A flash of emerald light swept across the Root operative’s chest.
In an instant—
Koji severed the man’s cardiac vessels.
The Root ninja turned around in shock.
What greeted him was Koji’s already-prepared left hand.
The moment Koji’s palm touched him, black sealing formulas spread across the man’s body.
Before the operative could do anything else, his entire body was locked down.
Koji immediately produced a scroll.
A living person obviously couldn’t simply be sealed away like an object.
But after having the blood flow to his heart severed…
this Root operative was no longer going to remain alive for much longer.
By the time Koji’s sealing technique fully took effect, the man had already left this world.
Koji sealed the corpse into the scroll.
Not a single trace of blood had gotten on him.
From beginning to end— the entire process had taken barely more than ten seconds.
That was the speed at which a medical ninja could kill someone.
Koji immediately formed another hand seal.
Shadow Clone.
Then came the Transformation Technique.
Koji’s real body assumed the appearance of the dead Root operative and casually walked out of the restroom.
His Shadow Clone, meanwhile, transformed into Koji and calmly remained behind.
Everything had happened too quickly.
No one outside would have imagined how much had changed in those few seconds.
The disguised Koji found himself an inconspicuous place nearby.
Every so often, his gaze drifted toward Treatment Room One.
There was no need to guess why Root operatives had appeared throughout the hospital.
Danzo was inside.
And the hidden gazes of the other Root ninja nearby confirmed something else.
None of them suspected Koji’s disguise.
At the same time, the Shadow Clone walked out of the restroom.
It leisurely headed toward Treatment Room One.
Koji watched carefully.
The instant the clone appeared, several Root operatives who had previously shown no reaction immediately turned their attention toward it.
That settled it.
The rotten old man really did have something planned.
Danzo had plenty of ways to control people.
But Koji was currently Konoha Hospital’s most valuable medical ninja.
If Koji himself refused, simply forcing him into Root wouldn’t be easy.
Danzo was only one of Konoha’s senior officials.
He wasn’t the Hokage.
…
Actually, wait.
Because of the Uchiha incident, Danzo technically wasn’t even serving as the Hokage’s advisor anymore.
What a tragic story.
Still— after today, the old man might have something even more tragic to worry about.
Because Koji had decided to make his move.
There wouldn’t be a better opportunity.
The Shadow Clone entered Treatment Room One.
Sure enough—
Danzo Shimura was seated inside.
The look was intense.
Predatory.
Like a starving wolf staring at prey that had just walked willingly into its den.
“Lord Danzo.”
The Shadow Clone behaved as though it hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
It continued organizing the instruments required for an examination.
“I wasn’t expecting you to be today’s patient. What seems to be bothering you?”
Danzo watched Koji move around the room.
“With your talent, remaining in Konoha Hospital is a waste.”
His usable left hand slowly rose.
Almost absentmindedly, his fingers brushed across the bandages covering his right eye.
“Have you ever considered joining Root?”
The Shadow Clone continued working.
Danzo already knew what the answer would probably be.
Someone with Koji’s ability had little reason to willingly disappear underground.
Once Yuya Kudo eventually retired, Koji was practically guaranteed to become the next director of Konoha Hospital.
Why would someone destined for that kind of position willingly abandon everything to become an anonymous Root operative?
Danzo himself didn’t enjoy spending his life hidden beneath Konoha.
But he wasn’t the Hokage.
So the darkness beneath the village was where he had been forced to remain.
“Instructor Yuya has treated me very well. I—”
Koji’s Shadow Clone began answering casually.
Then— something changed.
An almost imperceptible disturbance swept through Treatment Room One.
For the briefest moment, the clone fell silent.
Then its answer changed completely.
“But if I had the opportunity to serve Lord Danzo, that wouldn’t be bad either.”
Danzo’s lips slowly curled upward.
This eye truly was useful.
For the next several minutes, Koji’s Shadow Clone obediently conducted a complete medical examination.
Once finished, it quietly turned and left the treatment room.
Danzo watched the young medical ninja disappear through the door.
His expression gradually became smug.
“So what if you’re a medical genius?”
“In the end, you’re still nothing more than a dog in my hand.”
A few days from now, all he needed to do was have the controlled Koji submit a request to Yuya Kudo.
Then Danzo could formally extend an invitation to Root.
Everything would proceed naturally.
And with such a talented medical ninja under his control…
perhaps Koji could even help him discover a way to stabilize this troublesome body.
Danzo’s gaze drifted toward the distant Hokage Tower.
“Hiruzen…”
“One day, I’ll prove that I was the one most qualified to become Hokage.”
While Danzo indulged himself in that fantasy, Koji’s Shadow Clone walked calmly away from Treatment Room One.
Watching from nearby— the real Koji’s lips curved upward.
He quietly followed.
Several Root operatives noticed the disguised Root member trailing after Koji.
They found it slightly strange.
But not suspicious enough to intervene.
The clone immediately vanished in a puff of smoke.
Its memories— and fatigue— returned to Koji.
The instant they did, Koji understood exactly what had happened inside the room.
Danzo had used Kotoamatsukami.
On a Shadow Clone.
Koji almost laughed.
He immediately created another Shadow Clone.
The new clone transformed into the Root operative he’d killed earlier.
Koji himself released the Transformation Technique and returned to his normal appearance.
Then he calmly headed toward the scheduling room.
That rotten old man really is bad news.
But now…
you’re about to learn what it means to go looking for wool and come back missing the sheep.
Kotoamatsukami was undeniably powerful.
But in the end— it was still genjutsu.
Ordinary genjutsu could be dispelled by disrupting one’s chakra flow.
Doing the same thing with Kotoamatsukami would obviously be far more difficult.
But if it was still genjutsu, then theoretically— eliminating the person who cast it should also provide a way to break its influence.
And even if that assumption turned out to be wrong…
Danzo had no way of knowing that.
After all, Shisui’s eye was unique.
Danzo couldn’t exactly experiment with it over and over again.
“Are you all right?”
Koji had barely stepped into the scheduling room when Yuya spoke with obvious concern.
Koji felt a small amount of genuine gratitude.
But for now, he simply shook his head.
“I’m fine.”
Yuya frowned slightly.
Something felt strange.
Considering Danzo’s usual methods, she couldn’t help wondering whether the old man had said something unpleasant to her student.
But since Koji clearly didn’t want to talk about it, she couldn’t exactly force him.
For the moment, Koji had no new assignment.
Danzo was still occupying Treatment Room One.
Naturally, they couldn’t send another patient inside.
Meanwhile—
Koji’s newly created Shadow Clone, still disguised as the dead Root operative, slowly approached Treatment Room One.
The other Root ninja didn’t react.
The operative had followed Koji earlier.
Now he was returning to report.
Perfectly normal.
The door opened.
Danzo was still sitting inside, thinking about how best to make Hiruzen suffer.
When he saw one of his Root operatives approaching, irritation flashed through his exposed eye.
“Tell them I intend to rest here for a while longer.”
Danzo had clearly misunderstood the situation.
The disguised Shadow Clone kept walking.
And it had no intention of correcting him.