Naruto: Immortal Spirit

Darkness seems to exist only in this realm.

The echoing coldness and fear penetrated the deep abyss, entwining, wrapping, and eating away at the last self-will of every ninja.

Even if he shouts loudly, it seems that there is no echo at all, and he can only fall into the endless darkness for eternity.

The person who created all of this with his own hands was in front of Kato Ou, the man hiding in the black shadows with a hazy face - Shimura Danzo.

"The roots in darkness can never touch the leaves bathed in sunlight..."

"When the roots hidden deep in the ground poke their heads out, they will only be greeted by the eternal heart-burning sun!"

Kato Ou half-knelt on the ground.

Danzo on the high platform looked the same as when he first saw him.

The eyes with a hint of meaning in the coldness seemed to be colder than the dark abyss, just looking at the young man with his head lowered in front of him.

"Everything is for the sake of the roots!"

Kato Oo's emotionless tone showed nothing unusual.

His hands went over his head, holding two scrolls high, as motionless as sculptures.

"It seems that you still remember your identity..."

Danzo snorted softly, and the crutch in his hand suddenly dropped to the ground.

The dull sound seemed to startle the candlelight at the base, and light and shadow suddenly intertwined in the space, flickering with an unclear boundary between darkness and light.

The root ninja on the side took the scroll from Kato O's hand and slowly opened it, seeming to confirm something, and then nodded towards Danzo.

"Wei, since we are born from our roots, we will surely die from our roots. Whatever we do in life will live up to our roots!"

Kato Oo's low words seemed to have a bit of firmness that made Danzo slightly satisfied. Perhaps he was just responding to the root ninja, and he nodded slightly.

Still with his head lowered, Kato Oo, wrapped in a cloak, looked like a dark boulder rising inexplicably on the ground, still not moving at all.

But at some point, a ray of blue light seemed to faintly shine through the eyes as bright as gems on the dark stone.

Danzo, who took the scroll from the root ninja, carefully studied the mission description and information presented by Kato O.

The empty root base was as quiet as being frozen, and nothing dared to make a sound at this moment.

"Humph……"

Danzo hummed without any emotion, making Kato Oo's heart sink.

As if he was thinking and testing something, Kato Oo converged his perception to the extreme, his eyes with blue light moved slightly, and the faint and silent soul fluctuations were slowly sneaking bit by bit, but they were not. Gradually it spread throughout the space.

The ninja who took the scroll stood quietly on one side of Danzo, as if he was scanning Kato Oo intentionally or unintentionally. His eyes through the mask seemed a little strange, but he remained silent.

After completely absorbing the souls of dozens of jounin from Kumo Ninja, Kato Oo's perception ability seemed to have transformed again.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that he could even feel Danzo's weak emotions.

Without being noticed by him...

Kato Oo's eyes narrowed slightly.

Most of the time, those who are unpredictable are always labeled as having a deep mind, which makes those who face them feel inexplicably wary and fearful.

But now, for the first time, he seemed to have the illusion of looking straight.

The elder Danzo, who was sitting on the high platform, shrouded in thick gloomy darkness, gradually revealed his human side in front of him.

And when people are killed, they will die...

"good……"

"You did very well……"

Danzo's voice was hoarse, like rusty iron sandpaper rubbing against each other.

Kato Oo's complete and detailed battlefield intelligence made Danzo more certain of his guess - Minato was probably the fourth Hokage selected by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He tapped the cane slowly, seeming to be thinking about something, but from time to time he glanced at Kato Oo, which made Kato Oo, who was half kneeling on the ground, feel a faint sense of joy.

But mixed with the weak joy, there was even more inexplicable fear and anger that came from nowhere.

"Take a rubbing of the Flying Thunder God's rune on your arm and give it to the research class..."

His cold voice sounded again. If it weren't for his special perception, Kato Oo would be completely unable to distinguish such complex emotions with words alone. People like Danzo would never expose his thoughts in any words.

"Yes……"

Kato Oo slowly raised his head and looked at the root ninja who had just taken the scroll, walking towards him.Intuitively, it seems a bit familiar, but there is nothing unusual in perception.

The root ninja with a slightly strange look silently rubbed the Flying Thunder God rune on Kato Oo's arm.

Only when he got very close, a faint floral fragrance seemed to suddenly penetrate into Kato Oo's nose.

It seems...the smell of lilies...

Danzo's hand gently rested on the scroll of the Shura giant's training method. The detailed and reasonable principles of ninjutsu made him roughly believe in its authenticity, but it had fatal weaknesses that were unavoidable like ordinary spiritual techniques. Tasteless.

Looking at the extremely submissive Kato Oo, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly and looked at him with a cold look that almost pierced Kato Oo's entire body.

The scroll said that all the desperate efforts were just a disguise to paralyze the Minato team, which made him seem a little unclear about this almost "standard" young man.

Now, are you also pretending...

The root base deep underground fell into an inexplicable silence. Danzo's eyes fell on the root ninja who had completed the rubbing and walked towards him, with a trace of questioning flashing in his eyes.

Even at a young age, she is already the most outstanding master of disguise. In just a few months, she has easily sneaked into major ninja villages and obtained a large amount of information. She was offered a high reward on the black market and is known as the "Walking Miko". Pharmacist Nonoyu seemed to be a completely different person.

Kato Ou's raised eyes revealed a bit of disbelief, but he also controlled his emotions to avoid exposing any flaws, but if it weren't for the familiar scent of lilies, he would never have recognized Nonou's identity...

Nonoyu shook his head slightly, and the glimmer of light in his eyes made Danzo feel a little relieved. He pondered for a moment before speaking again.

"Wei...you are very good..."

There was no sound in the darkness, just a long silence.

Until Danzo left, Kato Ou was still a little unbelievable, and the cold sweat on his forehead slowly fell.

His perception was wrong for the first time...

Looking at Danzo's back slowly disappearing into the dark shadows, Kato Oo's eyes revealed some complexity.

This girl who somehow took huge risks to save herself twice seems to have a secret that she has never discovered, although now she seems to be a friend rather than an enemy...

The slightly clenched hands turned white. Kato Oo looked at the direction where Nonoyu disappeared for a long time.