The Hidden Leaf Village slept beneath a cloudy sky. But under the surface, in its shadowed underbelly, the air was anything but calm. The previous night's failed capture had sent a tremor through Root Headquarters. Three elite operatives defeated—without a scratch on the target. For the first time in years, whispers of fear spread among Danzo's personal forces.
And Danzo himself was furious. He sat silently on his throne-like chair, his single visible eye gleaming cold and sharp like a kunai edge. The veins on his hand bulged as he gripped his cane.
"Storm Release…" He muttered the words slowly, tasting them like poison. "That boy has become more dangerous than the Nine-Tails itself. "
In the shadows before him knelt a group of ten Root operatives. Unlike the first squad, these were killers—handpicked veterans who had survived assassination missions across nations.
Danzo's voice was calm again, but each word carried lethal intent. "The previous squad failed. Their incompetence is inexcusable. Now you will correct their mistake. "
He looked down at them. "Bring me Uzumaki Naruto. If he resists… cripple him. "
One operative raised his head slightly. "Lord Danzo, direct confrontation may attract the Hokage's attention—"
Danzo's cane struck the floor with a sharp crack! "You think I fear Hiruzen's eyes? " he hissed. "He grows old and soft, chained by his sentimentality. He won't act until it's too late. "
His tone softened, but his gaze turned colder still. "Begin at once. Tonight, the storm ends—or it belongs to Root. "
That same night, Naruto was in his apartment, finishing his dinner of instant ramen. The room was dim, lit only by the flicker of a small lamp.
Outside, the village seemed quiet as usual—but his senses were sharper than ever. And tonight, they whispered danger.
He set his chopsticks down slowly. The air pressure had changed. The faint hum of chakra—ten distinct signatures—was closing in from all sides.
He sighed softly. "Danzo really doesn't give up, does he? "
His eyes narrowed, and a faint spark of lightning flickered across his fingertips. "Fine. If he wants a war in the shadows… I'll give him one. "
The first explosion came from the window.
BOOM! A smoke bomb burst through the glass, filling the room with thick white fog.
From within it, multiple kunai whistled toward him from different angles. Naruto moved like a ghost—slipping between the blades, barely disturbing the air.
Lightning chakra flared under his skin as he jumped back out the window, landing lightly on the rooftop.
The instant his feet touched the tiles, five masked figures appeared around him. Root.
They moved in perfect unison—two in front, two behind, one above—a formation designed for total suppression.
Naruto exhaled slowly. "Ten of you? That's flattering. "
The leader gave a short signal, and they attacked.
Steel met air in a storm of movement. Kunai clashed, chakra flared, and lightning crackled.
But Naruto didn't fight like a child. Every motion was deliberate, efficient, lethal.
He ducked beneath a blade, palm striking upward with a flash of wind. The air pressure alone sent his opponent flying.
Another came from behind— Naruto twisted, lightning-charged elbow smashing into the attacker's chest.
Crack! The man convulsed as the shockwave sent him sprawling unconscious.
But even as those two fell, three more attacked simultaneously, unleashing jutsu in perfect coordination.
"Earth Release: Mud Binding Wall! " "Water Release: Serpent Wave! " "Wind Release: Gale Slash! "
The three elements collided midair—a trap to cage him from all sides.
Naruto smiled faintly. "Trying to trap the wind itself? "
He clasped his hands together. The air around him roared—lightning and wind fusing into a vortex that swallowed the incoming jutsu whole.
BOOOOOOM! The explosion ripped through the night sky. Half the rooftop disintegrated, and the shockwave shattered nearby windows.
Naruto landed lightly on the street below, his Storm chakra flickering like ghostly fire around him.
He raised his hand. Thin, glowing threads of blue lightning extended from his fingers—Chakra Threads, enhanced by Storm Release.
They shot out like living serpents, snaring the remaining operatives one by one. Each thread pulsed with blinding energy, short-circuiting their chakra networks in seconds.
The Root ninjas fell, twitching, their movements completely disabled.
Naruto stepped forward slowly, his expression calm and detached. "You people never learn. "
He looked up toward the nearest rooftop. "I know you're watching, Danzo. "
High above, far beyond the reach of normal sight, Danzo's hidden eye lens flickered inside his mask. Through a projection seal, he was watching the entire scene remotely.
When Naruto looked straight into the direction of the seal, Danzo stiffened slightly. The boy couldn't see him—and yet it felt as if those blue eyes had pierced straight through the barrier.
Naruto raised his hand and clenched his fist. The lightning threads binding the operatives flared, forming a glowing symbol in the air—a seal that pulsed with raw Storm energy.
Then—boom! — the symbol detonated, sending a shockwave that erased every trace of chakra in the area. All surveillance was gone.
Danzo's projection went black. He leaned forward slowly, frowning. "So… he noticed even that. "
Back on the ground, Naruto exhaled softly, letting the glow around him fade. He looked down at the unconscious Root operatives at his feet.
He didn't kill them. He could have. But he didn't.
Instead, he turned and began walking away, his expression calm but his eyes cold. "Danzo, " he murmured, "I'm warning you one last time. Send another shadow after me…"
Lightning sparked faintly at his fingertips. ". .. and I'll strike back where it hurts most. "
Moments later, as he vanished into the darkness, ANBU arrived at the scene—too late. All they found were ten defeated Root members and the lingering scent of ozone.
The leader of the squad knelt, examining the ground. "Wind and Lightning traces. He held back, but the precision was… surgical. "
Another whispered, "Should we inform the Hokage? "
The captain nodded grimly. "Yes. Immediately. "
At that exact moment, in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen was already standing by the window, looking out toward the distant flashes of light over the rooftops. He sighed heavily. "So it's begun again. "
His tone was calm, but the weight in it was enough to make the ANBU kneeling behind him shiver. "Danzo's men moved without authorization, " Hiruzen said quietly. "It seems he's finally overstepped his bounds. "
He turned, his eyes filled with an old, weary resolve. "Gather the council. And summon Danzo. "
Far below, walking through the quiet alleys of Konoha, Naruto glanced toward the Hokage Tower. He could feel the commotion already starting there—the shift in chakra, the flurry of movement.
He smiled faintly. "Let them talk, " he murmured. "I'll keep training. Because if they want to test me again…"
Lightning flared once around his hand, the air crackling with restrained power. "…I'll show them what a real storm looks like. "
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