Chapter 77: Pain! It Hurts Too Much!
"Lord Tenchū, an A-rank fluctuation has appeared in the northeast quadrant, in the Yellow-Green Forest. Please proceed to investigate."
In the sky, riding the Ink Bird as they expanded their search for Li Yao from the valley, the couple Sarutobi Tenchū and Sarutobi Ayase heard Yamanaka Goka's voice suddenly echo in their minds.
Using the barrier center's massive sensory barrier and the chakra-amplifying sensory equipment, Yamanaka Goka could perform mental communication with any ninja within the barrier who carried a chakra mark.
Upon hearing that an A-rank chakra fluctuation had been detected in the Yellow-Green Forest not far from them, Sarutobi Tenchū's heart stirred.
"Could it be Li Yao?"
He thought to himself and then looked up and responded, "Received," confirming to Yamanaka Goka.
"You've got intel on Li Yao?" asked Sarutobi Ayase.
"Information from the barrier center. An A-rank fluctuation appeared in the Yellow-Green Forest. We've been asked to check it out," Tenchū replied.
"Is it Li Yao?" Ayase asked.
"Don't know yet. Let's go take a look," said Tenchū, shaking his head.
Ayase immediately maneuvered the Ink Bird to change direction, flying toward the Yellow-Green Forest.
They had already confirmed that the Li Yao they had been tracking was just a shadow clone. Now, it was up to Seika and Ryoma to confirm whether the one on their side was the real body.
If not… then things would get troublesome.
The couple thought silently.
Meanwhile…
In Konoha—
Near the underground Root base beside the barrier, Danzo, who had rushed back upon sensing that the sealing technique on Li Yao's heart had been released, finally arrived in Konoha after traveling through two nights and a day. It was early morning.
Danzo formed hand seals and quickly passed through the sensory barrier.
As the long-time comrade of the Third Hokage, Danzo naturally knew the password seals to freely pass through the barrier.
Danzo's return didn't trigger any alert in the sensory barrier.
Soon—
Danzo, heavy-hearted, arrived at the entrance of the Root base.
"Shh! Shh! Shh!"
Three ANBU suddenly appeared, surrounding Danzo, initially thinking he was an enemy. But upon seeing his face, they immediately bowed respectfully. "Lord Danzo."
Seeing the three ANBU appear, but none of the Root squad that had been left behind, Danzo immediately frowned, realizing something had gone wrong—something big.
"Inside… Never mind."
Danzo started to speak but stopped himself, shook his head, and strode directly into the underground Root base.
Two of the ANBU followed Danzo inside.
The third left swiftly to report to the Third Hokage.
As Danzo entered the base and passed by the large hole created by Li Yao, he glanced at it, his expression darkening, and quickly made his way to Laboratory 0.
Very soon—
Laboratory 0 came into view. By the light of the oil lamps still burning in the corridor, he saw the broken door and three blackened, bloodstained patches on the floor. Danzo's pupils contracted. In a flash, he was at the door and looked inside—his heart clenched hard.
Pain!
It hurts too much!
Danzo took down an oil lamp from the side and stepped into Laboratory 0 with heavy steps.
Inside, all the equipment had been destroyed, the floor plowed like a field, and rubble was everywhere.
Danzo approached the base of the original liquid cultivation tank for the First Hokage's Wood Release cells.
The glass equipment inside was shattered, and naturally, the original liquid of the Wood Release cells was gone too.
That was the result of years of effort, cultivating First Hokage cells!
One had to know—those cells devoured massive amounts of chakra and nutrients to survive. Danzo had spent countless resources and chakra over the years to grow just that little bit. Now it was all gone.
"What the hell happened?!"
The veins on Danzo's forehead bulged as he turned and roared at the two ANBU who had followed him in.
The two looked at each other, heads lowered. In fact, they wanted to ask Danzo the same question.
After all, Li Yao had escaped from inside the Root base.
But Danzo treated the base as his private property, setting layer after layer of barriers. Even though Li Yao had blown a big hole through it, many traps and seals still remained active.
Anyone who didn't know the seal patterns inside would face a high risk of death upon entry.
So after Li Yao's escape, the base had remained untouched. Even the Third Hokage had shaken his head upon seeing it and left them to guard the entrance and the hole, waiting for Danzo to return and report to him.
It was as if the Third had known Danzo would come back early.
And he had. Which is why the two ANBU were only now entering the base with Danzo for the first time.
Danzo asking them what happened truly put them in a difficult spot.
Even if they knew something, they couldn't tell Danzo.
Though Root was under ANBU, it operated independently.
Danzo wasn't their superior. They couldn't simply speak to him however they pleased.
At that moment, silence was their only response.
Facing the ANBU's silence, Danzo stopped yelling and quieted down. He understood that these two wouldn't know any real details.
"Hm… what's that?"
Just then, Danzo caught something from the corner of his eye—beneath the shattered chakra-metal bed, there seemed to be a large hole. His expression changed drastically, and in an instant, he was at the edge, peering in.
Even with the weak light of the oil lamp, it was hard to see clearly.
But Danzo knew—the chakra-sealing sphere buried underground had been destroyed.
That meant the entire base's cultivation fluid cycle would collapse.
"Li Yao…"
"Ah!"
"No!"
Danzo let out a furious roar, then his expression shifted again as he turned and ran out.
He stopped at the door of Laboratory 1, just about to enter when he suddenly calmed himself. Casting a glance at the two ANBU behind him, he decided not to open the door.
"Forget it. At this point, the Sharingan inside must already be ruined."
Though reluctant, Danzo understood—without the chakra provided by the sealing sphere, the cultivation fluids in the entire base's labs would have lost their energy and nutrients overnight.
Now a whole day had passed. The Sharingan stored in Laboratory 1 would be dead—useless.
"Wait for Hiruzen."
Danzo turned, leaning silently against the door. He had already unlocked part of the base's barrier, allowing Hiruzen to follow the path he took and enter.
The two ANBU glanced at the door to Laboratory 1 and understood: there was something inside they were not supposed to know.
They weren't curious. They said nothing.
Some secrets require a life to uncover.
They had no intention of dying young.
Two minutes of silence passed.
Rushed footsteps echoed down the hallway, soon arriving at the corridor outside Laboratory 1.
In the dim light, the face of the Third Hokage appeared, burning with barely restrained rage.
"Lord Hokage," the two ANBU with Danzo said.
Hiruzen nodded, then glared at Danzo with fury. He turned to the ANBU. "You two, leave us."
"Yes, Lord Hokage." They immediately walked past and left.
Once the sound of their footsteps had completely faded, Hiruzen could no longer contain his anger. But before he could speak, Danzo struck first.
"What the hell happened, Hiruzen?"
"Why is there a huge hole in my Root base?"
"Why are my test subjects gone?"
Three sharp questions in a row. Danzo's face was more furious than Hiruzen's, as if ready to question his qualifications as Hokage for letting a Root test subject escape.
Seeing Hiruzen's expression, Danzo knew: Li Yao had escaped from Konoha. So he made the first move.
But Danzo didn't yet know that Li Yao knew sealing techniques and had even briefly fought evenly with Uzumaki Mito. The danger level had skyrocketed.
He had underestimated the Third's fury over Li Yao's escape.
"You…"
Hiruzen's eyes went wide, blazing with fury. He opened his mouth but was momentarily speechless.
He was stunned by Danzo's shamelessness.
This guy had abandoned his post as a frontline commander and returned without permission.
There was no way Danzo didn't know why he, Hiruzen, was furious about Li Yao.
And yet this guy still had the nerve to confront him?
"Danzo…" Hiruzen's voice was cold and deadly, his eyes boring into him like those of a predator.
"Uh…" Under that terrifying gaze, Danzo finally realized he had truly touched Hiruzen's bottom line this time. He couldn't slip past this like before. He lowered his head in surrender, saying nothing more.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997