Both time-traveled characters ended up as villainous henchmen.

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought about it more and more and felt that it was right, so he found an excuse to call Danzo Shimura over.

When Shimura Danzo arrived at the Hokage's office, he listened to Hiruzen Sarutobi recount a long list of old, trivial matters, while subtly warning him not to do anything unnecessary.

Then he was dismissed by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Danzo Shimura was filled with doubt. He didn't seem to have asked Root to do anything out of line recently.

He wanted to question Hiruzen Sarutobi, but in the end he said nothing and just slammed the door and left.

After returning to the Root base, Danzo basically came to his senses, and it was most likely still about Izumi Nen.

Thinking of this, Danzo became even more furious.

At the same time, he became even more curious about what Izumi Nen and Orochimaru were researching.

Unfortunately, not only did the Hokage have a lot of secrecy measures in place, but he also couldn't break through Orochimaru's defenses at all.

It's obvious now that there are many secret agents protecting Izumi Nen, making it extremely difficult for him to bypass these layers of protection and obtain accurate information.

Especially now, Hiruzen Sarutobi is clearly on guard against him.

An unnamed rage surged in Danzo's heart, and what angered him even more was that he couldn't find a good way to break the deadlock for the time being.

Those genin sent to the Chunin Exams were merely a preliminary step for him to psychologically pressure Izumi Nen.

As a result, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly made a move, interrupting his subsequent plans.

"Izumi Nen's rival, the Yamanaka clan..."

Danzo thought of the group list and battle schedule for the upcoming Chunin Exams. Although the Yamanaka clan was very useful in intelligence gathering and perception, they would probably not be able to play much of a role against Izumi Nen, who had been trained by Orochimaru.

As for Izumi Nen's next opponent, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should be that brat from the Uchiha clan.

"Uchiha..."

Given the Uchiha clan's modus operandi, they would be a good target to exploit. If handled properly, they could not only cause Izumi Nen to become enemies with the Uchiha clan, but also kill two birds with one stone and eliminate this potentially dangerous group of Uchiha members in advance.

A subtle glint flashed in Shimura Danzo's eyes, then he let out a cold snort and stepped into the darkness.

……

Third exercise field.

On a pebble beach by a stream, Izumi Nen was silently practicing his physical skills, moving nimbly and skillfully along the bank, looking very diligent.

Even the secret agents observing from the shadows thought so.

But Izumi Nen felt something entirely different.

He didn't expect that after breaking free from Orochimaru's control, the Third Hokage would give him a huge surprise.

He could understand the Third Hokage's desire to protect him, but knowing that he was being observed, he really couldn't show any more of his abilities than expected.

Originally, he intended to use the natural waters of the Third Training Ground to accelerate the accumulation of his Sage Chakra.

As a result, he can only pretend to be training his body while inefficiently absorbing natural energy to synthesize the Sage Art Yin-Yang Release Chakra.

If any major disturbance is caused, it will inevitably attract further investigation from the secret service.

The third magistrate's ANBU wouldn't keep an eye on him all the time; they would stay around the Third Training Ground on standby, checking on him from time to time to make sure nothing unexpected happened.

After several days of observation and perception, he has roughly figured out the patterns of these clandestine activities.

He should then have about three hours of free time.

"The Third Hokage's protection came way too late."

With a silent sigh, Izumi Nen gradually stopped his physical training, preparing to rest for a while before resuming his Sage Mode training.

Although he was being monitored by the Anbu in a roundabout way, he still managed to accumulate a considerable amount of Sage Chakra over the past ten days. At the same time, his own evolutionary power also optimized the Yin-Yang Seal to a certain extent.

Now, absorbing and synthesizing the Yin-Yang Release chakra of the Sage Art and entering Sage Mode is much easier and faster for him than it was at the beginning.

However, due to the improved quality of his chakra, the difficulty of accumulating chakra has greatly increased, and his training takes much longer.

Not long after, Izumi Nen sensed that the ANBU ninja had left, and his mind gradually relaxed.

A moment later, he took off his clothes and sat cross-legged in the stream, preparing to absorb a surge of natural energy from the water.

As the immortal face appeared on his face, he slowly activated the immortal mode. However, to prevent any accidents, he controlled the Yin-Yang seal to maintain only the lowest power.

As Sage Chakra slowly flowed into the surrounding natural waters, that familiar, powerful sense of control resurfaced.

Without much hesitation, under Izumi Nen's control, the meager natural energy in the third training ground flowed into his body through the natural waters within it.

Just as Izumi Nen was enjoying his cultivation, a slight unusual sensation appeared in the natural water, like a pebble thrown into calm water, catching his attention.

He now has a high degree of control over the natural waters, and no change in the waters can escape his perception.

The slight, unsettling feeling he had experienced earlier was like a shadowy, almost imperceptible figure silently approaching him in the water.

And it's not slow either!

Izumi Nen suddenly opened his eyes and stood up, looking in the direction from which the strange feeling had come.

Further downstream, in deeper waters, only the rushing current and a large number of pebbles on the bottom of the stream can be seen with the naked eye.

But in Izumi Nen's perception, there was clearly a strange, almost humanoid presence there!

Especially after he got up from the stream, the strange humanoid figure clearly stopped moving.

This further confirms Izumi Nen's guess!

Something is approaching, and it's targeting him!

Can't see it? Or is some special concealment method used?

As Izumi Nen made his guess, his pupils turned a dark purple, and even his pupils slowly transformed into the shape of a yin-yang symbol.

The next instant, whether realizing that it had been exposed or for some other reason, the eerie figure lurking in the stream revealed itself completely and pounced on Izumi Nen with even greater speed.

A strange white humanoid creature leaped out of the stream, howling as it lunged at Izumi Nian.

With just one glance, Izumi Nen recognized what the white humanoid creature in front of him was.

White Zetsu!

He's actually being targeted by White Zetsu?!

After Izumi Nen realized what was happening, he didn't dare to be careless at all. After all, even the non-combat type mass-produced White Zetsu had extremely troublesome abilities.

Their stealth techniques are so powerful that almost no one can detect them, coupled with various parasitic and corrosive methods.

This allows White Zetsu to almost always kill an ordinary ninja on their first encounter once they gain the upper hand.

However, the White Zetsu that attacked Izumi Nen had clearly lost its most powerful advantage: initiative and intelligence.

Izumi Nen rapidly formed hand seals, gathering the Sage Art Water Release to protect himself, while simultaneously releasing the Sage Art Lightning Release from his pupils to attack the White Zetsu that was rushing towards him.

To his surprise, the white Zetsu seemed to have completely lost its mind and did not dodge his Sage Art: Lightning Release attack at all. Instead, it crashed straight into the dark blue lightning and screamed in pain from the shock.

Thus, what should have been a tense and thrilling attack ended up with such an absurd conclusion.

Izumi stepped forward, wrapped his hands with the Sage Art: Water Release, and then lifted up the White Zetsu, who was convulsing from the electric shock.

Upon first contact with White Zetsu, he sensed the special chakra within White Zetsu's body.

White Zetsu, apparently a product of the Divine Tree, can also unleash Wood Release...

Thinking of this, Izumi Nen felt a surge of excitement, and his gaze towards the twitching White Zetsu in his hand suddenly changed.

The roles of hunter and prey are instantly reversed.