Hiruzen Sarutobi took a draw from his pipe, regarding the unconscious Hiruko.
"Hiruko. It really is him."
"Hiruko?" Homura Mitokado raised his eyes with some puzzlement. "That one who researches secret techniques and conducts live human experiments? Why would he attack Kakashi?"
"Why?" Danzo Shimura's expression remained flat. "What else could it be?"
"The Sharingan." Koharu Utatane's tone was even.
"Fortunately, Mr. Zenshu intervened in time. Otherwise, Kakashi would have been in danger." Minato smiled as he spoke.
Beside him, Danzo crossed his arms and fixed his gaze on Zenshu. He still harbored resentment regarding that four-armed brat.
"I'm curious. How did you happen to know Kakashi was being attacked?"
The atmosphere in the room solidified slightly. Just as Minato prepared to speak, an arrogant voice cut through.
"One-eyed old man, who said it was the Clan Head who knew?" Gojo Satoru stood with hands on hips, chest puffed out in theatrical defiance.
"Zenji and I discovered it. Then we notified the Clan Head."
Danzo's cold face darkened further. His voice carried no inflection.
"And how did you two know?"
"We followed him, obviously." Gojo Satoru spoke with complete nonchalance.
"Don't ask so many questions. I just wanted to see if that so-called genius was real or fake. Thought I'd find him for a spar."
The tension dissipated instantly. Hiruzen even revealed a hint of a smile, watching the arrogant, flamboyant child.
Minato felt relief wash through him. The process Gojo Satoru described was detailed enough—a simple ANBU investigation would verify everything.
Seeing that Danzo and the two advisors still had more to say, Minato interrupted.
"This time, Mr. Zenshu captured a defected Jonin, saved Kakashi, and prevented the loss of a Sharingan. Such contribution cannot go unacknowledged."
"However, the urgent matter is interrogating Hiruko. I'll discuss merit with the advisors later. First, have the Interrogation Department extract intelligence, then—"
Danzo spoke up expressionlessly. "Why not hand him to Root? I guarantee he'll divulge everything quickly."
Minato's movements paused.
Though he'd had some understanding before, he hadn't been Hokage then.
Only after assuming the position did he realize how unbelievable Root's existence truly was—practically equivalent to splitting the ANBU forces.
Most intolerable was that Root served as the talent reserve and training institution for ANBU ninjas.
In other words, nominally, ninjas had to train in Root before entering ANBU.
And Root ninjas possessed independent recruitment and training rights. The Hokage couldn't command Root directly—he had to command Danzo, who then commanded Root personnel.
What Minato found most unacceptable was that Root ninjas had their own independent funding source and authority to execute missions autonomously.
Even intelligence gathered by Root wasn't proactively shared with ANBU.
If Danzo didn't still appear at the Hokage Building and accept orders, Minato would have thought the man was preparing to defect.
"I won't trouble the Assistant with this small matter." Minato's expression remained unchanged.
Though the tail had grown too large to wag, he had to begin weakening Root.
At minimum, the rights to independent funding and autonomous mission execution had to be removed.
"It's not hard to make him tell the truth." Zenshu spoke up suddenly.
This drew everyone's attention. They watched as Zenshu gripped Hiruko's head and pulled upward.
An illusory soul phantom in Hiruko's shape emerged beneath his palm.
"Spirit Transformation Technique?" Hiruzen said with astonishment.
But he immediately realized Hiruko couldn't possibly know that S-rank jutsu.
Setting aside its secrecy, the learning difficulty was extreme. Since Dan Kato's death, no one had mastered it.
The entire learning process was extraordinarily dangerous. Countless ninjas had died attempting it—ultimately leading to its classification as an S-rank forbidden technique.
"This is your technique? Idle Transfiguration?" Hiruzen spoke softly.
Danzo's sharp gaze locked onto the illusory soul, immediately noting the purple-black chakra light glowing on Zenshu's hand.
"What do you intend to do?"
"Human souls vary. Some are naturally resilient. Others are weak-willed." Zenshu's voice was utterly calm—devoid of emotion.
"But even the naturally resilient have moments of confusion. Moments of breakdown. Moments of relaxation."
"With minor mental modification, I can transform him into a weak-willed, mentally relaxed subject. He'll answer any question."
The emotionless, indifferent words made everyone present shudder.
Manipulating bodies. Fabricating souls.
How could such a vicious technique exist?
Danzo's face grew even darker. Not from rejection of such methods.
Rather, he was calculating whether his Root ninjas could maintain secrecy against such abilities.
Obviously, this caused killing intent to flicker in his eye.
Almost the instant it appeared, Danzo saw Zenshu's cloudy blue eyes turn toward him.
Despite the absence of visible pupils, the sensation of being firmly locked in that gaze was unmistakable. Fear seeped into his mind, making him shudder.
Danzo averted his gaze to Hiruko's soul. His hands clenched involuntarily.
"And the price?" Hiruzen's face remained relatively composed as he asked the crucial question.
Minato, seated nearby, was completely different—his entire expression had turned grave.
"Forced alteration causes varying degrees of soul damage. In severe cases, there won't even be an afterlife."
The moment Zenshu finished, Minato stood immediately. His tone carried absolute seriousness.
"Mr. Zenshu. This technique is extremely dangerous. I will classify it as forbidden. It absolutely cannot be spread casually, and it must never be used on village personnel."
No one had expected such a strong reaction from Minato. Hiruzen nodded with gratification.
The two advisors also raised no objections. Only Danzo's eyes flickered—as if forming ideas.
"Rest assured. I have no intention of teaching Idle Transfiguration to anyone, and no one else could learn it anyway." Zenshu's tone remained indifferent.
"Do you still wish to use it on Hiruko?"
"I agree to its use." Danzo spoke immediately. "Hiruko is already a defector. Not a village member."
The others concurred. Minato ultimately could only nod.
Seeing this, Zenshu activated his ability—directly modifying Hiruko's inner mind before returning him to his physical body.
Hiruko slowly opened his eyes. His pupils appeared somewhat dull.
"Hiruko, what did you return to Konoha to do?" Hiruzen asked immediately.
"Kakashi. I want to leave a puppet mark on Kakashi."
"Why?"
"Because of the Sharingan. My Chimera Technique needs the Sharingan."
"..."
After thorough questioning, Gojo Satoru's account was verified—and Hiruko's conspiracy fully understood.
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