"Ninja from Root?" Satoru gradually began to understand.
In fact, the most likely candidate for Fourth Hokage should have been White Fang, followed by the Three Legendary Sannin, and only then Minato and Satoru.
Because White Fang was at the peak of his power, and even the Three Sannin couldn't compare to him.
Whether strength or experience, White Fang was the strongest contender.
And right at that moment, White Fang died.
It would be incredibly hard for any other village to kill a ninja of that level. Dying on the battlefield is an honor for every shinobi. But the most shocking part was that White Fang wasn't killed by enemies; his fellow villagers caused his suicide.
And now the Third Hokage told Satoru that the comrade White Fang saved was a Root ninja.
Think about it—Root ninja... they suppressed their emotions, turning themselves into Danzou's tools.
Such people didn't even value their own lives—would they value comrades' lives?
Blaming White Fang for saving him and hindering the mission—that was exactly Root ninja style.
Therefore, Danzou most likely had a hand in it, using public opinion and bullying to drive White Fang to death.
Satoru immediately left the Hokage's office and headed to his secret base.
Halfway there, Satoru abruptly turned around, and two Root ninja literally crashed into him.
In fact, Root ninja had been tailing Satoru since his return to Konoha. He'd noticed them long ago but ignored them until now. To find Root's lair, he had to rely on these two.
"Sharingan!" Satoru didn't fight the two ninja but activated his Sharingan right away. Though his Mangekyo Sharingan wasn't a genjutsu type, Eternal Mangekyo-level Sharingan was still incredibly powerful. In an instant, both ninja fell under genjutsu.
"Tell me! Where's Danzou?" Satoru asked. But as they tried to speak, pain twisted their faces. Clearly, they both had Danzou's cursed seal.
"Then I'll ask differently: where's Root headquarters?" Satoru changed the question.
Both gave the same answer: in Konoha's old, abandoned sewers.
After all, this was Konoha Root. Public appearances weren't their style. Living underground suited them perfectly.
Having learned Root's location, Satoru immediately used Body Flicker Technique and rushed there.
Soon Satoru found the old, long-abandoned sewers.
But he saw numerous barrier seals.
"Seems Danzou really has quite a few talented people," Satoru knew that entering this barrier-covered place would alert Root's sensor ninja immediately.
But Satoru didn't hesitate long and simply burst inside.
The moment he did, Satoru realized his intrusion was detected.
Sure enough, a siren wailed around him, followed by the heavy footsteps of many feet from the sewers.
"Water Release: Water Strike!" Satoru had long mastered this common Water Release technique. Before, since Water wasn't in his nature transformations and Suiton power wasn't great, he rarely used it.
Now, with Water Release ability enhancement and usable on land anytime, he naturally deployed it in these sewers.
In an instant, the entire sewer flooded with a powerful water stream.
Cries echoed around. Satoru assumed they were Root ninja.
"This isn't over. So you won't bother me anymore, sorry," a sinister smile crossed Satoru's face, and he unleashed the Goro Goro no Mi's electric discharge.
The Water Strike water instantly electrified.
Satoru figured that was enough and waded forward through the water.
But he underestimated these Root ninja. Even under such a powerful Water Release and electricity combo, many dodged his attack.
But Satoru wasn't out of moves. He raised his hand, concentrated the Gura Gura no Mi's quake power, then slammed toward the attacking Root ninja.
Destructive force spread from the electrified water. This terrifying power quaked the water, instantly sweeping the Root ninja ahead in a massive torrent.
And the entire sewer was about to collapse from the quake force.
Seeing this, Satoru held nothing back. Leaping to the exit, he used Gura Gura no Mi power again.
In the next second, Root headquarters in the sewers collapsed instantly.
After destroying the Root lair, Satoru activated his sensory abilities and immediately detected several Jonin suddenly appearing in Konoha. One's chakra felt familiar.
"Danzou!" Satoru said and sped toward him at incredible speed.
Before, Danzou appeared and vanished like a ghost. Now Satoru understood: this guy had many passages in Konoha leading to Root.
Even if Konoha were destroyed, he could hide in those secret corners, emerge after enemies left, and seize power.
That's what Danzou planned.
Who'd have thought Satoru would destroy the Root lair now, enraging Danzou to the extreme.
"Danzou! Give life back to White Fang!" Upon meeting, Satoru "warmly" greeted Danzou with a Great Fireball.
Danzou reacted very quickly upon seeing Satoru. He swiftly dodged the Fireball, then formed seals just as fast.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!" Danzou knew Root was destroyed by Satoru and naturally intended to eliminate him this time.
Satoru coldly snorted, quickly formed seals, and said, "Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!"
Great Fire Destruction was more concentrated than Great Fire Annihilation. Plus, Satoru mastered Fire Release shape and nature transformation. This technique had immense power, and Danzou's Wind Release was weak against Satoru's Fire Release. It seemed Danzou would be obliterated.
At that moment, several of Danzou's "chained dogs" leaped out.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall Fortress!" Several Root ninja jointly used a very powerful Earth Release defense technique.
But Satoru's Great Fire Destruction power was too great. It instantly shattered the massive earthen wall.
"What?! Fire Release... it just blew through the earthen wall?!
"Our joint earth technique, overcome by his single Fire Release technique?!
"This technique... it's the Uchiha clan's technique! And it's Madara Uchiha's Fire Release!"
"Water Release: Water Wall!" Several Root operatives jointly used Water Release again, barely neutralizing Satoru's Fire Release.
"This guy! He's getting scarier and scarier! We absolutely can't let him live!" Danzou, staring at Satoru, was filled with killing intent.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan