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"Any leads yet?"
"Seems like we haven't found any trace for now."
Inside a run-down building in Iwagakure, the Akatsuki members had regrouped.
They had infiltrated the village earlier and started their search, but now, as they gathered to report back, it was apparent none had made any real progress.
"This damn place is a nightmare. The security is ridiculous—it's really unsettling," grumbled Jūzō Biwa, shrugging indifferently when he saw that no one had anything to show.
"It's still nothing compared to Kirigakure, but it's a real pain," he added.
"True. Even using puppets to search isn't helping," Sasori nodded, annoyed that his puppets had returned without results.
"Are you sure your intel's reliable, Kakuzu?" Sasori asked with a frown.
"Yeah, even if Iwagakure is huge, coming up empty this long doesn't feel right, Kakuzu," Konan agreed, turning her gaze toward him, making Kakuzu feel the pressure mount.
The intel from Shigenari Shuuzawa only said that Orochimaru was somewhere inside Iwagakure—nothing else.
What could he possibly do with that? Still, Kakuzu was a veteran. He kept calm and spoke with steady confidence.
"Did none of you expect this? Iwagakure's massive. Scouring it is no small task. Let's be honest—if intel was that accurate, would you even trust it?"
"...That's a fair point," Konan muttered, nodding. Precise intel like that was unrealistic.
"Looks like we've got no choice but to keep searching. What a pai—"
Before Konan could finish the word pain, the ground suddenly trembled slightly beneath them.
A powerful surge of chakra burst out nearby, instantly alerting them that something was wrong.
"...That chakra," Konan muttered, glancing toward the distance.
There was a hint of familiarity in that energy, though she couldn't quite place it—it felt both known and strangely unfamiliar.
"Looks like we've found a target," Sasori said in a low voice before she could respond. "Let's go. Hopefully, this one won't be a waste of time."
....
"Kakashi-senpai, did you feel that?"
In a shadowed corner near the Tsuchikage's tower, Yamato immediately turned to Kakashi after sensing the burst of chakra.
Their mission was to cause a distraction within the Iwagakure administration district.
But Shigenari Shuuzawa hadn't given them a specific time to act—probably because not even Shuuzawa, the mastermind behind it all, could be certain when the right moment would come.
He had told them to act when the time felt right.
"This is bad," Kakashi muttered, recognising how unusual the situation had become. After a brief moment of thought, he made his decision.
"Let's begin. That disturbance will probably trigger Iwagakure's response and we can't confirm whether that was Shuuzawa or Lord Jiraiya acting. Either way, let's follow the plan and cause chaos here."
"Got it!"
Yamato was already eager—he had long seen Shuuzawa as his idol.
Both were Root operatives, both wielded Wood Release, and now they were on the same special ops team. Naturally, Yamato wanted to learn from him.
But even if he looked up to Shuuzawa, Kakashi was still his squad leader. Now that he had the green light, Yamato couldn't hold back.
"Kakashi-senpai, back me up—we're going big!"
"Hey, wait a minu—" Kakashi tried to intervene, but Yamato had already acted before he could finish.
"Wood Style: Nativity of a World of Trees!"
With a thunderous roar of chakra, vines and tree roots erupted from the ground, surging toward the Tsuchikage's tower!
"Who's there?!"
"Dammit, what the hell is with these trees?!"
"Are you kidding me—is that Wood Release?!"
"What the hell's going on?!"
"Stop it now! Don't let those vines get close!"
The Iwagakure shinobi guarding the Tsuchikage's tower panicked at the sight. They had all heard the terrifying stories of Wood Release.
Especially those returning from battles in the Land of Grass, where some had witnessed that rare and dangerous style firsthand.
Even though they scrambled to stop it, Yamato's jutsu broke through and flooded the area. Trees and vines rapidly covered the surroundings!
"Now's our chance! Kakashi-senpai, use Fire Style!"
Seeing the results of his technique, Yamato immediately called out. At the same time, he pulled out several kunai—each tied with explosive tags.
Before Kakashi could even respond, Yamato had already hurled them.
Explosions rang out one after another, fire engulfing the vines.
Flames quickly spread through the dense wooden growth, feeding off Yamato's jutsu.
Kakashi stared, dumbfounded, his hand still raised as if to stop him—too late now. "Senpai! Hurry, the fire isn't strong enough yet!"
Yamato blinked at him, urging him on. That snapped Kakashi out of his daze. With a sigh and a twitch in his eye, he reluctantly began weaving hand signs.
But inwardly, he was already screaming. "You damn Root maniacs… not a single one of you turns out normal!"
.....
"Senpai, should we act too?" In Iwagakure, within a forested area, Yuugao turned to Shisui and whispered.
Since their plan required widespread chaos, they were to strike from the outskirts.
If they wanted to draw attention fast, there was one surefire method—setting the forest on fire.
Iwagakure might have been mostly rocky terrain, but that didn't mean no forests. Shisui and Yuugao explicitly chose this patch of woods.
"Yeah, it's time." Shisui nodded, though he felt a bit conflicted. Was this really how he was spending his final mission?
Just burning a mountain? It felt like such a waste of his skills. Still, he didn't protest.
He knew Shuuzawa well enough—every mission the man touched turned chaotic. If Shuuzawa had been involved, things would never have been simple.
They always spiralled out of control until a Kage had to step in personally. "...So yeah. No way this ends up boring," Shisui thought to himself.
He quickly weaved hand signs, then unleashed his jutsu. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
A blazing dragon erupted from his mouth, roaring as it tore through the air and crashed into the trees.
Within seconds, the entire forest was engulfed in flames. The fire spread rapidly, and soon their entire sector was surrounded by heat and smoke.
"That was almost too easy," Shisui muttered, somewhat distracted by how smoothly it went.
Yuugao, however, was staring into the distance. After a moment, she said softly, "Shisui-senpai... look over there!"
"Huh?" He followed her gaze toward the centre of Iwagakure, and what he saw stunned him.
Flames were rising high into the sky. Dense black smoke spiralled upward, and countless Iwa shinobi rushed toward the source.
Then he realised something terrifying. "...Wait. Is that Tsuchikage's tower?!"
He could hardly believe it. Kakashi—the ever-cautious, responsible Kakashi—had set fire to the Tsuchikage's headquarters?!
He shuddered. The fallout would be catastrophic if someone burned the Hokage's office in Konoha.
"Looks like it is..." Yuugao said, now equally disturbed. After a pause, she turned to him, uncertain.
"What do we do now? I mean, even if Lord Jiraiya's leading us..."
"Wait—what did you just say?" Shisui's eyes suddenly lit up. "You said... Lord Jiraiya is leading this operation?"
"Yes..." Yuugao nodded, then froze, realising what that meant. "You said it yourself—we're under Lord Jiraiya's command for this mission!"
With a grin, Shisui turned and looked back at the burning forest behind him. Would you like the next part of the story as well?
"Even if Shuuzawa was the one who arranged the mission, with Lord Jiraiya gone, we've had to find our way forward."
"Besides, he was the one who entered Iwagakure first! We only came in to keep him from being completely isolated!"
"Why are you acting just like that bastard Shuuzawa now?" Yuugao listened to Shisui, feeling a headache coming on.
There was no denying Shuuzawa was a good person, but had Shisui picked up his extreme mindset too?
Before Yuugao could say anything, Shisui suddenly formed hand seals again.
"Looks like we need to go bigger. If we want to keep Kakashi and the others from getting surrounded, we need to escalate on our end too!"
"But… doesn't Kakashi's team have Shuuzawa's kunai?" Yuugao stared at Shisui silently, feeling like he was starting to become Shuuzawa.
"Who's there?! Who dares to start a fire here?!" Suddenly, a man with a straw hat and a covered face burst out from the burning forest.
His fierce eyes locked onto Shisui and Yuugao in an instant.
His chakra radiated power, and his gaze brimmed with rage—but the moment Shisui saw him, his eyes lit up. "That's Han, the Five-Tails' jinchūriki!"
.....
"What is this feeling? Why am I so uneasy?"
In Iwagakure, inside Ōnoki's home, the night had grown late, yet he felt no drowsiness.
A growing sense of unease gnawed at him, making sleep impossible.
So, he sat up to check if anything strange was happening in the village and to wait for the drowsiness to pass.
"Why aren't you asleep, old man?" A voice came from inside.
Kitsuchi had come out to use the bathroom and noticed Ōnoki still awake in the living room.
"It's so late—get some rest. Don't wear yourself out before tomorrow's work."
"Hmph. If you'd take your job seriously, I wouldn't be this exhausted!" Ōnoki's irritation spiked.
He couldn't understand how, despite all his efforts to train Kitsuchi, the kid turned out nothing like him—reckless, inattentive to village affairs, and lacking in political instinct.
It honestly frustrated him.
"...Sorry." Kitsuchi looked awkward but had primarily grown numb to these scoldings—they were nearly a daily occurrence by now.
"You should rest too, Dad. You're still strong for your age, but no need to overdo it. The village is safe."
"Safe?" Ōnoki scoffed. "Safe? You still got caught! Safe? The Land of Grass dares to conduct experiments on the Uzumaki Clan right under our noses!"
"Wasn't that your speculation? You leaked the intel to Konoha."
"How was I supposed to know it was true?! Who knew they'd be that brazen? And you! You useless brat—you got caught by a Konoha kid!"
"But it was Wood Style..."
"Wood Style, Wood Style—don't use that as your excuse!"
Ōnoki was fuming again. Sure, Wood Style was powerful, but getting captured without resistance? That was unacceptable.
Besides, it's not like the enemy was Hashirama Senju himself! How could someone as foolish as Kitsuchi fall so easily?
At that thought, Ōnoki went quiet from sheer rage. Kitsuchi didn't dare say another word.
He knew his father's mood was foul and didn't want to add fuel to the fire. He regretted even coming out of his room at this hour.
The silence in the room grew tense until a sudden surge of chakra shattered it. Both men immediately turned to the window and looked outside.
"What was that just now?" Kitsuchi frowned. Ōnoki answered in a grim voice. "Looks like some fool snuck into our village to stir up trouble."
Whoever it was, they had dared to act during curfew and create such a commotion.
No ordinary intruder—and certainly not someone from the village.
"So this is what happens right after a meeting with Konoha—they act like I'm already dead!"
Ōnoki snorted coldly, turning to Kitsuchi. "Go call the ANBU. Tell them to—"
"Dad, look!"
Before Ōnoki could finish, he saw Kitsuchi staring out the window, pale and trembling.
Ōnoki turned to look—and his eyes widened in disbelief. Behind them, firelight flared, and the heat spiked.
Then he saw it: the Tsuchikage's office building was ablaze! The towering inferno lit up the night sky in spectacular, devastating beauty.
In that moment, Ōnoki truly felt his blood pressure explode. "Who did this?!"
...
Outside, everything was in chaos—but oddly enough, where Shuuzawa's team was located, the fire didn't feel that intense.
Yakushi Nonō was bound to a tree by thick vines, staring in confusion at Shuuzawa.
The boy before her was strikingly handsome and gave off a strange familiarity.
But she was certain she didn't recognise him—not since she infiltrated Iwagakure. There was no impression of such a person in her memory.
"Director!"
Kabuto couldn't hold back anymore. He rushed forward and shouted with emotion, "It's me, Kabuto! I'm Yakushi Kabuto! And this is Shuuzawa—Shigenari Shuuzawa! Don't you remember us?!"
"Kabuto... Shuuzawa?" Nonō looked confused, struggling to grasp the situation.
Even though she was called the "Witch on the Move," and her ability to read people was formidable, she could feel that these two boys didn't mean her any harm.
Still, the names they gave didn't match any of the photos she'd received from Danzō...
"Idiot."
Shuuzawa watched Kabuto get so worked up that he sighed and pushed him aside. He turned to Nonō with a helpless look.
"The truth is simple. Danzō deceived all of us. He never gave us the chance to return to the orphanage.
"Never allowed us to get any news. And the pictures he gave you? All fake. They weren't us."
You mean..." A flash of confusion and disbelief passed through Nonō's eyes—but the meaning was clear.
She didn't want to believe Danzō would do such a thing. "How could he...? Why would he...?"
"Shuuzawa told me everything," Kabuto said, his voice much calmer now. "No one who joins Root can ever leave—except by dying."
"He saw through Danzō's lies. He guessed you might be here. Director... we..."
"Enough. This isn't the time for this." Shuuzawa shook his head slightly as he cut Kabuto off.
He didn't mind letting him speak, but this situation didn't allow sentimentality.
He looked up and pointed. "See that? We've got bigger problems right now."
"That's..." Nonō's pupils dilated slightly when she followed his gaze.
"Lord Jiraiya and Orochimaru?"
"Lord Jiraiya's the one leading our squad. We came after receiving a message from Orochimaru," Shuuzawa said casually.
"As for Orochimaru himself, he's likely here to clean up. To put it bluntly: whichever one of you survives, he'll take out the other."
"This whole thing traces back to Root. No matter what happens here, we're still Root shinobi. So..."
Kabuto and Nonō exchanged looks. They both understood what Shuuzawa meant.
They had to take this to the grave. Speaking of it could doom not only themselves but others.
Even the ever-sceptical Nonō didn't dare deny Shuuzawa's words, especially not with Jiraiya's presence confirming it.
Suddenly, the vines binding Nonō loosened. She was finally freed, and Kabuto immediately helped her stand.
"Alright. Whatever else we need to talk about, we can do it later. Right now, the two of you need to get out of here as fast as you can."
Shuuzawa said after a moment's thought, glancing at them with seriousness.
(T/N: I might not be able to update tomorrow. Got a Fever. Cannot work on the PC Screen because it makes my eyes tear up and my whole body become weak.)
(T/N: Sorry Guys, I will continue update after got well.)
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