Inside the Mirage Dojo.
The hiss of depressurizing valves echoed again as the lids of the two metal pods slid open.
Sasuke and Naruto practically tumbled out.
Their brains were spinning like washing machines. Severe vertigo hit them hard—a classic symptom of chakra exhaustion and mental overload.
Sasuke sprawled on the floor, gasping for air.
His stomach was churning, threatening to empty itself right there. The phantom pain from the paper bomb blast in the dungeon lingered, making his muscles spasm. It was a stark reminder that in this simulation, trauma felt real enough to rattle your soul.
Naruto was in even worse shape.
He had force-activated the Nine-Tails' chakra inside the dungeon.
The chaotic, corrosive energy had fried his nerves. He lay motionless on the floor, his lips moving silently, stuck in a loop.
"Kill... kill..."
"Hey. Wake up."
Roy sat behind the counter, sipping tea that was still hot.
"Raid's over. You two did good."
Sasuke struggled to push himself up. He could hear the noise outside now.
It sounded like a tsunami of rage—screaming, shouting, and the thud of rocks hitting walls.
"What's happening out there? Did the sky actually fall?" Sasuke asked, confused.
"Not much."
"Just that the entire village saw what you guys went through. Now everyone is pissed off and looking for Danzo to settle the score."
Sasuke paused, then a wave of euphoria hit him. Success.
It really worked.
That old monster's mask was ripped off. His brother wouldn't have to die a traitor.
"Watch out!"
Roy suddenly spoke up.
CRASH.
The shop's glass window shattered inward.
A swarm of figures in black bodysuits and featureless white masks poured in.
Root.
They didn't just use the door. Some crashed through the window, some kicked in the frame, and some smashed through the ceiling tiles.
Quite the entrance. Danzo wasn't taking any chances with this mysterious shopkeeper.
Twenty elite assassins. Overkill much?
These guys didn't leak a drop of killing intent. They moved like silent reapers, perfectly synchronized.
Sasuke recognized the uniforms.
In the dungeon, these were the guys who slaughtered the Uchiha. These were the guys who cornered him and Naruto.
"Root..."
Sasuke tried to weave a sign, but his hands were dead weight. His chakra tank was empty.
He could only watch as the gleaming blades closed in.
The targets were clear.
Three agents rushed Sasuke and Naruto.
The other seventeen went straight for Roy behind the counter.
Danzo's order: Kill everyone. Destroy the tech.
In this cramped shop, a blitz by twenty elite ninja was a checkmate. Even a Jonin would be turned into mincemeat instantly.
"Run..."
Sasuke screamed, trying to throw himself over Naruto to shield him.
Too late.
The blade was less than four inches from Naruto's neck. Naruto was still zoned out.
It's over.
Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut.
But the death blow never landed. The room went strangely quiet.
Sasuke opened one eye and saw something he would never forget.
The sword aiming for Naruto's throat had stopped.
Dead still, three centimeters from skin.
The Root ninja was frozen in a sprinting pose. His muscles were bunched, veins popping on his arm, clearly pushing with all his might. But the sword wouldn't budge. It was like it was stuck in invisible concrete.
It wasn't just him.
Every Root ninja in the shop was frozen.
Seventeen swords were aimed at the counter—at Roy's throat, heart, and wrists. The closest blade was a centimeter from his chest.
But that centimeter was an infinite distance.
Roy was still sitting in his chair, tea cup in hand, looking relaxed and completely in control.
"How rude."
Roy sighed.
He glanced over the masked killers.
"Did you miss the sign at the door?"
"No violence allowed in the shop."
The Root ninjas didn't answer because they literally couldn't move.
An invisible force had locked them down. Not chakra. Not Genjutsu. It felt like a law of physics had just been rewritten.
This was the Mirage Dojo. System Territory.
Here, Roy was God.
"Since you don't know the rules."
Roy set down his tea cup.
"Kneel down and learn them."
The moment the words left his mouth.
A terrifying gravity field slammed down on the assassins.
Sasuke and Naruto felt nothing. But the masked intruders got crushed.
Twenty Root ninjas were smashed downward simultaneously.
Their legs snapped under the pressure. Knees hit the floor with a sickening crunch.
Thud.
Groans of pain filled the air. But the gravity kept increasing.
Their heads were forced down until their foreheads smashed into the floorboards.
Twenty loud bangs. Perfect synchronization.
Blood seeped from under their masks, staining the wood.
The killers who had burst in like demons were now prostrating themselves before Roy like worshippers.
Sasuke's jaw hit the floor.
What kind of jutsu is that?
He said "kneel," and they just... collapsed?
"Is this... is this the boss's power?"
Sasuke stared at the man casually adjusting his cuffs behind the counter.
This guy was ten thousand times scarier than Danzo.
"Useless trash."
A roar came from the doorway.
A figure flickered into existence.
Danzo Shimura.
He saw the scene inside. He saw his elite squad flattened like roadkill.
Danzo's heart skipped a beat, but he couldn't retreat.
The public opinion outside was a nuclear wasteland. If he didn't kill this shopkeeper and destroy the broadcast gear, he was dead meat.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Danzo didn't waste breath on villain speeches.
Several blades of compressed wind slashed toward Roy.
This was Danzo's signature move. It could slice through rock and steel. In this tiny room, there was nowhere to dodge.
Sasuke screamed: "Look out!"
Roy remained seated.
He looked at the incoming wind blades with bored eyes.
He raised his right hand.
Like he was swatting a fly.
Swish.
The wind blades that could cut steel shattered into nothingness mid-air. They turned into a gentle breeze that barely ruffled Roy's shirt.
"What?!"
Danzo gasped.
Slapping away Wind Style with a bare hand? Impossible! Even Hiruzen can't do that!
"You want to kneel too?"
Roy looked at Danzo.
Danzo felt like he was being stared down by an apex predator.
He instinctively tried to backpedal, but it was too late.
Roy reached out and made a grabbing motion in the air.
Danzo felt an invisible hand crush his throat.
The force was immense. He was lifted off his feet, dangling in the air.
"Gack... koff..."
Danzo clawed at his own throat, legs kicking helplessly.
He tried to mold chakra to counterattack.
But to his horror, his chakra was inert. It wouldn't respond.
Inside this shop, ninjutsu was banned. Taijutsu was banned. Only Roy's will mattered.
"How... dare..."
Danzo wheezed out the words.
"I am... the Leaf's... Shadow..."
"I... protect... the village..."
Still trying to pull rank, even while choking.
Roy laughed.
He stood up, walked around the counter, stepping on the backs of the prostrate Root ninjas as if they were stepping stones.
He walked up to the dangling Danzo.
"Protect the village?"
Roy shook his head.
"You're just protecting your power."
"You killed Shisui because you wanted his eyes."
"You're exterminating the Uchiha because you're scared they'll take your seat."
"And you're here to kill me because I exposed you."
SLAP.
A crisp, brutal backhand across Danzo's face.
Danzo was stunned.
He had been a high official for decades. When was the last time someone physically slapped him?
"That one was for Shisui."
SLAP. Another one.
Danzo spat out teeth and blood.
"That one was for Itachi."
SLAP.
Danzo's face was swelling up like a balloon.
"And that one was for all the innocent people you buried."
Roy stopped.
"You want to kill me?"
"You want to shut down my shop?"
Roy turned and walked back to the counter.
He picked up his tea cup and poured the dregs onto the floor.
"The customer is God."
Roy smiled at the dangling old man.
"But you're here to cause trouble."
"So..."
"You're garbage."
The invisible hand released. The gravity field slammed down.
Danzo crashed right at Sasuke's feet.
Face first. Just like his minions. Flattened and pinned.
Sasuke looked down at his nemesis.
The mighty Danzo Shimura, who controlled life and death in the dungeon, was now face-down in the dirt.
Sasuke gripped his kunai.
Kill him...
"Don't dirty the floor."
Roy's voice floated over.
"Killing trash like that isn't your job."
"Listen."
Roy pointed to the door.
" The garbage collectors are here."
Thundering footsteps approached from all directions.
Hundreds, thousands of them.
It was the enraged Uchiha clan. It was the awakened villagers of Konoha.
Real judgment had arrived.