"They went to the ninja tool factory?"
"Yes, sir."
Danzo gave a quiet nod, his expression unreadable.
"Hmm... Let them be. What's the progress on our end?"
"We've managed to replicate one prototype so far."
"Good." Danzo stood up slowly, adjusting the collar of his cloak. Without another word, he strode toward the Hokage building.
When he reached the door to Hiruzen's office, a small smile flickered at the corner of his lips. He didn't bother to knock and pushed the door open.
"Hiruzen. We've completed one of the replica ninja tools."
"Oh?" Hiruzen looked up in mild surprise, quickly brushing aside the image on his crystal ball as if he hadn't been watching anything. His voice remained calm. "Which one?"
Danzo handed him a blueprint.
Hiruzen scanned the diagram. His eyes narrowed slightly. It was a copy of Kujaku's Twin Blades, a wind-release-based weapon.
"Heh, I take it this is your work? You've taken wind-release manipulation to an impressive level," Hiruzen remarked with a faint smile. "You've clearly kept up your research over the years."
"Naturally," Danzo replied coldly.
"I may have my own intentions, but as I've always said, everything I do is for Konoha."
Hiruzen gave a small chuckle, but his eyes sharpened. "Is that so? To be honest, I still don't fully agree with your methods… especially what you call 'the Root.'"
He paused for a moment, then added, "But I heard someone recently say something interesting."
"The root is the foundation of all growth. Only with roots can there be trunks, branches, and leaves."
Danzo's brow twitched.
"The root doesn't represent darkness," Hiruzen said softly. "It represents everything quietly nurturing life beneath the soil."
Danzo said nothing, his expression tightening. After a long silence, he replied dispassionately, "I didn't come here today to argue philosophy."
"How effective is the replica?"
"It functions at around seventy to eighty percent of the original."
"That's already quite remarkable," Hiruzen said, genuinely impressed. "The master from the Artisan Village truly is a rare talent."
It had been years since the original was crafted, yet even now it still stood among the best of ninja weaponry. Hiruzen had to give credit where it was due.
Danzo nodded, then let out a short, mirthless laugh. "Talented, yes. But relying on tools like these to dominate the shinobi world is a fool's dream."
Hiruzen didn't respond. He merely glanced again at his now-hidden crystal ball.
"Was there anything else?"
"You were watching Garou and his team, weren't you?" Danzo said flatly.
Hiruzen sighed. Ever since Garou had become active, more and more people were discovering the Hokage's use of the crystal ball technique. Hiruzen had originally planned to let the spell fade into obscurity.
And yet here we are again.
He quietly placed the crystal ball back on the table, letting the images resurface.
There wasn't anything secret here, not with the topic at hand.
After all, in the matter of chakra-based ninja tools, their interests were aligned. Both of them wanted to strengthen Konoha.
In the vision, Garou and his group had taken formation. Kakashi, Kasumi, Tenten, and Garou stood at the four corners of a square, each holding a paper talisman inscribed with a sealing formula.
In the center sat a shadow clone of Kakashi.
"Begin," Garou commanded.
He formed hand seals rapidly. The talismans they held served as conduits, modified sealing tags that increased the efficiency of the chakra-absorbing barrier they had created.
The concept was inspired by the Iron Wall Sealing Technique, which Garou had analyzed and adapted for this very purpose.
Though that jutsu was traditionally defensive in nature, its structure gave Garou the framework for something new.
The four synchronized their seals.
Slowly, chakra began to flow inward from each of them toward the center, into the waiting clone.
Time passed.
"…My chakra level has increased by about thirty percent," the shadow clone reported after a moment.
"Thirty percent?" Garou frowned. "How much chakra did each of you lose?"
"Twenty percent," Kakashi said first.
"Forty percent," said Tenten and Kasumi almost in unison.
Garou nodded, then shared his own result. "Mine was thirty percent."
That wasn't entirely true.
In reality, his loss was closer to twenty percent, perhaps even less if he factored in his rapid recovery speed due to excellent physical and mental condition.
Meaning, his net chakra output was nearly identical to Kakashi's, even though Kakashi's chakra reserves were naturally larger.
Still, something wasn't right.
"This seems inefficient," Garou murmured.
If both he and Kakashi had donated a full portion each, the clone should've gained more than a mere thirty percent boost. Add in Tenten and Kasumi's chakra, and the discrepancy became more glaring.
The loss was too high.
"Any barrier technique consumes energy just to stay active. Chakra conversion itself also has losses," Kakashi noted, perfectly calm. "Honestly, the results are already amazing. You're expecting too much."
He thought for a moment. "That said… it doesn't hurt to refine it further if you can."
"Can we reverse it?" Tenten asked. "As in, have the ninja tool disperse chakra outward instead?"
"That's simple."
Garou shifted hand seals again. The barrier shimmered, transforming into a dispersal mode.
Now, instead of pulling chakra inward, it pushed chakra from the shadow clone outward toward the four users.
A few seconds later, the chakra was redistributed and the clone vanished.
Kakashi tapped his chin, thoughtful.
"There are two ways to improve this," he said. "One is the internal mechanism. The other is the seal formula."
Garou nodded.
Internally, the system depended on the shadow clone's active cooperation, channeling chakra to synchronize with the sealing array.
It wasn't difficult, but it required coordination.
"I could try something," Garou said. "What if we embedded a secondary absorption seal within the structure? Then we can compare whether it consumes more chakra to maintain or if it actually makes the transfer more efficient."
Kakashi blinked, then gave a helpless sigh.
'I was finally about to offer a suggestion and this kid beat me to it again.'
It was demoralizing.
"…Fine. Let's give it a try," he said, half-exasperated.
Meanwhile, back in the Hokage's office.
"Haha. That boy really pushes limits, doesn't he?" Hiruzen chuckled as he shut off the crystal ball.
Danzo didn't respond.
He had to admit. He and his subordinates had done well to replicate the Kujaku's Twin Blades, but when compared to what Garou had just accomplished, it felt… hollow.
Because what Garou had achieved wasn't replication.
It was innovation.
A brand-new class of ninja tool that redistributed chakra in real time, a device that could potentially change the tide of battle by restoring chakra to a fatigued ally at a critical moment.
'If only he had been born ten years earlier…' Danzo thought.
If Garou had lived through the previous Great Ninja War, the course of history might have changed.
A glint of envy flickered in Danzo's eyes.
For the longest time, he believed Orochimaru was the pinnacle of intellect after Tobirama.
Now, Garou had shattered that notion.
Orochimaru had his own ambitions, always driven by personal gain.
Garou, by contrast, had shown no such signs. At least not yet.
And that made him even more dangerous, and valuable.
But it was a shame.
Such a genius, yet not one Danzo could recruit into Root.
That, more than anything, was a regret.
Still, he showed no visible emotion in front of Hiruzen. He simply nodded and said, "I'll deliver the technical documents to you later."
"Good."
Danzo turned and left without a word, but Hiruzen knew what he was thinking.
He reached for his pipe and took a puff, staring out the window at the village bathed in golden afternoon light.
What lies at the root of that boy's heart?
"Lord Third."
"Ah, Shikaku," Hiruzen said warmly. "I heard your kid's been unusually diligent lately. Must be good parenting!"
"Hah, I wish," Shikaku replied with a weary smile. "He's only moving because someone's pushing him."
He knew his son's nature well. Shikamaru wasn't exactly the ambitious type.
But now he had a rival in front of him, Garou.
In some strange way, Shikaku felt grateful. But there was no need to say that out loud.
He simply handed over two documents.
"These are from the medical division. One is a progress report on the disease source analysis. The other is the latest update on the development of the combined medical technique."
"Let me see," Hiruzen said, flipping through the pages. A moment later, his eyes lit up.
"They're already applying it in surgery? Fantastic! This needs to be taught across the board. The more people who learn it, the better!"
"Understood."
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