At this moment, in front of Root's main gate, countless golden lights gathered around Naruto's body.
He stared at the gate with the Konoha symbol on it, eyes slightly narrowed.
With that symbol, it was clearly an official Konoha institution.
He wondered which faction or family it belonged to…
"Stop!"
Before Naruto could go in, six masked Konoha ninjas appeared and surrounded him.
Just as Naruto was about to act, the big gate opened.
Three people walked out from inside!
The one on the left was tall, with orange-yellow parted hair tied in a short high ponytail, wearing a sleeveless brown front-closing shirt with a short-sleeved jacket over it, black gloves on both hands, and black long pants!
The one on the right wore a mask covering the upper half of his face, dressed in all black from head to toe, wearing gloves and long boots!
The one in the middle had half his head wrapped in bandages, wearing a black-gray kimono that covered his right arm, while his left hand held a cane!
Yamanaka Fū, Aburame Torune, and Shimura Danzo!
"Stand down!"
Shimura Danzo's commanding voice made the six Root ninjas retreat. He then looked at Naruto, a faint, pleased smile on his face.
He seemed genuinely happy to see Naruto show up at Root!
"I didn't expect you to come here alone. You probably don't even know about Root's existence, do you?" Danzo said with interest.
"But that doesn't matter. Since you're here, from now on you'll be one of Root!"
"What do you think?"
It sounded like a question, but his tone left no room for refusal, as if he had already decided Naruto's fate!
Naruto stared at Danzo without saying a word. Thanks to his ability to foresee the future, he wasn't worried about falling under Danzo's Kotoamatsukami.
He hesitated on how to deal with Danzo and his men.
Kill them?
Or just rescue the person and leave?
If it were some other Konoha department, he could just teach them a lesson and let it go.
It wasn't really a big deal.
For Karin, it might be cruel, but for Naruto, these people had only shown him a bit of disrespect at most.
But the problem was, the group in front of him was Root!
Because of the Land of Snow mission, he now had another backup option for his future tasks!
And Danzo, in a sense, had already lost his usefulness!
But if he left these people alone, when he went to Land of Snow later, Root might show up to cause trouble!
He wasn't worried about Root being a real threat to him. What he worried about was Kazahana Koyuki being taken and controlled!
Thinking about Danzo's obsession with controlling Jinchuriki, Naruto made his decision.
He moved at the speed of light and appeared in front of Danzo. Everything around him looked like it was moving slowly, like snails, or not moving at all!
Right in front of Danzo, he plucked out his right eye and cut off his right arm!
After doing that, he kicked Danzo hard, sending him flying into the mountain nearby with a deafening boom!
Boom!
The loud sound drew Yamanaka Fū and the others' attention. When the smoke cleared, a hand pushed out from the collapsed rocks of the mountain.
"Kill him!!!"
Danzo's furious yet commanding voice rang out, and everyone realized it was Danzo in there!
But when did that happen?
When they snapped out of it and looked, the spot where Danzo had been standing was already empty!
Meanwhile, Uzumaki Naruto was floating in midair!
He could fly?
That thought had just crossed their minds when countless light bullets shot toward them.
Yasakani no Magatama!!!
The light bullets were so fast they barely had time to react before being pierced through and killed!
The once-flat ground was now full of gaping holes, and their torn bodies lay inside!
At that moment, Danzo finally crawled out from the rubble. One eye was gone, one arm was severed, and he was gasping heavily, glaring at Naruto in the sky.
"Why? How did you know?!"
Danzo's question sounded strange, but Naruto understood what he meant.
He simply couldn't figure out why Naruto had gone straight for his right eye and right arm the moment he attacked!
If it weren't for that, Danzo was sure no one could have taken him down so easily!
"You sure know how to stay alive."
Naruto didn't answer Danzo's question. Instead, he praised Danzo's cockroach-like toughness.
The next moment, he slowly raised a finger, and a laser formed at the tip.
Danzo sensed danger immediately.
He tried to run toward Konoha with awkward steps.
But before he could take more than two steps, a laser pierced through his heart!
It was like all his strength was drained in an instant as he fell face-first to the ground!
Naruto used Observation Haki to confirm Danzo's life force was completely gone before heading deeper into Root.
To make sure no rats escaped, he used Light Release: Birdcage to completely seal the entire Root base!
Today, Root will be wiped out completely!!
Underground in Root, Karin heard the loud explosions above and felt uneasy.
With such big blasts, could it be enemy ninjas attacking Konoha again?
She and the other "practice subjects" stayed in the room, unsure if they should go out.
Without permission, they weren't allowed to move freely inside Root. If they were caught leaving without orders, the only thing waiting for them was death!
But just staying here, waiting to die, made them even more anxious!
It should be fine… right?
Just then, the door connecting the underground to the surface was blown open!
The blast was so close that everyone turned to look toward the iron door.
A boy with blond hair walked in.
His face was calm, and whenever a Root ninja charged at him, he killed them with just a flick of his finger!
The boy seemed like a killing machine. Every move he made took a life.
"Is he here to save us?" a boy with an innocent face, forced into training, asked.
The others glanced at him, then looked back at the blond boy.
After making sure the two weren't related, they all rushed out of the room!
Naruto didn't pay any attention to the ones running away.
The entire Root base was sealed by his barrier—no one could escape!
"Naruto-kun?!"
When Karin saw Naruto appear, her heart was filled with joy, excitement, and uneasiness.
She didn't know if Naruto had come to save her.
If not, then why was he here?
But if he really was here to save her, that would be… so cool!
Naruto followed the sound of her voice and saw Karin. Although she looked dirty, she didn't seem abused, so he didn't say much.
"Let's go."
"Okay!"
Karin felt a surge of happiness!
Naruto-kun really did come to save me!
But why would he want to save me?
They weren't related at all. If anything, the only connection was that they were in the same clan a long time ago!
But if that connection mattered, then back in the Forest of Death, Naruto wouldn't have left her behind!
Karin wanted to ask, but when she saw Naruto's expressionless face, she kept her mouth shut.
This was still Root, too dangerous to distract Naruto!
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