Danzo's speed was erratic, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
Sometimes he would inexplicably stop in place, staring blankly into the air, lost in thought.
Other times, he would run as if insane, leaving Night Light and the Aburame Ninja far behind.
Just thinking about it made me feel bad for Danzo.
He had been planning how to deal with Kato Dan the entire way, even finalizing his battle strategy, but then an old, dying Uchiha suddenly appeared and gave Danzo a beating.
His newly transplanted trump card, Kagami's Mangekyo Sharingan, was directly crippled by Uchiha Madara.
Who was Uchiha Madara? He was the progenitor of the Sharingan, even if Uchiha Kagami were alive today, he would die upon meeting Uchiha Madara.
Night Light was secretly pleased, yet also worried, wondering if Danzo would really kill someone.
Could he kill the Aburame Ninja first? He's your guard; if you lose an eye, isn't the guard's responsibility even greater?
It's like when you six Hokage guards went to protect the Second Hokage, and he died, but all six of you returned unharmed. Don't the guards bear responsibility?
Danzo was ahead, his face bruised and purple, blood continuously flowing from his right eye socket.
This right eye had completely turned into a gray-white, useless eye.
Danzo recalled the overwhelming appearance of the Wood Release just now.
In the Valley of the End, Uchiha Madara's Mangekyo was defeated by Senju Hashirama's Wood Release.
Now, Uchiha Madara had somehow obtained Wood Release, and Danzo's Mangekyo couldn't defeat Uchiha Madara's Wood Release.
In other words, it wasn't that he was weak, but that the Mangekyo was weak, inferior to Wood Release.
Uchiha Madara had been alive all this time, yet he had never invaded Konoha. Could it be because he knew Konoha was constantly researching hashirama cell?
Did he fear hashirama cell?
Wood Release was Konoha's strongest power, capable of suppressing the Nine-Tailed and also defeating the Mangekyo.
Using the Mangekyo continuously in battle just now placed a heavy burden on his body, and the Sharingan wasn't yet fully synchronized with him.
He wondered if Orochimaru could find a perfect transplantation method.
Danzo secretly resolved that upon his return, he must have Orochimaru expedite the research into Wood Release.
After witnessing truly powerful strength, Danzo decided to continue striving for greater power.
Danzo suddenly stopped in place.
The Aburame Ninja and Night Light quickly halted, cautiously observing Danzo.
Danzo looked at their cowering expressions with his single eye and criticized:
"Look at how timid you two are. It's merely a setback in one battle.
For Konoha, what are a few minor frustrations?
Even the First Hokage didn't have a smooth journey; he also encountered setbacks.
This operation yielded extremely important intelligence: the Uchiha Clan's treacherous intentions persist, and Uchiha Madara is actually still alive.
He's lived so long, longer than Uzumaki Mito; he must be plotting something.
Upon returning to the village, strengthen surveillance on the Uchiha Clan, purge dangerous elements within the Uchiha Clan, and absolutely do not let Uchiha Madara's scheme succeed."
Night Light breathed a sigh of relief. Danzo was beginning to seriously educate his subordinates, which proved he had no murderous intent.
"Fox, you did well. You uncovered extremely important intelligence."
Suddenly being called out, Night Light was startled, then quickly said, "Lord Danzo, it was a mistake in my investigation that led to not clarifying the enemy's information."
Danzo, however, was magnanimous, saying:
"An enemy like Uchiha Madara, how could an ordinary Anbu possibly ascertain his intelligence? This is not your fault.
Find a tree hollow; I need to deal with my right eye."
The Aburame Ninja found a tree hollow that could shelter Danzo from the rain.
Danzo went in alone.
The Aburame Ninja stood guard outside the hollow, while Night Light stood guard some distance away.
The torrential rain made everyone feel unusually uneasy.
He wondered if Danzo's original eye was still there after transplanting the Sharingan.
The Aburame Ninja remained motionless, as if the heavy rain didn't exist, his posture unchanged.
After half an hour, Danzo slowly emerged.
Night Light was surprised; Danzo's right eye was once again covered with a bandage eye patch!
At the same time, Danzo's demeanor changed dramatically, once again filled with confidence, as if everything was under his control.
The rain around Danzo seemed to lessen a bit.
Could Danzo have implanted another Mangekyo Sharingan? Uchiha Kagami's other eye?
After Orochimaru's human experiments, Danzo became the biggest beneficiary, once again gaining powerful strength.
The three continued their journey, heading north.
After walking for more than ten minutes, Danzo suddenly said, "Wait!"
Night Light and the Aburame Ninja quickly stopped, unsure what Danzo wanted.
"No," Danzo said, "Fox, tell me again about the situation you encountered during your mission."
Night Light reported it again, including the three controlled Leaf Ninja and the sacrifice of his own team members.
Danzo said:
"Uchiha Madara's appearance interfered with my judgment. The three controlled Leaf Ninja were indeed done by Uchiha Madara.
But the Fox Squad members killing each other is definitely not Uchiha Madara's style.
If it were Uchiha Madara, he would directly charge among you and wreak havoc.
He commits many evils, but at least his actions are direct and open.
The culprit is someone else. The only person who can kill in this manner is Kato Dan.
He's nearby; we cannot let him escape."
Danzo thought to himself, the Senju Clan's Sealing Scroll is such a precious item, still in the Senju Clan's hands. If he could obtain the Senju Sealing Scroll, he would gain more information about the Spiritual Transformation Technique.
The Aburame Ninja took out a waterproof map, opened it in the rain, and said, "Fox, mark the location where you were ambushed."
Night Light marked the ambush location of his squad on the map.
The Aburame Ninja connected the ambush locations of the Fox Squad with a smooth arc, roughly drawing the direction of the center.
Night Light was startled; that was precisely the direction Bai Yang had pointed to in the end.
Bai Yang's final words were whispered into Night Light's ear; the other team members didn't know, and it was the most important information Night Light had concealed.
He hadn't expected the Aburame Ninja to get so close to the truth so easily.
Danzo said:
"This place is far from Uchiha Madara, so there's no need to worry about him anymore.
Head in this direction. Kato Dan is also a serious threat; he cannot be allowed to live any longer.
Otsu, Fox, you two agree on a secret signal system to constantly confirm whether you've been controlled by Kato Dan."
The Aburame Ninja's Root codename was Otsu, indicating a very high rank.
After confirming the direction, Otsu released his swarm of insects.
Occasionally, two or three insects would fly back and return to Otsu's body.
After searching for more than ten kilometers, Otsu suddenly said, "I've found a suspicious cave!"
Night Light was still the first to enter the cave to gather intelligence. He cautiously sent a Shadow Clone in, but the cave was empty.
Otsu followed him in and released his insects on the ground.
The insects slowly formed a human shape, and Otsu said:
"Someone was lying here a few hours ago, most likely Kato Dan. There's also the smell of herbs around, so Kato Dan must have been treating himself here.
The insects have captured Kato Dan's scent; Kato Dan won't escape!"
After emerging from the cave, Danzo and his two companions moved even faster, following the insects in a certain direction.