The moment the order was given, Dan Katō sat cross-legged on the ground, protected by his two teammates.
His hands formed seals.
In the next instant, his spirit and chakra separated from his body, transforming into a translucent soul-like entity that shot into the night sky with a sharp whistle.
Far away, hidden in darkness, Hoshishita Shu silently watched the scene.
If I attack now…
There's a high chance I could kill Dan Katō.
The thought flashed across his mind.
But Shu suppressed it immediately.
Then he turned and disappeared into the night.
Not long after, the memories from his shadow clone returned.
Facing the Spirit Transformation Technique, the clone had been destroyed instantly—without even the ability to resist.
However, that brief encounter still provided valuable information.
This technique…
was not invincible.
"The key lies in spiritual strength and chakra reserves," Shu murmured inwardly.
"With enough willpower and chakra, a host could forcibly expel the invading spirit."
His thoughts drifted to Orochimaru's body-transfer technique.
Orochimaru had transferred bodies many times.
Yet in the end, he had been defeated by Sasuke Uchiha.
No jutsu was perfect.
No technique was truly invincible.
"Barrier techniques can also restrain Spirit Transformation."
"Sealing techniques even more so…"
"But most sealing techniques are too slow for combat."
"Adamantine Sealing Chains would work perfectly—but that's practically a bloodline ability."
He paused.
"Still… the Myōjin Gate could work too."
Shu's mind continued expanding possibilities, instinctively analyzing ways to counter this dangerous jutsu.
Meanwhile, his feet never stopped moving.
Soon he arrived at a small inn he had selected during the day.
Registering as a merchant from the Fire Country, he checked in calmly.
From this moment until leaving the capital tomorrow—
He would be nothing more than an ordinary merchant.
Unless absolutely necessary, he would not use chakra again.
The Failed Pursuit
Elsewhere, Dan Katō's spirit returned to his body.
He opened his eyes slowly.
"A clone again."
"The real one already hid himself."
His two teammates' expressions immediately changed.
"Does that mean we weren't chasing the real body from the start?"
"Or… does he also know Earth Release?"
They had chased extremely fast.
In such a short time, only Earth Release could explain how the real body disappeared while two shadow clones acted as cover.
Dan Katō simply shook his head.
"It doesn't matter."
"We'll end the pursuit here."
"Once we return to the village, I will report this to the Third Hokage."
A Quiet Night
That night, the Daimyō's capital was thrown into chaos.
But Shu slept peacefully.
He slept until sunrise, making up for the rest he had lost during the previous two days.
Danzo had given him three days for the mission.
He had completed it in one.
With two days still remaining, Shu had no intention of returning to Konoha early.
Otherwise, Danzo would immediately throw him into another chain of missions.
And he still needed time to train.
Early in the morning, Shu left the capital and traveled to the famous Tanzaku Street, where he checked into another inn.
Nearby, he found a secluded forest clearing.
There, he began training.
Konoha's Reaction
While Shu trained quietly, the capital had already sent word to Konoha.
Dan Katō and his team returned and reported everything to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Danzo had not informed Hiruzen about the assassination beforehand.
But Hiruzen understood immediately.
After hearing the report, he simply praised Dan Katō and dismissed him.
Once Dan left, Hiruzen leaned back in thought.
There was no doubt about it.
Root had executed the mission perfectly.
The blame had been successfully shifted onto the Sky Ninja Village.
Not a single person suspected Konoha.
For a brief moment, Hiruzen even considered using this incident as a pretext for war.
Destroy the Sky Ninja Village once and for all.
Even the Fire Daimyō would likely support such retaliation.
But in the end—
Hiruzen restrained himself.
Konoha still needed to accumulate strength.
The military expansion of the other four great villages was accelerating.
He had to prevent a situation where Konoha became surrounded.
He sighed quietly.
"If only the Wood Release experiment had succeeded…"
That single failure had cost Konoha dearly.
Otherwise, he would have already attacked the Sky Ninja Village.
Danzo's Move
Meanwhile in Root Headquarters, Shimura Danzo waited patiently.
He was waiting for Hiruzen's reaction.
But the entire morning passed without any summons.
Danzo had handed Hiruzen the perfect excuse for war.
Yet Hiruzen still refused.
Shu was right…
The thought flashed briefly in Danzo's mind.
Soon after, he headed directly to the Hokage's office.
But before he could speak—
Hiruzen spoke first.
"Root handled the situation very well."
"But even if this provides a perfect excuse for war, now is still not the right time."
"I need Root to possess enough strength to eliminate the Sky Ninja Village without weakening Konoha against the other great villages."
Danzo fell silent.
After a moment, he nodded.
"I understand."
Hiruzen relaxed slightly.
"I will still question the Sky Ninja Village about the incident."
"They won't admit guilt easily."
"But the excuse for war now exists."
"And the initiative remains in our hands."
"This is not the moment for full war—but preparation can begin."
Danzo nodded again.
Then he made his request.
"I want to recruit children from the Ninja Academy and major clans into Root."
"They will undergo specialized training."
"They will become Root's foundation—the force that protects the village from the shadows."
Hiruzen hesitated.
Then he agreed.
The past few missions had already proven Root's efficiency.
Konoha truly needed a force willing to operate in deeper darkness.
Danzo was secretly delighted.
With recruits from clans and the academy—
Root's power would grow dramatically within a few years.
Of course, he would not abandon Shu's earlier suggestion either.
The orphanage system would remain another recruitment source.
Rasengan Training
As the sun set, Shu continued training in a forest near Tanzaku Street.
Bang!
A balloon exploded.
Shu smiled.
"Finally."
He had finally burst the water balloon.
The next stage: the rubber ball.
He tossed away the broken balloon and picked up a rubber ball from his backpack.
Because of the earlier balloon training, he had already mastered the basic control.
Unlike Naruto Uzumaki, Shu understood every step of the technique in advance.
While spinning chakra inside the rubber ball, he simultaneously focused on compressing the chakra further.
Naruto had needed separate steps:
Stabilizing rotation.
Gathering chakra into a single point.
Compressing power.
Shu intended to complete all steps simultaneously.
Because he had two advantages Naruto lacked:
Superior concentration.
Precise chakra control.
Holding the rubber ball with both hands, Shu began the final stage of training.
Chakra poured in.
The surface of the ball bulged and warped violently.
It looked ready to explode.
Sweat dripped down Shu's face.
He focused completely on stabilizing the swirling chakra inside.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
The ball exploded.
Wind burst outward.
Shu was forced to step backward.
His palm was burned by the violent chakra.
But the injury healed almost instantly.
Without hesitation, Shu grabbed another ball and continued.
Failure.
Again and again.
Hours passed.
Finally—
Deep into the night—
The rubber ball in Shu's hand suddenly became calm.
The violent chakra turbulence vanished.
Shu's eyes lit up.
Success.
He walked toward a massive tree.
Pressing the ball against the trunk with one hand—
The ball burst apart.
A blue Rasengan appeared in his palm.
The swirling sphere of chakra shone brilliantly in the darkness.
The spinning power drilled straight through the thick tree trunk.
BOOM!
The upper half of the tree collapsed with a thunderous crash.
And the Rasengan in Shu's hand slowly dissipated.
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