Walking along the dark, damp wooden corridor, both ends swallowed by heavy darkness.
This corridor hovers above a bottomless abyss, below is darkness beyond depths.
And this corridor is just one among countless crisscrossing corridors.
Orochimaru steps steadily into the darkness of the corridor, until the end, he pushes open a door, and walks inside.
In the room, someone is already waiting for his arrival.
"Danzo, what's the reason for calling me here at a time like this?"
Orochimaru asked the person sitting in the room.
Nominally, he is a new member of 'Root', acting as Danzo's deputy, but in reality, he is Teacher Sarutobi Hiruzen's plant within 'Root'.
Used to monitor and limit some of Danzo's excessive actions.
Thus, joining 'Root', he is neither restricted nor branded with a Curse Seal, and his name is retained, unlike those 'Root' members who live like machines.
"Take a look at this first."
Danzo wasn't bothered by Orochimaru addressing him as an equal, in fact, he couldn't force Orochimaru into doing things he dislikes.
Seated, Danzo tosses a file onto the table in front of Orochimaru.
Orochimaru sat down, glanced at Danzo in confusion, unable to discern his intentions, then took the file from the table and began reading.
Upon seeing the plan's name on the paper, Orochimaru's expression subtly changed.
——Wood Style Cultivation Plan.
"This is a recently established research project in the village aiming to cultivate a ninja capable of wielding Wood Style like the First Hokage. I hope for your assistance."
Danzo's voice was low, carefully observing Orochimaru's ever-changing expressions.
"Is it to deal with the Tailed Beast?"
Orochimaru regained composure, quickly understanding the implication.
Wood Style, like Sharingan, possesses the ability to suppress Tailed Beasts.
However, since the First Hokage's death, Wood Style has disappeared from the Ninja Realm, and no second Wood Style Ninja has emerged.
Sharingan survived well, but it belongs solely to the Uchiha Race.
As the leader of 'Root', Danzo strongly rejects the entire Uchiha Race.
Without controlling Sharingan, cultivating Wood Style ninjas is another path and is easier to manage.
"Not just for Tailed Beast, also to deter some ninjas within the village harboring ill intentions. We must harness the power of Wood Style for this."
Danzo tacitly indicates that he remains vigilant against the Uchiha Race, opting for extreme measures if necessary to limit this Ninja Race's growth.
"Indeed? Quite an intriguing plan."
Orochimaru smiled, his voice filled with a hoarse magnetism.
"The previous ninja war cost the village many excellent ninjas, no one knows when the next ninja war will occur. This is also for the village's future. The Wood Style that calms the chaotic world will be sharper than the White Fang."
"Is that so."
Sakumo's passing indeed weakened Konoha, during the war he was responsible for disruption behind enemy lines, posing a significant threat to various nations.
Now, a sharp weapon must replace Konoha White Fang, to deter nations and stabilize Konoha's defense force.
"Does Tsunade know about this?"
To cultivate Wood Style ninjas, the First Hokage's body must be used, extracting necessary cellular energy from it.
This sacrilegious act against ancestors, Tsunade's character would never agree, liable to cause a commotion in high-level meetings.
Especially since it's her grandfather's body.
"Of course, she can't know. If she did, it would be extremely troublesome."
Danzo's expression unchanged, his thoughts unknowable.
"So, Teacher Sarutobi has already tacitly approved this plan, is that the case?"
Orochimaru pondered for a moment.
If Hiruzen didn't approve, he wouldn't believe Danzo would dare touch Wood Style.
Besides, solely relying on Root's power isn't enough to research the power of Wood Style.
"You're quick to understand, truly the most talented ninja among the Sannin. Your intellect, knowledge, and understanding of ninja techniques greatly propel this plan."
Danzo unreservedly praised Orochimaru's talents.
"Looks like Teacher Sarutobi placed me in Root not just to monitor you. I understand now, since it's beneficial to the village, I'll proceed."
The Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, whom he greatly admires, developed numerous Forbidden Techniques based on human experiments, creating many ninja technique branches that benefit Konoha ninjas to this day.
In this village, indeed, many things cannot see the light of day.
And most of these secrets have Root behind them in manipulation.
Executors of Konoha's darkness.
"Where will your 'materials' be sourced?"
"No need to worry, volunteers were pre-screened in the village, ready to cooperate with the experiment."
"Then I have no concerns."
Orochimaru nodded, indicating his understanding.
"Let's start the experiment next week, I need to review some documents and adequately prepare."