For the talents of the Hokage faction, Shimura Danzo has always used a strategy of winning over and dividing. If it was truly impossible to win someone over, then he would try to suppress them as much as possible and eliminate them whenever he had the opportunity.
Shimura Danzo also had the idea of recruiting the newly rising genius of the Hokage faction, Mikyou. However, Danzo never expected that Chao Yanqian and Orochimaru were the same kind of people and had been working together from early on.
It must be said that Chao Yanqian was truly skilled at disguising himself, having not only deceived Shimura Danzo but even successfully concealed his true nature from the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Shimura Danzo felt that the existence of someone like Chao Yanqian was definitely a threat to him.
Chao Yanqian was not only good at disguising himself but also extremely ambitious. If he matured, he could very well threaten Shimura Danzo's status.
Because Chao Yanqian was still young, his future potential was immeasurable. Meanwhile, Shimura Danzo was already old, and his strength was gradually declining. In his weakened state, he would no longer be an opponent for Chao Yanqian.
Moreover, judging by the fact that Chao Yanqian was already preparing to separate from Orochimaru, it was clear that Chao Yanqian was not a loyal or good-natured person. If the village, or Danzo himself, could not give Chao Yanqian the benefits he sought, Chao Yanqian might also completely break with Danzo, just as he intended to with Orochimaru.
With this in mind, Shimura Danzo strongly considered killing this threat while it was still in its cradle.
However, as soon as this idea emerged, Shimura Danzo extinguished it.
It was no longer easy to deal with Chao Yanqian, who had already learned the Flying Thunder God Technique. As long as Chao Yanqian was not killed in a single blow, he could escape at any time.
Originally, Shimura Danzo thought about using Hoshino to threaten Chao Yanqian, but after a few exchanges, he realized that someone with Chao Yanqian's mindset would not care about Hoshinohara's life or death.
"You won't refuse!" Chao Yanqian said confidently.
This was also why Chao Yanqian dared to negotiate terms with Shimura Danzo because he was 80% confident that Danzo would not refuse his offer.
Shimura Danzo had been in the ninja world for so long; he clearly knew that strength was the most important thing in their world.
However, with his aging body and weakening strength, Danzo's most reliable method of gaining power was to transplant Sharingan eyes and Hashirama's cells, just as he did in the original work, relying on external forces to grow stronger.
But if Danzo wanted to become Hokage, he first needed to eliminate Orochimaru, who was the leading candidate to succeed the Fourth Hokage. Therefore, a break between Danzo and Orochimaru was inevitable, and Danzo needed someone else to continue the research on Hashirama's cells and the Sharingan.
Because of this, Chao Yanqian revealed that he had been Orochimaru's assistant from the beginning, helping him with experiments on Hashirama cells. Furthermore, Chao Yanqian was a disciple of Tsunade, so it was highly likely he had access to confidential information about the Senju clan.
For Shimura Danzo, Chao Yanqian was someone who could replace Orochimaru as a cooperative partner. This was precisely what Chao Yanqian wanted to achieve.
The biggest difference between Chao Yanqian and Orochimaru was that Chao Yanqian did not pose any threat to the position of Hokage.
"Are you so sure?" Shimura Danzo asked in a deep voice.
"After all, we both want Orochimaru out of Konoha. Our goals align. And I can replace Orochimaru to continue helping you with the Hashirama cell research. Most importantly, I have no interest in the Hokage position. I pose no threat to you," Chao Yanqian said.
"Then what is your goal?" Shimura Danzo asked.
"Strength," Chao Yanqian replied. "I am different from you. I am not interested in political power. I only seek personal strength."
"So you also want to transplant the First Hokage's cells?" Shimura Danzo guessed sharply.
Chao Yanqian nodded and said, "Yes, but Orochimaru won't provide me with Hashirama cells, so I intend to leave him."
The First Hokage's cells were crucial for Chao Yanqian's ambitions. In the original work, only Hashirama Senju, Naruto Uzumaki, and Kabuto Yakushi could perfectly use Sage Mode. What they had in common was that Hashirama and Naruto were descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, and Kabuto had integrated Hashirama cells to achieve a perfect Sage Mode.
By contrast, Jiraiya's Sage Mode was imperfect.
Thus, Chao Yanqian speculated that perhaps only those with the blood of the Sage's descendants could perfectly use Sage Mode.
It was precisely because of this belief that Chao Yanqian was so eager to obtain Hashirama's cells.
Of course, the benefits of Hashirama's cells went far beyond that they were critical for Chao Yanqian's future strength.
"Hmph! The old man almost believed your nonsense. You are not qualified to cooperate with me," Shimura Danzo said coldly.
"Since the talks have broken down, then there's nothing more to discuss!" Chao Yanqian said calmly. "Even without you, I have other ways to obtain the First Hokage's cells."
Shimura Danzo's refusal didn't matter. Chao Yanqian still had a backup plan to cooperate with Uchiha Chizuru. With Chizuru's Three-Tomoe Sharingan, it might be possible to see through Orochimaru's barriers and unlock the laboratory.
The advantage of cooperating with Danzo was that he could help protect Chao Yanqian's reputation after Orochimaru's defection.
"Wait!" Shimura Danzo called out just as Chao Yanqian was about to leave.
"Oh? What else?" Chao Yanqian asked curiously.
"You seem very confident that I will agree to your conditions," Shimura Danzo said.
"That's because I understand you," Chao Yanqian said. "You don't understand me yet. You rushed into this meeting without full information on me. That's where my confidence comes from."
"You claim you know me?" Danzo said with amusement.
"At least for now," Chao Yanqianren replied seriously, without the slightest hint of a joke.
"It seems you even planned to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique with Sarutobi's permission from the start," Shimura Danzo said, voice deep.
"It seems you've decided to cooperate with me?" Chao Yanqianren asked, not answering the question directly but cutting to the point.
"How deep was your cooperation with Orochimaru?" Danzo asked in return, implying with his words that he was prepared to work with Chao Yanqian.
"I have mastered all of Orochimaru's research on Hashirama's cells. I even know about his current experiments. Out of fifty test subjects, only one will succeed," Chao Yanqian said.
"Someone successfully integrated the Hashirama cells?" Shimura Danzo asked in shock
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