In the cloaking dark of night, three formidable ninjas, their identities obscured by masks, silently navigated the rooftops of Konoha's Commercial Street. Their movements were swift, their purpose clear.
"Is this the way?" a hushed voice confirmed.
"Yes, hurry. Danzō-sama ordered speed."
Whoosh, whoosh—
Shadows blurred over the tiled roofs, their destination fixed: Ren's residence. These were the vestiges of the Root organization, Danzō's direct subordinates. Their mission tonight was a chilling one: to seize two ordinary, non-ninja civilians – the owners of the ninja shop, Ren's very own parents! This night was destined to be turbulent, a night when Konoha itself would find no rest.
Shhhhh—
A sudden, sharp sound tore through the air. In the profound darkness, several kunai gleamed with an unsettling cold light, each imbued with a chilling intent, striking out at the three Root Jōnin.
"No, enemy attack!"
Despite the mysterious night, making it difficult to detect the dark kunai, as seasoned Jōnin, the Root ninja could still discern the subtle whisper of cutting air.
With a metallic "Ding!", the leading Root ninja deftly deflected the incoming kunai. He quickly turned his head, intent on warning his companions. But then…
Puff.
The kunai he had just deflected, impossibly, pivoted mid-air and mercilessly plunged into his shoulder.
"This, this, this… what's going on?!" A tremor of fear laced the Root ninja's voice. He had clearly deflected the attacking kunai! How… how could this be?
At the same instant, dull, choked sounds escaped the throats of his two companions. They, too, had been struck by the impossibly turning kunai.
"It's weird, be careful!"
The three Root ninjas instinctively huddled back-to-back, their forms taut with extreme vigilance, eyes darting, scanning for the next move of their unseen assailant.
"Yo, are the Root ninjas so powerless in the face of such a situation?" A slightly childish voice, yet laced with an unnerving confidence, echoed in their ears.
The Root ninjas' nerves stretched taut, their guard pushed to its absolute limit. "Who?!" they demanded.
"Hehehe…"
Hearty laughter rippled through the air around the Root ninjas, and then a figure materialized before them. The young man stood with an almost startling casualness, not even assuming a defensive stance against the three experienced shinobi.
"I didn't even take the initiative to show myself, and you couldn't even sense where I was? People from Root truly are trash!" The boy shook his head, a feigned sigh escaping his lips. He seemed genuinely disappointed in them, in the entire Root organization.
Seeing their enemy revealed, the three Root Jōnin remained motionless for a moment. As hunters, they now found themselves prey! The kunai earlier had been undeniably bizarre. And this young man… his presence was too overwhelming. Facing three of them, he simply stepped out into the open, devoid of any defensive posture, yet they dared not move!
"I don't know what you are talking about! Why did you injure us?!"
"Oh? You don't know?" The young man laughed, a hint of madness in his tone. "If you intend to move against my family, you have to be prepared for the consequences!"
The words had barely left his lips when an extraordinarily potent chakra erupted from the boy, surging outwards.
"Breath of Water, Fifth Form – Blessed Rain After the Drought!"
The young man's form vanished, reappearing before them in an instant, an ethereal azure-blue blade-light flashing.
Zheng——
Cool, yet unsettlingly warm, droplets of water splattered. The leading Root Jōnin swiftly executed a Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu), creating a distance. He reached up, wiping away the cool, warm liquid that had splashed onto his face. His eyes widened.
His hand… was blood red!
The liquid that had splashed upon him was not mere water droplets; it was the blood of his comrades!
"You, you, you…" The Root Jōnin leading this mission was genuinely terrified. Because… he saw that one of the Root ninjas who had been defending back-to-back with him earlier… had failed to dodge. The Root Jōnin who hadn't dodged… fell to the ground, his head severing cleanly to tumble a few meters away.
Taking a ragged breath, the surviving Root Jōnin forced his tone to be less agitated. "Your Excellency misunderstood…" he began, desperation creeping in. "We have no grievances with you, and we don't even know you. How can we do anything to your family?" At this moment, the Root Jōnin made a calculated choice: I can't resist. I have to endure this first!
"Cap-captain, w-we…" Another Root ninja started to stammer, but a stern, silencing glare from his leader cut him off.
"Have no enmity with me?" The young man smiled again. "Are the people of Root so hypocritical now?" He swung his hand violently, and the Nichirin Blade in his grasp flicked away the warm liquid clinging to its surface. "Everyone here is from Konoha. I will give you a chance to live." The boy paused. "Tell me, where is Danzō right now?!"
The chakra emanating from Ren surged to another level, radiating an undeniable, overwhelming momentum. Through the mechanical mouse, he had sensed that someone intended to harm his parents, spurring him to rush home. Before he arrived, Ren had guessed the attackers were likely from Root. But he wasn't entirely certain. By pressing these Root ninjas, Ren aimed to extract information from their mouths, confirming his suspicions.
The leading Jōnin of the Root took another deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, desperately trying not to be overwhelmed by Ren's chilling aura. At this juncture, he certainly couldn't reveal anything to Ren. He couldn't even expose their identities or their mission. He could only continue to play dumb.
"Your Excellency, you truly misunderstand. I really don't comprehend what you are saying…"
In the profound darkness of the night, the azure-blue blade-light flared once more. Blue droplets of water and crimson blood splattered incongruously, yet under the shroud of darkness, they mingled as they swayed in the air.
The leading Root Jōnin… fell, lifeless.
Raising his hand, Ren flicked his blade once more, dispelling the stains from the Nichirin Blade. Then, he turned his head, his gaze locking onto the last surviving Jōnin from the three-man Root team.
"I, I, I…"
The sole remaining Root Jōnin met Ren's piercing gaze, his body trembling violently, nearly losing his footing. Jōnin, he thought frantically. All three of them were Jōnin! Three against one! Two of his companions… perished instantly. Ren, standing before him… in his eyes, wasn't human at all, but a terrifying monster! A monster even more terrifying than the Nine-Tails! Jōnin, with no power to fight back… Instant kill… Is this something a human can do?! This young man, no, this monster is truly terrifying!!
"I said, I said, I'll tell you everything!"
"Don't kill me!"
"Both of them were Root ninjas before, but I, I'm not a Root ninja!"
Ren's decisive and merciless strikes had completely shattered this Root Jōnin's composure. Faced with the choice between his mission and the terrifying specter of death, he chose the latter without hesitation, his voice loud and desperate as he confessed to Ren.