Senju Haruto bent down, picked up a long sword from the ground, and stood up straight, his eyes fixed on the remaining three Root operatives ahead.
Out of the ten-man squad that had ambushed him, seven were already down. The remaining few posed no real threat.
"What? You're not going to keep going?"Haruto said with a sneer.
At that moment, his foot stepped on a loose stone. Without hesitation, he flicked it into the air with a sharp kick.
SWOOSH!
Fueled by a burst of chakra, the pebble shot out like a bullet, a streak of light in the night.It flew straight into one of the Root ninja's left eye.
POP!
The man instantly lost vision on one side. He staggered backward, trying to steady himself, but the stone had carried enough force to rattle his brain.
THUD!
He collapsed, motionless.
Kakashi, still locked in his own battle, froze in place.
Even with his Sharingan, he had barely been able to track that stone.The speed, accuracy, and power behind that kick…They were far beyond jōnin level.
And yet—Kakashi had never even heard of a genius like this from the Ninja Academy.He'd worked in the shadows of the village for years, but someone with this kind of raw talent… should've stood out.
He's not just on Uchiha Itachi's level… he might even surpass him.
Especially considering his fighting style—if no one had taught Haruto how to fight this way, then that made it even more terrifying.
While Kakashi stood there in stunned silence, Haruto moved again—his figure flashing past Kakashi, charging toward the last remaining Root operatives.
The remaining three Root agents had no choice but to give up on fighting Kakashi and turn to face Haruto instead.
But in terms of raw combat power, they were not even close to his level.
Haruto narrowed his eyes slightly.
Before crossing over into this world, he had loved playing table tennis—he'd even made it into his province's team.
His dynamic vision was far sharper than the average person's.
Now, with two enemies flanking him from the left and right, Haruto stayed perfectly calm.He gripped the sword in his hand and swept it outward with a wide arc, forcing the attacker on his right to retreat.
In the same motion, Haruto spun in the opposite direction, releasing the sword, opening his palm, and slamming it forward.
Thanks to his height advantage, his palm strike drove directly into his opponent's abdomen.
BOOM!
The Root agent flew back like a kite with a snapped string, his body crashing across the ground.
Haruto had concentrated chakra in his palm, turning the strike into something far more devastating than a typical blow.
Within a single breath, the force ruptured his internal organs, rendering him dead before he even hit the dirt.
Meanwhile, the Root agent he had only feinted before thought he had found an opening.
"AAAAAHHH!"
He let out a beast-like roar as he lunged forward, both hands gripping his blade tightly.He aimed for Haruto's left kidney, pushing his speed and strength to their absolute limits.
This was it—his chance to kill!
"Look out!"
Kakashi cried out instinctively. Haruto had attacked so aggressively that turning around now would be nearly impossible.
If he couldn't dodge in time, that blade would go straight through his kidney.
Kakashi quickly formed hand seals, preparing to unleash Water Dragon Bullet to stop the enemy—
But then he froze.
Thanks to his Sharingan, Kakashi could see what normal eyes couldn't.Haruto hadn't turned around—but the corner of his mouth was curled upward in a smirk.
He was smiling.
Wait… was this all part of his plan?A feint? A trap?
He'd attacked so ferociously on purpose—to bait the enemy into lunging at the obvious "opening."
Haruto had set a trap from the very beginning.
SHLUNK!
The Root agent's blade stabbed deep into Haruto's left side—aimed precisely at his kidney.
POOF!
A puff of smoke exploded outward.
What should've been Haruto's impaled body… was now a log.
"S-Substitution Jutsu?!"
The Root agent stared in disbelief.
From the beginning, he'd been manipulated.
"He set it up from the start!"Kakashi realized in shock.He made himself look wide open—just to bait the attack!
The skill gap was massive.Even without Kakashi here, these Root agents wouldn't have landed a scratch on Haruto.
From the very beginning, they had no chance.
This was…
Complete domination.
"It's over."
Haruto's voice rang out again.
He had already appeared behind the stunned Root operative, snatching a kunai from the man's own tool pouch.
In one fluid motion, Haruto slashed the blade across the enemy's neck, cutting deep into the artery—then drove a fierce kick into his kidney.
THUD!
The man tumbled forward several times before coming to a stop.Blood gushed from his neck wound, his breathing and heartbeat fading in seconds.
Kakashi's throat tightened.He stood frozen in place, the shock refusing to leave his body.
The reflexes.The precision.The trap.The sheer killing intent…
If he hadn't witnessed it with his own Sharingan, he never would've believed that such a boy could exist.
But he had seen it.Clear as day.
This Senju Haruto… may even surpass my own teacher.The Fourth Hokage… Namikaze Minato.
"Obito… did you see that?"Kakashi swallowed hard, whispering to himself.
Back in the day, he had been called a genius—by his peers, his teacher, even the Third Hokage himself.
At Haruto's age, Kakashi had already become a jōnin, earning great merit during the Third Shinobi World War.
But now, looking at Haruto…
If he had possessed this kind of power back then—
Maybe Obito wouldn't have died.Maybe Rin would still be alive.
"Kakashi."
Haruto clapped the dust off his hands and looked around, confirming the state of the fallen Root operatives.
"No survivors."
He turned to Kakashi.
"You're the Anbu captain. I'm just a student.How do you plan to deal with all… this?"
Kakashi's thoughts snapped back to the present.He glanced around the battlefield, then lowered his forehead protector, covering his left eye.
"I'll report everything to the Third Hokage… and handle the cleanup myself."
"Good," Haruto nodded.
Even though he had just been the target of a Root assassination, Haruto didn't expect much fallout.
The Third Hokage might be angry, but he wouldn't punish Danzō for this.
Truthfully, Haruto had come to believe that Hiruzen Sarutobi's grip on power wasn't as benevolent as it seemed.
Take the Uchiha Massacre, for example.
In every council meeting leading up to it, Sarutobi had acted weak, nodding along with Danzō, Koharu, and Homura.
But after the massacre?
Sarutobi had struck hard, pinning the blame on Danzō, stripping him of his advisory role, and dissolving Root—absorbing the remains into his own Anbu.
It was a masterstroke of political maneuvering.
All the credit went to Sarutobi.All the dirty work fell on Danzō.
Which meant that right now, Sarutobi would likely just turn a blind eye to this incident too.
But just then—A sudden scream rang out from nearby.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"