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"According to the intelligence from the Grass Country, Orochimaru claims he was merely the research scientist, and Danzō was the one responsible for capturing the human test subjects for his experiments!" Namikaze Minato finished delivering the report.
Good grief!
Akira inwardly applauded the genius move. Orochimaru was truly ruthless, delivering a direct, crippling backstab to Danzō.
What's more, the 'knife' hit Danzō right in his vitals.
"So, Orochimaru is essentially saying he was just the 'lab guy', and Danzō did all the murders and body-snatching?" Akira almost burst out laughing.
"That's right," Namikaze Minato nodded.
No wonder. That explains why Orochimaru's former student, Anko, was almost arrested on the street earlier.
"But Danzō sending people to grab Anko is a bit much," Minato added.
"Danzō is truly shameless. He should be after Orochimaru, not Anko," Rin also voiced her opinion, supporting Anko.
"He's not in the mood to hunt Orochimaru right now. I'd bet Danzō is about to explode," Akira said with a cheerful smile.
As Akira guessed, Danzō was indeed on the verge of eruption.
Boom!
Inside the Root base, Danzō kicked a heavy table across the room, his face a mask of extreme rage.
"That despicable Orochimaru! I left you alone after your defection, and now you betray me in turn?!" Danzō snarled in a low voice, seemingly mistaking the table for his former subordinate.
"Lord Danzō, this intelligence has been put on a 50% discount in the Grass Country, and many other ninja villages have already bought it," a subordinate quietly reminded him.
"Get out!" Danzō's tone was gravelly. He lifted the toppled table and kicked it again.
Danzō truly couldn't understand. He had not been involved in Orochimaru's defection from start to finish—even the initial pursuit squads belonged to the Anbu. But now, why was he being dragged into this mess?
Orochimaru ran away, yet he was the one still stuck in the village getting smeared. If the Uchiha Clan got wind of this, they certainly wouldn't let it go.
He wasn't too worried about the Senju Clan, as they had long since faded, with few members left.
After venting, Danzō sat back down.
"Come here!"
Summoning his subordinates, Danzō decided to address this situation head-on. He would not be publicly "slandered" by a traitor to the village.
The best way?
Make Orochimaru disappear!
As long as Orochimaru vanished, he could declare the intelligence a baseless rumor.
"This is a blatant, naked slander!"
"Activate the highest order: Kill Orochimaru!"
After assigning the task of hunting down Orochimaru, Danzō pondered for a moment.
"Looks like it's time to use my Gold Medal Undercover Agent again~"
He thought of Akira.
Now that Akira was a member of Anbu, he could overhear rumors that were damaging to Danzō.
This way, Danzō could be prepared.
Danzō had no idea that the true puppet master behind the scenes was his so-called 'Gold Medal Undercover Agent.'
Akira had intentionally framed Danzō in front of Orochimaru back in the dense forest of the Land of Waves.
Whoosh! Suddenly, a Root subordinate appeared.
"Lord Danzō, we encountered resistance while attempting to apprehend Anko. We failed."
"Huh? Who dared to interfere?" Danzō scowled. Anko was Orochimaru's former student; she might know secret information.
Who the hell would dare stop Root from making an arrest?
"It was Akira from Anbu, and Namikaze Minato."
CRACK!
Hearing Akira's name, Danzō crushed the armrest of his chair.
"That idiot! That fool, Akira, has been played by Namikaze Minato again!"
On the Street
After leaving the barbecue restaurant, Anko kept her head down, remaining silent. Rin wanted to console her but didn't know what to say. Involuntarily, she turned to Akira for help.
"Akira? Could you please talk to her?"
Seeing Rin's pleading look, Akira reluctantly agreed.
"Rin, you go ahead to the Happy Hot Springs first. I'll bring Anko along."
"Okay, I'll wait for you then!" Rin made a cheerful gesture and quickly ran off.
Now, only Akira and Anko were left, walking side by side. Akira began to organize his thoughts.
"Little Red~~"
"Pffft!" Anko burst out laughing.
"???" I haven't even said anything yet, why are you laughing?
"Be serious!" Akira threatened.
"Akira, thank you," Anko suddenly became serious, her tone filled with gratitude.
"Thank me? How are you going to thank me?" Akira said casually...
"I can thank me however you want..." Anko replied in a near-whisper, her voice as faint as an ant's.
"Hmm?" Akira was stunned.
Even though Anko's voice was tiny, Akira had heard it clearly.
"What did you just say? Say it again?"
He couldn't believe it. In Akira's mind, Anko was always arrogant and bossy. Why had she suddenly turned into a shy little girl?
"Forget it if you didn't hear," Anko pouted, "Now I'm back to normal."
"Akira? What are all those women doing?" Suddenly, she pointed ahead, where a large crowd of women was rushing toward the central street.
Akira saw it too, and immediately guessed the reason.
"Come on, let's go take a look."
Happy Hot Springs
In the lobby.
Kushina was doing her utmost to promote the new massage services. Lady Mikoto was the center of the promotion, and Kushina also featured the gimmick of having "professional masseuses from the Hyūga Clan."
When Akira and Anko arrived, they saw a huge, exclusively female crowd.
"We're a little late," Akira regretted missing the most exciting part of the promotion. It was now entering the final bidding process.
"This can't be real, can it? People from the Hyūga Clan working as masseuses?" Anko saw the slogan and couldn't believe it.
"What's so strange about that?" Akira shrugged.
"That's a wealthy family in the village," Anko still found it unbelievable. Someone from a prominent clan is a masseuse? It felt weird.
"It's the wealthy family of the Main House, not the entire clan, right? Do you think everyone in the clan is wealthy?" Akira shook his head.
In front of the two of them, a girl trembled upon hearing these words. It was Hyūga Suzune. She looked back at Akira and immediately recognized him.
"You are? Akira?"
"Huh? Miss Suzune!" Akira was slightly surprised.
Why was Hyūga Suzune in the bidding crowd?
Shouldn't she be in the massage room preparing?
"I was entrusted by Kushina to fill in here for a while," Hyūga Suzune explained quietly, afraid of being overheard.
"A true talent~~"