Chapter 39: Invitation from Danzo 

Second chapter for today

-----

"Clap, clap, clap..."

At this moment, applause came from the side, and Yu was surprised when he realized that he missed the presence of someone else following him!

Turning around, he saw a man standing under a tree nearby. The man was dressed in a white kimono, had a bandage over his right eye, a cross-shaped scar on his chin, and leaned on a crutch with one hand.

"Efficient and clean."

"No hesitation in taking a life."

"Yu Yakushi, you are indeed a born shinobi."

Witnessing Yu's swift retaliation against two Root organization Chunin, the man who had suddenly appeared seemed to be praising him with an expressionless face.

Danzo Shimura!

Seeing this man's appearance, Yu's pupils contracted.

"A splendid battle..."

"Although I already had a high opinion of you, I didn't expect your abilities to be even greater."

Standing by Yu's side, Danzo praised with a serene smile on his face, as if the two subordinates who had just died were merely useless pawns.

If one didn't know his true nature, they might mistake him for a benevolent elder concerned for Konoha. However, Yu, who had seen the original storyline, easily detected a strong sense of possession and ambition in his eyes.

"This is troublesome... I didn't expect Danzo to come in person."

Although his facial expression remained unchanged, Yu's heart was already in turmoil.

From the aura emanating from Danzo, it was clear that he was a figure of Kage-level. Although he wasn't among the top Kage-level shinobi, his strength far surpassed that of any Jounin. Despite having other trump cards, Yu, who had only recently advanced to the level of Chunin, had no confidence when facing Danzo.

"Yu Yakushi, join my Root. You will definitely receive more advancement here than in any other department."

Danzo looked at Yu and directly stated his intention. "My organization lacks a genius shinobi like you, who excels in both combat and medical ninjutsu."

After many years of development and growth, Danzo's Root organization gradually absorbed various elite individuals from Konoha, such as the Yamanaka and Aburame clans' ninja, who excelled in secret arts. Danzo even planned to infiltrate the Uchiha clan, the largest and most prestigious clan in Konoha, in an attempt to gain control of the Sharingan.

Yesterday, in the Hokage's office, after witnessing Yu's extraordinary talent displayed in the graduation assessment and his defeat of Uchiha Shisui, Danzo had immediately set his sights on this exceptionally talented young ninja.

"I'm sorry, Lord Danzo," Yu replied. "I'm currently on my way to meet the Third Hokage so I can't come with you"

In response to Danzo's invitation, Yu did not explicitly refuse. However, Yu had no favorable impression of Danzo, a man who constantly claimed to act for the good of Konoha while implementing dark schemes.

In the original storyline, many people believed that Danzo's character had been whitewashed when he chose to die along with Uchiha Sasuke, but Yu did not share that view.

While Danzo may have had lofty goals for the village, his ruthless methods, the innocent lives he used as experimental subjects, and his willingness to send his own subordinates to assassinate the Third Hokage for personal gain were inexcusable. As a former member of Team 2 and being comrades during their youth, Yu found it difficult to accept Danzo's actions.

"Hehe, don't be in a hurry to refuse," Danzo said, smiling. "You should be the child adopted by Yakushi Nono, right?"

"From your exceptional medical ninjutsu, it's clear that you've not only inherited but also surpassed her talent in medical ninjutsu."

"But you may not know that your foster mother, Nono, used to be a shinobi serving in our Root."

"She was my most outstanding intelligence and medical ninja and even served as the head of the medical corps in Konoha."

Danzo's words were cut off, and Yu's amber eyes narrowed slightly.

Yakushi Nono's past was known to Yu, but he didn't understand why Danzo suddenly brought it up.

Yu carefully observed the man in front of him, trying to discern something from his expression.

"By the looks of it, you don't seem surprised by what I just said?"

Bringing up Nono's past, Danzo noticed that Yu's facial expression hadn't changed as he had expected. Only Danzo's left eye was visible, and his gaze grew somewhat sharp.

"However, it doesn't matter. I believe we will have the opportunity to cooperate in the future."

But soon after, Danzo's smile reappeared on his face.

"I'll be waiting for you in Root because..."

"From the look in your eyes, I can tell that we are of the same kind."

"Hehehe..."

Leaving behind an eerie laughter, Danzo turned and walked away.

"By the way, you don't have to worry about killing those two pieces of trash as well..."

"If they can't even handle a recently graduated academy student, Root doesn't need such waste."

As they passed by the bodies of the two Root Jonin killed by Yu's chakra scalpel, Danzo gave an indifferent order.

Two other Root ninja immediately appeared from the forest on both sides, carrying the corpses of the two ninja that Yu had killed with his Chakra scalpel. Then, they vanished in an instant.

'Me and Danzo... Are we really the same kind of people?'

Staring quietly at Danzo's departing figure, Yu contemplated the words Danzo had just spoken. Despite his bright and promising goals, Yu knew that he had the potential to become just another troubled and misguided shinobi due to the influence of figures like Danzo or Orochimaru.

However, in this world, Yu would never waver in his convictions, except when it came to the people he cherished.

----

Support me on patreon for More advanced chapters up to 50 so far patreon.com/DemonWriter