's eyes.
"Kid… ignorance is fearless, so I won't hold it against you. You probably don't even know who I am! My name is Shimura Danzo, a member of the Konoha Elder Council and the leader of Root…"
Danzo was about to launch into a grand speech to make sure Ito Hirofumi understood exactly who he was dealing with!
But before he could finish, Ito Hirofumi casually waved him off.
"Oh, so you're not the One-Eyed Elder? You're the Big Root Elder, huh?! On my way here, I overheard some weird ninja muttering about 'Big Root' this and that. So, you're the biggest root in Konoha's root system, right?!"
Danzo found the kid's words a bit odd.
But after mulling it over, it didn't seem that off. Root was the foundation of Konoha, and he was the leader of Root. So, being called the biggest root among roots? Sure, that tracked.
"Exactly!!! Kid, I am the biggest root in Konoha!!!" Danzo declared.
"So, who's bigger—you or the Hokage?!" Ito Hirofumi asked, his face brimming with curiosity.
Danzo's expression twitched with a hint of unease—and a spark of anger!
Damn it! Why did Sarutobi Hiruzen have to come up everywhere?!
This kid had clearly been brainwashed by the Third Hokage, daring to mention him in Danzo's presence?! Was he trying to scare Danzo off by dropping the Third's name?!
But just then, Danzo overheard Ito Hirofumi muttering to himself…
"The Third Hokage is the leader of Konoha, so you, Big Root Elder, must follow his orders. Which means… you're basically the Third Hokage's big root, right?!"
Ito Hirofumi nodded to himself as if everything had clicked into place, even giving a dramatic slap to his palm!
"That's it!!! Big Root Elder, you're the Hokage's big root, aren't you?!"
Danzo's eyelids twitched uncontrollably at the kid's words!
This damn brat was mocking him!
No wonder the kid's words felt so off—calling him the "biggest root" and all that nonsense. Now it was clear: this punk was straight-up insulting him!!!
And worse, he was comparing Danzo to Sarutobi Hiruzen's… thing!!!
"Kid! You looking to die?!" Danzo roared.
"Nope, don't wanna die!" Ito Hirofumi quickly shook his head.
Danzo had braced himself for the kid to push back, but to his surprise, the brat just backed down like that?!
Was this kid pulling some kind of trick?!
No matter!
Once this kid was in Danzo's hands, he had plenty of ways to break him. A simple Curse of the Tongue Seal would make this punk his obedient lapdog!
And if this kid proved to have even greater potential, well… maybe it wouldn't hurt to use that eye…
Danzo's hand instinctively reached up to touch the eyepatch covering his sealed eye.
Meanwhile, Ito Hirofumi wasn't fazed in the slightest. Danzo's reputation far outstripped his actual strength. With Hirofumi's current power, he could take this guy down with ease—not to mention the horde of powerhouses waiting in his summoning space!
Others might hesitate to finish Danzo off, but Uchiha Madara? Oh, he'd love to crush this guy!
Danzo took a few steps forward, leaning on his cane, his voice dripping with seductive promises.
"Kid! Join my organization. I'll train you, make you stronger, make you my big root. And in the future, when I climb even higher, I might just let you take my place as Konoha's biggest root!!! The real big root!!!"
Danzo was confident his enticing words would hook Ito Hirofumi. No kid could resist an offer like that!
But to his shock, Ito Hirofumi just shook his head.
"No thanks!!!
Big Root Elder, I'm not interested in being your big root or Konoha's big root. And I don't need to work hard to become some big root because I already have the biggest root!
Let's be real—when it comes to this, I, Ito Hirofumi, have never seen anyone as a rival!
The heroes of the world hear about my big root and tremble in fear!
My second brother is unmatched in the world!!!
I've got total confidence in my big root!
In my eyes, everyone else is just a stepping stone!!!
As for this filthy Root organization… heh, you can keep playing with that yourself, Elder Danzo!!!"
It finally hit Danzo: this kid knew exactly who he was and had just been playing dumb this whole time, toying with him!!!
"Kid! You're begging for death!!!"
Danzo sprang into action, using the Body Flicker Technique to charge at Ito Hirofumi!
All he needed was to subdue this kid and slap a Curse of the Tongue Seal on him. Then, even if Sarutobi Hiruzen himself showed up, this punk would be Danzo's loyal dog!
But what Danzo didn't expect was that his Body Flicker was dodged! The kid had matched him, activating his own Body Flicker the instant Danzo moved!
The sight left Danzo stunned.
"Kid! You've been hiding your strength this whole time!!!"
"Elder Danzo, what's that supposed to mean?! Hiding my strength?! Watch it, or I'll sue you for slander!!!
Everyone at the Ninja Academy knows I've mastered the Three Basic Techniques!" Ito Hirofumi shot back, his eyes turning cold.
This scheming old man had actually tried to make a move on him!
But Hirofumi wasn't ready to take Danzo out just yet. First, he'd show off a bit of his strength, let Danzo see his value.
He wanted to push Danzo into using that technique—Otherworldly God!
Once that happened, Hirofumi could study it closely.
Sure, he could wait and summon Uchiha Shisui with his summoning technique to research Otherworldly God later.
But that was too uncertain. Who knew when he'd manage to summon Shisui?!
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