Seven days was too short. Every moment had to count.
After swallowing a soldier pill, Hoshishita Shu began planning how to use these seven days of unique status as efficiently as possible.
"First of all, my main body doesn't need to stay awake all the time."
"My real body needs rest—so it can recover and keep creating clones."
"The clones can share the same status."
"And everything they train can be fed back."
Shu quickly grasped the key.
"The most important thing is the dual soul consciousness."
"One consciousness can receive feedback from the clones."
"That way it won't overload my main body."
As that thought formed, his mind paused.
"In that case…"
"Maybe I'm not completely hopeless about keeping this status permanently."
Clones could train.
The main body could roam outside.
Even if it failed, the time wouldn't be wasted.
The chance was still slim—
But it wasn't zero.
So while recovering stamina, Shu carefully evaluated feasibility.
After a long while, once his strength mostly returned, he made the decision.
Try it.
He created six Wood Clones to continue training.
Meanwhile, the main body built a small wooden cabin nearby and rested inside.
Thanks to his dual consciousness, even if the clones exhausted their chakra and dispersed, it wouldn't disrupt his rest the same way.
Night passed quickly.
At six in the morning, Shu woke and created six more clones to continue.
His real body spent an hour on physical conditioning.
Only then did he return to Root to eat—heavily.
After eating his fill, he went to see Danzo and made a request.
"Kakuzu?"
Danzo frowned slightly.
Of course he knew the name.
Kakuzu had once been an elite shinobi of Takigakure, now a notorious bounty hunter.
And that man had once attempted to assassinate the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
Even now, Kakuzu remained listed among Konoha's wanted criminals.
Hashirama himself had never cared.
It was Tobirama who insisted on placing Kakuzu on the list.
Still, the fact that Kakuzu had tried to kill Hashirama—and survived—
Meant his strength couldn't be underestimated.
Konoha had lost shinobi hunting him in the early years, and the pursuit was eventually abandoned.
After all, they couldn't have the Hokage personally chase him.
Especially after Hashirama's death, when Konoha faced internal crises one after another.
"Do you have confidence in defeating him?"
Danzo asked.
Kakuzu was now an S-rank wanted criminal.
According to intelligence, he was far beyond ordinary jōnin.
Shu answered calmly.
"Kakuzu escaped the First Hokage. His strength is extraordinary. I can't guarantee victory yet."
"But I need strong opponents to temper my Wood Release."
"To become Root's blade in the dark…"
"The blade must be sharpened with blood."
Danzo nodded.
Aside from Shu's Wood Release, this mindset was exactly what he admired.
But even a blade must be forged properly.
If Kakuzu was the first whetstone—
The blade might break.
Shu continued.
"I won't act recklessly."
"I'll start with enemies of the village."
"For example, the Sky Ninja."
"Or other targets."
"For now, I'll operate under a bounty hunter identity."
Danzo fell into thought.
He had originally allowed Shu time away for two reasons.
First, Shu needed to deepen mastery of Wood Release.
Second, Root was expanding rapidly and training new recruits—personnel were tight.
Shu was special.
He wasn't assigned to train recruits.
Sending him out could be beneficial.
Sharpening a blade with blood.
Danzo liked it.
One move—three benefits.
After only a moment, he decided.
"Very well."
"I'll have Ten prepare a list of targets and gather the latest intelligence on Kakuzu."
"But remember—"
Danzo stared directly at him.
"You are an important asset of Root."
"Do not lose your life chasing someone like Kakuzu."
Shu raised his head.
His eyes shone with sincere passion.
"Rest assured, my lord."
"Until you become Hokage, I will never fall."
"Your ascension is the goal of my entire life."
Danzo felt satisfied.
As expected of a shinobi he had personally cultivated.
Looking at Shu, something almost stirred—
No. Not emotion.
Just appreciation for talent.
Still, he forced his face to remain cold.
Tools.
They were all tools.
Even Wood Release was merely a tool—
A tool that could be sacrificed at any time.
If that was the case, there was no need to invest feelings.
Danzo nodded once.
"Go."
"I will wait for the day you grow stronger."
Shu nodded and vanished.
After returning to his residence, he removed his mask and let out a long breath.
After saying so much sickening flattery, he felt like his mouth tasted wrong.
But as expected of Danzo.
Truly heartless.
He already had the path to death written all over him.
He chuckled darkly.
A low, sinister laugh slipped out.
Then he put his mask back on and returned to training.
At lunchtime, Agent Ten—Danzo's aide, Shimura Daichi—delivered a small booklet.
Inside was a list of targets and intelligence reports.
It also included information on Kakuzu.
But after a glance, Shu noticed the intel was already a month old.
The last sighting was near a bounty exchange station in the Land of Rivers.
He frowned and shook his head.
Finding someone like that would take far longer than seven days.
"Looks like I'll have to try my luck in Takigakure…"
Shu thought.
After all, he didn't have confidence in defeating Kakuzu anyway.
Compared to Kakuzu, Takigakure might be easier to deal with.
At two in the afternoon, Shu left six clones in Konoha to continue training.
His real body left the village and headed north toward the Land of Waterfalls.
Coincidentally, one of Danzo's targets was from that country.
The target was a minister within the Land of Waterfalls.
One month earlier, the man had proposed that more missions from the Land of Waterfalls should go to Takigakure rather than Konoha.
Which meant fewer missions for Konoha.
So Danzo decided the man had to die.
To be honest—
From Konoha's perspective, and especially Danzo's, Shu also felt the man had earned his death.
Even if those words wouldn't change the overall balance.
Konoha was strong.
Takigakure was weak.
Even if they wanted the missions, they didn't have the manpower to handle that workload.
Danzo's official reason for assassination was simple:
The minister was suspected of colluding with the Hidden Stone Village.
Meaning the reduction of Konoha's missions might benefit Iwagakure.
Whether the minister truly had ties with Stone shinobi…
It didn't matter.
What mattered was that he had said the words.
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