A Cruel Plan: Attack the Root?

"Congratulations on coming back."

Inside a grilled fish restaurant, Hidezawa smiled as he handed over a freshly grilled salt-roasted sea bream.

He knew Kabuto really liked this stuff. Back at the Orphanage, Nonō had personally made it for him.

"Thanks."

Kabuto glanced at the grilled fish Hidezawa handed him. Perhaps recalling the beating he had received in the Root, he merely gave an embarrassed smile.

Then he sighed and spoke helplessly.

"Still, even though I'm back, I probably won't be able to go to the Orphanage."

Hidezawa nodded. The Root would never let people like them casually contact their former loved ones.

What Danzo had told him earlier was also a warning: don't stupidly do things you shouldn't.

Although Hidezawa treated Danzo's words as nothing but bullshit, he knew there was no point in going anyway. Nonō had long since gone to Iwagakure.

"Tell me about Sunagakure."

After giving it some thought, Hidezawa spoke softly, then rapidly formed hand seals. An invisible barrier immediately appeared around them.

"You..."

Kabuto reacted quickly. He immediately understood Hidezawa's meaning, lowered his head slightly to cover his mouth, and only then spoke.

"Where do you think the director is now?"

"I can't answer that."

Hidezawa was quite pleased by Kabuto's reaction. This kid really got it. No wonder Orochimaru liked him so much.

"But I think there's a very good chance she'll be at your next infiltration assignment."

"What do you mean?"

Kabuto was baffled. Even though he did not think Hidezawa would joke about something like this, he still could not understand what he meant.

Could Danzo really be kind enough to arrange for them to meet?

But Hidezawa shook his head. He felt Kabuto was still a little too naive. He was planning to teach Kabuto a proper lesson now!

Hidezawa had already successfully made Sasori and Sunagakure hate Danzo, and Danzo would definitely take the blame himself. Expanding the scope a little further would not hurt, would it?

"The meaning is simple. Both you and the director are in trouble."

Hidezawa also covered his mouth slightly as he spoke in a low voice.

"You've repeatedly said that you want to leave the Root once you complete your missions, but have you considered what you've done? Would the Root let you leave?

"The same goes for the director. She still holds out hope for Danzo. Trouble has probably already been planted there.

"Don't think about arguing. You should still remember how Danzo threatened the director into joining the Root, right?"

Hidezawa's words left Kabuto speechless. He did want to argue. Danzo was, after all, one of Konohagakure's higher-ups. He could not be that untrustworthy, could he?

But Kabuto had overheard Danzo's conversation with the director back then, and considering the nature of the Root's missions, he could no longer keep himself together.

"As for why I said you and the director will infiltrate the same place..."

Hidezawa tapped the table, reminding Kabuto not to make that expression, then spoke in a gloomy tone.

"When I was in the Root, I once overheard the director asking Danzo for photos of the two of us.

"Let's assume this. If I were Danzo, and you were my subordinate, so disobedient, while your director harbored similar thoughts.

"And if eliminating you was the best way to keep the Root's secrets from leaking...

"How could I avoid getting my own hands dirty while making the two of you die together? There's a simple way.

"Give the director fake photos. After all, how old were we when we entered the Root? And how many years have passed since then?

"Time changes, and we grow up. Even if you and the director meet then, you won't recognize each other, because the director simply won't know who you are anymore!"

Kabuto's expression changed, and his defenses completely crumbled.

"Or, give the director our real photos, then order her to kill the people in them.

"Once everything is over, tell the director what she has done. Then..."

"Danzo won't even need to do anything. The director will probably kill herself!"

Kabuto's face turned deathly pale. He did not need to think to know how devastating this would be for the director.

Hidezawa nodded at the sight. After all, not everyone was like Itachi Uchiha or Obito Uchiha.

One had personally killed the teacher and his wife who had cared for him. The other had awakened in the forest, then ruthlessly slaughtered his entire clan except for his younger brother.

Yakushi Nonō was a normal person, and so was Kabuto right now. Otherwise, after killing Nonō and discovering that she did not recognize him, he would not have broken down.

"So, from the beginning, you've harmed quite a few people—yourself, the director, and me."

Hidezawa continued as he watched Kabuto fall apart, but after thinking it over, he immediately added another sentence.

"Of course, all of this is only my speculation. We'll have to see what happens next. For example, whether you'll be sent out on another assignment soon..."

Kabuto fell silent. At this point, he did not even know what to say.

He was especially confused now, because he still somewhat wanted to believe Danzo and Konohagakure's higher-ups.

But Hidezawa was his childhood friend, someone who had grown up with him in the Orphanage and had been dragged into the Root by him. His abilities had already been fully displayed in Wind Country.

Since Hidezawa had reached such a conclusion, Kabuto had to seriously consider it, no matter how unwilling he was to believe it!

It was just that he no longer knew whom he should trust. He himself had fallen into confusion.

"What exactly do you want, Hidezawa?"

Only after a long while did Kabuto slowly recover. He was an excellent spy, after all, and he knew he had to remain calm.

"Me?"

Hidezawa blinked and rubbed his chin.

"Of course, I want to marry a few more wives and live well. Besides, didn't Buddha say, 'Without indulgence, all pursuits in life lose their joy'?"

"..."

What the hell, that wasn't what I was asking!

And did Buddha really say that?

Kabuto's expression stiffened. Just as he was about to say something, Hidezawa continued.

"Of course, if we want peaceful lives, some things must be resolved.

"Entering the Root means entering an abyss. Under the shinobi village system, without strength or status, we'll forever be nothing but tools.

"If we want to climb out of the abyss, if we want to become the people who wield the tools rather than the tools themselves, then we have to find a way to climb upward step by step!

"Why should people like Danzo keep us under their thumb? Why should he control whether we live or die?

"And why can't the person sitting in that position be us?"

Hidezawa might have been a seasoned operator, but even a seasoned operator needed a life worth living, didn't he?

In the Root, Danzo could sell him out at any moment, and he could be sent on all kinds of deadly, nonsensical missions at any time.

On top of that, he would be forcibly brainwashed until he was neither human nor ghost. There was no way Hidezawa could tolerate that!

He had grown up watching Sun Wukong before he transmigrated. If they would not even let him live, was he not allowed to resist?

Hidezawa actually knew that he should not say such things to Kabuto, but he also knew that if he did not leave Kabuto with something, this "spy" would never feel at ease.

Besides, he had the confidence to say it!

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell Danzo what you just said?"

Only after a long while did Kabuto slowly ask.

"No."

Hidezawa shook his head without hesitation, then pointed at himself and Kabuto.

"I've rendered Danzo such great service, and he knows exactly how I treated you when I entered the Root.

"Maybe you've held a grudge against me for a long time and want to harm me. Tell me, when the time comes, will he believe you or me?

"Of course, even if he becomes suspicious of me, you'll be dead by then, while I'll still have a chance to leave. Isn't that right?"

Kabuto nearly lost it again. What Hidezawa said made sense, but was he not being a little too unrestrained?

"Think it over carefully."

Seeing Kabuto fall silent again, Hidezawa patted him on the shoulder and spoke softly.

"Even if not for yourself, think about the Orphanage. Do you want to work for others your entire life, trading meager pay for relief funds for the Orphanage?

"Or do you want to simply enjoy what's already there—no, to be able to approve funding for the Orphanage with just your signature, help more people like us, and give people like the director a better ending?"

For a moment, Kabuto did not know how to answer, but he had to admit that he was tempted.

The rest was one thing. He was not even interested in Hidezawa's ambitions, but that final sentence struck directly at his weakness!

"What do I need to do?"

After a long time, he calmly raised his head and looked at Hidezawa. Just as Hidezawa was about to speak, his gaze suddenly turned toward the entrance, and he dispelled the soundproof barrier.

At that moment, an Anbu hurried over. He glanced at Kabuto, then leaned beside Hidezawa and spoke quietly.

"Lord Hokage has ordered you to immediately bring your equipment and assemble at the Root."

"..."

Hidezawa froze. What the hell, are they going to attack the Root?!

This newbie humbly begs everyone to keep reading. Current reader retention will determine everything for this book, and leaving it unread too long can easily kill it.

Thank you, everyone! Onz