Shortly after Danzō's shadow clone disappeared, the previously tightly shut office door was opened
Four Root ninjas stood before him, saluting in unison.
Dressed in black combat attire with a ninja blade strapped to his back, Danzō stepped into the office.
Previously, the barrier technique had begun to contract inward from the walls. The four ninjas standing in the corners of the office, trapped in the illusion, had their chakra flow forcibly disrupted for a brief moment, allowing them to wake up—unsurprising.
Danzō looked at Kei, who was now limp on the sofa under the effects of Creation of Heaven and Earth.
He walked back to his previous seat and sat down.
"You are too arrogant. Strength is not everything for a ninja. Blind confidence will only make you lose the most important quality of all."
Calmly, he began brewing tea again, his composed expression masking an air of superiority.
So what if someone was stronger than Jiraiya? Everyone had a weakness. As long as you gathered the right intel and made the necessary preparations… Even the strongest could only surrender.
In this world, there was never a shortage of ways to restrain the powerful!
"Your real body is finally showing itself?"
Bound to the sofa, Kei glanced at the text interface flashing on Danzō's body and immediately confirmed that this was indeed his real body.
"Since you are already restrained here, why wouldn't I dare to appear before you in person?" Danzō said, his hands moving steadily.
After rinsing the teacup that had been contaminated with medicinal residue, a crimson glow flickered in his eyes—the three-tomoe Sharingan emerged.
As his genjutsu disturbed Kei's consciousness, his hands swiftly formed seals. The dark walls of the room lit up once more with complex, unknown sealing patterns, resonating with his chakra aura.
"Become part of Root. Become the sharpest blade in my hands. Let us—"
"Sigh~ Every time I go through so much trouble preparing, my opponents never let me have a proper back-and-forth."
A crisp clapping sound echoed from the corners of the room. The four Root ninjas, previously hidden in the shadows, all stood up simultaneously.
In eerie unison, they clapped once.
A surge of powerful spiritual energy instantly shattered Danzō's mental defenses.
He fell straight into an illusion.
Kei's shadow clone appeared beside the teacup he had touched earlier.
Grabbing his real body. he vanished from the office using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Kei reappeared in the dim office, now accompanied by Kushina.
Danzō lay on the ground, his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning wildly. His face twisted in extreme pain as he convulsed, completely unable to break free from the illusion.
Still in her magical girl transformation, Kushina's delicate face burned with fury. Her knuckles cracked audibly.
He dared to plot against my boyfriend!
If this bastard has even a single unbroken bone left after today, I'll write my name backward!
"Don't touch him. He's dirty."
Kei patted Kushina's little head and nodded slightly toward his surrounding shadow clones.
Two shadow clones opened the office door, standing guard to block any unexpected Root members from entering. The other two swiftly began inspecting the office for any remaining traps.
"You actually used your real body to withstand the sealing technique just now. That was way too reckless!"
Kushina planted her hands on her hips, puffing her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"Wasn't that because I had you?" Kei ruffled Kushina's hair, showering his girlfriend with praise.
"Hehe~" Kushina beamed, clearly enjoying the compliment.
After enjoying the affectionate gesture from her boyfriend for a moment, she finally spoke.
"Danzō is usually so cautious. How did he not notice you forming seals to use a jutsu just now?"
"Maybe… clapping is an art?" Kei chuckled lightly.
There was no rule that said when you clapped, your fingers had to touch, right?
Even Hashirama could activate jutsu just by bumping his fists together.
With the enhancement of [Zero-Frame Start], using an illusion through a simple clap—what was the problem with that?
Danzō's preparations were indeed thorough.
When Kei first entered the underground training area, there was a special barrier hidden within the anti-detection seals, designed to interfere with shadow clones.
Normal shadow clones would instantly dissipate upon passing through it.
Clearly, this was meant to test whether the person reporting to Root was the real body.
After confirming that it was indeed the real one, Danzō used a shadow clone to draw his attention while secretly lacing the tea with a colorless, odorless drug. Without sufficient medical knowledge, he would have fallen for it immediately.
And even if he avoided the drugged tea, the four Root ninjas could have combined their efforts to activate a special sealing barrier, along with Creation of Heaven and Earth, which covered the entire office.
If it had been anyone else, Danzō might have succeeded. Unfortunately for him, he picked the wrong opponent.
Kei had known from the start that Danzō had bad intentions.
Before reporting to Root, he had left thirty shadow clones at home. He had also marked various locations—the Root elevator, hidden spots on different floors, and even on the second squad leader—with the Flying Thunder God mark.
Upon entering the office, his system ability instantly revealed that the Danzō behind the desk was just a shadow clone. Taking advantage of the moment when he praised Danzō's tea-making skills, he clapped his hands—using that as a distraction to cast an illusion on everyone in the room.
Then, after secretly placing a Flying Thunder God mark on the teacup, he connected to Konoha's sensory barrier, notifying his shadow clone to alert Kushina and prepare accordingly. To lure out Danzō's real body and prevent him from continuously using shadow clones as decoys, Kei deliberately allowed himself to be bound by Creation of Heaven and Earth.
Only after Danzō's shadow clone vanished did his own shadow clone appear—replacing the four Root ninjas with his own clones.
"What now?" Kushina glanced around the office, picked up a ruler-length paperweight, and started poking the suffering Danzō on the ground.
"First, we figure out the most important thing." Kei clapped his hands together and smacked Danzō on the back of the head.
All Root ninjas bore the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal placed by Danzō. This jutsu was extremely complex—if Danzō died, the technique would automatically disappear, throwing Root into chaos.
To fully take control of Root, this hidden threat had to be resolved.
He needed to transfer control of the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal to himself.
As his Psycho Mind Transmission invaded Danzō's mind, he immediately searched for information on how to control, apply, undo, and transfer the seal.
In just a few moments, he had fully mastered this crucial technique that ensured Root's obedience. With that task done, he quickly began scanning through Danzō's memories.
A flood of shocking images made Kei grimace.
Personal bodyguard Shikuro, researcher Tanuki, an unbeatable offense-defense duo?
He was really planning to take action against Hiruzen?!
Skipping past those disturbing memories, Kei finally reached the information about Root itself: The structure of Root's personnel, research bases, funding sources and expenditures, departmental leadership details, ongoing missions, spies embedded in various ninja villages…
An overwhelming amount of complex and chaotic information was rapidly recorded into his memory palace.