Breaking into the vault in Danzo's residence was child's play. The real challenge lay in the Root's underground treasury.
Though the Root base was buried beneath Konoha, its defenses were formidable; barriers, seals, and layers of security designed to ward off infiltration. After poring over the structural blueprints Orochimaru had provided, Uchiha Gen realized that a straightforward approach was impossible.
Luckily, he had an advantage, Orochimaru himself, once the Root's Deputy Leader, knew the place inside and out.
Studying the maps carefully, Gen identified a subtle flaw in the Root's defenses. With that, the plan was set. He went about his day as usual, calm and unhurried, waiting until nightfall to begin his operation.
His true body could not risk moving. Even a Shadow Clone was too dangerous, Root employed sensory ninja, and if his chakra signature were discovered, the consequences would be disastrous.
So, he chose a different tactic.
Gen used the Spirit Transformation Technique, scanning the area until he located traces of White Zetsu. Splitting off half of his soul, he destroyed one with ease, then seized its body as a vessel.
Following the principle of 'start with the easy target,' he directed the White Zetsu toward Danzo's residence first.
The household vault was laughably unprepared against this kind of infiltration. The White Zetsu slid through walls and floors in silence, slipping inside without a trace.
After a careful sweep to confirm there were no traps, Gen forced open the boxes one by one. Inside lay neatly stacked banknotes.
"Tch. Danzo's loaded," Gen muttered under his breath.
Channeling the White Zetsu's chakra, he imprinted a Flying Thunder God seal onto one of the boxes. In an instant, his main body flashed into the vault, unseen and unheard.
Box after box vanished into his personal space as he warped them away. By the time he finished, not even a rat would have found a scrap left behind.
With Danzo's personal vault emptied, Gen directed the White Zetsu toward the Root's underground treasury.
As expected, the northwest corner of the barrier revealed a flaw. Pressing its hand against the seal, black lines spread outward like a spider's web, carving a two-meter window where the barrier's sensory field was nullified.
The White Zetsu slipped through without setting off alarms. Following Orochimaru's instructions, it bypassed the twisting corridors and arrived straight at the vault's door.
Ironically, Danzo had trusted the Root vault so completely that no additional protections had been laid here. His personal vault had traps; the Root vault, none.
The White Zetsu's hand liquefied, seeping into the keyhole before hardening into the perfect shape of a key.
Click!
The door swung open.
Gen had the Zetsu step inside and shut the door behind it. His eyes swept across the chamber and widened; rows of boxes stacked high, nearly matching the haul from Danzo's private vault.
"So frugal with spending? And this close to year-end too… impressive," he murmured.
The Root received its operating funds annually. For there still to be this much unspent was almost unbelievable.
Another sweep for traps. None. He placed a Flying Thunder God mark and, once more, his main body appeared inside. Box after box disappeared into his possession until the vault was bare.
The White Zetsu retraced its steps, patched the barrier to erase any signs of tampering, and withdrew without raising suspicion.
Afterward, Gen transformed the dead White Zetsu into a Conscience Envoy, dispatching it to report to Shiroichi and Shiroji.
Then, summoning a great serpent, he delivered Orochimaru's promised share.
He had no intention of dragging the loot into Uchiha territory. Instead, he warped it all to a secluded forest at Konoha's outskirts, where even summoning a giant snake would pass unnoticed.
Only after tying off every loose end did he hesitate, should he purge the other White Zetsu infiltrating Konoha?
A brief pause, then his decision was firm.
Eliminate them.
All of them.
First, secure the benefits. Obito and his allies might take notice, but that didn't matter. Even if suspicion fell his way, without proof, what could they do? They couldn't just blame him out of spite.
Methodically, he hunted them down. By dawn, five more Conscience Envoys had been created and dispatched to Shiroichi and Shiroji.
It seemed Obito's group had grown cautious, over the past year and a half, they had only deployed six White Zetsu into Konoha. Now, all were gone.
Satisfied, Gen returned home, washed up, and slept soundly.
The next morning, he rose refreshed, treated himself to a lavish breakfast, and chuckled at the thought, food always tasted better when someone else paid for it.
…
By nine, Danzo sat in his Root office, calmly processing paperwork.
The Hokage seat was finally within reach, and his spirits soared. Today, he would dispatch Root operatives to spread word of his greatness, priming the village to accept him as their next leader.
Knock knock knock!
A rapid, desperate pounding broke his mood. Danzo's brow furrowed. Such clumsy knocking. With irritation buried beneath his usual icy composure, he spoke:
"Enter."
The door creaked open. A Root shinobi in a boar mask dropped to one knee.
"Danzo-sama… bad news. The Root vault has been robbed."
"…What?"
Danzo rose so fast his chair scraped across the floor. Hands braced on the desk, his pupils shrank.
"Say that again."
"The Root vault has been robbed," the ninja repeated steadily. "This morning, when I went to withdraw funds for Squad Three's requisition order, the vault was completely empty. Even the money boxes were gone."
"Impossible!" Danzo snarled. "Take me there—now."
They rushed to the vault. One look at the barren chamber, shelves stripped bare, and Danzo froze.
The Root shinobi near the door shifted uneasily; the air pressure in the room felt suffocating, like standing beneath a thunderstorm.
Danzo's face twisted, his voice low and venomous. "Summon every shinobi who entered or exited Root yesterday. Screen them all."
"Yes, Danzo-sama."
"I will conduct the screenings personally."
"…Understood."
What followed was chaos. Interrogations ran through the night, Danzo himself employing genjutsu and mind-probing ninjutsu. Yet not a single trace of betrayal surfaced.
Fury boiling over, he expanded the net, every Root ninja not on an external mission would be scrutinized. Still, nothing.
Only then did Danzo realize the thief had come from outside.
His orders rang across the underground base: "Mobilize all Root shinobi. Recover the funds. Find the culprit. Spare no effort!"
Not just specialists but all operatives.
That alone revealed the depth of his rage.
The Hokage candidate who prided himself on control was incandescent with fury, his temper burning hotter than fire itself.
Abandoning paperwork, he stormed back to his residence. If the Root's funds had vanished, then he would patch the deficit with his own fortune... for now.
At year's end, the next allocation would arrive, and the wound would be mended.
This was no act of noble sacrifice. He had no choice.
If word spread that the Root vault had been robbed under his very nose, his prestige would collapse. Worse, doubts about his competence would spread; at the very moment he needed to prove himself fit for Hokage.
One scandal, and Hiruzen, the elders, and the clans would all dismiss him.
For Shimura Danzo, this wasn't just money.
It was his career.
And he had no idea… that the true storm had only just begun.