Chapter 532: The Price

Chapter 532: Chapter 532: The Price

Dressed as Homura, Kagami did not linger in the village for long. After finishing his conversation with Hizashi, he shook off all his watchers and quietly left the village.

Before long, he arrived outside Danzo’s Root base.

This time, Kagami had brought his Fire Release clone into the public eye for another purpose besides obtaining money from the Third Hokage. He intended to have Homura replace Furin in Danzo’s project to improve the Chimera Technique.

After all, his Type-A Wind Release clone had suffered such severe damage that it would be unusable for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, the improvement and development of the Chimera Technique could not afford any delays. Kagami had to participate throughout the entire process.

Nagato’s recent increase in strength had given Kagami a sense of urgency.

At present, no one could determine exactly where Nagato’s limits lay, nor could anyone predict what his next move would be. Therefore, Kagami could not afford to waste any time. Whether it was improving and developing the Chimera Technique or advancing his Kekkei Mora Project, he had to accelerate his progress as much as possible.

Whoosh, whoosh...

As though they had anticipated Kagami’s arrival, two figures soon landed before him. They bowed respectfully and said, "Lord Danzo is waiting for you inside the base. Please follow us."

Kagami nodded indifferently.

Following the two Root shinobi, Kagami entered the base and met with Danzo.

After dismissing the two Root shinobi, Danzo first sized Kagami up before saying, "I hope your Kamigami will honor our previous agreement."

Kagami was taken aback and asked, "What agreement?"

Danzo furrowed his brows. "Are you Kamigami trying to make a fool of me? Furin explicitly told me back then that Kamigami would support my ascension to the position of Hokage!"

Hearing this, Kagami suddenly understood. He thought to himself, "No wonder this guy has been running around stirring things up in the village lately. So that’s where his confidence comes from!"

Kagami was somewhat speechless.

When he had approached Danzo under the identity of Furin, his primary objective had been to use Danzo’s financial resources and influence to develop the Chimera Technique. All that nonsense about supporting Danzo’s rise to power had merely been an excuse he had casually made up to establish their cooperation. After all, he needed a suitable reason to approach Danzo.

He had never expected Danzo to take it so seriously. And with the village now destroyed and the Third Hokage facing a crisis of confidence, Danzo suddenly felt that an opportunity had presented itself.

Seeing Kagami remain silent in thought, Danzo snorted coldly. "What? Has Hiruzen offered you a better price?"

Given Danzo’s influence, he naturally knew that Kagami had just met with the Third Hokage.

Kagami’s thoughts raced. He deliberately refrained from answering, tacitly confirming Danzo’s suspicion.

Danzo continued, "Hmph! What can Hiruzen possibly offer you? I know his character. He can’t give you much. But I’m different! As long as Kamigami supports my ascension to the position of Hokage, I can hand the entire Land of Water over to you!"

"Hm?"

Kagami froze for a moment, wondering if he had misheard.

Danzo turned his back to him and spoke in a voice filled with anticipation.

"The era of the Five Great Shinobi Villages will come to an end under my leadership. When that time comes, I can personally arrange for the entire Land of Water, along with its surrounding islands, to be handed over to Kamigami’s administration. Offering an entire nation in exchange for your support—I trust you can appreciate the sincerity of my offer!"

"I don’t feel your sincerity at all! The Land of Water isn’t even yours! What gives you the right to decide its fate? Trying to tempt me with empty promises like that—do you take me for an idiot?"

Kagami couldn’t help grumbling inwardly.

Seeing that Kagami remained silent, Danzo turned to glance at him and said with considerable confidence, "Hiruzen can’t offer you a price like this. You won’t refuse me!"

Kagami suddenly realized that Danzo seemed to be completely serious about what he had just said. He thought to himself, "I never imagined he actually had ambitions to unify the shinobi world. This guy really is..."

For a moment, Kagami couldn’t even think of how to describe Danzo.

After a while, Kagami said, "I’ve only come here to replace Furin in improving the Chimera Technique. As for the proposal you just made, I’ll report it to Kamigami."

Danzo frowned, and his expression darkened.

Ignoring Danzo’s displeased expression, Kagami said directly, "Take me to the laboratory."

Danzo hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. He instructed a Root shinobi to escort Kagami to the laboratory.

Although he was extremely dissatisfied with Homura’s attitude, reason told him that now was not the time to fall out with Kamigami.

Moreover, the Chimera Technique had yet to be completed. He still needed Kamigami’s technical support, as well as their presence to keep Orochimaru in check.

After Kagami left, Orochimaru emerged from the shadows and said with a mocking smile, "It seems this Homura doesn’t like you very much!"

"Hmph!"

Danzo snorted heavily and said, "This is precisely why I despise the Uchiha! The Uchiha clan should never have existed in the shinobi world!"

Having been deeply influenced by the Second Hokage, Danzo harbored an indelible hostility toward the Uchiha clan.

Orochimaru said thoughtfully, "Kamigami should know about your grievances with the Uchiha clan. The fact that they’ve sent an Uchiha here at a time like this may not bode well for our plans."

Danzo said, "We need to contact Furin as soon as possible!"

Orochimaru shook his head. "I was there that night too. Furin’s injuries didn’t look like an act."

Although Orochimaru had barely intervened in the battle that night, he had observed the entire confrontation from the sidelines and had a thorough understanding of how events had unfolded.

Danzo sighed. "Hah, I warned him long ago not to get overly involved, but he simply wouldn’t listen. He has no one to blame but himself for ending up like this."

Evidently, Danzo had already come to regard Furin as the faction within Kamigami that supported him, while viewing Homura as a member of the faction that opposed him.

Judging others by his own standards, he believed that Kamigami must also have different factions and internal power struggles. Furin’s injuries had temporarily placed the faction supporting him at a disadvantage.

As for why Kamigami’s Homura was hostile toward him, Danzo wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

After all, his attitude toward the Uchiha was common knowledge. It was only natural for Homura, being an Uchiha, to harbor hostility toward him.

With a faint smile playing on his lips, Orochimaru asked, "Shall we continue with our plan?"

Danzo slammed his cane heavily against the ground and declared, "Of course! No one can stop me!"

The aging of his body had done nothing to diminish Danzo’s ambitions. On the contrary, his ambitions had grown with each passing day, reaching a point where they could no longer be restrained.

At this point, even if a bottomless abyss lay directly ahead of him, he would not stop moving forward!