In the early morning, warm sunlight streamed through the window, shining on Hoshimi's face, making him feel warm.
Driven by his biological clock, Hoshimi slowly opened his eyes and woke up.
After breakfast and tidying his room, Hoshimi went to school as usual.
This day was ordinary for Hoshimi and most people, but for some, it was very special.
For example, Danzo!
Inside Danzo's secret base, several Medical Ninja belonging to Root carefully unwrapped Danzo's bandages, while on the other side, several professionals operated precision instruments, intently monitoring Danzo's body indicators.
Should the instruments show any abnormality, they would do everything in their power to rectify it!
Everyone was on high alert.
And they had no choice but to be so cautious, after all, what they were conducting was a human experiment on Danzo!
Should an accident occur, no one present would survive!
If it were an ordinary human experiment, with the experience and skill of these Ninja, there would be no need for such worry.
But unfortunately, this human experiment involved two of Konoha Village's super Bloodline Limit: First Hokage's hashirama cells and the Sharingan!
The Sharingan was manageable; even if rejection occurred during experiments, it wouldn't endanger the recipient's life. But First Hokage's hashirama cells were different; this stuff was like the most terrifying biological virus!
The original hashirama cells meant death for anyone who received them!
Even diluted hashirama cells were basically unbearable for any Ninja, even if the test subject was a member of the Senju Clan.
Due to too many failures, Danzo almost gave up researching hashirama cells, but Orochimaru's appearance allowed the experiment to continue.
In fact, not long ago, Danzo actually received a research breakthrough on hashirama cells from Orochimaru, making it possible for recipients of hashirama cells to survive.
And after this period of effort, following verification with dozens of test subjects, this technology was finally confirmed safe by Danzo.
It even went a step further!
Then, Danzo eagerly proceeded with the first application, and the target he chose was himself!
It wasn't that Danzo had a change of heart and didn't want to harm others; rather, he absolutely would not allow the First Hokage's power to leak out. This great power, capable of quelling a chaotic era, had to be in his own hands!
Fast forward to the present, Danzo, lying on the operating table, gradually opened his eyes, but a closer look would reveal that his two eyes were completely different.
One was his original eye, and the other was a Three-Tomoed Sharingan!
Of course, this wasn't the strangest thing, because even stranger, or rather, more terrifying, was Danzo's right hand.
Unlike his coordinated and natural left hand, Danzo's right hand was as pale as a dead person's skin.
Not only that, but embedded in his arm were ten eyes, and all of them were Three-Tomoed Sharingan!
An ordinary person seeing this scene would probably be scared enough to vomit their dinner from the night before.
But the Ninja present seemed accustomed to it, completely unfazed by the sight.
A Medical Ninja even carefully approached Danzo and asked, "Lord Danzō, how are you feeling? Is there anything uncomfortable?"
Danzo propped himself up and sat, looked around the environment, then at his right hand, clenched his fist, and then excitedly said, "This old man feels excellent, better than ever before!"
Feeling the world that was completely different due to the Sharingan, and feeling the Chakra surging within him because of the hashirama cells, Danzo's ambition began to expand unrestrainedly!
"Power, this is power! Hiruzen, your title of strongest hokage will soon be undeserved!
The power of the First Hokage, the power of the Uchiha, is now entirely in my hands. Hiruzen, this old man's era is finally coming!
This old man will never make the same mistake of hesitation again. This time, this old man will definitely reclaim what belongs to him!"
...Danzo's transformation was known to almost no one except the Ninja of Root whom he controlled.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's Office, an Anbu Ninja, after reporting his mission, stood silently, awaiting Hiruzen Sarutobi's instructions.
"It's been half a month, and that Danzo hasn't caused any trouble. Could it be that the last reprimand was too harsh?"
Danzo not biting like a mad dog actually made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel a sense of unease. Of course, more than that, after half a month without a 'You regret, I'm Hokage' moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt something was missing!
But he couldn't say that out loud. He took out his pipe, took a deep drag, smacked his lips, feeling a bit bland.
"Alright, you can go now. Your mission is still to continue monitoring Danzo. That guy can't be this honest. Being so quiet, he must be plotting something in secret!"
After dismissing his subordinate, Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to use his crystal ball to peek into Konoha's women's bathhouse to relax, but unexpectedly, the office door was knocked on again.
Suppressing his inner displeasure: "Come in!"
When he saw that the visitor was Konoha's rising genius, Uchiha Shisui, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face instantly broke into a smile: "Ah, it's Shisui!
What's wrong? Are you not quite used to your time in Anbu?"
His solicitous demeanor made him truly look like a benevolent elder.
Coupled with the prestige of his position, a single sentence made the young Shisui feel even more respect and closeness.
Seeing Shisui's constrained manner, Hiruzen Sarutobi struck while the iron was hot, unleashing a barrage of words. The radiance of the will of fire instantly filled Shisui's mind!
Unbeknownst to him, Shisui had completely taken on Hiruzen Sarutobi's "form"!
If Hoshimi were here, he would surely exclaim: Hiruzen Sarutobi, truly the number one Genjutsu user in Konoha! His great Genjutsu of the will of fire is terrifyingly powerful!
Feeling that his will of fire had advanced to a higher level, Shisui also didn't forget the purpose of his visit. He presented his half-month's achievements to Hiruzen Sarutobi, then respectfully stood to the side.
Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe, picked up Shisui's scroll, and read it carefully. After a long while, he slowly put it down.
"Thank you for your hard work, Shisui. As you said, it seems the mysterious strong individual who attacked Konoha last time has truly left!"
"It's a pity we didn't catch this guy, otherwise, he could have brought a lot of benefits to the Village!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said casually, and seeing Shisui's self-reproachful expression, he smiled inwardly and quickly changed the subject: "However, this is not your fault, Shisui!
The main reason is that the Village's elites have all been sent to the battlefield, which has significantly reduced the Village's defensive capabilities.
It seems the Anbu's manpower might need to be increased!
But finding the right talent is the problem!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked troubled.
And Shisui, as a successor of the will of fire, felt he should share the Third Hokage's worries. He quickly reviewed everyone he knew in his mind and soon had a target:
"Hokage-sama, if you are short on candidates, I have two suggestions. I hope Hokage-sama will consider them!"
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