Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

Chapter 169 Sarutobi, you're still too weak.

The setting sun slanted in through the window, turning the floor of the Hokage's office a dark red.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat behind his desk, the reel in his hand long since put down, the tobacco in his pipe burned out, leaving only cold ashes.

His gaze fell on the village of Konoha shrouded in twilight outside the window. His expression was calm, but his fingers gripping the pipe tightened slightly, his knuckles turning white.

He read Zhishui's scroll several times; the content was short, just a few words.

Taketori Izumi used a skeletal spider to send a message, arranging to meet Shisui at an abandoned shrine outside the village.

The other party talked about things like "surveillance points," "informants," and "trust."

Zhi Shui did not respond on the spot, nor did he agree to anything. He reported back immediately upon returning.

The third generation gently pressed the reel onto the table, his gaze falling on the words "surveillance point" and "informant".

He wasn't sure how Taketori Izumikawa knew these things, nor how much else he knew.

But one thing he was certain of was that this wasn't the first time that person had been active in Konoha.

He picked up a pen and wrote a few lines on another blank order form.

Then he looked up at the empty room and said, "Go and invite Danzo here."

The figures in the shadows appeared silently and disappeared without a sound.

The third generation leaned back in his chair, gazing at the light on the ceiling. The white light from the bulb trembled slightly in the air, as if simulating some kind of uneasy pulse.

Danzo arrived quickly; the sound of his cane tapping the ground came from the end of the corridor, one tap at a time, steady and unhurried.

There was no knocking when the door was pushed open. Danzo walked straight in, his one eye scanning the office before finally landing on the Third Hokage's face.

"You came looking for me." Danzo's tone was not a question, but a statement.

He sat down in the chair opposite the third generation, his cane resting on the armrest, his hands clasped over his abdomen, his posture as stiff and straight as ever.

The Third Hokage didn't speak immediately, but instead pushed Shisui's scroll in front of Danzo: "Take a look."

Danzo picked up the scroll with his bandaged hand and unrolled it. His gaze moved slowly across the paper, his expression unchanged.

After a moment, he put the scroll back on the table, his single eye slightly narrowed.

"Uchiha Shisui reported this matter on his own initiative?"

"right!"

Danzo was silent for a moment: "You believe him?"

"I believe you!" The third head answered without hesitation. "If he didn't want to report, he wouldn't have written this scroll. If he believed Izumi Taketori, he wouldn't have come to see me."

Danzo gave a soft hum, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He tapped his cane twice with his fingertips, the rhythm slow and deep.

"What was Izumi Taketori's purpose in contacting him? To recruit him? To turn him against his own side?" Danzo's voice was hoarse, each word seeming to be squeezed from the depths of his throat. "Or did he want to use his eyes to do something he couldn't do himself?"

The Third Hokage didn't answer, but simply looked at Danzo's single eye: "What do you think?"

"I don't think Shisui told the whole truth." Danzo spoke slowly, but every word carried an undeniable chill.

"He couldn't possibly have forgotten everything that the traitorous Mist Ninja said to him."

"He remembers those words, but he chooses not to say them. Why?"

The Third Hokage frowned slightly: "Danzo, Shisui isn't that kind of person."

"Sarutobi, you trust people too much." Danzo's voice suddenly turned cold. "You always think your ninjas are all good kids, that they can be redeemed."

"But some people are inherently untrustworthy. Those who possess the Sharingan are especially untrustworthy."

"Enough!" The Third Hokage's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority as he interrupted Danzo. "Shisui is a descendant of Kagami, not Madara Uchiha."

"He is a Konoha ninja, not your enemy. You can say these things to me, but don't take them outside."

Danzo's one eye twitched slightly, a hint of dissatisfaction flashing in it, but he did not refute it.

He just sat there silently, his fingers no longer tapping his cane.

The third generation took a deep breath, relit his pipe, and white smoke slowly billowed from his mouth and nose, rising and dissipating between the two men.

"I will have the Anbu investigate the matter of Taketori Izumi. As for Shisui, do not send anyone to keep an eye on him."

"He is not your suspect; he is a ninja from Konoha." The Third Hokage's tone softened slightly, but it still carried an unyielding firmness.

Danzo remained silent for a moment, then slowly stood up and picked up his cane.

His movements were slow, each joint seemed to be deliberately delaying the process.

As he reached the door, he suddenly stopped, without turning around, his single eye staring into the darkness deep in the corridor.

"Orochimaru has recently left the village again." Danzo's voice came from the doorway, neither loud nor soft, but every word clearly reached the Third Hokage's ears.

"He's been conducting research outside more and more frequently, and the last time he came back was two months ago."

The third generation's fingers paused slightly.

"What are you implying?" The Third Hokage's voice was calm, but his grip on the pipe tightened.

"I didn't imply anything." Danzo turned around, his single eye gleaming coldly in the dim light.

"I'm just reminding you, have you investigated whether there's any connection between a Sannin who's rarely in the village and a Kirigakure traitor skilled in infiltration?"

"Orochimaru—he." The Third Hokage's tone turned somber. "He's just—a bit obsessed with research. He couldn't possibly betray Konoha."

"Not now," Danzo said softly. "And later?"

The third generation leader did not answer. The air in the office seemed to freeze, and even the occasional birdsong from outside the window sounded distant and unreal.

Danzo didn't say anything more, turned around and pushed open the door to leave.

The sound of a cane tapping the ground came from the end of the corridor, one tap at a time, gradually fading away until it was swallowed up by the silence of the old building.

The third generation sat behind his desk, the white smoke from his pipe still rising and blurring his features.

Orochimaru's face flashed into his mind, the genius disciple who once stood behind him and was known as one of the "Three Legendary Sannin".

Orochimaru hadn't been back to the village for a long time; the last time they met was the night Jiraiya dragged him out for drinks.

Orochimaru didn't laugh once throughout the entire process; he simply drank in silence, occasionally saying a few words about his research, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

The Third Hokage shook his head, suppressing those thoughts.

Orochimaru was merely engrossed in research; he was a Konoha ninja, a disciple of the Hokage, and—

He sighed, picked up his pen, and added a few more lines to the order.

Regarding the investigation into the Taketori Izumi River, regarding the strengthening of border patrols, regarding ————

The pen paused briefly over the three characters "Orochimaru" before continuing to write.

Outside the window, dusk deepened, and the rooftops of Konoha Village were swallowed by darkness, with only a few scattered lights flickering in the distance, like fireflies struggling in the dark.

Danzo, leaning on his cane, walked down the dimly lit corridor of the Root Base.

The smell of lamp oil permeated the air, mixing with the dampness unique to the ground, making one's chest feel stuffy.

His steps were slow, but each step was heavy, as if he wanted to crush the stone slabs on the ground.

The sound of footsteps following him was his bodyguard.

Danzo didn't turn around, but coldly said, "Investigate Uchiha Shisui's recent movements. I need to know every detail, from who he met to where he went."

"Yes!" came the voice from behind, then disappeared into the shadows of the corridor.

Danzo pushed open the iron door to his room, went inside, and sat down behind the stone platform.

The dim light shone on his face, making his face, half of which was wrapped in bandages, appear even more sinister.

His single eye was fixed on the oil lamp on the table, the flame flickering on the wick, casting a faint orange hue in his pupil.

"Taketori Izumi River—" Danzo murmured the name, his tone carrying a complex emotion.

He remembered that person's base in the Land of Rivers, the samples of Hashirama cells, and the Sharingan that had been stolen.

Now, that person has reappeared in Konoha and made contact with Uchiha Shisui.

And then there's Orochimaru. One spends most of his time conducting research outside the village, while the other repeatedly infiltrates Konoha. Are these two really completely unrelated?

Danzo's single eye shifted slightly, his gaze landing on the row of shelves along the wall.

There were several scrolls of materials on Hashirama cell research there, copies left by Orochimaru.

He remembered what Orochimaru had said when he left the village: "Lord Danzo, some things can only be found outside."

What a coincidence!

Danzo withdrew his gaze, leaned back in his chair, and closed his single eye.

His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, one tap after another, the rhythm getting slower and slower.

"Sarutobi—" he whispered, "If you won't do it, I will."

The oil lamp flickered, the flame almost went out, but then it reignited.

In the flickering light and shadow, Danzo's face appeared and disappeared, like a stone statue eroded by time, hard, cold, and devoid of any warmth.

In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage was still sitting there, his pipe extinguished at some point.

He stared at the dark night sky outside the window, remaining motionless for a long time.

The night in Konoha is beautiful, with stars adorning the sky like countless eyes watching over the sleeping village.

The Third Hokage knew that some of those eyes were benevolent, while others were not.

Unbeknownst to him, a skeletal spider was quietly lying inside the sealed scroll on Shisui's chest.

The purple light in the eye sockets flickered faintly in the darkness, like an eye that had not yet been awakened.

Farther away, somewhere in the Land of Water, Orochimaru squatted in front of an experimental table, holding a small tissue sample in his surgical forceps, examining it carefully under the light.

The pattern of the sample was reflected in his snake-like eyes, and a slight, sinister smile appeared on his lips.

In a corner of the laboratory, there were several corpses covered with white sheets.

The air was filled with the stench of formaldehyde and decay.

Everything is still the same as before, except that some cracks have already quietly spread in places unseen by each other.

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