"Hey, Ino! Why are you still spacing out?"
Sakura frowned as she noticed Ino standing frozen even after Nagi had left, still staring in the direction he'd gone.
It wasn't until Sakura tapped her several times that Ino finally came to.
But her face was pale.
That ANBU just now… had actually used the Mind Body Switch Technique to tell her that Nagi was in danger.
Ino looked around cautiously.
That ANBU had warned her not to say anything publicly and told her to get her father involved.
"I have something to do… I'm going home first!"
Ino left in a bit of a panic. Since the combat assessment was already over, no one paid much attention to her departure.
On the other side, as Nagi followed the two ANBU…
"You're really not nervous at all?"
Aburame Torune glanced at Nagi with some curiosity.
He had seen plenty of people, but Nagi was among the calmest. Even someone like Uchiha Shisui would've straightened up at the mention of ANBU.
Yet Nagi, who was the same age as Shisui, remained utterly composed.
His mentality really is extraordinary, Torune thought. No wonder the boss has his eye on him.
"But speaking of which…"
Nagi suddenly stopped walking, eyes calmly locking on the two "ANBU" ahead of him.
"This… doesn't seem like the road to the Hokage Tower."
"Hahaha, as expected of a genius. That intuition really sets you apart."
Even Torune had to clap in admiration. Calm under pressure, sharp-minded—no wonder Danzo was interested.
"What a shame… it would've been so much easier if you'd just pretended not to notice."
A cold glint appeared in Torune's eyes.
Meanwhile, at the Ninja Academy, Kakashi had just arrived.
"Is Nagi here?"
Kakashi asked around, hoping to take him to see the Hokage. But to his surprise, he was met with murmuring everywhere.
"Wow, the Hokage really values Nagi."
"He actually sent two separate groups to get him? That's how urgent this is?"
The students who didn't recognize Kakashi didn't understand the significance—until they heard he was the famed Copy Ninja.
Immediately, envy bloomed.
"Nagi must've caught the Hokage's eye for real."
"No way they'd send someone like that unless it was super important."
"What the hell are they talking about…?"
Kakashi was baffled. Had the Hokage really sent someone else before him?
"…Shit."
The realization struck him like lightning. He turned to leave at once.
Boom!
A violent explosion in the distance seized Kakashi's attention.
"That direction… it's Root! Damn it!!!"
Kakashi nearly let out a curse. Danzo had really gone and done it!
Now all he could do was pray that Nagi wasn't hurt.
"What is this…?"
The closer he got to the source of the explosion, the more horrified he felt.
The air was thick with chakra.
It felt like a battlefield had erupted here.
And then he saw it.
A towering tree reached to the sky, formed from countless trunks erupting from the ground and intertwining into a massive structure.
"What the hell happened?!"
Kakashi couldn't believe what he saw next.
Two ANBU agents were completely restrained by countless tree branches, unable to move an inch.
"Do you two… want to dance as well?"
Atop the towering tree, Nagi looked down calmly on the two defeated Root elites.
They'd tried to pose as ANBU to deceive him?
Too bad—Nagi had known from the beginning they were fakes.
He'd lived in Konoha for nearly fifteen years. It was laughable to think he didn't know where the Hokage Tower was.
And that orange-haired "ANBU"? The moment Nagi saw him, he'd remembered—Danzo's subordinate, Yamanaka Fū!
"You're… Nagi?"
Kakashi could barely believe the commanding presence radiating from the boy in front of him.
Was this really the same Nagi he knew?
"They tried to assassinate me. I fought back. That's not a crime… is it?"
Nagi had already noticed Kakashi approaching, but he didn't care. Root had struck first. He defended himself. Who could say he was wrong?
"Wait a second… was that Wood Release?!"
Kakashi finally noticed the most shocking part.
That technique—it was Wood Release!
The one Nagi used just now was undeniably Wood Release!
At this point, a tidal wave of shock crashed through Kakashi's heart.
Wood Release—one of the First Hokage's legendary kekkei genkai.
Ever since the First's death, almost no one had awakened it.
Sure, Kakashi had seen it before—from one of Root's test subjects. The current ANBU captain, Yamato.
But Yamato's Wood Release was nothing compared to Nagi's.
With just a single Wood Release technique, Nagi had destroyed an entire street and subdued two elite jōnin from Root.
Kakashi felt like the very foundation of Konoha was about to change.
"Nagi, come with me to the Hokage Tower. Now."
Kakashi moved to Nagi's side, eyes still scanning their surroundings warily.
"No problem."
Nagi remained unbothered.
His power being exposed was inevitable anyway. Now that he'd awakened a top-tier kekkei genkai like Wood Release, everything else would become much easier.
Before long, under Kakashi's close protection—
Nagi was brought before the Third Hokage.
"You're saying… Nagi awakened Wood Release?!"
Hiruzen's breathing grew ragged as he listened to Kakashi's report.
Wood Release…
The same technique that once summoned massive wooden Buddhas to crush entire armies. A power that helped defeat four nations with just two people.
"Nagi… is there anything you want?"
Hiruzen's gaze toward Nagi was almost feverish, making the boy feel a little uncomfortable.
"Don't worry. Regarding Danzo… I'll make sure you get justice."
Seeing Nagi remain silent, Hiruzen assumed he was still upset about the earlier assassination attempt.
So the old Hokage decided to pull rank.
He took out a scroll.
"This contains all of our knowledge and experience on training with Wood Release."
At first, Nagi thought the old man was going to hand over a few jutsu.
He wasn't expecting… training notes.
Like I need this crap?
Nagi almost laughed. He had already maxed out his Wood Release.
Still, he flipped through it. Some of the practical insights were actually useful.
"Lord Hokage, the heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans have arrived!"
[End of Chapter]