These Root ninjas did not doubt Orochimaru(Aoba)'s words. After all, since its establishment. Root had only been invaded once.
That was the matter of Gasshi's invasion not long ago, and the specific reason for the invasion had not been investigated.
However, this did not stop them from thinking that Root Base was a very safe place. Other than the people from Root, no other ninjas from other areas could come in.
Not to mention that Aoba had come in with Orochimaru's appearance.
Based on the preconceived concept. Everyone in Root believed that Orochimaru, who commanded them, was the real Orochimaru. No one in Root had ever guessed that he was fake, let alone questioned his authenticity.
Basically, no one would say it out loud.
Although it seemed like the operation was very simple, and there seemed to be a lot of loopholes, none of the Root ninjas standing here dared to question Orochimaru.
Who didn't know how terrifying Orochimaru was?
If they were even a little careless, they might be sent to become a human specimen for human experiments.
In an instant, these Root ninjas rushed out from the Root Base exit. They also fought with the invading Kumogakure ninjas.
Kumogakure ninja tended to have a melee style as a whole. In addition, the number of people was not particularly large, and they were very tired after a long journey. Their combat strength was relatively not at its peak.
If they were only dealing with Konohagakure ordinary ninjas, they could still feel that they were evenly matched.
But now, the battlefield was in chaos.
Not only did a few Kirigakure ninjas who were constantly spraying water appear and turn the battle into a mess, but many Root ninjas wearing masks also appeared.
It had to be known that the Root ninjas' strength was not weaker than Anbu, and it could be said that Danzo had painstakingly cultivated his private army.
Whether it was Orochimaru or Pain invading Konohagakure, Danzo was not willing to take out this private army and just left them in Root Base to find an opportunity to seize the position of Hokage in the future.
Now, all the accumulated power was controlled by Aoba, even if he made some contributions to the village. These benefits would be put on Danzo's head.
Aoba was such a good person!
Doing good deeds without leaving his name behind.
After everything was settled, he hid his skills and fame.
Aoba felt the mass of chakra was quickly moving out of Root Base, and he even thought that the Root Base was slowly being hollowed out.
He did not know if Danzo, outside, noticed this phenomenon.
However, he was not worried at all. Even if he was discovered by Danzo.
Danzo, who was currently in the midst of Third Raikage's battle, had no way to withdraw from watching what was happening at Root Base, so he could only focus on the current situation.
Suddenly, Aoba began to walk around the Root Base in relief.
He had his eyes on the Hokage Rock, watching the situation on the surface. If something happened to Hiruzen and the others, he would remove the shadow clone and bring the information to him.
But before anything happened to Hiruzen and the others.
Just think of it as Raikage helping him to restrain Konoha's higher-ups.
Aoba still had a lot of things he wanted to do, but he never had the chance to do them. Now, the opportunity had come.
At this time, after Aoba sent out four shadow clones transformed into Kirigakure ninjas and Root ninjas, he was no longer so worried about Konohagakure.
He was very clear that Konohagakure's situation had stabilized with this power, and they would not fall into a disadvantageous position.
After all, there were so many powerful clans in Konohagakure.
Whether it was the Konoha Crash when Orochimaru invaded Konohagakure or the incident of selling rice to Konohagakure when Pain came to catch Kyuubi. At that time, Konohagakure did not have the Uchiha clan.
The current Konohagakure could still be considered the time when Hiruzen was relatively at his peak.
They had Konoha White Fang.
They had top clans like the Uchiha clan and the Hyuga clan.
They also had the Sarutobi clan, Nara clan, Yamanaka clan, and Akimichi clan.
In addition, there were also the Inuzuka and Aburame clans, which were relatively small but not weak.
The ninjas of these clans were sleeping, and they had yet to react to Kumogakure's invasion.
Konohagakure's situation would quickly stabilize as the ninjas of these clans came out one after another to participate in the battle.
Aoba does not like fighting to happen in Konohagakure. Still, it doesn't mean he worried about Konohagakure's ability to fight. It was never the overall fight that could cause damage to Konohagakure but the crushing of the top combat power.
Compared to those who were worried about Konohagakure.
Aoba was even more worried about Hiruzen.
Now was not the time for Hiruzen to abdicate. Minato still needed to accumulate some experience. He needed to gain more battle achievements in battle and get the love of more people. The best time to become the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure was not like Tsunade, who was arranged to take the position of Hokage because of the death of the Third Hokage.
Although they were both in the same position, there was a fundamental difference.
When Minato became the Fourth Hokage, no one could shake his position. Even Hiruzen had no way to take back the position. Danzo had no thoughts at all. Orochimaru was also a loser in the competition for the position of Hokage.
However, the two advisors often restricted Tsunade when she became the Fifth Hokage. They often relied on their seniority to teach Tsunade how to do things. Moreover, after being invaded, Danzo also came out to fight for the position of Hokage. Generally speaking, when Tsunade issued all kinds of orders, she had to overcome many difficulties to achieve the effect she wanted.
Aoba did not want Minato to become the Fourth Hokage in a hurry. In this way, Minato would be constrained in many things, so Minato needed to accumulate some popularity.
Because of this, relying on his selfishness for Minato. For the time being, Aoba would not let anything happen to Hiruzen.
All of a sudden, Aoba locked on the three mass of chakra at Root Base, one of which was particularly weak. It was located in a secret room on the second floor, close to his current position.
"That person should be Hari."
Aoba immediately made a judgment. After that, he quickly walked in the direction of Hari. He maintained Orochimaru's appearance, even though only three people were left at Root Base.
After a while, Aoba arrived outside the stone room. But before he entered, he raised his hand and pressed it against the wall beside the door.
The moment his palm made contact with the wall, chakra immediately surged, leaving a black circle on the wall.
Then, Aoba immediately pushed open the stone door and stepped in, his eyes focused on a figure lying on the bed.
Sure enough!
This figure was none other than Hari. However, the latter had suffered severe injuries and was already paralyzed. There was no feeling from his chest down to his feet.
"Who is it?"
Hari's weak voice sounded. He was initially sleeping, but he was awakened by the sound of the movement of the Root ninjas outside. Then he heard someone enter his room.
"Who's here?"
Hari asked again. His eyes looked in the direction of the door. But because of his angle, it was still not clear.
Aoba did not answer Hari. He walked up to Hari step by step, looking down at the disabled Kumogakure Anbu Leader.
The day before, Aoba had arranged many shadow clones, and some of them were reading and extracting Hari's memories.
This made Aoba understand a lot about Hari. Since the Second Raikage died. Hari began to assist the Third Raikage officially. Not only did he propose many constructive suggestions for the development of the village, but he also paved the way for Kumogakure in the Ninja World.
Among them was the decision to pull the Third Raikage back.
The Third Raikage was not allowed to participate in the Second Ninja World War.
According to Hari's memory, this decision was really very hard. After all, the Third Raikage was a real militant. At that time, the whole Ninja World was at war, and he wanted to intervene.
However, Hari told the Third Raikage a story of change and growth with reason and emotion.
During the First Ninja World War, the main battlefield was in Kumogakure, and Kumogakure consumed a lot of energy.
If, during the Second Ninja World War, Kumogakure could sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight instead of participating in this war and silently accumulate military strength. This way, after the other forces were significantly weakened, Kumogakure's power would jump to the peak of the Ninja World.
In addition to these things, Hari also led the matter of uniting with Kirigakure. He then gradually played Kirigakure in the palm of his hand.
No matter what happens, they could order Kirigakure to go ahead and explore the way for Kumogakure.
It was precisely because Kumogakure had a character like Hari that the entire village was organized in an orderly manner. The internal affairs of the village were handled very well, causing the village to become rich and powerful gradually. The goal of making diplomatic relations with the outside world was clear, contributing progressively to Kumogakure's current situation.
It was just that...
Hari definitely would not have thought of it. The career that he had been working hard on all his life. It was going to be ruined by the reckless Third Raikage.
And it wouldn't be long before Kumogakure would instantly return to the past, standing shoulder to shoulder with Sunagakure in backwardness.
Aoba's gaze fell on Hari's face. He had already recognized this person in his heart. It could indeed be called Kumogakure's brain. The things he had done over the years could be said to have cemented Kumogakure's position today.
However, it was precisely because Aoba recognized Hari's talent.
This dangerous person would not be able to see tomorrow's sun alive, even though he could not see the sun at Root Base.
"Orochimaru-sama!"
When Hari saw Aoba's appearance, he immediately revealed a smile. Then, he asked curiously, "Orochimaru-sama said that you wanted to find me a new body so I could stand up again. How long do I have to wait? I have had enough of my paralyzed body."
"Today." Aoba nodded at Hari. After thinking for a while, he added, "You will be able to get rid of this broken body from today on."
"Orochimaru-sama, thank you!" A bright smile appeared on Hari's face. He looked delighted as if he did not realize that this person in front of him was not the Orochimaru he knew but someone disguised.
"You're welcome."
Aoba said indifferently. He said that he could get rid of this broken body, which meant that Hari could enter the Pure Land with his soul. He didn't need to be tortured like this anymore.
Through Hari's words, Aoba still keenly captured some information points.
Orochimaru had promised to change Hari's body; would it be a preliminary experiment for Edo Tensei?
However, no matter what the specific situation was. Orochimaru no longer had this chance. Hari's end was already here.
Aoba stretched out his hands to Hari.
"What are you doing?"
The smile on Hari's face gradually froze. He was now paralyzed and had no strength to resist any power from the outside world. He could only watch as Orochimaru placed his hand on his body.
"It's fine now. After tonight, everything will be over. I'll bring you to see your most respected Third Raikage-sama."
Aoba's indifferent voice slowly rang out. A strong spatial fluctuation appeared on his hands, and he instantly used Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique).
Hum!
In an instant, Hari's body, lying on the stone bed, trembled slightly and then disappeared.
On the other side.
On the Hokage Rock.
Hari's body appears at the top of the Hokage Rock. His eyes looked at the bright stars in the sky, and he heard the sound of fighting.
"Where is this place?" Hari asked doubtfully.
"Konohagakure." Aoba's advanced paper clone, who had transformed into Satsuma Rentaro, answered softly.
"Why would I suddenly appear here?" Hari asked again.
"You only have one chance to ask a question. Now that you have used it up, you should quietly enjoy the last moments of your life." Aoba's advanced paper clone, who had transformed into Satsuma Rentaro, said indifferently.
"..."
Hari was speechless. After that, he closed his mouth. His eyes stared at the starry sky, but his attention was focused on his ears. He listened to the sound outside and tried to find a way to break the situation.
Only...
He could not think of any good strategy. After all, his current physical condition was really too poor.
...
At Root Base.
After Aoba sent Hari away, he stood still in the same place.
There were still two chakras fluctuation left. For the time being, Aoba did not know the identity of these two people.
After a slight hesitation, Aoba decided not to take the risk for the time being. Who these two people were was not that important to him.
He just wanted to go and take a look at the location between the basement level and the Hokage Building.
Was there really a secret door that could lead to those secret rooms?
Aoba determined that there were secret rooms in the dark corridor before. He felt there must be some secret hidden in those secret rooms, and the entrances of those rooms were most likely in Root Base.
Now, Danzo was busy with the Third Raikage. There was no way to return here. The Root ninjas were sent away by him to fight. The current Root Base could be said to be its emptiest time since its establishment.
There would definitely be no more suitable opportunity than this. If he missed it and wants to enter those future secret rooms. It might require a violent demolition method.
Unless it were absolutely necessary, Aoba still wouldn't choose that way.
Afterward, Aoba left Hari's stone room and walked toward the basement. Not long after, Aoba climbed back to the basement level.
Right at this moment, Aoba immediately went to perceive the location of the Flying Thunder God Formula.
In an instant, he determined the coordinates of the Flying Thunder God Formula on the dark corridor he had left before.
After sensing the Flying Thunder God Formula, Aoba did not directly use them as Hiraishin no Jutsu(Flying Thunder God Technique)'s coordinates. Instead, he treated them as the coordinates to search for those rooms.
A few minutes later.
Aoba stopped on the empty ground that resembled a square. Then, he raised his head to look up.
Right now, he was very certain that the space above his position was the room where the people of Yamanaka's clan had gone to read memories that day.
When Aoba saw this, he was stunned. He suddenly felt that he had overlooked something. At that time, he knocked on the walls in all directions. But he forgot to knock on the ground below.
"There must be an entrance to the secret room here!"
Aoba's eyes became determined. He looked around and began searching for the secret room entrance.