On his way to Orochimaru's laboratory, Yagami passed by Root's primary training ground.
Danzo was inside.
He held a heavy training blade, ruthlessly swatting a new recruit across the room. The recruit had failed to meet Danzo's strict standards during taijutsu drills.
Though Danzo used the flat of the blade, he held nothing back; the recruit slammed hard into the wall, shattering the ceramic tiles before sliding to the floor, blood seeping from beneath his mask.
"Useless! How can such trash ever satisfy the needs of Root!" Danzo bellowed.
Yagami cast a brief glance at the tyrannical elder before continuing toward Orochimaru's lab. Danzo sensed the scrutiny, and upon seeing it was Fox—who was merely here to collect a progress report for the ANBU—his fury only deepened.
So many had passed through Root, dying off in waves, yet not a single one had grown into an asset like Fox. Had Yellow Dog even put effort into training Fox? No. Yellow Dog had simply handed him a squad leader position the moment he showed potential.
Now, Fox was the sharpest kunai in the ANBU's arsenal, ready for any suicide mission. Yellow Dog never had to worry about failure, nor did he have to worry about Fox dying.
Walking away from the training hall, Yagami frowned beneath his mask.
'The suffering of these Root recruits is technically a little bit my fault. If I hadn't slaughtered the previous iterations of Root, these newly drafted civilian ninjas wouldn't be living through this nightmare.'
His conscience pricked at him. To set his mind at ease, he knew he had to launch another strike against Danzo. He needed to find Yuka as soon as possible and resume his retaliation against the Shimura clan. He would alternate between the Shimura clan and Root—sustainable pressure, sustainable torment.
...
Entering Orochimaru's laboratory, Yagami found the layout completely altered.
Rows of glowing nutrient vats lined both walls. Inside each vat was a child or an infant.
Ten in total.
"Ah, Fox, you've arrived," Orochimaru purred, his voice laced with the manic pride of a mad scientist. "Come, look at the progress of my research!"
He showed no moral hesitation, speaking with absolute candor. "These are exceptional test subjects. They are children born to women who married out of the Senju clan. Each carries a half-blood Senju heritage!"
Yagami had expected Orochimaru to hide the nature of his work, but the man clearly lacked any ethical constraints. Was he not afraid of Tsunade finding out? Probably not. Danzo was losing his mind from his losses, and Orochimaru was, by nature, a lunatic.
A post-war baby boom was underway, but gathering ten children with Senju blood was no small feat. Orochimaru continued, his voice rising with excitement:
"I originally requested fifty subjects, but Root was entirely cleared out by that 'Konosuke Sarutobi,' bringing our operations to a near standstill. I don't know when they'll manage to secure the remaining forty. Once they do, the true transplantation experiments will begin!"
Yagami remembered the canon timeline; Yamato would be the sole survivor out of those fifty subjects.
"Look at them, Fox," Orochimaru pointed to the glass. "They have already developed balanced dual affinities for Earth and Water Style. Their physiques are perfectly suited for both elements, unlike the previous subjects who skewed too heavily toward one or the other."
"Congratulations, Lord Orochimaru," Yagami replied smoothly. "I hope you complete your research into the secret art soon."
Taking the progress report, Yagami returned to the ANBU base to debrief Yellow Dog on both the Exchange mission and Root's laboratory activities.
Yellow Dog praised him warmly, while Gibbon stepped forward to reclaim the spy communication scroll. Yagami cast a long look at Gibbon before relinquishing the scroll.
...
Leaving the base, Yagami stood atop the Hokage Rock, looking toward the Hidden Leaf Hospital. The building was ablaze with lights, burdened by the heavy medical demands of the village.
Should he tip off Tsunade that Root and Orochimaru were systematically kidnapping children of Senju descent? They weren't targeting the main Senju compound, but the abduction of ten children from Marrying out daughters must have raised alarms within the clan.
Given Tsunade's temperament, if she discovered the truth, she wouldn't wait a single night before tearing Root apart to rescue them.
Yet, Wood Style transplantation data was something Yagami also desperately needed. His alt account, Konosuke Sarutobi, possessed Kage-level destructive power through the Five-Style Great Combo, provided he had the chakra.
But his main account, Fox, still lacked a definitive trump card capable of bringing down a true Kage. Grinding a Kage down through attrition alone was an unreliable strategy. At this moment, his interests aligned with Danzo and Orochimaru.
After long deliberation, Yagami sighed.
'Forget it. I might not be a good person, but I can't act completely less than human.'
Delaying the experiment would also prevent Danzo from acquiring Wood Style too early.
However, since he had just visited the lab today, tipping off Tsunade immediately might allow Danzo to connect his visit to her sudden outrage. It was better to wait a few days.
...
A few days later, Yagami used Mayfly to seek out Tsunade.
Traveling through the subterranean network of organic matter, he suddenly felt a presence beside him. He wasn't in human form, existing instead as a localized cluster of microscopic organic particles. Yet, another mass of organic matter was moving through the network nearby.
It wasn't a normal living organism. It was... White Zetsu?
Yagami immediately changed course to pursue it. Zetsu noticed him instantly. Yagami tracked him through the root systems but found himself unable to close the distance before Zetsu smoothly drifted beyond the village walls.
Yagami materialized in the thick foliage beneath the perimeter wall, abandoning the chase. Their abilities were identical; they couldn't breach each other's stealth.
He had thought he could go anywhere he pleased within the Leaf. It turned out Zetsu felt the exact same way. The Hidden Leaf held no secrets from Zetsu and Uchiha Madara. Zetsu had likely only sensed a generic mass of organic matter, remaining unaware of Yagami's true identity.
Yagami returned to the spot where he had first crossed paths with Zetsu. He observed an elderly civilian and a young boy emerging from a ninja tool shop. Looking at the young boy wearing thick goggles, Yagami understood what Zetsu was plotting.
Zetsu had already set his sights on Obito.
A kunai slid into Yagami's hand.
'Should I kill Obito now?'
The Uchiha understood love better than anyone. The more passionate their emotions, the more extreme the power they unleashed upon losing everything. Madara had chosen Obito precisely because the boy was, in every sense of the word, a good person.
He loved his grandmother, his friends, and even strangers. Taking everything from a soul that pure and dragging him into hell was the perfect catalyst to awaken the ultimate power of the Uchiha—the Mangekyo Sharingan.
The kunai slipped back into his pouch. No, Obito was still innocent. If he killed him now, Madara would simply select another successor. It would cause him to lose his grasp on the narrative, making it even harder to deal with the Madara hidden in the dark.
Yagami turned back toward his original path to find Tsunade. Preventing Danzo from securing Wood Style too early remained his top priority.