"Where will Danzo hide now that he’s escaped from Kumogakure?"
Standing by the window of the principal’s office, Kagami muttered to himself.
As a high-ranking Konoha official who had served as an advisory elder for many years, Danzo undoubtedly knew of numerous secret hideouts. Even excluding those officially recorded by Root, there were probably still quite a few that only Danzo himself knew about.
Therefore, although Danzo was currently in a difficult situation and being pursued by multiple parties, as long as nothing went wrong with his soul and he didn’t expose his own whereabouts, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to find him in the short term.
Moreover, with a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and six other Kekkei Genkai at his disposal, his strength had long since surpassed that of an ordinary Kage-level shinobi.
If not for the serious flaw in his soul, there would be very few people in the entire shinobi world capable of defeating him in a one-on-one battle. Thus, even if his whereabouts were discovered, those pursuing him might not necessarily be able to do anything about him.
This much was evident from the chaos in Kumogakure.
If Kumogakure couldn’t capture Danzo even within its own village and had allowed him to break through its encirclement and escape, then just how effective the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B, would be in pursuing him was highly questionable.
Whoosh...
Just then, a sharp eagle cry suddenly rang out overhead.
Kagami stepped out of his office and looked up at the black speck gradually disappearing into the distance.
"That’s an ANBU messenger hawk. Looks like the village is making its move too."
Although the intelligence received from Kumogakure was rather bewildering, that didn’t prevent Konoha’s higher-ups and Intelligence Division from conducting an in-depth analysis and making some bold deductions.
After all, there weren’t many individuals capable of causing Kumogakure to mobilize on such a massive scale.
And as it happened, Danzo had only recently defected to Kumogakure. Given the timing, it was difficult not to associate the commotion in the village with him.
Thus, even if it was only a hypothesis, it wasn’t difficult to conclude that the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B, were pursuing Danzo. It was only natural for the village to dispatch ANBU to investigate the matter.
After weighing his options, Kagami decided to stay put for the time being.
His personal time and energy were limited. Rather than wandering aimlessly across the shinobi world searching for Danzo on his own, he might as well remain in the village and concentrate on gathering intelligence.
After all, he now controlled Kirigakure’s entire intelligence network and had also infiltrated Konoha’s intelligence network to a certain extent. With the assistance of these two major intelligence networks, there was no way Danzo could escape his notice once he resurfaced.
Arriving at the training grounds, Kagami swept his gaze across the surroundings, searching for Guy.
Now that he had obtained the Yin Seal, the next technique he needed to master was the Eight Gates. And without a doubt, the best person to learn the Eight Gates from was Guy.
After wandering around the Academy for quite some time, Kagami finally found Guy in a secluded grove.
Thud...
Thud...
Thud...
A series of dull, rhythmic impacts echoed from deep within the grove.
Kagami slowly approached Guy and discovered that he was hiding behind a large tree, quietly observing Rock Lee, who was training diligently all alone in the forest.
There was even a faint, nostalgic smile on Guy’s face.
Kagami walked over and asked softly, "What, taken a liking to this kid?"
Guy nodded, his gaze still fixed on Lee as the boy continued his grueling training.
"Kagami, don’t you think this kid reminds you of us back in the day?"
Kagami’s face immediately darkened.
"What do you mean, he reminds you of us? He only reminds you of yourself, okay? I was nothing like that when I was a kid!"
Reminiscing about the old days, Guy sighed with emotion.
"Yeah, I suppose you were a genius of the Hyuga clan, after all. As you grew older, your talent gradually began to reveal itself. You were different from us. But this kid is exactly like me back then. Hehe, he can’t even learn basic ninjutsu like the Transformation Technique, no matter how hard he tries."
The previous Ninja Academy examination had required students to master any one of the Three Basic Technique.
As it turned out, thanks to Rock Lee, Naruto had narrowly escaped the unfortunate fate of finishing dead last. Meanwhile, Lee, who couldn’t perform a single one of the Three Basic Technique, had naturally become the first student to have his name publicly displayed at the bottom of the Academy’s ranking board.
However, despite suffering such a blow at such a young age, Rock Lee hadn’t become discouraged.
On the contrary, he had quietly increased the intensity of his training.
Even now, he was practicing taijutsu alone in the secluded grove. Although his movements appeared terribly clumsy, his eyes shone with a determination far beyond that of his peers.
Perhaps it was precisely this determination that had moved Guy, who himself possessed little talent for ninjutsu.
Glancing at Lee, who was sweating profusely in the grove, his clothes completely soaked through, Kagami said, "This kid doesn’t have much talent for ninjutsu, but he’s got excellent potential for taijutsu. If you’ve taken a liking to him, you should guide him properly."
Guy replied with a serious expression, "I think I’ll wait a little longer. The path I’ve chosen isn’t one that ordinary people can persevere on!"
Practicing taijutsu day after day was not only physically exhausting, but the sheer monotony of it was something very few people could endure.
No one understood this better than Guy.
Therefore, although he was already quite taken with Lee, he still wanted to wait and observe him a little longer.
After all, he wasn’t certain whether the child training in the grove could endure the same loneliness and monotony that he himself had endured.
"You’re really strict!"
After sighing softly, Kagami went straight to the point and revealed the purpose of his visit.
"Guy, I want to learn the Eight Gates."
Guy turned to look at Kagami in surprise.
"Huh? That’s strange!"
Kagami asked, "What’s so strange about it? Am I not allowed to learn the Eight Gates?"
"A few days ago, Kakashi came to me too. He said he wanted to learn the Eight Gates." After a brief pause, Guy continued, "Hey, did you two plan this together or something?"
Kagami was taken aback.
"Kakashi wants to learn the Eight Gates too?!"
Scratching his head, Guy said with a smug expression, "Kakashi’s actually wanted to learn the Eight Gates for a long time. He just kept putting it off because he thought it’d be too much trouble. But a few days ago, he suddenly came to me and seriously asked me to teach him the Eight Gates. You know how that guy is! It’s not every day Kakashi asks someone for a favor, so how could I possibly turn him down? Hahaha!"
"I see," Kagami replied.
Kagami knew that in the original timeline, Kakashi had indeed mastered some of the basics of the Eight Gates.
However, judging from the current situation, Kakashi seemed to be taking a different path from his counterpart in the original timeline. This time, it appeared that he intended to train seriously in the Eight Gates.
Guy said, "As it happens, I’ve already arranged to meet Kakashi tomorrow. Kagami, if you want to learn the Eight Gates too, why don’t you join us?"
Kagami immediately nodded.
"Sounds good!"
Guy burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Kagami, don’t say I didn’t warn you! The Eight Gates aren’t easy to master! Even geniuses like you and Kakashi had better prepare yourselves for some serious hardship!"