Root Base

Inside Konoha.

In the woods near Naruto's home.

Uzuki Yugao wore a mask and a grayish-white cloak, concealing herself amid dead trees and snow as she watched the blond child inside the room stare blankly at the wall, bored out of her mind.

Before she knew it, winter had arrived.

More than three months ago, she had received a temporary transfer order as a rookie Anbu and had been sent to make contact with a mysterious Uchiha girl. She had personally witnessed the girl "persuade" the Third Hokage and somehow become the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki's acting guardian.

But barely two weeks later, that Uchiha girl had suddenly left the village and encountered an assassination attempt by Root outside Konoha.

And then...

More than a dozen Root elites had been wiped out.

The girl's whereabouts had become unknown.

At first, the Third Hokage had been extremely tense. He had gathered several advisors for several meetings and forcefully suspended all of Root's activities. It was said that Shimura Danzō had been deeply dissatisfied with this and slammed the table on the spot. Even the Anbu guarding outside could hear the arguments within.

But as time passed, that tense atmosphere gradually faded away.

After all...

Having vanished for months after surviving an assassination attempt, that Uchiha girl was probably truly dead.

Although the Third Hokage had harshly reprimanded Root, he had likely breathed a secret sigh of relief as well.

That much could be seen from the surveillance around Naruto, which had returned to its former intensity.

Still, thanks to that Uchiha girl, Naruto's living conditions had not been reduced. His apple and egg every morning had never been missed, and his daily routine had become far more regular than before. If one ignored how he stared at the wall for several hours every day, he was almost no different from a normal child.

"Come to think of it, that seemed to be a habit the girl taught him before she died. Something about paying attention to balanced nutrition..."

Uzuki Yugao yawned and could not help letting her thoughts wander.

"So boring. I heard Captain Kakashi recently got a new recruit, some Uchiha Clan brat named Itachi or something. I still haven't seen him..."

"Miss Uchiha Hikari couldn't really be dead, could she...? Well, it's only natural after being targeted by that man."

Even Anbu personnel had no favorable impression of Root or Danzo.

Still, for a life around her own age—perhaps even younger—to fall like a comet, Uzuki Yugao felt somewhat regretful.

Suddenly.

A faint commotion came from not far away.

It seemed that several other Anbu responsible for surveillance were arguing about something. Their voices were not loud, but they were distinct enough.

Uzuki Yugao's brow twitched. Unable to endure it any longer, she turned around. "Hey, what are you doing? Making such a racket—aren't you afraid the brat in the house will hear..."

Her voice abruptly stopped.

Uzuki Yugao's eyes flew wide open. Beneath her mask, her mouth hung open in an expression as though she had seen a ghost. "Y-you are... Hikari..."

"Uchiha Hikari."

"Miss Rabbit, it has been a long time. I hope you have been well."

Uchiha Hikari smiled faintly.

Before her words had even faded, she had already leapt onto the treetop like a phantom and crouched beside Uzuki Yugao on the branch.

As Hikari approached, Uzuki Yugao instinctively reached behind herself, assuming a guarded stance. But before she could finish the motion, Hikari caught her wrist. Her touch was gentle, like a lover's caress, without the slightest hint of anger. Yet Uzuki Yugao felt as though a mountain rock were pressing down on her wrist. No matter how hard she struggled, she could not break free.

"Don't be nervous."

Uchiha Hikari let out a soft breath, forming a cloud of white mist in the cold air. "I'm alive, not a ghost."

As she spoke.

Uchiha Hikari casually glanced at Naruto inside the house, then withdrew her gaze and said lightly, "I returned a little later than I said I would, but I made it back safely in the end... Are you watching Naruto? You've worked hard, looking after him for me all this time."

"I..."

Uzuki Yugao opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but she did not know where to begin.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but she felt that this girl before her... though still smiling sweetly, was more dangerous than before.

"Let me ask you something."

Uchiha Hikari got straight to the point. "Where is Danzo?"

"?"

"I don't want to repeat myself. If you don't know, tell me where someone who does know is."

"Miss Hikari, surely you're not... planning to seek revenge against Lord Danzo?"

Uzuki Yugao seemed to have guessed something. "I heard that..."

"Shh—"

Uchiha Hikari raised a finger to her lips, interrupting Uzuki Yugao. "Answer my question. Afterward, you can report to whoever you want. I won't stop you."

"..."

Uzuki Yugao swallowed hard. Her gaze struggled several times before, under Uchiha Hikari's stare, she slowly raised a hand and pointed in one direction. "Over there, about twelve kilometers from the residential district, there's a large Cypress Forest. At the Northeast Corner of the woods, there's an underground base..."

The moment she finished speaking.

Uchiha Hikari shot away, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Uzuki Yugao finally relax, lifting her mask with lingering fear and wiping the cold sweat from her temples. "This is bad. I have to report to the Third Hokage immediately... Something terrible is about to happen at Root!"

Uchiha Hikari was very fast.

The two months of training in the Dragon Ball World had brought her a considerable improvement. With Korin and Minato Namikaze, her two "teachers," guiding her day and night, her Chakra control had improved at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Although she had yet to master the Levitation Technique.

That was mainly because her balance was not yet sufficient. Like someone just learning to rollerblade, she could not properly control her direction.

But if she merely attached Chakra to her feet to accelerate her travel speed, then at her current level, she was already no weaker than the vast majority of Kage-level powerhouses in this world.

Just over ten minutes later.

Uchiha Hikari passed through the residential district and raced along an outlying path for a while before arriving at the woods Uzuki Yugao had described.

She looked around but saw no living person.

So, Uchiha Hikari used the Levitation Technique to lift herself into the air. She swept forward over the treetops some thirty to forty meters below, overlooking the ground beneath her.

Very soon...

A concrete structure, largely square-shaped and wrapped in layers of shrubbery, caught her attention.

"If Uzuki Yugao wasn't lying, this should be Root's Base."

Uchiha Hikari looked it over a few more times but still saw no one nearby.

That was normal.

Root had never had many people to begin with. They had already exhausted their resources trying to assassinate her before. With Shimura Danzō's excessively cautious nature, he would most likely pull back and lie low while short-handed. If she wanted to see him, she would have to first crawl into this rat hole.

Or...

There was an even simpler and more direct way to enter.

"Susanoo, Third Form... activate!"