In the darkness of Konoha, mercy was a luxury Root could never afford.
After the squads were assigned, Danzo announced coldly,
"From this moment onward, Root will become the guardians of the roots beneath Konoha's great tree."
"We will hide in the deepest darkness."
"We will eliminate all threats—inside the village and beyond."
"Better to kill by mistake than to let an enemy escape."
"From now on, forget your names."
"Remember only your codenames."
"You will become weapons in the darkness—tools that protect the village and guard Konoha's roots."
"And Root…"
"Will become a sword even sharper than the ANBU."
Kneeling on one knee, Hoshishita Shu raised his head and added enthusiastically,
"Lord Danzo's will is Root's will."
"And Root's will is our will."
"We will become the sharpest blades in Lord Danzo's hands—eliminating every enemy!"
The words suited Danzo perfectly.
A trace of satisfaction flashed through his eyes.
Of course—
Shu had deliberately left out one final sentence.
Root's will is also Danzo's will.
"The Hokage has granted Root special authority."
"Our missions will no longer require prior reporting or registration."
Danzo continued.
The gathered shinobi were visibly startled.
Shu, however, fell into quiet thought.
Hiruzen Sarutobi probably never imagined how much trouble this policy would cause in the future.
But for now, the greater Danzo and Root's authority became, the better it was for Shu.
At that moment, Ten began distributing assignments to the squad leaders.
Each received a mission slip.
Danzo spoke coldly.
"Go."
"Proclaim Root's will to Konoha—and to the shinobi world."
"Dismissed."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several afterimages flashed as the kneeling figures vanished one after another.
Training Ground Nine.
Shu removed his mask and looked at the three shinobi standing before him.
"There's no need for you to know my name."
"Remember my codename."
"A."
"I am the person Lord Danzo values most within Root."
"Lord Danzo's will is Root's will."
"And Root's will is Lord Danzo's will."
"Here—among us—Lord Danzo's will is my will."
"And my will… is Lord Danzo's will."
"Do you understand?"
Sarutobi Atsushi and the other two exchanged uncertain looks.
Seeing their confusion, Shu smiled faintly.
"It seems you don't understand very well."
"That's fine."
"You'll learn eventually."
"For now, just remember what I said."
"Next—let me understand your abilities."
Shu fastened his mask again and turned his gaze to Sarutobi Atsushi.
Atsushi answered quickly.
"Captain, I specialize in Fire Release and Earth Release."
Next, Inuzuka Ryo performed a summoning technique.
A black dog appeared beside him.
"Captain, I use the Inuzuka clan's Beast Imitation techniques."
"Blackball here can track enemies by scent."
Shu glanced at the slightly round-looking dog before shifting his attention to the final member.
Aburame Hiiichi spoke calmly.
"Aburame clan secret techniques."
"Combat, reconnaissance, sensing, and communication."
Shu already knew a fair amount about both the Inuzuka and Aburame clans.
Root had previously served as a training division for the ANBU.
Most members came from Konoha's major ninja clans.
The Inuzuka and Aburame clans had always been common sources of recruits.
As for the Sarutobi clan—
They weren't a secret-technique clan.
Instead, they produced shinobi skilled in many forms of ninjutsu, though Fire Release was their most famous specialty.
Shu nodded slightly.
"The target for this mission…"
"An ANBU member."
"Tsuchiya Naoya."
"Codename: Iron Wall."
The three subordinates stiffened.
Their target… was an ANBU operative?
Although the ANBU consisted of multiple divisions, and not all served directly under the Hokage—
They were still Konoha's elite.
Shu offered no further explanation.
Instead, he used the Body Flicker Technique and set off immediately.
The three exchanged glances before following.
Ten minutes later, the group arrived at Konoha's central district.
Although it was night, the marketplace was still bustling.
People moved through the streets beneath warm lantern light.
Shu stopped on a rooftop and silently observed the lively scene below.
Unfortunately—
This peace and prosperity didn't belong to him.
Within Konoha's records, he was already a dead man.
I need to step into the sunlight someday…
The thought flashed through his mind.
Then Shu moved again.
Moments later, he appeared outside the Hokage Tower.
Sarutobi Atsushi and the others soon arrived as well.
The building remained brightly lit.
All three swallowed nervously.
They had once been ordinary shinobi and didn't know exactly which division Tsuchiya Naoya belonged to.
But standing outside the Hokage Tower—
It was obvious.
This man was part of the Hokage's direct ANBU.
Yet Root had been sent to deal with him.
Did Root now possess such enormous authority?
Shu concealed himself behind a large tree, watching the Hokage Tower with one eye.
Seeing him remain silent, the others hid themselves nearby.
Time passed slowly.
Gradually, the village quieted under the night sky.
The lights within the Hokage Tower and nearby buildings began to disappear one by one.
By the latter half of the night—
Shu finally moved.
He began tailing a lone figure.
The man didn't emerge from the Hokage Tower.
Instead, he exited from a nearby building.
Sarutobi Atsushi narrowed his eyes.
That building was the archives hall.
Besides documents, it also stored many ninjutsu records.
The team followed their target all the way to his residence.
Outside Tsuchiya Naoya's house, Shu signaled with hand signs.
Aburame Hiiichi nodded and released several insects.
They silently infiltrated the house.
Moments later, one returned.
Hiiichi released more insects.
After briefly "speaking" with the first insect, they assembled themselves into two characters.
Bathroom.
The target was bathing.
Shu gave another signal.
The four shinobi slipped inside.
Tsuchiya Naoya was twenty-one years old.
Single.
Living alone.
Sarutobi Atsushi and the others sealed off the possible escape routes.
Meanwhile, Shu sat calmly in the living room.
A moment later—
Click.
The bathroom door opened.
Tsuchiya Naoya stepped out.
The moment he saw Shu sitting there, his expression changed drastically.
He turned to flee—
But Shu's voice stopped him.
"The exits are already blocked."
"Don't waste your chakra."
Sarutobi Atsushi and the others appeared, surrounding him.
Panic flashed across Tsuchiya Naoya's eyes.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to steady.
"Who are you people?"
Shu stood and smiled faintly.
"We serve under Lord Danzo."
"Root."
"You're ANBU."
"You should recognize us."
"And if we're here…"
"It means your secret has already been exposed."
"If you don't want to suffer unnecessarily…"
"You should tell us what we want to know."
As he spoke, Shu activated the ability from his status bar.
He imposed True to Heart directly onto Tsuchiya Naoya.
Of course—
That alone couldn't force him to confess.
But it ensured that if he spoke, he could not lie.
Tsuchiya Naoya still clung to a faint hope.
He said coldly, "Root has no authority to investigate ANBU members."
"You're impostors."
"I demand to see the Third Hokage!"
Shu chuckled softly.
In the next instant—
He appeared directly in front of Tsuchiya Naoya.
Dense chakra erupted.
His hand clamped around the man's throat and slammed him against the wall with a thunderous crash.
Tsuchiya Naoya's eyes widened.
His face reddened from suffocation.
"Even if you refuse to talk…"
"I can still kill you."
Shu stared into his eyes.
"But I won't let you die so easily."
"Flying Insect."
"Your bugs can slowly eat him alive, right?"
Aburame Hiiichi hesitated slightly, then nodded.
"They can."
"But Captain… there's another option."
"I can inject him with venom that will cause extreme pain."
Shu smiled.
"Ordinary pain is boring."
"I'd rather let him watch his chakra and flesh get devoured piece by piece."
Sarutobi Atsushi spoke suddenly.
"Captain… I could use genjutsu."
"What if he hasn't actually leaked any information to the enemy—"
Shu turned sharply.
A chilling smile surfaced.
"Looks like you've already forgotten what I said earlier."
Clang!
The blade flashed from its sheath.
A scream burst from Tsuchiya Naoya—
Then turned into muffled groans of agony.
Shu severed one of his arms with a single stroke.
At the same time, he clamped a hand over the man's mouth.
"Don't scream too loudly."
"It would be rude to disturb the neighbors."
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