They Promised to Take Good Care of You

Kabuto Yakushi was somewhat confused.

After all, he had never seen a Root ninja this arrogant.

Akihara Kagura was truly a little surprising. He had just been talking about how he had no choice but to obey the will of Root, so why did his actions make it seem as though he did not care about the will of Root at all?

On one hand, he said he had been forced to forget his name within the Root Organization...

On the other hand, because a Root ninja had called him by his codename instead of his name, he had straightforwardly attacked his colleague...

"Lord Kagura..."

Kabuto Yakushi hesitated before addressing him respectfully, then carefully asked, "Is your life in Root... going well?"

"It's all right."

Akihara Kagura felt that he was doing fairly well.

Akihara Kagura had spent nearly half a month at Root's base and had barely made any mistakes. He also got along rather well with his colleagues.

Even if Akihara Kagura made a small mistake, most Root ninjas were hardly qualified to tattle before Shimura Danzō. Or rather, tattling to Shimura Danzō was useless; Danzo would not reprimand Akihara over such trivial matters.

After all...

Whenever Akihara Kagura opened his mouth, it was all for Lord Danzō.

Of course.

Akihara Kagura was doing fairly well.

The other members were not doing so well.

A few days ago, a Root ninja had finally lodged a complaint, claiming that Akihara Kagura refused to obey orders relayed by them, behaved extremely arrogantly when receiving orders, and had even questioned whether Root members were passing along fake orders...

As a result...

Akihara Kagura had become even more arrogant.

"What if you're passing along orders while borrowing Lord Danzō's name?"

"I will only listen to Lord Danzō. I must see Lord Danzō with my own eyes and hear the order from Lord Danzō's own mouth."

"..."

Shimura Danzō had indeed felt somewhat uncomfortable about it.

However, Root members generally did not lie to Shimura Danzō, so they truthfully conveyed Akihara Kagura's attitude—that he only wanted to be wholeheartedly loyal to Shimura Danzō...

Loyalty spoken of by others was clearly more credible than loyalty declared by oneself, so Shimura Danzō felt that it was not actually that bad.

Akihara Kagura was merely a somewhat stubborn child. His demands were not high; he only hoped that Shimura Danzō would personally issue orders to him...

But...

If this child only listened to him...

Would that not also prevent this exceptionally gifted Wood Release youngster from being deceived into betraying him, allowing him to become a blade that belonged only to him?

Therefore...

Shimura Danzō gradually acquiesced to all of it.

Who would refuse someone who only wished to be loyal to them?

"Let's go."

"We're going to see Lord Danzō."

Akihara Kagura looked at the Root ninja hanging from the ropes. "If I find out you were lying, I'll execute you immediately!"

"How could I dare forge Lord Danzō's orders..."

The Root ninja was somewhat humiliated and somewhat angry. "Never doubt the will of Root, and never doubt our loyalty to Lord Danzō. Kid, you aren't the only one who is wholeheartedly loyal to Lord Danzō..."

"I know, but I still don't believe you."

Akihara Kagura cut him off and said indifferently, "You're nothing but a bunch of people who only know how to make Lord Danzō worry, always reporting those petty little conflicts between us to Lord Danzō..."

"You!"

The Root ninja immediately felt as though he were about to explode with anger!

All this time, the Root ninjas had believed they had been very tolerant of this kid, yet this kid kept needling their already-frayed nerves...

"..."

Kabuto Yakushi watched from the side, dumbfounded.

This youngster had seemed to be an orphan forced into joining the Root Organization, just like him. So why did it feel as though he could treat his colleagues so arrogantly in Root?

However...

Kabuto Yakushi soon discovered that he was still too young.

Root's base.

When Akihara Kagura returned with Kabuto Yakushi, the two guards stationed at the entrance coldly turned their faces away, apparently unwilling to acknowledge Akihara Kagura.

"Do you know him?"

Akihara Kagura stopped at the entrance and pointed at Kabuto Yakushi beside him.

"..."

The two guards still did not want to acknowledge him.

"..."

Akihara Kagura did not care about their attitude and continued indifferently, "Let everyone know. From now on, no one is allowed to bully him."

"...Understood."

The two guards still answered in muffled voices.

"Uh."

Kabuto Yakushi was somewhat at a loss. He quietly said, "It's not really as though anyone has bullied me. I've always been away carrying out missions..."

"You don't understand."

Akihara Kagura wore an expression that said he understood perfectly as he slandered his colleagues. "These people only think about suppressing and bullying their comrades. If you resist them, they'll tattle on you to Lord Danzō. They're all utter scoundrels."

"..."

The two guards could not help wanting to curse.

What nonsense was this kid spouting? He had it backward, hadn't he?

Who had been bullying whom all this time? How many people in the entire Root Organization had not been deliberately bullied by this kid?

"It looks like they don't dare bully you..."

Kabuto Yakushi looked at the two guards trembling with rage from Akihara Kagura's words and curiously asked, "How did you make them afraid to bully you?"

"It's simple."

Akihara Kagura looked at the two guards, a smug expression appearing on his face. "As long as you bully them first, they won't dare bully you."

"..."

What kind of damned method was that?!

Kabuto Yakushi felt that his entire world had gone wrong!

Yet Akihara Kagura's method actually seemed to have some effect. Every Root ninja they passed instinctively avoided them.

"Do you know Kabuto?"

Akihara Kagura even took the initiative to provoke them. Before the Root ninjas, he acted as though Kabuto Yakushi belonged to him. "Come take a look. Remember him well. From now on, none of you are allowed to bully him."

Akihara Kagura even grabbed a Root ninja who did not want to look at them. "Did you leave your ears back in the dormitory? Can't you hear me? Take off your mask!"

"Kid, don't go too far!"

The Root ninja took off his mask, his face full of anger.

"What did you call me?"

Akihara Kagura's eyes lit up.

"I..."

The other party thought for less than a second and chose not to argue with a child. "Lord Kagura, I must leave the base immediately to carry out a mission."

"Remember him well."

Akihara Kagura pointed at Kabuto Yakushi beside him and instructed, "If you run into him while carrying out missions in the future, help me take good care of him."

"I'll take very good care of him..."

The Root ninja nodded at Kabuto Yakushi, his words carrying a hint of gritted teeth.

Seeing the man's expression, Kabuto Yakushi could not help wanting to sigh.

Although Kabuto Yakushi was extremely grateful that Akihara Kagura wanted to look after him, he understood very well that Akihara Kagura's actions would only bring him even greater trouble...

How was he supposed to establish himself in the Root Organization now?

Before, he might merely have been bullied. Now, he might be secretly harmed and killed...

Akihara Kagura seemed unable to understand any of this. He merely looked at Kabuto Yakushi with delight. "Kabuto, they all promised that when they meet you, they'll take very good care of you. You'll definitely live well enough to see the director!"

"Kagura..."

Kabuto Yakushi suddenly stopped walking and quietly stared at the seemingly innocent youngster. He raised a hand to push up his glasses. "Did you... do this on purpose? What exactly is your goal?"

"What do you mean, on purpose or not... What goal could I possibly have?"

Akihara Kagura waved a hand at Kabuto Yakushi with a look of disdain and spoke as though he did not care. "Do you think you can do anything for me? I only wanted to thank you in advance for helping me in the future..."

First update.

At last, it was time to officially make up a tragic story!