Chapter 120: Standing Above the Sky

That night, Muyue did not go to the main area of Konoha, but instead studied sealing techniques in a house by the southern forest.

Sensing someone moving swiftly nearby, Muyue put down his research and went outside.

"Ye, Lord Danzo has something to discuss with you," the Root ninja said flatly.

"Do I need to change into the uniform?" Muyue asked.

Although he was not formally enlisted in Root, he still had the uniform and mask.

"No need. Just follow me," the Root ninja replied with a shake of his head.

Muyue silently followed behind the Root ninja, vaguely suspecting what was going on.

Just the day before yesterday he had been told to be careful not to expose his identity, and today he, an undercover agent, was being taken openly to the Root base.

Clearly, his identity no longer needed to be hidden.

Odds were that yesterday or today, there had been a little "I shadow, you repent" session in the Hokage's office.

Even though he was heading into the heart of Root, Muyue did not feel overly panicked.

A few days ago he had just reported to Danzo, telling him everything about the rewards the Third Hokage had given him—loyal as could be.

He was now on the Third's books, and also maintained a persona of utter loyalty within Root—his whole strategy was based on stability.

"Lord Danzo." Arriving at the Root base, Muyue greeted Danzo with a respectful look.

"Ye, you are exceptional," Danzo said abruptly.

"It is all thanks to your training, Lord Danzo. Without your guidance, I would just be an ordinary orphan," Muyue replied reverently.

"Do you know? The Third Hokage thinks highly of you," Danzo continued.

"Perhaps he does. On the day the special training ended, he praised me many times and gave me two jutsu and three hundred thousand ryō," Muyue answered in accordance with the report he had written earlier.

"By the way, today my position at the Ninja Academy was also raised—I became the grade head for the first year. That was probably the Third's doing as well," Muyue added.

Danzo nodded, a contemplative expression on his face.

Danzo was probing whether Muyue knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi had requested to take Muyue away.

After some testing, along with the mission report from a few days ago and his confidence in his brainwashing techniques, Danzo temporarily decided that Muyue was loyal to him.

"I discussed it with the Third Hokage. We both feel that your talents should be used to train ninja at the Academy, rather than keeping you in Root," Danzo said after some thought.

"Tomorrow I will go to the Hokage building and remove the Root curse mark from you. From now on, you are no longer a Root ninja."

"Lord Danzo, did I do something wrong? Why are you expelling me from Root?" Muyue asked, his face filled with panic.

"Lord Danzo, I want to protect Konoha alongside you!"

Inside, Muyue was utterly calm. He certainly did not believe Danzo's lies—the bit about consulting Hiruzen Sarutobi to better utilize his talent was likely just a front; Muyue had probably been forcibly taken away.

Since Danzo wanted to put on a show, he would play along.

Danzo was the good leader who reluctantly let go of a subordinate for the sake of their potential, and Muyue was the loyal subordinate devoted to Root.

Watching Muyue's performance, Danzo nodded with satisfaction. Regardless, for now Muyue was loyal to Root, loyal to him, Shimura Danzo.

"No, you have done very well. It's just that you now have a more important mission," Danzo said slowly.

"Even though you are no longer a member of Root, if one day my orders reach you again, will you still carry them out?"

"Of course I will. Lord Danzo's orders are all important missions to protect Konoha," Muyue said without hesitation.

Danzo smiled, then handed Muyue two scrolls.

"One of these contains a high-level fire-style ninjutsu from the village; the other is a medicine for cultivation training. Continue your efforts. When I need you, I will let you know," Danzo said.

Danzo was not worried about his investment going to waste. Even if Muyue stopped being loyal in the future, Danzo had ways to ensure his loyalty.

The resources of his Root were not so easily taken.

"I will never disappoint your kind intentions, Lord Danzo," Muyue said with a moved expression.

"If only Root had more ninja like you, Muyue, I would never have to worry about having no one to protect Konoha," Danzo said approvingly.

"Go back now. Train hard and await my summons."

Mu Yue finally left with reluctance, but before leaving he gave Danzo an appraisal.

【Name: Shimura Danzo】

【Chakra: 】

【Skills: Wind Release Nature Transformation (Proficient: 400/), Wind Release: Vacuum Wave (Proficient: 300/)...】

【Potential: S (Basic Talent + Sharingan)】

As he thought, Danzo should have Kage-level strength, but not among the strongest.

Compared to his old classmate Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo's stats were far inferior—not only was he over one hundred thousand lower in chakra, but his skills also couldn't compare. He had only one nature transformation at the proficient level with very low proficiency, barely qualifying as proficient, and only two proficient-level ninjutsu: Vacuum Bullet and Vacuum Wave.

However, Mu Yue did not underestimate Danzo; no matter what, Danzo was still stronger than him.

Although he didn't have many proficient ninjutsu, Danzo had mastered many forbidden jutsu, making him quite troublesome in actual combat.

After walking a distance from the Root base, Mu Yue's expression gradually returned to calm.

"The Third wants me back and you still won't let go? Being too persistent will only make people annoyed." Mu Yue sighed softly.

He really wanted to develop peacefully, and once he reached a certain level of strength, do what he could.

But Danzo never seemed to want him to have it easy—Root ninja would suddenly appear in the yard, and even when he was supposed to let go, he still refused to give up and called Mu Yue to Root.

Mu Yue was very dissatisfied with Danzo, dissatisfied with Root, and also dissatisfied with this dangerous world full of lunatics.

If in the future his strength reached a level sufficient to suppress everything, Mu Yue wouldn't mind standing above the heavens and making this world a bit more normal.

After returning home, Mu Yue took out the scroll Danzo had given him and glanced at it.

Finding that the so-called high-level fire release ninjutsu was the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet he had already mastered, Mu Yue immediately lost interest. As for the training secret medicine, he didn't even bother to look at it and simply threw it into a corner.

Mu Yue continued researching sealing jutsu. Judging by the current situation, Danzo seemed to want to use him as a mole planted inside the Third's organization.

So the research on sealing jutsu could not stop—perhaps one day Danzo would suddenly apply another curse mark on him. Mu Yue thought it shouldn't happen on the same day the previous one was removed, as being discovered by Sarutobi Hiruzen would be quite embarrassing.

"Finally mastered it." Mu Yue nodded inwardly as he looked at the Five Elements Seal that he had finally gotten the hang of, then directly used a skill scroll on it, causing a large amount of sealing knowledge to appear in his mind.

In a world where strength is paramount, only one's own power is the most reliable.