Chapter 32: The Defection
The next mission is to eliminate Chōjūrō from Kirigakure, so I'll have to leave the village anyway...
"Your eyes are very sharp..." Danzo's wrinkled face trembled as he looked at Ryouma. "But sharpness is not always a virtue... However, I will help you become more... composed."
"Go to hell!" The moment Ryouma heard Danzo's words, he nearly spat in disgust, cursing aloud.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback by Ryouma's outburst but said nothing, instead watching with a faint, inscrutable smile.
"Boy," Danzo's voice dripped with menace, "now that you're a Chūnin, do you truly believe you know no bounds?" No one had ever dared speak to him like that. After a moment of stunned silence, his expression darkened completely. "A period of training in Root will wash away this impetuousness of yours."
Danzo had investigated Ryouma's background thoroughly. He knew about the seal-less teleportation and the self-created A-Rank ninjutsu. For a talent like this, even though Ryouma had insulted him, Danzo merely frowned. He believed that once Ryouma was within Root, he could be controlled and utilized.
Seeing how much abuse Danzo could swallow, Ryouma inwardly marveled at the man's unparalleled thickness of skin.
"In that case... Ultimate Swordsmanship: Meteor!" Ryouma's voice was low but clear. The Cross-Cutting Blade - Flash flew from its sheath on his back into his waiting hand.
The moment the sword touched his palm, it seemed to ignite, emitting a dazzling, brilliant light.
Swish!
With overwhelming force, the blade descended upon Danzo!
He had struck without another word!
"Hmph!" Danzo snorted coldly. Though the sword was swift, he was a Hokage Candidate, a Kage-level shinobi in his own right. He showed no fear, drawing his own sword to meet the attack!
Screech... Clang~!
The blades met. Danzo felt an irresistible, tremendous force erupt from Ryouma's silver sword. The next instant, his own sword shattered!
Swish! ! !
Danzo stared at the sixteen-year-old boy before him, disbelief warring with a single, burning question in his eyes: "How is he this strong?!"
Ryouma's blade cleaved straight through Danzo, splitting him in two. Then, the body abruptly vanished.
Izanagi... The forbidden jutsu that rewrites reality by sacrificing a Sharingan...
"Ryouma, you—!" Hiruzen Sarutobi stared, unable to believe that Ryouma would attack so directly, and with such power that he had seemingly killed Danzo outright. Even if Danzo was caught off-guard, it was a testament to Ryouma's fearsome strength.
"Lord Hokage," Ryouma said, his voice firm, "thank you for your care over the years. But... freedom is paramount to me. I'm sorry. I am defecting."
With that, a silvery light flickered in his eyes, and he vanished from the Hokage's office.
"Huh? The Body Flicker? A defection?" Hiruzen's mind reeled, struggling to keep up with the whirlwind of events. He defects just because he's asked to join Root?
"Sarutobi! What are you thinking about?! Where is Ryouma? Did he escape?! Send someone after him, now!" Danzo stormed back into the room, his face a mask of fury. The Sharingan he had plundered from the Uchiha clan were finite. To have one wasted, his life taken by a mere boy's ambush, filled him with incandescent rage.
"Why would Ryouma do this? Simply because you wanted him in Root?" Hiruzen pondered aloud, then fixed his gaze on Danzo. "And you... don't you think you owe me an explanation? How did you reappear completely unharmed after Ryouma struck you down?"
"We'll discuss that later! Send out search parties! Find Ryouma and eliminate him!" Danzo slammed his hand on Hiruzen's desk, making the documents rattle.
"You are being excessively rude!" Hiruzen's brow furrowed deeply. "Ryouma possesses a teleportation jutsu. He's likely already beyond Konoha's borders by now."
"So we just let this go?!" Danzo was infuriated by Hiruzen's calm demeanor. "That boy's growth rate is monstrous! If we don't eliminate him now, he could become a catastrophic threat to Konoha in the future!"
"And if it weren't for you, would Ryouma have defected?!" Hiruzen retorted, his own anger rising.
"Hmph! That boy Ryouma was never truly loyal to Konoha! I suspect he already had intentions to defect!"
"What do you propose, then?" Hiruzen's frown deepened into a scowl. He was deeply dissatisfied with Danzo but felt powerless to act against him.
"Send ANBU to hunt him down. Or let my Root handle it. Regardless, that cancer must be excised! Issue a bounty! Make him a wanted man!" The memory of Ryouma's insult, forcing him to use Izanagi, to lose a precious Sharingan and suffer such humiliation—it was unforgivable. A mere boy, freshly promoted to Chūnin, had 'killed' him. If Ryouma wasn't eliminated, the hatred festering in Danzo's heart would never be quelled.
"Linsetsu." Hiruzen called out. An ANBU operative materialized in the office.
"Lord Hokage."
"Issue a bounty notice. Konoha shinobi, defected. Bounty..." Hiruzen paused, considering.
"Bounty of 5 million ryō! Designate him as an S-Class Rogue Ninja!" Danzo's voice was hoarse and icy.
"Go." Hiruzen waved a hand, his brow furrowed. He acquiesced.
"You may leave as well." Hiruzen looked at Danzo, his dissatisfaction with the man growing, but for the sake of the village's stability, he endured it.
Danzo shot a final glance at Hiruzen, sneered as he looked out the window, and strode out.
Once alone, Hiruzen slumped back into his chair, seeming to age several years in moments.
Danzo is old... I am old too... Fighting? Strife? A genius? Hah... It's all for the village...
Deep within the mountain forests, a young man leaped swiftly through the trees as if traversing flat ground. The sun shone upon him, glinting off the forehead protector on his head—a protector that also marked his new status as a shinobi who had betrayed his home.
Though his movements were swift and agile, a complex expression was etched on the young man's face.
"It felt good to defect in the moment... but now I'm broke. What am I supposed to do?" The young man was, of course, Ryouma. The initial thrill of rebellion had faded, replaced by the cold reality of his situation and a touch of immature regret. Since arriving in this world, it seemed he had become far more impulsive.
Is strength really everything?
Tch. I should have just pretended to agree and swindled some money out of them first! Miscalculation!