Chapter 73: The Root Ninja’s Mission
You brought your hands together, aimed toward the space enclosed by the Earth-Style Wall below, and forcefully spat out a fireball.
Seeing this, Kakashi relied on the speed of Chidori to dodge the incoming fireball. However, the fireball was deceptively designed—suddenly exploding into thick smoke, completely obscuring both your visions.
Since Kakashi's Sharingan far surpassed yours, you decided to copy his tactics and cloak both of your senses in one go, evening the playing field for reaction and perception.
Then, using the perception granted by the Mind-Body Switch Technique, along with your powerful Spirit stat, you quickly relocated Kakashi's position.
You crept up behind him and thrust your blade forward.
Shhhk!
In an instant, Kakashi burst into lightning, his body vanishing into crackling arcs that surged down the blade in your hand.
It was a Lightning-Style Shadow Clone!
Your heart skipped a beat. You let go of the blade at once, and a barrier of scorching chakra formed in your hands to insulate you. Then, a Body Flicker Technique got you clear of the clone's lightning detonation radius.
Just then, a kunai crackling with blue lightning pierced through the thick earthen wall. With no other choice, you activated your left eye's double tomoe Sharingan, using the boost in reaction speed to dodge.
But that moment, another Kakashi burst in from your flank, Chidori in hand!
Clang!
A heavy clang rang out as your hands, wrapped in blazing red chakra, formed the Iron-Melting Hands—clamping down on the piercing force of the Chidori.
Yet even so, the impact sent you crashing back into the Earth-Style Wall.
The wall crumbled under the force. You tasted iron in your throat but forced yourself to steady your stance—one foot stuck to the ground, the other snapping out with a kick straight for Kakashi's legs.
Kakashi reacted instantly, pulling a kunai with his free hand to parry. Simultaneously, his leg met yours in a solid clash.
Because both your hands were still gripping the Chidori-wielding arm in a power struggle, you were on the defensive—but you managed to hold your ground.
As time dragged on, the Chidori's force began to wane under the pressure of your Strength stat. Without that initial burst of momentum, the technique lost its edge. As long as you weren't facing its piercing tip directly, your Iron-Melting Hands could block it!
Realizing this, you swiftly released your right hand and caught Kakashi's incoming kunai.
In an instant, the kunai dissolved into a thick, molten pool of iron.
Seeing this, Kakashi withdrew his searing left hand in pain and leapt back, eyes wide.
He stared at your now-activated double tomoe Sharingan and asked, surprised, how you obtained it—if there were other surviving Uchiha.
You didn't say a word. Instead, you hurled the molten iron straight at him!
Smack!
Your hands clapped together—BOOM!
The molten iron exploded outward like a dazzling firework. Every drop burned like molten lava.
By the time Kakashi dodged the blinding, wide-area attack and looked again, you were already gone...
...
Whoosh!
At Kakashi's command, Konoha's ANBU mobilized, spreading out in full-force to locate you.
But by then, you'd already returned to a dormitory beneath the Hokage Rock reserved for ANBU. On your way back, you even high-fived a few other ANBU heading out, joking about how lucky you were to still have one night of vacation left—otherwise, you'd definitely be joining the hunt for the intruder.
Back in your room, you couldn't help but feel thrilled by what you'd just done.
Even though you had the upper hand in intel, going toe-to-toe with Kakashi and coming out even said volumes about how far your Root training had pushed your power!
Once you picked up your newly forged weapon from the ninja tools workshop—and properly tamed the Flame of the Infested—your strength would leap to a whole new level.
Speaking of which, as an Uchiha, you naturally wanted to awaken your clan's ultimate weapon: the Mangekyō Sharingan.
After all, against Susanoo, most ninjutsu were just flashy distractions. Even sword techniques became laughable.
But the Mangekyō couldn't be awakened by mere willpower!
Even the jump from double to triple tomoe had proven elusive despite your efforts.
You'd even begun to wonder—like the Hyuga—whether the Sharingan had different levels of purity. Maybe only those with exceptionally pure bloodlines had the potential to evolve their eyes to greater heights...
The more you thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Madara awakened his Mangekyō, and so did his brother. But thanks to their… "orientation," they left no descendants, so their line couldn't be tested.
Still, Uchiha Shisui and Obito were apparently distant cousins, and if that didn't prove something, then Uchiha Fugaku's family sure did—one father, two sons, all awakened their Mangekyō! Meanwhile, most other Uchiha—including some Jōnin in the police force—only ever reached double tomoe...
As much as you hated to admit it, at present, you had no better path to increasing your Ocular Power than continuing to train with that bloodline meditation technique.
Of course, it was also possible that, being only three years old, your body simply hadn't matured enough yet to awaken the higher levels.
Eventually, while meditating, you drifted off to sleep.
...
Meanwhile, despite his injuries, Kakashi led the ANBU in sweeping every shadowy corner of Konoha.
Just like that, your two-day break came to an end.
The next morning, you set off for Root headquarters, only to find Danzo absent.
You ran into Aburame Ryoma instead, who informed you that the Hokage had summoned Danzo away, so he would be the one assigning you your mission today.
You accepted the mission scroll. The contents instructed you to disguise yourself as a bandit and ambush a merchant caravan that had just left Konoha, guarded by a team of Chūnin.
[Mission Requirements]:
Secretly escort the caravan to the capital of the Land of Fire.
Once past the capital, eliminate everyone in the caravan—including the Konoha shinobi—and make it look like the work of bandits.
Destroy all goods within the caravan.
[Mission Rank]: B
[Reward]: 200,000 ryo in cash
You couldn't help but think: Root really lives up to its name. Killing Konoha ninja like it's nothing...Maybe this was also a test—to see whether your loyalty lay with Konoha or with Danzo.
"I'll take it. But I want the reward changed."
You pointed at the reward section on the mission scroll. Ryoma nodded, saying that the listed reward was just what would be recorded on your ANBU identity card. Since you were Root, there was room for negotiation.
You told him you wanted a sealing technique—one that could seal chakra inside the body.
Ryoma frowned. "Is this about that unexpected flame?"
You nodded.
But Ryoma shook his head and said this was something that had to be discussed with Danzo. Since he wasn't around, Ryoma didn't have the authority to approve it. He told you to choose something else—anything that wasn't a sealing or forbidden jutsu, and he could greenlight it.
Although you were a bit disappointed, this was just a probe. You hadn't expected to get a sealing technique from a B-rank mission anyway.
After a moment's thought, you said you wanted a Wind Release technique. You admitted you didn't really know what was available—so he could just pick something for you.
In this area, you had full confidence in Danzo's judgment. As a Wind Release master, he'd surely choose a jutsu that matched your fighting style.
Ryoma agreed, and after collecting the items you'd need to complete the mission, you slipped out of Konoha through a secret tunnel in the rear mountains...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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