Ten figures stood among the ranks of Root — the strongest operatives the shadowy organization possessed. Under Danzō's command, these "Root Ten" were feared as the ultimate executioners of Konoha's darkness.
Among them, three elite shinobi were personally organized by Yuugen: Aburame Take the Root, Aburame Ryoma (not the mc), and Yamanaka Kaze. Together, they commanded ten assassination squads. Rumor had it that if all ten worked in unison, they could erase a small village in a single night.
If Root was the darkness of Konoha, then the Root Ten were the sharpest fangs hidden within that darkness.
On Danzō's orders, they were already in motion — each member taking their designated position.
Around the Uzumaki residence, Root's surveillance was everywhere.
At the small courtyard gate, a wooden doll of a boy sat poking ants with a twig. On closer inspection, the twig's tip was sprouting tiny green shoots — a subtle sign of Wood Release.
Inside the courtyard, Ryoma lay on his bed, gazing at his personal attribute panel.
[Name]: Ryoma
[Strength]: Standard Jōnin
[Position]: Konoha Shinobi
[Character Card]: SSS-rank – Hashirama Senju (Fusion Rate: 5.79%)
[Kekkei Genkai]: God-tier Mokuton (from Character Card)
[Ninjutsu]: Flying Thunder God Technique Lv3, Edo Tensei Lv3, Lightning Style: Chidori Lv1
"Hashirama's character card is insane… Just 5% fusion and I'm already at elite Jōnin level."
It was only natural to think so. After all, Hashirama Senju was the "God of Shinobi" — a powerhouse equal to Uchiha Madara himself.
When Madara was at his peak, he fought and defeated five Kage at once. That meant even 20% of such power surpassed the average Kage-level shinobi.
So with just 5% of Hashirama's power, being comparable to a standard Jōnin was already conservative.
Even better — Ryoma had inherited all of Hashirama's ninjutsu and battle experience, flawlessly copied into his mind.
The system's evaluation of him as merely "Standard Jōnin" was based purely on chakra reserves and technical skill rankings. In reality, Ryoma felt even an elite Jōnin wouldn't stand a chance against him.
"Originally, I thought it would take a full year to go from 5% to 100% fusion… Now, at this speed, it'll be done in just 18 days? Not bad at all."
Just then, a knock echoed at the door.
"Ryoma!"
It was Kushina Uzumaki.
When she stepped inside, she was wearing a light blue dress, her crimson hair falling over her shoulders, and her fair skin almost glowing.
"Are you doing okay? It's still early. How about we go visit Minato? He was injured that night."
"How bad is it? Am I going to have to pay hospital bills?" Ryoma asked with a smirk.
Kushina blinked, then laughed. "It wasn't really your fault… well, maybe a little after you hit him. But I heard the Raikage came to rescue a hidden Yunyin spy and tried to capture them along with Minato."
"There's a situation like that?"
"Yeah! Luckily, Lord Orochimaru arrived just in time and saved them. I heard he was injured too, but he didn't look too bad this morning."
Only now did Ryoma realize Orochimaru had been wounded last night. That explained his weakened aura earlier.
Even so, Orochimaru's strength clearly hadn't diminished. And by the time the Sannin recovered, Ryoma's own fusion rate would be far higher. In just a week, he could reach over 30% — enough to deal with Orochimaru if necessary.
"Ryoma, let's go visit Minato-senpai and Sakumo. After all, they came to help save me."
The familiar system chime rang in Ryoma's ears.
[Ding! Please choose an option:]
Option 1: Gladly go to the hospital and visit Minato — gain Minato's friendship.
Reward: C-rank Ninjutsu – Raining Needle Senbon.
Option 2: Refuse Kushina outright and send her away.
Reward: -10 Kushina Affection, B-rank Summoning Jutsu – Earth Release: Fang Pursuit Technique.
Option 3: Put it off until another day — today, Ryoma will stay home and be a salted fish.
Reward: ×10 fusion speed for Hashirama's Character Card, B-rank Taijutsu – Leaf Whirlwind: Lotus Chain.
It seemed the system really wanted him to keep living like a salted fish.
Ryoma glanced lazily at Kushina, then lay back down.
"I'm feeling sleepy today. We can go another day. Minato won't be leaving the hospital anytime soon."
Kushina instantly put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "Ryoma, why are you so lazy?!"
"Ugh… I'm sleepy!"
With a frustrated stomp of her foot, Kushina stormed out.
Outside, Uzumaki Mito overheard Kushina grumbling about Ryoma sleeping again and shook her head. In all her years, she had never met anyone quite this lazy.
Then, as if a thought struck her, Mito asked, "Kushina, do you think Ryoma might be feeling unwell after awakening his Kekkei Genkai?"
Kushina's irritation faded, replaced by concern. "Grandma Mito… then what should I do?"
Mito pondered for a moment. "We'll have Shizune take a look. She just returned recently."
With Tsunade away from Konoha, her trusted disciple Shizune was the one Mito relied on most.
Inside the room.
Ryoma lay in bed, enjoying his so-called salted fish life. Even while sleeping, his skills would level up — though he had to admit, being a salted fish all day was getting a little dull.
Suddenly — knock, knock!
"Who is it?"
He opened the door to find the elderly Uzumaki Mito, Kushina… and a small girl standing beside them.
"This is…"
"Ryoma," Mito said kindly, "you seemed unwell, so I brought someone to check on you. This is Shizune, Tsunade-hime's disciple."
Shizune? Tsunade's disciple?
This little loli? She's adorable!
Ryoma's impression of her improved instantly.
Shizune gave a polite nod, her gaze curious as she looked at him.
She often traveled outside the village, only returning to Konoha every few months to gather information and deliver funds for her master.
This time, upon returning, she had heard the rumors — that a Kumogakure spy had kidnapped Kushina, that the Raikage and the Eight-Tails had crossed into the Land of Fire, and that Ryoma was somehow involved.
So, when she learned Ryoma might be injured or unwell, she didn't hesitate to come.
The first thing she said upon seeing him was—
"Ryoma-kun, take off your shirt. I need to examine you."