With an immortal status active, even the darkness of Root suddenly seemed far less frightening.
Konoha Year 36 — Root Headquarters.
A Root shinobi wearing a cat mask lowered his head respectfully as he reported, "Lord Danzo, while disposing of the bodies, we discovered that one of them was not actually dead."
Danzo's eyes narrowed.
"Not dead?"
"The corpses were already examined by the ANBU before they were handed over to us for disposal… correct?" His tone was calm, but the pressure behind it was unmistakable. "Who survived?"
The cat-masked Root shinobi answered, "Hoshishita Shu."
Danzo immediately rose to his feet.
"Lead the way."
Hoshishita Shu was a Root shinobi Danzo had personally trained in the past—one of the earliest generation cultivated directly under Root.
This time, a large number of personnel had been sent for the Wood Release experiment, and Hoshishita Shu had been among them. Danzo had assumed they had all perished.
Yet one had survived—and even the ANBU had failed to notice.
"If…"
A spark of excitement ignited in Danzo's chest.
"Should I inform Hiruzen about this…?"
With that thought lingering, Danzo followed the cat-masked shinobi to the room where Hoshishita Shu lay.
The young man was still unconscious.
"There isn't a single wound on his body?"
Danzo studied him carefully, gaze sharp as a blade.
The cat-masked shinobi explained, "At first, he looked no different from the other dead test subjects. But after we detected signs of life, we severed the tree branches that had grown inside his body. Once we did, the wounds healed immediately, and his vital signs began growing stronger."
"Self-healing…"
The joy in Danzo's eyes was impossible to hide. His voice deepened with authority.
"This matter is to be classified as S-rank confidential. Without my permission, no one is allowed to disclose it."
The cat-masked shinobi hesitated, then raised his head slightly.
"Lord Danzo… what about informing the Hokage?"
Danzo's gaze turned icy in an instant. Killing intent surged outward like a sudden storm.
"I said—anyone."
The cat-masked shinobi stiffened.
"Yes, Lord Danzo!"
"Good."
Danzo cast one last glance at the unconscious Hoshishita Shu before turning toward the door.
"Guard him carefully. The moment he wakes, report to me immediately."
The cat-masked shinobi bowed deeply.
"Yes, Lord Danzo!"
When Danzo and the Root shinobi left and the door closed, the room fell silent.
Then—
The young man lying on the bed slowly opened his eyes.
"So I transmigrated into the world of Naruto… fine."
His gaze sharpened, then darkened.
"But why did I have to become a Root ninja?"
Hoshishita Shu's expression turned grim.
"Zero prospects. Zero money. I got neither the future nor the fortune."
Danzo wasn't just a boss with no future.
He was an outright terrible boss.
Working as one of his pawns meant one thing: sooner or later, you were doomed to die.
Maybe it was still possible to defect now.
After all, he was currently the only survivor of the Wood Release experiment. Hiruzen Sarutobi would surely take an interest.
But…
Hoshishita Shu lowered his gaze and silently refined chakra, attempting to force a Wood Release nature transformation.
It failed.
"Looks like I didn't directly obtain the Wood Release kekkei genkai."
"But my physical stamina has improved tremendously."
"My chakra reserves are at least ten times what they used to be."
He frowned.
"Without Wood Release, though, my value drops significantly."
The current year was Konoha Year 36.
Even the Second Great Ninja War hadn't started yet.
At this time, the relationship between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzo—the pair of lifelong rivals and partners—was nothing like what it would become decades later.
Danzo's ambition had not yet spiraled out of control.
Root itself had only recently been established.
Even the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal didn't exist yet.
"Right now, this should still be the period when Hiruzen and Danzo cooperated most closely."
"Together, they seized control of Konoha after Tobirama Senju's death—restraining both the powerful Uchiha clan and the prestigious Hyuga family."
Hoshishita Shu thought silently.
"Defecting might not even be the second-best choice."
"And even if I defect and join Hiruzen's side…"
"Would I ever have a chance to become Hokage?"
He shook his head.
"Impossible."
"I couldn't beat the Sannin."
"And without Wood Release as a cheat ability, even with my chakra reserves… I definitely couldn't compete with someone like Minato Namikaze and his space-time techniques."
A shinobi who doesn't aspire to become Hokage isn't a good shinobi.
Now that he had arrived in this world as a ninja, he intended to do the job properly.
But if becoming Hokage was extremely unlikely…
"Then staying in Root might not actually be a bad option."
Hoshishita Shu analyzed calmly.
"The situation now is very different from Yamato's era."
"At present, Danzo is still Hiruzen's right hand."
"The two of them together control Konoha's power."
"For now—and for a long time to come—Danzo will remain the second most powerful figure in the village."
"And once Root gradually becomes his private army…"
"The authority will be enormous."
"Practically like the imperial secret police."
A slow smile formed on Hoshishita Shu's face.
If he couldn't become Hokage…
Then becoming the leader of Root didn't sound bad at all.
But no matter what—
In this life, Hoshishita Shu refused to live beneath anyone.
He would stand above others.
No one would stand above him.
And the first step toward that goal—
Was becoming the leader of Root.
Once he reached that conclusion, the road ahead suddenly felt clear.
At that moment—
His vision abruptly darkened.
Then his perspective shifted.
Above his own head, he saw something impossible.
A status bar.
Current Status: Immortality
Refresh Countdown: 04:32:32
Staring at the floating interface, realization dawned on him.
"So that's why I survived the Wood Release experiment…"
"It's because of this status bar."
The countdown continued ticking.
"In other words… there are less than five hours left before the Immortality status disappears."
A bold idea surfaced instantly.
Another transplant.
Another attempt with Hashirama's cells.
If luck favored him, he might awaken Wood Release.
Even if he didn't, his chakra reserves or regenerative ability could still improve dramatically.
"But right now, because of this Immortality status, I've already absorbed part of the power from Hashirama's cells."
"Even after the immortality disappears…"
"Future transplants might no longer be dangerous."
Hoshishita Shu immediately sat up from the bed.
Then he pushed open the door.
"You're awake?"
The cat-masked Root ninja jumped in surprise.
"Remain inside the room. I will immediately report to Lord Danzo."
Smack!
Hoshishita Shu slapped him across the face.
The Root ninja staggered in shock, his mask nearly flying off.
"Are you planning to make Lord Danzo come here to see me?" Hoshishita Shu scolded coldly. "It should be me going to pay my respects to Lord Danzo, idiot. Now lead the way."
Under the mask, the cat-faced ninja was stunned.
This bastard…
He actually dared to hit me?!
Has he gone insane?
Fury surged inside him, killing intent flashing.
Hoshishita Shu clicked his tongue.
"What? You dare kill me?"
The killing intent vanished instantly.
This guy wasn't the same anymore.
If even a single hair on his head was harmed, Danzo would punish him severely.
"This bastard… he's unbelievably arrogant!"
The cat-masked ninja swallowed his anger and walked ahead in silence.
But Hoshishita Shu didn't move.
"Hey."
"Since you've realized your mistake, shouldn't you apologize?"
"You should thank me for correcting you."
The Root ninja stopped.
The urge to stab this bastard with a kunai surged again.
He took a deep breath and forced it down.
Turning around, he bowed stiffly.
"My apologies."
"Thank you for the correction."
Hoshishita Shu nodded in satisfaction and stepped forward.
He patted the ninja's shoulder with a cheerful smile.
"That's more like it, Nakamura-kun."
"When you recognize mistakes and correct them, you improve."
"That's how you become a stronger weapon for Root… and a more useful blade for Lord Danzo."
Behind the mask, Nakamura's eye twitched.
Shouldn't you be calling my codename?
But he didn't dare say it.
He was afraid of getting slapped again.
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