Danzo was always in a state of malice, which meant that he always had the intention to harm Haruto Saito!
This wasn't just a passing thought or a momentary evil impulse born from a particular emotion—it was constant!
So, Haruto would never believe that Danzo sincerely intended to send people to protect him. In fact, Danzo was the type who would even leak information to assassins!
"I agree!" Haruto nodded.
He agreed!!
Danzo was stunned. He hadn't expected Haruto to agree so readily. He had already prepared a whole speech in case Haruto refused—he was planning to argue his point thoroughly!
But now, all those words were stuck in his throat.
Haruto's straightforward acceptance instead gave Danzo an uneasy feeling!
Hiruzen Sarutobi was also somewhat surprised, but he wasn't aware of the underlying tension between Danzo and Haruto. He simply saw this as Haruto making another concession and nodded. "Alright, then Danzo will arrange for your protection..."
"I have one request!" Haruto suddenly interrupted.
"Speak!" Danzo immediately responded. A request was good—having no requests at all would be truly unsettling!
"I want to personally select the Root ninja who will accompany me to the Land of Whirlpools!" Haruto said.
Hiruzen looked at Danzo.
Danzo felt like something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint what exactly. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded. "No problem!" To him, it didn't really matter who went with Haruto. They were all his loyal subordinates anyway.
"Then let's select them immediately. I'm in a hurry!" Haruto urged.
—Twenty minutes later—
In the Root base, located in the dark caves of Konoha's backwoods, more than forty Root ninja stood in neat rows. This was the entirety of Root's forces currently in the village. A few were out on missions, but even counting them, the total number of Root ninja didn't exceed fifty!
This was already a sizable force!
During peacetime, Root had even fewer members.
Danzo's selection criteria were extremely strict. He had to be selective when recruiting and training his men. He rarely accepted geniuses from major clans because he couldn't guarantee that his brainwashing would be stronger than the ideological indoctrination of those clans!
He didn't just want talented ninja—he wanted absolute loyalty!
Hiruzen stood with his hands behind his back while Haruto and Danzo stood at the front, selecting the team.
"Lord Danzo, how many can I take?" Haruto asked calmly.
"Fifteen!" Danzo replied.
Haruto's lips curved slightly—how "generous" of Danzo!
Fifteen Root ninja weren't many, only enough to form two small squads, but their combat effectiveness was terrifying. In a battle, even a regular ninja battalion of over two hundred men might not be able to handle them!
The weakest Root ninja had at least a prestige rating of 5,000—they were elite jonin, trained as killing machines!
And the strongest among them… were near Kage-level!
Haruto quickly spotted two such figures—one codenamed "Black Yuan" with a prestige rating of 17,600, and another codenamed "Candle Dragon" with an astonishing prestige of 21,000! Candle Dragon was the highest-ranked Root ninja Haruto had ever seen. He stood at the very front, his figure surprisingly small and thin.
Since all Root ninja wore masks, Haruto couldn't immediately determine their exact ages.
"You… you… you… and you… this one… that one… that guy over there… him…" Haruto began pointing rapidly!
Danzo was confused—was he picking at random?
He wasn't asking any questions or making any inquiries. Then what was the point of choosing?
What Danzo didn't realize was that Haruto was selecting based on their prestige and abilities. He avoided those with lower prestige and those with abilities that might counter his own. Instead, he prioritized those proficient in standard ninjutsu.
Haruto was selecting them as if they were his future enemies!
He was already considering how he could quickly wipe them out in battle!
For example, those with mastery over secret techniques were too unpredictable, so he avoided them. But those proficient in regular ninjutsu? Haruto could easily crush them. Higher prestige meant greater strength and better loot—eliminating weaker opponents wouldn't be satisfying!
Danzo was practically handing him a feast!
Haruto, of course, gladly accepted!
Currently, these Root ninja were in a neutral stance towards Haruto. Since they followed orders without question, as long as Danzo didn't command them to harm Haruto, they wouldn't consider it.
But if… before departure, Danzo secretly issued such an order…
They would turn hostile!
In that case—
Haruto would eliminate them on the way! He would then report to Konoha that they had been ambushed by Kirigakure, barely escaping with his life while the others perished…
Soon, Haruto finished selecting fifteen members!
His final pick was none other than "Candle Dragon."
"These are the ones," Haruto looked at Danzo. "Any objections?"
"Fine!" Danzo rasped.
Truthfully, he was quite pleased because Haruto had chosen Candle Dragon—Danzo's most trusted aide and Root's top assassin! With Candle Dragon accompanying Haruto, it would be much easier for Danzo to orchestrate anything he had in mind…
******
—Noon, in the Anbu prison—
"Here, eat this… phew… it's hot…"
"So, when exactly are you letting me out? You've been paying me a salary for six months just to keep me locked up?"
"Soon! You're leaving today!"
"Really?!"
"Of course! You're coming with me to the Land of Whirlpools!"
"You're finally making your move?"
"Yeah!"
The two people casually chatting over a hot pot were Haruto Saito and Kakuzu! Kakuzu had been captured a year ago and had remained imprisoned in the Anbu facility. Haruto had frequently visited him over the past six months, gradually "reforming" him!
In reality, all Haruto did was talk about making money.
Kakuzu, a man who worshipped money, had an unusual obsession with wealth. Haruto's grand plan had completely stunned him! It could even be said that he had been "brainwashed" by Haruto… Six months ago, Kakuzu's attitude toward Haruto had shifted to neutral.
At that point, although Haruto hadn't released him yet, he had already started paying Kakuzu a salary—over the past half-year, he had freely given him ten million ryo!
Creak!
The cell door suddenly opened, and a man entered.
It was Anbu's assistant captain, Jinjo!
"Akahito, I have received authorization. You may take him with you…" Jinjo announced.
Earlier that morning, Haruto had requested permission from Hiruzen to take a prisoner from the Anbu prison. Most prisoners wouldn't have been allowed, but Kakuzu was an exception—he had originally been captured for attempting to assassinate Haruto. As the victim, Haruto had the authority to decide Kakuzu's fate.
After some bureaucratic formalities, Anbu finally received the Hokage's approval by noon.
"Let's go!" Haruto stood up. "We need to pick up two more people."
In addition to the fifteen Root ninja and Kakuzu, Haruto would also be bringing two more individuals to the Land of Whirlpools—
Minato Namikaze and Kaga!