Chapter 77: Recruitment and Rejection

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Recruitment and Rejection

After asking around in detail, Hyuga Kagami finally learned that all four members of Anbu Team 11 had bounties placed on their heads—and every single one of them was worth twenty million ryō.

"This bounty was probably put up by Kumogakure, right?"

Thinking it over, the only villages that had a grudge against Anbu Team 11 were Kumogakure and Iwagakure. And compared to Iwagakure, Kumogakure was obviously the more likely culprit.

"But how did Kumogakure get detailed information on Team 11? Could their spies have already infiltrated the Anbu?"

The thought that suddenly flashed through his mind startled even Kagami himself.

The Anbu directly under the Hokage were all personally selected by the Third Hokage, and the candidates were invariably shinobi whose backgrounds were thoroughly known to the village.

If a spy from another shinobi village had managed to infiltrate even their ranks, then that meant the spy must have been embedded in Konoha for a very, very long time.

At the very least, there could be absolutely no flaw in their background.

Immediately afterward, Kagami thought of the second bounty notice.

That second bounty was five million ryō higher than the first, reaching an astonishing twenty-five million ryō.

That was practically the kind of bounty placed on the famous elite jōnin of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

The strangest thing was that the second bounty was an individual bounty, with Hyuga Kagami as its sole target.

That undoubtedly meant whoever had issued it held a personal grudge against Kagami. It had nothing to do with Anbu Team 11.

"Who could it be?"

Seeing Kagami deep in thought, Hiashi assumed he was worried about the bounty and reassured him, "You don’t need to worry too much. For shinobi, the bounties on the black market are a reflection of our accomplishments. Only powerful shinobi are worth such high prices."

Kagami nodded.

He wasn’t afraid. He was simply curious about who exactly had put the bounty on his head.

Lifting his cup and taking a small sip of tea, Hiashi asked, "Do you know how much my bounty is on the black market?"

"How much?"

Hiashi replied calmly, "One hundred million ryō!"

Kagami gave an awkward chuckle. "Heh, as expected of the Clan Head."

Naturally, Kagami understood that the hundred-million-ryō bounty wasn’t so much a bounty on Hyuga Hiashi himself as it was a bounty on the Hyuga Clan—

a bounty on the Byakugan.

As everyone knew, only the Byakugan of the Hyuga Main Family could be stolen, and the Main Family had very few members to begin with.

So long as someone killed Hyuga Hiashi, not only would they obtain a pair of Byakugan, but they could also deal an immeasurable blow to the Hyuga Clan’s Main Family and Branch Family system!

After leaving the Main Family estate, Kagami strolled leisurely toward his own home.

As he passed through a narrow alley, however, a figure suddenly stepped out of the shadows and blocked his path.

Kagami’s expression immediately sharpened. He drew Kusanagimaru from his waist while activating his Byakugan, instantly assuming a fully guarded stance.

The figure emerging from the darkness leaned on a cane and stared coldly at Kagami.

"Special Jōnin Hyuga Kagami. You should know who I am, shouldn’t you?"

Kagami immediately deactivated his Byakugan and nodded.

"Yes, Lord Danzo."

The man blocking Kagami’s path was none other than Shimura Danzo, the man known as the "Darkness of the Shinobi."

At the same time, he was also one of Konoha’s advisors and the commander of Root.

"You have talent. Staying in the Anbu will get you nowhere. Join my Root. There, you’ll have everything you desire."

Danzo’s tone was cold and indifferent, sounding nothing like someone trying to recruit another person.

And yet, he seemed utterly confident, as though the offer he had made was one Kagami could never refuse.

Without even needing to think about it, Kagami replied, "I’m sorry, but I’m a member of the Anbu directly under Lord Hokage. Any reassignment must follow the Third Hokage’s orders."

Danzo’s gaze instantly turned colder.

"If I remember correctly, this is the second time you’ve refused to join Root!"

Because of the turmoil surrounding Orochimaru’s defection, Kagami had once been briefly detained, and during that time, he had already rejected an invitation to join Root.

Back then, however, he had merely been a wartime chūnin—little more than an expendable pawn—so Danzo hadn’t taken the rejection to heart at all.

But now, Kagami was beginning to reveal his brilliance.

Not only had he become a Special Jōnin, he had also defeated several Uchiha challengers in succession. More recently, he had performed exceptionally well on the secret mission assigned by the Third Hokage.

He was currently one of the most promising young shinobi in the village.

That was why Danzo had personally come to recruit him.

And precisely because of that, Kagami’s immediate refusal left Danzo extremely displeased.

Kagami completely ignored the threat in Danzo’s words.

"Sorry, but I have no interest in joining Root."

"Young man, you should carefully consider every decision you make. Otherwise, you may come to regret it someday."

With that, Danzo’s figure gradually disappeared back into the darkness.

Kagami watched him go without expression.

Danzo looked utterly self-assured, as though everything was firmly within his grasp.

In truth, the moment Kagami had turned into the narrow alley, he had already sensed Danzo hiding in the shadows.

His startled reaction afterward—activating his Byakugan, drawing his sword, and putting himself on full alert—had all been an act.

His only purpose was to give himself a perfectly reasonable excuse to activate the Byakugan and secretly inspect Danzo’s current condition.

And the performance had clearly paid off.

Kagami discovered that Danzo had already transplanted the First Hokage’s cells into his body—as well as an entire arm covered in Sharingan.

"No wonder he’s been appearing in public less and less lately."

Even as Kagami marveled at the discovery, he had no choice but to start thinking about how to deal with Danzo.

He had never forgotten the old score from when the village had purged people like him.

After investigating through various channels, along with the information Orochimaru had provided, Kagami had learned that the person who had overseen that purge on the village’s behalf was none other than that old bastard Danzo.

So whether Danzo chose to provoke him or not, Kagami had no intention of letting him off.

It was just that the information he had obtained moments ago came as a slight surprise.

He hadn’t expected Danzo to have already transplanted the First Hokage’s cells and a large number of Sharingan at this point in time.

This also proved that Danzo had never stopped conducting human experiments. In his research on the First Hokage’s cells, he had even gotten a step ahead of Orochimaru.

Moreover, Danzo must have started collecting Sharingan a long time ago.

Otherwise, there was no way he could already possess so many Sharingan while the Uchiha Clan was still alive and intact.

The Uchiha didn’t have anything like the Caged Bird Seal, so collecting Sharingan was relatively easy—at least, it was easy for someone like Danzo, who controlled Root.

"Hmph. So he’s been planning this for a long time."

Without showing anything on his face, Kagami continued walking home while thinking to himself,

"I’m afraid that even if the Uchiha had no intention of staging a coup, Danzo would still make a move against them. What Danzo really has his eyes on... are the Uchiha’s Sharingan!"

As a member of Konoha’s advisory council, Danzo in his normal state should already possess strength approaching the Kage level. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have remained so obsessed with the position of Hokage.

And now, with the First Hokage’s cells and a large number of Sharingan at his disposal, his strength might, in certain respects, have already surpassed even the Third Hokage...