Danzo asked, "Who are Gale Sovereign and Mushigami?"
Ideally, Danzo would have preferred if Fujin and Akuro fought. However, Akuro hadn't killed Darui despite fighting against him several times and hadn't faced Ay even once. As such, Danzo didn't think Akuro was strong enough to kill, or even defeat, Fujin. Not to mention, he still had reasons to suspect a partnership between the two of them despite Akuro's words.
As a result, he decided to gather as much information as he could from Akuro before making a move. His subordinates also paid careful attention. While each one of them had doubts of varying degrees about everything Akuro claimed, his words had piqued their curiosity. They continued maintaining their guard against any unsuspecting moments while lending their ear to Akuro, wondering whether he would quench their curiosity.
Without glancing at them, Akuro answered, "They are old comrades… in a sense. Kindred spirits who walked this world along with me when it was still young. Both are in a slumber for now, unlikely to awake in this era. For your sake, you better pray my predictions are accurate."
Akuro chuckled as he finished talking. For a moment, the Root ninjas felt dread. Fu thought, 'Why does it feel like a catastrophe would occur if his predictions are inaccurate?'
Danzo asked, "What would happen if they awoke?"
Akuro laughed, "Gale Sovereign slaughters until the entire world is covered in a red bloody mist. Mushigami collects the body parts of the strongest warriors in the era and makes them a part of himself. The amount of blood his endless insect army needs causes several mass extinctions every time his eyes open."
The dread the Root ninjas were feeling increased. Even Danzo frowned and analyzed, 'They sound almost godlike, much like Lord First and Uchiha Madara. The world order will change if such individuals awake. However, are they that strong? Or, will they be weakened like Akuro claimed during his clash against the Kumogakure army? No, for Konoha's safety, I need to make sure that they never wake up.'
He asked, "Where are they sleeping?"
Akuro answered, "Do you think I'd be wasting my time with you if I knew?"
Danzo ignored his sarcasm and probed further, "How many of your kin are in slumber? If they're as strong as you claim, why are they in a slumber?"
Akuro muttered, "How many, huh? Not many I suppose. As for why they're in a slumber, isn't it obvious?"
He glanced towards the Root ninja and continued in a spooky tone, "They were defeated and gravely injured."
Danzo and his subordinates made a mental note of all the new information they were getting. Danzo continued poking for more information and asked, "Who defeated them?"
Akuro answered nonchalantly, "Of course it was us. Who else could it be?"
Danzo frowned and asked, "What happens when you and your comrades wake up? And, why did you arise from your slumber at this time?"
Akuro chuckled, "We start awaking when an era is about to end. Some early, some late, a few skip some eras too. As for what happens?"
Akuro paused for a moment, as if reminiscing of the old times, before muttering, "A divine war breaks out!"
Danzo's frown deepened as he thought, 'As I suspected, he's troublesome. Fortunately, he has a loose mouth. I didn't even need to use Shisui's eye to make him spill the beans. Assuming he's speaking the truth, his existence can be the perfect opportunity for me to make a comeback. However, it'll take time and I need to take things one step at a time. For now, I need to secure the Lightning crystal vein. If possible, I should also capture him and read his memories to get a proper understanding of his comrades and their strengths. Unfortunately…'
Danzo was in a tough spot. With his Sharingans, he had confidence in dealing with Akuro. However, he couldn't say for certain whether he could kill or capture Akuro. If he failed to do so and Akuro was displeased, he could return any time in the future to destroy the vein, just like how he destroyed the Root headquarters.
After all, Danzo couldn't stay put here for a long time, nor could he permanently deploy other rank S ninjas in Konoha to protect the vein. He would obviously build a top quality seal formation to protect the vein, but Akuro was someone who infiltrated into the Raikage building with no trouble. Danzo didn't believe any seal formation could stop such a person. The best he could do was lay a trap, but seeing how unsuccessful Kumogakure was in doing so, Danzo wasn't very optimistic about it either.
While Danzo calculated, Fu asked, "A divine war? What's that?"
Akuro teased, "You'll find it out soon enough. I have answered plenty of your questions, but you're yet to answer mine. Are you here to swear fealty to me?"
Danzo replied, "You still haven't answered why you attacked my headquarters."
Akuro muttered, "Hmm, I did? I don't remember."
Offended, Torune asked angrily, "What do you mean you don't remember? Di…"
Akuro interrupted in a lazy tone, "If I were to remember every insignificant thing, my head would have long exploded."
'Insignificant…' The word echoed in the minds of the 5 Konoha ninjas. Even Danzo, despite his vast experience and great restraint, felt a rage burning inside him. It was easy to guess how angry his subordinates were.
The incident wasn't insignificant by any means. It was the most impactful event inside Konoha in the period between the Uchiha Massacre and Konoha Crush. It was also the biggest humiliation Root ever endured. To make matters worse, it was also the incident that caused Root to lose nearly all of its power. More than 90% of its members were taken away and Danzo even lost his seat in the council.
Yet, Akuro considered this humiliation so insignificant that he couldn't even remember it! A couple of the Root ninjas were about to explode, when Danzo raised an arm, indicating to control themselves. He asked, "Say I tolerate your intrusion. Say I let you play your little games here. What then? What benefit do I gain from this… alliance?"
"Alliance?" Akuro said, voice quiet and sharp as steel. "You mistake the nature of this meeting, Danzo of Root. I offer no alliances. Bend the knee or be buried under it. As for what benefit you gain…"
There was a small pause, before Akuro muttered in his jagged, archaic voice, "Isn't your life enough?"
Danzo's subordinates tensed instantly and reached for their weapons. Danzo's expression remained stoic as usual. He began removing the seals on his right arm and said, "So be it. Buy me some time."
Without the need for any more words, all four Root ninjas flickered in front of Danzo. Torune removed his gloves, his skin turning purple. Fu weaved a series of hand seals, precise and fluid, characteristic of the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques. The third Root ninja began preparing a Wind jutsu to counter Akuro's Lightning jutsus, while the last one unsheathed his sword and stood guard in front of Danzo, forming the last line of defense.
Any other ninja, no matter how strong, would have turned their attention to the four Root ninjas. Though none of them were rank S, together they possessed skills to trouble any rank S ninja. The enemy would prefer to deal with them before they could team up with Danzo and become a threat.
However, Akuro didn't spare them a single glance. Instead, his chakra flared and became extremely chaotic. He said, "Don't bother. Even Indra couldn't place me under a Genjutsu. His cheap copy wouldn't work either. The only one capable of placing me under an illusion is Shin'en no Kōshi. Unfortunately for you, his art wasn't passed to humans."
Danzo, who was secretly counting on neutralizing Akuro with Shisui's eye, frowned. His confidence in dealing with Akuro decreased slightly. He thought, 'To think he'd be so sensitive to my Genjutsu. I shouldn't have let Itachi take Shisui's other eye. If I had it, I could have made Akuro loyal to Root.'
His eyes narrowed, noticing Akuro's disdain towards his subordinates. Despite the Root ninjas preparing their jutsus, Akuro hadn't even bothered looking at them. Danzo thought, 'No matter, there are still more ways to deal with him. If he underestimates my subordinates, I may not have to take any action.'
Fu aimed his palms at Akuro and smirked, 'Did the Yamanaka clan not exist when he last awoke? If he doesn't know of our abilities, this will be easy work.'
Similar thoughts ran through the minds of other Root ninjas. While they were nowhere near as strong as Darui's group, the four of them possessed abilities far trickier than what Kumogakure ninjas possessed. It became the source of their confidence.
'Mind Body Switch jutsu!'
Fu aimed at the unmoving Akuro and launched his technique. However, his eyes suddenly widened. Akuro, who hadn't moved from the boulder since they arrived, suddenly disappeared! The other three Root ninjas felt a presence next to them and barely moved their heads, just to see Fu's detached head floating next to them!
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A/N: Apologies for the long absence. I wrote a bit about it on Pat reon.
Happy Holi everyone.
Stay safe and take care if you are living in the Middle East.