What terrified him most was the possibility that Fu Yamanaka would find out about his negligence on the mission. That alone could bring down an extremely harsh punishment from Root.
When Fu Yamanaka looked in the direction the Chunin had pointed, his heart sank. In his sensory abilities, there was no sign of Shiki Uzumaki's chakra over there.
Without hesitation, Fu Yamanaka quickened his pace and rushed to where the supposed Shiki lay, yanking off the blanket.
Poof!!
Smoke scattered, revealing that the "Shiki" beneath it was nothing more than a pillow.
[Substitution Jutsu]!
The Chunin stared at the scene in disbelief.
"When?! When did this happen?! That's impossible! I never left this spot at all!"
But the truth had already spoken for itself. Whatever he said now wouldn't change a thing. For an elite Chunin to fail in monitoring a child who hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy—such failure was totally unforgivable in Root.
The Chunin didn't even know what kind of punishment awaited him next.
But knowing the rules of Root as he did, he didn't immediately kneel down begging for mercy. Because begging for mercy now would be utterly pointless.
Instead, he quickly said, "I understand my crime. Please punish me accordingly!"
Yet for a long time, there was no response. Puzzled, he lifted his head, only to find that Fu Yamanaka was already gone.
Just how important was that red-haired boy?
A deep sense of fear settled heavily upon the Chunin's heart.
Though he dreaded the punishment for grave negligence, he feared even more that his superior had left without punishing him first.
How urgent must the situation be
for something like this to happen?
Meanwhile, Fu Yamanaka was sprinting rapidly across the rooftops of Konoha. Fortunately, due to the cold weather, the streets were nearly empty.
Otherwise, it might have caused another commotion.
Shiki Uzumaki absolutely must not be allowed to meet the Third or escape from Konoha! Bring him back at all costs while keeping disturbances to a minimum—even if it means bringing back his corpse! Thinking of Danzo's words, Fu Yamanaka involuntarily quickened his steps.
However, the direction he ran toward was none other than the Hokage Office.
Although the disappearing chakra felt very similar to Shiki's, Fu Yamanaka still sensed something subtly off.
He realized something wasn't quite right with Shiki's chakra, but due to the distance, Fu Yamanaka couldn't confirm anything for sure.
After all, at this distance, he could barely perceive the general situation. Only those with rare Kekkei Genkai could pull off such precise sensing.
Yet precisely because of this sharp intuition, he had only dispatched half of his forces to pursue Shiki Uzumaki.
Actually, for someone like Shiki Uzumaki, who hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy, such an overwhelming pursuit force seemed excessive.
But Fu Yamanaka knew well—one who had managed to kill Cho and prevent him from even calling for help.
Even when attacked with underhanded tactics, he was clearly no ordinary opponent.
As for the others, their job was once again to reinforce defenses around the Hokage Office.
In fact, they had laid a tightly woven net around the Hokage Office, waiting for Shiki Uzumaki to fall right into it!
Outside Konoha Village, one after another, Anbu operatives began emerging. Even the middle-aged Chunin guarding the village gates started questioning what kind of day this was—he'd never seen so many Anbu gathered at once before.
"Maybe they've been dispatched to deal with some powerful rogue ninja?" The Chunin muttered while smoking, then reconsidered, "Or perhaps they're going to assassinate an enemy Hidden Village's leader."
Yet he didn't even imagine—not for a second—that these elite forces had been sent out solely to hunt down that cheerful, hardworking young boy he always found quite likable: Shiki Uzumaki.
Leaping swiftly from branch to branch, Shiki used the dense trees to block and slow his pursuers.
However, across this snow-white landscape, his fiery red hair stood out like a blazing flame.
Looking down at the bright red strands hanging over his forehead, Shiki joked bitterly to himself, "At least I won't be hiding from them! Still, these guys are like rabid dogs—way too clingy."
After sighing briefly, Shiki sped up his escape toward the village outskirts.
"Uzumaki Shiki! If you don't want to die, stop running immediately!"
"Lord Danzo has said—he will still forgive your actions today!"
As he ran, Shiki was genuinely taken aback; he hadn't expected Root members to actually try to talk him down.
Up until now, all he'd ever encountered were those cold, aloof prodigies from Root.
Come to think of it—wasn't he also considered a prodigy?
"Annoying!"
With that shout, Shiki abruptly turned around.
Three kunai shot through the air like razor-edged slashes, slicing through the wind with piercing whistles.
That was lightning-fast!
The Anbu behind him were shocked. Throwing kunai was a basic skill every ninja mastered, but such precision required exceptional chakra control and reflexes.
Indeed, aside from Jonin, almost no one could throw kunai with such deadly speed.
But we serve Lord Danzo—we're Root shinobi! How dare you challenge us with mere kunai? Don't underestimate us so much!
Thinking this, the three Chunin targeted by Shiki countered using their respective techniques.
A few clangs rang out—each successfully blocked the fierce assault.
Then—Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three consecutive explosions erupted, sending all three crashing to the ground.
No one paused to check on them—the pursuit raged on.
"Tch. Guess all of Root's Jonin are busy elsewhere—or else I'd have been caught by now. What a snooze…"
Just as Shiki spoke, he suddenly fell silent.
He sensed a powerful chakra presence closing in behind him.
His long-awaited Jonin had finally arrived.
P.S.: Sorry I'm running half an hour behind schedule.
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