The Three Years He Vanished

"No wonder they called you the Blue Flash. You found us so easily."

The voice carried no emotion whatsoever, cold as some kind of machine.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Accompanied by several piercing whistles, several Masked Ninjas abruptly appeared around Namikaze Mirai.

They formed an encirclement, trapping him in the middle without leaving a single gap.

The patterns on their masks were even simpler, with almost no animal-like features, and their icy, mechanical aura...

"Root?"

Namikaze Mirai sneered.

"So Danzo finally couldn't hold himself back. Sending just a few of you to die is a little too insulting, isn't it?"

This elite Root squad consisted of ten people. Half were Jonin, while the other five were all Special Jonin level.

He possessed a special sensory ability that could detect Biological Magnetic Fields. To a certain extent, he could also gauge an enemy's approximate strength.

That was why he had noticed these Root operatives the instant they approached.

As for whether Naruto might be in danger, Namikaze Mirai was not worried.

Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and his importance was immense. Danzo would not dare act against him rashly.

More importantly, there were no unfamiliar Biological Magnetic Fields along the route back from here.

That meant these Root operatives had come for him. Naruto's safety should be guaranteed.

"Namikaze Mirai, please come with us. Lord Danzo wishes to see you."

Though they used the word "please," their forceful, icy tone carried no hint of an actual invitation.

Their right hands reached for their Ninja Swords, locking onto every one of his movements.

If Namikaze Mirai refused, what awaited him might be a storm of attacks!

"Lead the way."

Namikaze Mirai's expression remained calm.

This was a Konoha street. Though it was evening and there were few pedestrians around,

it was still not a suitable place to fight freely.

Following Root, he gradually left the bustling district and arrived at a secluded forest.

Namikaze Mirai swept his gaze around.

"Where's Danzo?"

The encircling Root operatives drew their Ninja Swords almost simultaneously and charged forward.

"Lord Danzo told you to go see him underground!"

Several long Ninja Swords reflected a cold gleam, nearly sealing off all of Namikaze Mirai's escape routes as they viciously slashed at his vital points.

Namikaze Mirai's expression did not change. The Electromagnetic Force stirred slightly, but to his surprise, the Ninja Swords' trajectories remained unaffected.

"Don't waste your strength! These are Ninja Tools specially made for you. They contain no metal at all!"

A vicious glint flashed through the lead Root operative's eyes as the sharp tip of his blade stabbed toward Namikaze Mirai's neck.

For this mission, they had rehearsed countless times.

There was no metal anywhere on their bodies! Even their Ninja Tools were made of other materials, deliberately dyed metallic colors to deceive Namikaze Mirai.

The scene before him suddenly blurred. The Root operative's Ninja Sword struck Namikaze Mirai, yet there was no sensation of impact.

An afterimage?! Before they could react, a thunderous boom came from behind them. Their bodies were struck like cannonballs fired from a barrel, sent flying like kites with snapped strings.

They smashed through a tree trunk thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around, then crashed through another large tree behind it before falling to the ground in a limp heap like putty.

A mangled mass of blood and flesh! No longer even human-shaped!

"Damn it! He's so fast!"

The remaining Root operatives watched this scene, their eyelids twitching wildly.

Namikaze Mirai stood where the Root operative had just been blasted away, his entire body bathed in arcs of lightning, his right leg still held in the position of a kick.

Even though they had long known from intelligence reports that Namikaze Mirai was extremely fast, witnessing it firsthand still sent shock through the Root operatives' hearts.

One strike, one kill!

An acceleration secret technique surpassing Lightning Release Chakra Mode! At short to medium range, it could even rival a Space-Time Ability!

"Change formation!"

The remaining Root operatives pulled back and scattered, abandoning any thought of fighting Namikaze Mirai in close quarters.

Their tactic of ambushing him with nonmetal weapons had already failed.

Namikaze Mirai's speed was enough to turn around any battle!

"Too slow."

His voice contained no emotion, as casual and flat as though he had spoken without thinking.

Yet it sent a chill through the hearts of the Root operatives.

Whoosh! Electromagnetic Propulsion!

Namikaze Mirai's body seemed to turn into a bolt of lightning. In a flash of electric light, he had already appeared before a Root operative.

That Root operative was forming hand seals. When Namikaze Mirai's cold face entered his vision, his expression abruptly changed, and he instinctively tried to pull away and dodge.

But! Bang! Amid a dull sound like something shattering, a massive hole burst open in the Root operative's abdomen. Flesh, organs, and bones exploded into a rain of blood, staining a section of forest behind him crimson.

Namikaze Mirai withdrew his fist and turned his gaze toward the remaining Root operatives.

"Fire Release! Ash Pile Burning!"

"Fire Release! Fire Dragon Flame!"

Two Root Jonin inhaled sharply at the same time, their timing precise to the smallest fraction, as if they had practiced it countless times.

Thick grayish-brown smoke poured from one Root operative's mouth, spreading through the forest in an instant and enveloping Namikaze Mirai at its center.

The dragon-shaped flames from the other side ignited the smoke. Amid explosive blasts, the surging firelight swallowed Namikaze Mirai's body.

The flames gradually dispersed. The trees at the center of the forest had vanished in the explosion, but Namikaze Mirai walked out of the fire, bathed in lightning and completely unscathed.

Around him, four Root operatives stood in pairs. Golden chains extended from their palms, crackling with flashes of light.

Sealing Jutsu? Namikaze Mirai frowned slightly.

Before he could think further, the remaining Root operatives had already rushed in from different directions, sealing off every route of escape.

"Useless."

Namikaze Mirai was about to attack.

Then he saw the four charging Root Jonin stop at the four corners and form the same hand seal simultaneously.

"Activate!"

A faint white glow suddenly emerged from the forest floor. Namikaze Mirai, standing at the center, abruptly felt an immense pressure bearing down on him.

It was as if the air around his body had turned into viscous liquid, gripping his limbs and pinning him in place.

"Why do you think we chose this place as the battlefield?"

The lead Root operative grinned coldly.

"Because a Sealing Barrier was set up here long ago! You were arrogant enough to follow us here of your own accord. Your arrogance will be what kills you!"

The four Root operatives holding chains seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They charged in pairs, and the golden chains wrapped tightly around Namikaze Mirai.

"We got him!"

Hokage Office.

After hearing Danzo's plan, the gravity on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face did not ease in the slightest.

He drew a breath.

"Danzo, you've forgotten something."

"What?"

Danzo was unconcerned.

His plan was perfect.

It covered every possible situation.

He had analyzed the intelligence Namikaze Mirai revealed during the Third Great Ninja War countless times.

Indeed, if Namikaze Mirai was allowed to fully use his abilities, he would be terrifying.

He possessed all kinds of unimaginable abilities, and no one knew where their limits lay.

But he had one fatal weakness!

Sealing Jutsu! As long as he was sealed before he could use his abilities,

he would become a bird in a cage.

And Root happened to possess a similar Sealing Jutsu! "The three years he vanished."

The three years he vanished? Danzo frowned slightly.

Taking a deep puff from his pipe and exhaling a hazy cloud of smoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze passed through the mist and settled on the village beyond the Hokage Office window.

"During the three years he was missing, I deployed a large number of Anbu to search for traces of him, but they found nothing."

"The last intelligence we received was..."

"He went to the Land of Wind."