Uchiha Douhuan raised his blade and blocked the attack, then glanced at the kunai in Aburame Ryōma's hand and chuckled.
"A specially-made glass kunai, huh?
Too bad—completely useless."
The next instant, the shuriken suspended around Douhuan shot toward the now-revealed Aburame Ryōma like a swarm of arrows.
Ryōma hurriedly escaped with an insect substitution, but the moment he landed, Douhuan's next slash was already upon him.
Covered in crackling lightning, Douhuan moved with impossible speed.
Every swing was lethal.
Ryōma was overwhelmed—
As an insect user, close-quarters combat was not his strength.
He could only rely on repeated insect substitutions to narrowly escape Douhuan's blade.
But each substitution meant sacrificing an entire batch of insects—
all instantly fried the moment they came into contact with Douhuan's lightning.
Within minutes, Ryōma had narrowly escaped death several times.
Just as Douhuan prepared to finish him off, the world suddenly went dark before his eyes.
"Using that trick on a Uchiha with a Mangekyō Sharingan?
You must have a death wish."
Inside the mental world, Douhuan's Mangekyō flashed.
Yamanaka Kaze, who had attempted to sneak-attack him with Mind Transfer Jutsu, coughed up blood and collapsed instantly.
"Go grab that one—alive," Douhuan said casually to Inoka and Zaidō, even as he forced Ryōma into yet another insect substitution with a single slash.
"Little rat who plays with bugs…
Since I've already captured someone more valuable, this ends here."
Smiling, Douhuan drove his blade into Ryōma's back.
Lightning burst violently—
And within seconds, only a charred corpse remained on the ground.
Not far away, Inoka and Zaidō easily captured Yamanaka Kaze, who had lost all strength under the backlash of his clan's secret technique.
"Zaidō, take this one back to the clan interrogation room. Make sure he stays alive.
Inoka, go report to the Hokage. Tell them we faced violent resistance from the remaining Root operatives during our investigation, and we had no choice but to take emergency measures.
All the criminals have been eliminated."
After giving his orders, the two nodded and quickly departed in different directions.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Douhuan headed alone toward Root's underground base.
—
Upon entering the base, the remaining Root members charged at him fearlessly, trying to kill him in desperation.
But every time, Douhuan only needed one strike.
He cut his way from the entrance to the very heart of the base,
and in just ten minutes, dozens of corpses lay scattered behind him.
Inside Danzō's office, Douhuan saw—at a glance—the floor covered in ash.
It seemed all of Danzō's secrets had already been burned.
Seeing this, Douhuan smiled faintly.
He opened a sealing scroll and pulled out a stack of documents.
"Root's efficiency isn't bad at all.
I thought I'd have to help them clean up myself."
He tossed the documents into the air.
A Fire Release: Great Fireball jutsu engulfed them instantly.
Only after about half of the papers had burned did Douhuan form another series of hand seals.
Water Release: Water Colliding Wave.
Mist rose from around him, condensing into droplets that fell onto the burning documents.
Wisps of smoke curled upward as the flames were extinguished.
Douhuan then calmly picked up the half-burned documents one by one.
—
A long while later, Uchiha Inoka returned with ANBU sent by the Third Hokage.
They had finally arrived.
The leader wore an ANBU mask,
but the silver-white hair made the man's identity obvious.
The famous Technician of the Leaf—
Hatake Kakashi.
Kakashi stepped into the Root base and frowned at the corpses littering the ground.
Not out of pity—
But because, at the end of the day, these Root operatives were still villagers of Konoha.
With Danzō dead, some might have had a chance to change.
But now they were all dead by Douhuan's hand.
"Kakashi-senpai, so it's you."
Douhuan greeted him with a smile.
He wasn't surprised the Third Hokage didn't come himself.
Under the threat of Kotoamatsukami, Hiruzen Sarutobi probably didn't dare face Douhuan directly.
Behind the mask, Kakashi remained silent.
Douhuan didn't mind.
He continued on his own.
"When I arrived, these Root remnants were destroying the evidence left behind by Shimura Danzō.
Fortunately, I arrived in time and preserved a portion."
He stepped closer to Kakashi, lowering his voice.
"I found something… special among those documents.
Something you might be interested in."
He pulled out a half-burned page and held it before Kakashi.
The names at the top made Kakashi's pupils shrink.
Hatake Sakumo.
Kishida Keisuke.
Arima Kiiya.
And one name burned almost entirely away—only the surname Higashiyama remained.
But Kakashi completed it instantly in his head:
Higashiyama Ryōta.
These were the participants of the mission that destroyed his father's life.
And beside those names, the words "Silenced" were marked clearly.
Kakashi's heart pounded violently.
Well then, since you're here, help clean up these bodies.
Douhuan stored the paper away and patted Kakashi on the shoulder.
What a pity, he sighed.
They were all Konoha ninja, but Danzō brainwashed them like this.
I didn't want to kill them.
With that, Douhuan walked toward the exit and beckoned Inoka to follow.
Wait!
Kakashi called out just as Douhuan reached the doorway.
What is it, Kakashi-senpai?
Douhuan turned back, smiling warmly.
I still need to sort the remaining evidence and interrogate the captured Root operative.
N… nothing.
Behind the mask, Kakashi struggled but suppressed the urge to question him further.
"Then I'll take my leave.
Give my regards to the Hokage.
Douhuan turned away again—
But after a few steps, he recalled something and looked back.
Oh, right, Kakashi-senpai—
You should visit the clan sometime.
Grandma Miori hasn't been well lately.
She's been talking about you.