Several men who had been spreading lies about Megumi to the public walked into a dark hallway near the market circle.
They nodded at each other before smoke obscured their forms. Their appearances shifted from old men to young boys and girls.
As they prepared to leave, they noticed a kid's shadow leaning against the wall.
"Who are you?" one of the boys asked.
The kid turned to face them directly, but his features remained obscured in the dark hallway.
The kid said nothing, then turned his back to them, leaving them confused about his identity.
One Root member stepped forward and threw a kunai at the kid. Since he had witnessed their transformation, death was the safest solution.
The kid fell. A white rabbit with red eyes emerged from the shadows, its teeth as sharp as sharpened knives.
"It's a rabbit. Let's go," the squad leader said.
He grabbed the rabbit by its ear. Just as he prepared to pierce it with a kunai, a swarm of white rabbits engulfed him.
"Ahhhh!"
His scream was so loud it alerted the other Root members, but before they could help him, the sound was cut off.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Two squad members used fire to scare the rabbits away.
Some rabbits burned while others fled, but the Root leader's body was gone. Only his bones remained.
The Root team panicked. Their leader was jonin rank, yet he'd been killed within seconds of the rabbits swarming him.
They drew their weapons, unable to identify what these rabbits were. The kid's body had also vanished.
Suddenly, black liquid spread across the floor and walls of the hallway.
"Pour chakra into your feet like you're standing on water!" one Root member shouted to his companions. Before the warning could reach everyone, three of the eight had already been swallowed by the dark liquid.
The shadow liquid stopped pulling at those who enhanced their feet with chakra.
They thought they were safe until white rabbits began falling like rain.
The rabbits attacked the two closest members.
"To the exit, immediately!"
The three remaining survivors followed the path back to the main street.
A snake emerged from the shadows, grabbing one man by his lower body.
"Help meeee!" the Root member screamed as he was dragged back into the shadow, bleeding and struggling against the snake's jaws.
The remaining two didn't stop to help their companion. Root members had no feelings.
The last two saw the exit. People were still passing outside the hallway. Both men knew only one of them would probably make it out.
One of the two stopped and turned to see the rabbits hopping toward them.
"Give me all your paper bombs," he told his partner, who immediately handed them over.
"Now run. Make sure you report what happened to Lord Danzo, and don't stop running."
He covered himself with paper bombs and charged straight at the rabbits. "You're coming with me!"
He triggered the bombs, but to his surprise, the rabbits vanished when he was just feet away.
"What—"
That was the last word he spoke before being blown to pieces.
The remaining Root member felt the explosion's heat. He turned back and saw no more rabbits, thinking his companion had succeeded.
He reached the entrance and attempted a body flicker, but was thrown back as if hit by a rock.
Checking why he couldn't exit, he discovered an invisible barrier.
He tried tearing through it with his chakra blade, but nothing worked.
He realized that the massive paper bomb explosion should have drawn civilian attention. This barrier was also a sound barrier.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" the Root member said, his voice shaking with panic.
He heard footsteps and looked toward their source.
A creature six feet tall emerged from the shadow.
Divine Dog: Totality.
The wolf's pressure was so overwhelming that before the Root member could gather his senses, he saw his own headless body falling to the ground. The rabbits emerged and began devouring it.
With his remaining life force, he looked up to see the creature holding his head. The wolf's mouth opened. The last thing he saw was its jaws closing before darkness.
---
Megumi stood atop the hallway, watching everything unfold below.
He'd placed the Divine Dogs into one Root member's shadow the moment he heard them spreading rumors. Their gathering made it easier to eliminate them.
The moment they entered the hallway, he'd sealed all possible exits.
He created a clone as bait, knowing Root operatives were like the Uchiha, applying force to any situation.
When the clone was killed, it activated a contained domain, shrinking to match the hallway's size in exchange for boosting his summons' abilities.
That's why when the Root member used paper bombs, the rabbits' reaction speed was so fast. With shared vision between himself and his shikigami, he had perfect control over them.
Megumi teleported to the Inuzuka clan compound to discuss the plan of installing a barrier, he'd discussed with Tsume, this will be preventing ANBU or Root from entering the clan grounds as they had last time.
---