But since they had already come for him, Shiki was not the kind of person who got targeted and then didn't dare fight back.
"You—!"
The other four ROOT ninjas stared at Shiki in shock, clearly not expecting him to actually attack them.
"Go together!"
"Eliminate him!"
"For Danzo-sama!"
These people—completely brainwashed by Danzo—did not even understand what fear was.
Instead of retreating after seeing their captain die instantly, they actually wanted to kill Shiki here.
"Hah."
Against opponents who weren't afraid of death, there was nothing to discuss.
"Lion Might — Chikiri Valley!"
Both of Shiki's blades swept outward—
and countless golden sword auras erupted like a storm, flying in dense waves across the forest.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
In an instant, the entire forest was swallowed up by golden slashes.
Trees fell one after another, collapsing in wide arcs.
Even if Shiki's swordsmanship was only at the "Swordmaster" level at the moment,
these ROOT members were nowhere near strong enough to withstand it.
When he finally stopped moving—
everything within tens of meters around him had been cut down.
As for the remaining ROOT ninjas…
"Quite miserable" was an understatement.
Shiki casually sheathed his blades—
When suddenly, a sharp voice echoed through the forest.
"Ninja Art — Spirit Transformation Technique!"
"Huh?"
A soul-like form shot out at extreme speed toward Shiki.
Everything along its path was passed through effortlessly...without any obstruction.
"Left flank."
Shiki's lion-like golden eyes narrowed slightly.
His Conqueror's Haki burst forth again.
"BOOM!"
The ghostly spirit was slammed backward instantly.
Physical attacks couldn't harm the soul.
But pure, overwhelming Conqueror's Haki—
could.
"—!!"
"Guaah!!"
Hidden somewhere in the shadows, the caster convulsed violently, coughing blood.
"How… how is this possible?!"
His Spirit Transformation Technique had always been invincible unless the opponent's strength far exceeded his own.
This was the first time Kato Dan had been forced back and wounded from backlash.
Recoil from the Spirit Technique acted directly on the soul—
Kato felt like his skull was about to explode.
Shiki's voice came calmly:
"I always wondered—how a small-time, low-ranking ninja dared to publicly chase after Senju Tsunade. Turns out you had a patron."
Ignoring Kato's resentful stare, Shiki continued walking forward.
His Observation Haki could detect ROOT assassins—naturally, it also detected Kato Dan hiding nearby.
Obviously, Kato Dan was also one of Danzo's subordinates.
And thinking about it...without Shimura Danzo supporting him behind the scenes,
Kato Dan would never have dared pursue Tsunade so brazenly despite their massive identity gap.
"It's all you!"
"It's all because of you!"
The backlash of the Spirit Transformation Technique made Kato Dan's soul feel like it was collapsing.
Even so, he still glared at Shiki — not with righteous anger, but with the desperate, cornered eyes of someone who no longer had any choices.
Inside, however, his thoughts were nothing like the venom coming out of his mouth.
(It wasn't supposed to be like this… I never wanted to do this. I never even dared to think about it…)
(Danzo forced the Tongue Binding Curse on me… said if I didn't obey, my sister… my mother… all of them would "disappear" inside some mission report.)
(I wanted to refuse. I wanted to run. But once that curse was planted, I couldn't even speak the truth anymore…)
His mouth twisted with hate, but the hate wasn't for Shiki.
It was for the man who controlled his tongue, his fate, his life.
"So that's the sorrow of the weak."
Shiki gave a faint smile at Kato Dan's resentful outburst.
The ground beneath Kato began to shift—
as if it were alive—
and rock streams rose up to wrap around him.
"What… what is this?!"
Normally, with Kato Dan's strength,
he would have easily escaped such a restraint.
But now...with his soul damaged by backlash—
he couldn't resist at all.
"This is the power you'll spend your whole life looking up to."
"You—!"
(I don't want to die… but I don't want them to die either… damn it… damn it… why am I this weak…?)
He glared at Shiki, but his eyes weren't hateful anymore.
They were exhausted.
Hopeless.
Under Shiki's control,
the stone tightened rapidly—
like Gaara's sand coffin.
The resentful scream was cut off abruptly.
The forest fell silent again.
After collecting all the bodies into a storage scroll, Shiki turned and began walking back toward Konoha's center.
Meanwhile — Hokage Office
"You came here today… just to tell me these trivial things?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his desk, staring speechlessly at Danzo.
When he saw Danzo take the initiative to visit,
Hiruzen had assumed it was something important.
But after listening all this time—
everything Danzo mentioned was meaningless.
Hiruzen couldn't help feeling irritated.
"Are you hiding something from me?"
Sarutobi's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Danzo closely.
The situation felt too strange.
Hiruzen could sense Danzo was concealing something from him.
Danzo, however, answered calmly:
"Hmph. For Konoha's sake, even small matters cannot be ignored."
"…Right."
Hiruzen didn't believe a single word.
Such righteous-sounding lines coming from Danzo's mouth felt absurd.
But Danzo ignored Hiruzen's reaction completely.
In his mind, he was already calculating the timing.
By now, Shiki should have been brought back to ROOT.
That's right—
Danzo wasn't here for a real report.
He only came to waste Hiruzen's time.
Because Danzo wasn't stupid.
He knew very well Hiruzen had no intention of handing Shiki over.
So if Sarutobi wouldn't give him the boy…
Danzo would take him by force.
After planting the Tongue Binding Curse,
even if Shiki wanted to speak out, he wouldn't be able to.
"If you have nothing else, leave.
I still have many documents to review."
Sarutobi had no patience left to play word games with Danzo.
He waved his hand dismissively.
In truth, he was already planning—
as soon as Danzo left—
to send ANBU to check if something unusual had happened in the village.
"Hmm."
Danzo, feeling the timing was just right, nodded.
"I'll head back fir—"
Before he could finish, someone knocked on the office door.
"Enter."
Hiruzen cleared his throat, fixed his robes,
and immediately put on the posture of a majestic Hokage.
"Boom."
Danzo had seen this act far too many times.
Every time Hiruzen pretended to look dignified…
Danzo felt nothing but contempt.
What are you pretending for, you old fool?
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