Chapter 72

Root Division – Hidden Leaf Village

In a dark, underground room, Danzo—his body wrapped in bandages and his face sunken in gloom—listened silently to his subordinate's report.

"Hmph!"

With a heavy thud, Danzo slammed his cane against the floor and spoke grimly:

"Uchiha Shisui… To think even a mercenary group that values money over life would fear his Sharingan so much."

The ROOT member kneeling on the ground remained silent.

After waving his subordinate away, Danzo fell into deep thought.

"Uchiha Shisui…"

He recalled that Shisui possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan—currently, the only Mangekyō wielder in the entire Uchiha clan.

Back in the Warring States era, the Mangekyō was known as the 'Eyes of the Gods.' Its power was feared by all.

According to Shisui himself, the technique he possessed was one of the most powerful even among the Mangekyō.

A supreme genjutsu that, once activated, could alter a person's will without them ever realizing it.

The enemy wouldn't even have a chance to resist.

Considering all that, Danzo could now understand why even the Akatsuki didn't dare touch him.

After some thought, he made a decision.

He marched straight to the Hokage Office and knocked on the door.

—

Ninja Academy – In Class

Naruto sat in the back row, next to the window in seat 05. He tossed a small stone in his hand and gazed out the window, absentmindedly muttering:

"Attack?"

"Don't attack?"

"Attack?"

"Don't attack?"

He turned his head and looked in the direction of the Hokage Building, clearly lost in thought.

With his current power, he was undoubtedly at Kage level.

And with his overwhelming physical strength and massive chakra reserves, he was easily top-tier among even Kage-level shinobi.

"But… it's still too early to move now…"

The blond boy's eyes were cold.

Attacking now would certainly cause major damage to Konoha—but it wouldn't be enough to destroy the decaying village.

After all, Konoha's hidden resources were vast.

Just look at:

Might Guy's Hachimon Tonkō no Jin (Eight Gates Formation),

Hiruzen Sarutobi's Shiki Fujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal),

Danzo Shimura's Shiki Fūin (Four Symbols Sealing)...

All were suicidal, last-resort techniques that could drag him to death with them.

As long as those were in play, he couldn't destroy the village—he could only damage it, then become a rogue ninja hunted by the entire shinobi world.

At that point, his enemies wouldn't just be Konoha—it would include the Akatsuki, Uchiha Obito, Jiraiya, Tsunade…

Even the other villages would move against him.

Just as Naruto was contemplating all this, he caught sight of Uchiha Sasuke approaching and said flatly:

"What is it?"

Sasuke took a deep breath and said firmly:

"Uzumaki Naruto, let's fight again!"

"Heh."

Naruto chuckled. Without waiting for Sasuke to finish, he flicked his finger against Sasuke's forehead.

Bang!

A crisp flick landed.

Sasuke's eyes welled up instantly as he clutched his forehead and crouched in pain:

"Oww! Aaaahhh!"

He felt utterly wronged.

He had just learned taijutsu from his older brother—yet he still couldn't dodge Naruto's flick?

And how was Naruto's finger that strong!?

Seeing Sasuke's miserable state, the class's fangirls immediately swarmed in, shouting accusations at Naruto:

"Uzumaki Naruto! That was too much! Sasuke-kun hadn't even started and you sneak attacked!"

"Apologize to Sasuke-kun right now!"

"Exactly! Sasuke-kun is a genius from the Uchiha clan! How could you…"

"…"

"Shut up."

Naruto's cold glare silenced the room instantly.

Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura, and the others froze at his sudden hostility, startled both by his voice and his killing intent.

But after spending so much time with Naruto, they were somewhat used to it now.

So they gritted their teeth and resumed their scolding, trying to show off in front of Sasuke.

Naruto found these fangirls utterly ridiculous.

They were so lovestruck they'd even become immune to bloodlust. It was almost impressive in a sad way.

Shaking his head, he stood and walked out of the classroom.

As he strolled down the path, his gaze flicked toward the Hokage Building, a faint smirk curling at his lips.

"How amusing. As expected of those two sly old foxes… They've completely played Shisui into a corner."

—

Two Days Later – Forest Outside Konoha

The blond youth leaned against a tree branch, accompanied by Kurama Yakumo and Karin Uzumaki.

The three watched a fierce battle unfolding in the distance.

"Wow… Is that Danzo? What a scumbag… He actually stole that guy's eye…"

Yakumo looked on in disgust.

From her perspective, it was obvious that Danzo wasn't Shisui's match in a fair fight.

But he had chosen to ambush Shisui and managed to gouge out one of his eyes through some underhanded means.

Karin nodded her little head and waved her fists angrily.

"Exactly! No wonder Naruto-sama wants to kill him! That guy really is garbage!"

Naruto, however, remained calm and smiled.

"Danzo's not a good guy, sure. But Uchiha Shisui isn't exactly worth pitying either."

"To place your clan's hope of survival in the hands of outsiders—that's just irresponsible cowardice."

"Such idealism is foolish. That's why he got ambushed."

None of what happened today surprised Naruto.

Two days ago, Hiruzen and Danzo had already finalized their plans. What happened now was simply the execution.

Under their watchful eyes, the injured and one-eyed Shisui fled through the forest, chased relentlessly by ROOT operatives.

Behind him, cold-eyed ROOT members launched attack after attack:

Poison.

Explosive tags.

Shuriken...

All of them continued to wear him down.

"At this rate… he's going to die," Yakumo calmly analyzed.

Naruto nodded.

"Probably. But Uchiha Shisui isn't that easy to kill."

Just as he said that, Shisui stopped running once he reached an open clearing.

Facing the encroaching attackers, green chakra erupted from his body.

"Susanoo!!"

With his loud shout, a skeletal structure formed around him.

Ribs.

A spine.

A chest cavity.

A towering green skeletal warrior materialized around him.

Then, shimmering green armor and a spiral sword formed.

It was a green war god.

The chest plate of the Susanoo opened wide and fired ninety-nine green chakra arrows, ruthlessly skewering the pursuing ROOT shinobi.

One after another, the ROOT operatives fell, pierced through their chests, blood pooling beneath them.

Just as the three were enjoying the spectacle, a few ROOT shinobi happened to pass by and spotted them watching from the tree.

"You there… Who are you!?"

The three ROOT operatives glared warily at Naruto and the girls.

The two girls flinched, startled like children caught peeking, and clung to Naruto's clothes.

"Naruto-kun, what do we do!?"

Hearing the name "Naruto," the ROOT ninja froze for a moment.

Then they studied his face carefully—and their expressions instantly changed.

"Uzumaki Naruto!? No way—how can he be this strong!?"

(End of Chapter)

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