In Konoha, within the Root Division.
In the dark underground space, groups of emotionless, mask-wearing ninjas stood silently, abandoning their identities and forsaking their lives.
Their loyalty was to one man only—the man approaching them, Danzo Shimura.
Rather than being ninjas entrenched in the darkness of Konoha, they were more like Danzo's private army; nominally still ninjas of Konoha, their masks bore the village's symbol.
In reality, they no longer obeyed any orders from Konoha.
If Danzo were to defect to another village, they would follow without hesitation, even if the assassination target given by Danzo was the Hokage.
At this moment, Danzo stood among the Root.
However, this was not the real Danzo but a Six Paths clone of Aoba, who hid the black rods on his body very well, ensuring the Root members did not notice.
A slight cough from the Danzo resonated clearly in the dim underground, drawing every Root ninja's attention to his commands.
Danzo captured everyone's attention, or rather, Aoba did.
He had gathered all the Root ninjas.
"Today, I have a critical mission for you all!"
"Even if it costs you your lives..."
"You must complete this mission!"
Danzo's voice was cold and authoritative, sending chills down everyone's spine.
"Yes!" the Root ninjas responded in unison, their resolve evident through the eye holes of their masks.
Danzo glanced over the gathered ninjas, his eyes seemingly closed, not making contact with any of them. His eyes lacked any vitality, making it seem like he was merely a corpse, which would ruin everything if discovered at that moment.
"This is a group mission."
The simple statement from Danzo made the ninjas realize the gravity of the task.
All present had joined Root at different times and had never faced such a situation. They were used to operating solo and had never considered team-based missions.
But the realization dawned on them—the target of this mission was likely challenging, requiring these elite Root members to assassinate the same target collectively.
Danzo seemed to anticipate their reaction, pausing after his speech to give them time to understand.
Then, Aoba's clone slightly smirked, observing the Root ninjas' reactions.
"Now, by the order of the Third Hokage!"
"There is a rebellion within Konoha!"
"Sakumo Hatake is a core member of this rebellion!"
"Your mission is to assassinate Sakumo Hatake at all costs!"
"Do you understand?"
Danzo's words lowered the room's temperature, making many feel a slight chill.
"Yes!" the Root ninjas chorused, their determination clear.
Indeed, these Root members could complete the mission even without such a pretext.
But this statement could drag the Third Hokage into the matter.
Aoba did not know if anyone would capture these Root ninjas or if anyone could pry into their memories.
Of course, just because the Root members were not to speak about Danzo did not mean their memories could not be accessed.
Until now, there had been no need to access Root memories, as Root operations had been covert and unscrutinized.
But now, the situation was different.
Root was to assassinate Sakumo Hatake—a significant move openly.
This action would inevitably lead to a conclusive outcome.
For Aoba, this laid the groundwork for that outcome.
The reason for targeting Sakumo rather than Minato was carefully considered by Aoba.
Aoba intended to support Minato as the Fourth Hokage of Konoha.
He had already manipulated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen for this purpose; involving Root would make the target too obvious.
Now, there was an even more important task at hand—
Sakumo Hatake!
Whether or not the Root ninjas could kill Sakumo was no longer crucial. Alive or dead, Sakumo's fate had little impact on Aoba's plans as long as Root carried out the mission.
After all, Sakumo was publicly seen as a likely candidate for the Fourth Hokage, a thorn in the side of the Third Hokage, and his downfall would greatly benefit the Third Hokage. This was well-known.
Moreover, Sakumo was also a direct competitor to Minato, and even a slight setback for Sakumo would aid Minato's succession to the position of Hokage.