The Shopkeeper of Konoha

"You have crossed boundaries here Aoto Yamazaki. You have no right to ask men from my organization." Danzo bellowed.

"You are missing the point here. Your life is no longer yours. But mine to take." As soon as Aoto muttered the words, all the ropes that had previously retreated to the ground reappear in full force and bind him once more. He was in his knees. Again!

"Danzo-sama!"

Danzo trembled as he was once again restrained. He had forgotten that he had been released, not that he had been free to flee. It was Hiruzen again that had saved him. Why was it him again? Even when he was absent his shadow had just saved him from his doom. His greatest rival was able to give him an invisible blanket.

He detested this sensation.

"..You win. Shikruro is yours.." said Danzo.

"Danzo, don't be silly with me. Remove the seal on his tongue. Did you think I am an idiot?" As he freed Danzo, Aoto stated. Danzo was furious, but help was beyond his reach. He touched the cheek of Shikuro before he was freed and took away the seal.

"System, is he clean?"

[

Yes host, completely clean.

]

"It's a good thing you avoided any tricks. Or else your precious other guard would have lost his life here."

Shikuro wanted to fight against being separated from Danzo, but he realized that his life was not his at the time, just like his superior. But he didn't understand. Why was Aoto interested in him? Aoto was able to take him down without even moving. He was a child in front of Aoto, so why?

When Fuu heard Aoto's threat, he trembled slightly but refrained from speaking. He was really disappointed as well, and after being taken down, he was unable to talk. Danzo gave Shikuro a simple nod to show that he was free without saying anything. But by looking at his face, everyone can see that he was feeling terribly ashamed.

He released the Shikuro seal while his other hand was trembling.

"There. Can we leave now?" With venom in his voice, Danzo questioned.

"Not just yet." As he beckoned Shikuro with his hand, Aoto spoke. Shikuro was fine because he felt nothing when the seal was broken. Although he wished to reject Aoto, he moved in his direction after realizing that he had no other option. They were ready to die for Konoha but he was sure that they didn't have that luxury too. They were at Aoto's mercy.

"Open this person's mouth," I said. Aoto pointed to the armless man who was unconscious and remarked. The individual had virtually been forgotten by the three. Danzo was already aware that the man was no longer suitable to serve as a ninja because he had become crippled.

Shikuro nodded despite his confusion. While waiting for additional orders, he went and opened the mouth. A little vial was then removed by Aoto from his pocket. The liquid in the vial was green. For some reason, all three of them felt their hearts beat faster as they watched Aoto pull out the vial.

The liquid was then poured into Aoto's tiny, gaping mouth.

"Make him consume it." Added Aoto. He didn't understand why Aoto was asking him to do this, but he managed to do it by using his chakra to exert control over the nearly dead man's throat muscles. But after a brief interval, a miracle took place. The man suddenly came out of his comatose state. But it didn't end there. His hand, which had stopped bleeding, appeared to grow an arm overnight. Yes, a completely new arm.

First came the bones that grew out of his severed hand, then came the tiny nerves that covered the bones, then the muscles and the entirety of the arm with skin and even small body hair. Forget about the one who just experienced an arm growth; the other three were visibly shaken by this miracle.

Unexpectedly, a crippled individual with no future was back to normal. What the hell was in that vial? They all took far too long to even realize what was going on. The miracle here being the absence of using chakra and also able to heal a third person with just a vial. Danzo understood that if he could ever get this vial, Konoha would never suffer and could rule over the world easily.

But sadly he was on the opposite camp of Aoto. Aoto belonged to Konoha, which was the situation's single redeeming grace. Or did he? He was a spy of Orochimaru, so he belonged to no one.

"Go back to your leash." As he kicked the man in the ass, Aoto said to him. He was still upset by the haughtiness of this man, but he had already exacted his retaliation. When he saw Danzo was present, he decided against speaking and put the mask back on. He returned to Danzo carefully before bowing. Danzo didn't give a damn about showing respect and touched the man's hand to make sure it was genuine.

He even applied pressure repeatedly to test whether he could feel the new hand. Danzo intended to inquire about the most recent miracle, but Aoto interrupted him.

"You comprehend why I am displaying this to you? Right?"

Danzo responded, "No."

"This vial can essentially repair any wounds, lost limbs, and even internal organ damage sustained during any conflict. It's unfortunate that you won't get it." Added Aoto. Danzo had no idea that Aoto was merely mocking him by doing this. He was a monster, this person. He believed the young man who was producing books about the human body was already monstrous and needed to be kept in check, but this man had already outgrown their ability to manage him. Even just this vial might spark a world war.

Any village would go mad if they came to know that Konoha had a store of such amazing vials that could treat them in battle and wars. This changed everything.