CHAPTER 33

Shimura Danzo instantly activated the signal flare seal embedded in his arm, triggering a burst of chakra to alert the Root operatives stationed nearby.

At that moment, the elite members of Root had already encircled Kazuki in the dense outskirts of Konoha.

Only then did the squad captain realize—

Something was off. The behavior of this "Danzo-sama" was highly suspicious!

"Lord Danzo, wait a moment."

"Why was your flare triggered from another location? Can you explain this?"

"Or, better yet, show us the flare seal on your body so we can verify it."

The captain of the Root unit, a seasoned shinobi trained under Danzo's strict doctrine, suddenly turned aggressive. His tone became sharp, his eyes locked onto Kazuki, scrutinizing every movement.

Kazuki knew the ruse was exposed. Without hesitation, he acted.

His eyes flickered as he channeled chakra into the Hidden Mask, instantly modifying its function—switching from disguise to stealth mode.

"L-Lord Danzo… just vanished!?"

The Root operatives, elite assassins groomed in the depths of Konoha's darkest faction, froze in momentary shock.

But their commander, a veteran who had survived Danzo's brutal training regimens, reacted first.

"The man before us was an impostor!"

Without delay, he barked orders,

"Stay alert! He's using a high-level concealment jutsu. He's still nearby!"

"He couldn't have gotten far. Spread out and search the area immediately!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The Root operatives, abandoning all other tasks, launched into pursuit.

They surged into the dense woods beyond the Uchiha district, moving with mechanical precision. Over a hundred highly trained shinobi—each at least elite Chunin level—formed an inescapable web, scouring every shadow for traces of Kazuki.

"I sensed his chakra! Southwest!"

Three minutes elapsed. The Hidden Mask's effect dissipated.

Kazuki reappeared, forced into a one-minute cooldown period.

Instantly, Root's sensory ninja locked onto him, pinpointing his chakra signature.

"There! Chase him down!"

The order rang out, and the pursuit escalated.

In the once-still forest, the rustling of leaves turned chaotic as Root shinobi leapt between branches, their animal masks reflecting the moonlight.

Their black-cloaked forms blurred into the night, relentlessly converging on Kazuki's location.

As they closed the distance, the squad captain's expression grew grim.

"Why haven't we caught up to him?" he demanded. "You said he was 500 meters ahead. We should've reached him by now!"

The sensory ninja's face twisted with unease.

"Captain… his distance from us…" He swallowed hard before continuing.

"It's already… 1,000 meters!"

"What did you say!?" The squad captain halted for a brief moment.

The sensory ninja, his voice strained, repeated the shocking truth.

"Captain, he's still accelerating. He's pulling further away from us. His speed—"

The realization hit like a blow.

This wasn't just another high-level shinobi.

Their target's ability to deceive even elite Root operatives, combined with a speed surpassing even top-tier Jonin…

Had they been chasing someone of Kage-level strength?

The Root squad leader swiftly issued new orders, his tone sharp and decisive.

"I will report directly to Danzo-sama regarding this situation."

"The rest of you, continue searching along this route. There may be additional clues left behind."

The assembled Root operatives, emotionless as ever due to their rigorous conditioning, nodded in unison.

"Yes, Captain!"

The oppressive darkness of the night stretched infinitely.

Kazuki reacted the moment his cover was blown. Without hesitation, he launched himself into the air, his form merging with the shadows as he vanished into the depths of the night.

He knew his current abilities were insufficient to take on the entire Root division. Once exposed, even if he fled beyond Konoha's borders, he would be relentlessly pursued by Danzo's elite assassins, whose missions often ended only in death.

Failure to escape meant annihilation—an outcome he could not afford.

Under the shroud of darkness, Kazuki methodically removed the training sandbags strapped to his limbs.

Two hundred jin. One hundred and fifty. One hundred. Fifty...

With each discarded weight, his body felt exponentially lighter. He could feel his speed surging, his movements becoming as fluid as the wind slicing through the night.

The icy air whipped past his ears like the razor-sharp gusts of a kunai storm.

His lean figure—agile, swift—cut through the night like a flicker of lightning.

He held his breath, his senses locked onto the presence behind him.

Now free of his burdens, his raw speed had reached a level beyond the average Jōnin. Though he had yet to master the Eight Gates, the sheer velocity he had cultivated through relentless training placed him on par with elite warriors.

The Root operatives would take time to catch up.

His Hidden Mask's cooldown was merely sixty seconds.

One minute.

If he could endure until then and reactivate it, he would erase all traces of his chakra signature.

Even if Danzo himself were leading the hunt, they would never track him down!

"…Huh? They're lagging behind?"

Kazuki risked a glance back, only to find the Root ninjas growing increasingly distant. Their pace was sluggish compared to his.

Relief settled over him.

So he had overestimated them.

The only Jōnin he had previously compared himself to was Might Guy, an anomaly in taijutsu mastery.

Subconsciously, he had assumed the Root operatives would be on a similar level.

But the reality was different.

Not every Jōnin had Might Guy's overwhelming speed and endurance.

In all of Konoha, only Might Guy could achieve that level of acceleration.

Kazuki's body, honed through years of rigorous taijutsu training, allowed him to trade blows with Guy himself. Against the likes of Danzo's enforcers, his escape was practically guaranteed.

[Ding! The Stealth Mask has cooled down!]

A notification echoed in his mind.

His tension melted away.

A smirk crept across his lips as he glanced in the direction of his pursuers.

Hah. Useless Root dogs...

Young master Kazuki has no time to play with you!

Without hesitation, he slipped on his Hidden Mask.

Instantly, his presence vanished.

His chakra, his scent, his very existence—erased from the world.

Meanwhile, at the Root headquarters.

"How did it go?"

Shimura Danzo's voice was cold, his one visible eye glaring with a silent fury.

A masked Root operative knelt before him, sweat beading under the weight of Danzo's gaze. Though his body remained rigid, he inwardly fought against the overwhelming pressure.

"Lord Danzo… the Sharingan we had secured has been stolen by an unidentified intruder."

"What?!"

Danzo's rage erupted, his chakra flaring in the dimly lit chamber.

"You're telling me that with an entire squadron of trained Root shinobi, you still let a lone thief escape with our most valuable assets?!"

The Root captain clenched his fists.

"This failure is on me, my lord," he admitted gravely. "We did not anticipate that the enemy would dare to impersonate you. Our sensory units failed to detect any flaws in the disguise."

Danzo's single eye narrowed, his voice venomous. "Excuses."

He took a deliberate step forward.

"You realize the consequences of this blunder, don't you?"

The captain's knuckles turned white. His heart pounded. He knew there was no escape from what came next.

Without hesitation, he unsheathed his tantō.

The blade gleamed coldly under the dim light.

With one swift motion, he drove it downward—slicing cleanly through flesh.

A sickening thud echoed as his severed arm hit the ground.

Scarlet splattered across the stone floor.

The air grew heavy with the stench of blood.

This was the price of failure in Root.

And not even its highest-ranking officers were exempt.

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