ANBU A: "You bastards have been posting flyers the entire night?!"
ANBU B: "Wait… don't those two look familiar?"
ANBU C: "Forget that! Arrest them first!!!"
The ANBU glared furiously at Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fū, while the two former Root shinobi slowly turned their heads toward the nearby streets and buildings where they had painstakingly pasted posters all night.
Then they looked at the shredded flyer fragments in the ANBU's hands.
Their entire night of hard work…
Gone!!!
Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fū's eyes instantly burned with fury.
Normally, the two were extremely calm and emotionless due to Root's brainwashing.
But unfortunately…
After being struck by Chika's Kotoamatsukami, they had inherited traces of Chinatsu's personality.
Very reasonable.
Very scientific.
Very normal.
At this moment, the two simultaneously reached the same conclusion:
Life and death meant nothing.
But ruining all-night overtime work?
Unforgivable!!!
The moment their eyes met, both sides immediately skipped the usual verbal confrontation and charged directly at each other with kunai in hand beneath the early morning sunlight.
Of course, Torune did not release his microscopic venomous insects.
After all, the nano-sized poison insects inside his body were terrifying enough to instantly kill ordinary shinobi upon contact by invading through the skin and destroying cells from within.
Likewise, the ANBU did not use lethal force either.
Even though their opponents were now technically dangerous rogue ninjas who had tormented them throughout the night, directly killing former Root members inside Konoha was still an extremely troublesome matter.
Thus both sides tacitly restrained themselves.
No forbidden techniques.
No killing moves.
Only ordinary taijutsu, kunai combat, and common shinobi techniques.
After fighting for a while, however…
The battle gradually transformed.
The "ninjas" slowly disappeared.
In their place remained a group of "Hollywood action stars" wildly exchanging fists and kicks in the streets.
Punches.
Elbows.
Flying kicks.
Shoulder throws.
At one point an ANBU member even grabbed Torune in a headlock.
It was extraordinarily un-ninja-like.
Just as the increasingly chaotic melee was about to attract the attention of Konoha's awakening civilians
A figure suddenly flashed across the battlefield.
Swish!!!
In an instant, everyone present was simultaneously subdued.
Was it Chinatsu?
No.
It was none other than Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Stop fighting!"
Hiruzen frowned sternly.
"If you continue causing trouble here, the villagers will notice."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The ANBU members immediately released Yamanaka Fū and knelt respectfully.
Yamanaka Fū staggered backward slightly before Torune supported him from the side.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes while looking at the two men before him.
He instantly recognized them.
Danzo's subordinates.
Root elites.
But this only made him even more confused.
Why were Danzo's loyal followers secretly spreading information that Chinatsu had killed Danzo?
After all, aside from them, practically nobody in Konoha would care enough about Danzo's death to seek revenge.
Then…
A sudden realization struck Hiruzen.
Social death.
They wanted to destroy Chinatsu's public image within Konoha.
As expected of Danzo's people.
Sometimes destroying someone socially was far more terrifying than directly threatening their life.
However, this was not what Hiruzen feared most.
What truly worried him was another possibility.
What if Chika woke up tomorrow to discover she had suddenly become a missing-nin…
And then mistakenly believed he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had orchestrated everything behind the scenes?
Then all the goodwill painstakingly built between them would instantly collapse.
And worse
If Chinatsu's attitude toward Konoha changed because of this…
The consequences would be disastrous.
A shinobi powerful enough to rival a Jinchūriki becoming hostile toward Konoha was not something Hiruzen wanted to imagine.
"I'm telling you this now," Hiruzen said righteously while pointing toward Torune and Fū.
"As long as I remain Hokage, I will never allow anyone to use Chika as a political pawn!"
"She may not completely belong to Konoha…"
"But I absolutely won't allow you to ruin her reputation through these despicable methods!"
The surrounding ANBU members almost applauded emotionally upon hearing this speech.
As expected of the Third Hokage!
Such righteousness!
Such compassion!
Unfortunately…
Torune and Fū remained utterly expressionless.
Completely unmoved.
Hiruzen's brows twitched slightly.
As expected of Danzo's subordinates.
Their loyalty was terrifying.
As the sun gradually rose higher, Hiruzen realized there was no more time to waste.
He immediately prepared to rush off and organize further cleanup efforts
But at that moment, Aburame Torune suddenly raised his hand.
"Wait."
This single word carried almost mystical power.
No matter the era.
No matter the world.
No matter the situation.
Once someone said "wait," the other party would instinctively stop and listen.
It was practically a spacetime law.
Hiruzen stiffened slightly before narrowing his eyes toward Torune.
"What is it?"
"Are you trying to stall for time?"
"No."
Torune calmly adjusted his glasses.
"I just think… Hokage-sama may have misunderstood something."
Three hours later.
Inside the Hokage Office.
BANG!!!
A palm slammed heavily against the desk.
Hiruzen Sarutobi jolted violently in his chair before swallowing nervously while looking at the furious girl standing before him.
That girl was naturally Chinatsu herself.
"I even packed my luggage already…"
"And you people tore down every single flyer and poster?!"
"Do you know how much effort I put into this operation last night?!"
Although Hiruzen had absolutely no idea what "effort" Chika had personally contributed…
He could clearly feel the terrifying resentment radiating from her body.
Hiruzen internally screamed:
How was I supposed to know those two were your people?!
Naturally, he only dared think that internally.
On the surface, Hiruzen immediately revealed a kind, grandfatherly smile full of warmth and benevolence.
"…."
"…."
Chika's mouth twitched slightly before she raised a hand to cover her face helplessly.
"I'm seriously exhausted dealing with you, old man."
"But becoming a missing-nin is necessary for what I'm about to do."
"So whatever."
"In any case, I'll probably 'clear my name' eventually."
Chika spoke calmly.
Although she did not particularly want the title of rogue ninja, she still needed it in order to infiltrate Akatsuki naturally.
Compared to her future plans…
A little social death was nothing.
Hiruzen pursed his lips slightly.
He clearly wanted to say something.
But after remaining silent for nearly half a minute, he finally sighed deeply.
"In the eyes of the other great villages…"
"You are now Konoha's ultimate deterrent."
"After the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and the decline of the Legendary Sannin, your existence is what prevents the other villages from easily targeting Konoha."
Hiruzen's expression became extremely serious.
"If someone comparable to a Jinchūriki suddenly defects from the village as an S-rank rogue ninja…"
"Then Konoha will once again face suspicion, hostility, isolation… and possibly even war from the other great nations."
"These things are entirely foreseeable."
This was still the same Hiruzen Sarutobi.
No matter what happened
The village always came first.
He did not want Chinatsu to become Konoha's enemy.
And even less did he want her to become a missing-nin feared throughout the shinobi world.
That was precisely why he reacted so violently after seeing those posters describing Chinatsu killing Danzo and defecting from Konoha.
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