Everything left behind in Root was sealed up by Kimimaro using sealing scrolls—mission records, ninjutsu scrolls, experimental equipment, and so on.
Under the supervision of Kimimaro and Kakashi's ANBU team, the ANBU members brought by Sarutobi Shinnosuke had no room for mischief. The Root base still had a bone forest several meters tall; if they tried anything and Kimimaro noticed, he wouldn't hesitate to act.
Under his cold gaze, the Sarutobi clan's ANBU felt completely on edge. Despite being Chunin or Jonin, most of them had less experience in killing than this teenager.
As Orochimaru's top enforcer, Kimimaro had handled countless dirty tasks. The number of people he had killed likely surpassed that of an entire small village.
His methods were even more ruthless than the average ANBU—just earlier, any Root ninja who disobeyed Tsunade's orders was executed on the spot.
Kimimaro also sealed the corpses of the slain Root members. Even their brains held valuable information. Despite the curse marks engraved within, extracting intel would still be a loss for Konoha.
He turned to Kakashi with a calm expression and said, "Kakashi-senpai, keep an eye on these Root ninjas. If they try to escape once they've recovered, kill them. If even one escapes, kill them all."
The wounded Root members crouching on the ground trembled at his words. It was the first time they had encountered someone even colder than themselves. More than twenty Root ninja had just been killed for merely saying they were following Danzo's orders.
Did this man even see them as comrades? Couldn't he at least show them the appointment scroll? They weren't even allowed to question anything. The survivors felt deeply wronged.
Danzo-sama, we're not disloyal—our enemy is simply too cold and brutal!
Kakashi scratched his head and sighed. "Got it, Kimimaro. Don't worry, no one will escape."
With that settled, Kimimaro headed toward the Hokage's office.
But first, he stopped by the ANBU base to change clothes. The members there quietly avoided him—word of what he had done at Root had clearly spread.
After changing and preparing a mission report, Kimimaro finally made his way to the Hokage's office, where many had already gathered.
Looking around, he saw several clan heads from earlier, as well as two elders—one missing an arm, the other glaring at him with thinly veiled hatred.
Kimimaro didn't care about people who couldn't even hide their hatred. Those kinds of people, in his view, were never capable of achieving anything significant.
"Lady Tsunade, Root has been secured. We encountered some rogue ninja during the process, but they've all been eliminated."
He handed her the mission report with a flat tone.
Tsunade took a glance and nodded. "Good work, Kimimaro. I'm marking this as an A-rank mission."
"You're going too far, Tsunade!"
Danzo finally exploded.
Over twenty Root members dead, his power base in Konoha completely wiped out—and she was commending the one responsible?
He had more than forty Root ninjas under his command, and now most had been seized. The rest were scattered on missions outside the village, no more than thirty remaining.
And now he had lost his advisor position as well…
"What are you shouting for, old man?" Tsunade slammed the desk. "Letting a civilian like you observe this meeting is already a favor. Shout again, and you're out."
Her sharp glare bore into Danzo. This bastard had wrecked the village with Hiruzen's tacit approval and left her to clean up the mess.
Danzo was silenced, but Koharu Mitokado stepped forward to intervene. "Tsunade, regardless of the situation, the Root members are Konoha shinobi. They've contributed greatly to the village. So many were killed by Kimimaro—shouldn't we have an explanation?"
"An explanation? Who am I supposed to explain to?"
Tsunade scoffed, her tone turning cold. "I'm the Fifth Hokage. The official appointment from the daimyo is en route. I sent ANBU to secure Root, which had no commander. If they resisted and tried to defect, should I have just let it go?"
"Ridiculous. Has Root grown so bloated it can ignore Hokage orders? Show me evidence of their so-called 'contributions.' If it exists, I'll admit this was a mistake."
"You—!"
Danzo choked on his words. Root operated in secrecy to protect the village, so even Hiruzen only knew the broad strokes.
Tsunade had no patience for more of this. "Enough. This is Konoha business, not something for two civilians to meddle in. ANBU, take them home. They're no longer allowed in the Hokage building."
"Yes, Fifth Hokage."
Three ANBU members appeared and began escorting Danzo and Koharu out.
"Tsunade, fine…"
Koharu's face was filled with rage. Both Tsunade and her teacher were ungrateful. Once used, they were discarded.
Danzo was also seething. Tsunade had struck directly at his Root, crushing his Hokage ambitions. As he was dragged away, he muttered coldly, "Tsunade, you'll regret this."
Tsunade replied without care, "Regret? I'm the Hokage."
Once the two were gone, Tsunade turned to the others and began planning the Hokage inauguration ceremony, which would take place in three days. Since the war was ongoing, they'd only invite allied nations nearby, and the ceremony would be kept simple.
When the rest of the planning was done, she said to Kimimaro, "Kimimaro, take control of Root as quickly as possible. I'll grant Root more autonomy than even ANBU. Hmph, the Sarutobi clan has gone too far."
"Understood, Lady Tsunade," Kimimaro said. He paused, then added, "But all the Root members currently have a curse mark on their tongues. Should we eliminate them and recruit anew?"
Smack
Tsunade slapped her forehead. Kimimaro's murderous tendencies gave her a headache. She'd have to correct that eventually.
"No need. I'll find a way to remove the curse mark. You just focus on bringing the remaining Root members under control and expanding the unit."
Danzo's curse mark might seem clever, but Tsunade had allies capable of breaking it.
"I understand," Kimimaro nodded.
"Oh right, Kimimaro—what about the other guy Orochimaru mentioned? Why hasn't he shown up yet? Do you have any info?"
Tsunade recalled that Orochimaru had promised another helper, but that person still hadn't appeared.
After a moment's thought, Kimimaro replied, "That person should be Kabuto Yakushi. Apart from Orochimaru-sama, no one—including myself—knows his whereabouts."
"All right, I'll ask Orochimaru again. You're dismissed."
Tsunade waved him off.
At the Sand Federation's guest house—
Ever since obtaining Uchiha Fugaku's body, Hyuga Mirai had stayed hidden there for research. He'd brought a full research kit with him—while he couldn't set it all up, dissecting equipment for studying the body was usable.
After two days of studying Fugaku's brain, Mirai finally unlocked the secret of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan.
When an Uchiha's brain secretes emotion-altering chemicals, it stimulates a unique genetic sequence, awakening the Sharingan. The more emotional stimulation, the stronger the awakening.
The Mangekyo Sharingan is the full expression of that awakening.
From Fugaku's genes, Mangekyo was his upper limit. Once the gene was fully awakened, it also modified the body to generate a unique chakra aligned with that sequence.
But this chakra was non-renewable. Once used, it was gone. Only by implanting Hashirama Cells could this chakra be generated continuously.
"So based on this, the key to further evolution of the Mangekyo Sharingan must be the God Tree's genetic fragments. Indra's chakra aligns perfectly with the evolution path. I should've moved on Sasuke sooner. If I do it right, I might even be able to replicate a few pairs of Rinnegan."
Looking over his research, Mirai plotted silently. He needed to find a way to take Sasuke out of the village.
As he was thinking, Ayaka Uzumaki knocked on the door and told him that Uchiha Mikoto had arrived.
"Perfect timing."
Mirai walked over and opened the door, greeting Mikoto with a smile.
"Such a coincidence, Lady Mikoto. I was just about to come find you."
(End of Chapter)