Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 71 Roots

(The chapters are reversed; chapter 71 is in the next chapter. You can start reading from the next chapter first.)

To Danzo's question, Uchiha Tou simply shrugged and said nonchalantly:

"You're overthinking it. What 'Root of Konoha'? What 'Darkness of the Ninja World'... Aren't we just a bunch of ninja mercenaries who get paid to do our jobs? Why make it sound so high-class?"

"I'll do things for money, and I'll work for benefits. As long as the price from the top is right, I'm naturally willing to serve you. As for expecting me to be a tool or cannon fodder... old man, you'd better think twice. That kind of approach doesn't work anymore!"

Danzo was almost choked to death by Uchiha Tou's words. Even the two Root ninjas standing behind him, who were known for being emotionless, stared at Uchiha Tou with dumbfounded eyes.

After a long while, the root chieftain finally came to his senses and slammed his cane down hard.

"You bastard, don't you have even the slightest bit of the Will of Fire? Are you even a Konoha ninja?"

"With your current strength, you can be considered outstanding even in the entire ninja world. Don't you have any dreams of world peace, becoming Hokage, and helping the world?"

Uchiha Touyu rolled his eyes slightly:

"Heh, the saying 'When poor, cultivate your own virtue; when rich, have many wives and concubines, and help the world' is something anyone can do, but I'm not doing it!"

"You want me to join Roots? As long as the pay is good enough and I get paid enough, I'll work for you, no matter if it's dirty work or clean work. As for ideals and stuff, let's not talk about them. Talking about them too much will hurt our feelings!"

"You can't discuss ice with a summer insect!"

Danzo Shimura slammed his cane down, muttered something indignantly, and then turned and left.

Uchiha Touyu chuckled lightly and glanced at Orochimaru beside him:

"This old man has quite the controlling nature; he tried to sweet-talk me the moment I walked in and put me on a leash!"

"Hehe, old people have these kinds of problems, but Feiyu, you're really quite clear-headed."

"There's no way around it. People always have to live for themselves, especially someone like me who has no parents and no ties. I don't have the heart to sacrifice my life for Konoha."

"Orochimaru-sensei, as one of the Legendary Sannin, and even a strong contender for the Hokage position, tell me, do you truly believe in the Will of Fire?"

When asked about his disciple Uchiha Hiyu, Orochimaru simply chuckled and said nothing, yet it seemed as if he had said everything.

Entering the Root base of Konoha, Uchiha Tou looked at the expressionless ninjas inside, who seemed like robots, with a faint smile on his face.

It wasn't until Orochimaru led him to a high platform in a training ground, where he looked down at a group of teenage ninjas, that Uchiha Touyu frowned slightly.

Danzo Shimura stood in the very center of the platform. When he saw Hiyu Uchiha approaching, he merely snorted. However, Hiyu Uchiha paid him no heed and instead looked down at the bloody scene below.

These young ninjas were wielding kunai and shuriken, engaging in real combat. Even more tragically, at least half of the young ninjas had already become corpses, while the rest were still gritting their teeth and fighting each other.

"Is this how roots are cultivated? It's truly cruel..."

"Kid, why do you think Root is able to support the great tree of Konoha? Let me tell you, kid, of the ten orphans Root adopts each year, at most one or two will eventually become true Root ninjas. The rest are just stepping stones for the real Root ninjas!"

"The brutal training that Root ninjas undergo is unimaginable to ninjas like you who grew up in the sheltered environment of ninja academies, playing games!"

Faced with Shimura Danzo's impassioned speech, Uchiha Tou blinked and softly asked:

"How many elite Jonin does Root have? How many Kage-level ninjas? Which ninja's strength can compare to mine?"

"Cough cough cough cough..."

Danzo coughed violently a few times, then fell silent.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly brutal and efficient methods of root cultivation; in reality...

This kind of brainwashing training simply cannot produce true Kage-level ninjas, and even Jonin is quite difficult. At best, it can only lower the Root's minimum level to that of elite Chunin.

Moreover, the orphans Danzo took in were not particularly talented on average.

Such a cruel method of cultivation requires an enormous number of orphans. In addition, given the principle that "a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow," the orphans taken in by Root are definitely not from Konoha, but rather selected from the entire Land of Fire.

Because of years of intermarriage with ninjas, even ordinary civilians in Konoha have much higher ninja talent than the average person.

However, even after some selection, these ordinary orphans from the Land of Fire were far less talented than the clan ninjas of Konoha, and even less talented than ordinary children in Konoha.

Lacking in natural talent and stifling their innate abilities through their training methods, Root ninjas have a high minimum skill level but a very low maximum skill level. Apart from some ninjas who were tricked and deceived from Konoha clans, the strongest orphans trained by Root themselves are only Special Jonin.

Uchiha Touyu's words struck a nerve with Danzo, who kept a somber expression throughout the entire training session.

Danzo originally intended to use this brutal training to intimidate Uchiha Tou, but unfortunately, the Uchiha in front of him was unmoved and didn't care about the cruel scene at all—if he knew how many people Uchiha Tou had killed on the battlefield, he probably wouldn't have done this futile effort.

They were just some unfamiliar young ninjas. Uchiha Touyu had killed many young people on the battlefield before. He hadn't encountered any under ten years old, but he had killed about a dozen twelve or thirteen-year-old ninjas.

After training ended, only about one-third of the junior ninjas remained standing on the training ground; the other sixty or seventy ninjas were already corpses. Orochimaru lightly licked his lips and spoke to Shimura Danzo:

"Elder Danzo, may I have these ninja corpses?"

"What do you want these ninja corpses for? They're not good human test subjects."

Danzo Shimura frowned and asked a question, then waved his hand dismissively:

"You're not going to feed your summoning beast Manda again, are you? You're the master of the summoning beast; as a ninja, you should teach that beast a lesson!"

Orochimaru chuckled softly and spoke in a low voice:

"Of course, it's not for Manda. This time, I need a large number of ordinary ninja corpses to train in a special ninjutsu!"

"After much thought, I realize that only your Root organization, Elder Danzo, can help me. If I succeed in this ninjutsu training, I will also offer you the method you desire to suppress the cellular rejection reaction."

(End of this chapter)