He Dared Assassinate the Hokage

There was something unreasonable about this mission, and Kitahara Kaede had no intention of risking his life over it. So what if the mission failed?

He only wanted to make sure he could stay alive. Everything else was secondary.

Compared to his two companions' wholehearted devotion to the mission, he was far calmer.

"Keiko, use the Byakugan to scout the surroundings."

Kitahara Kaede spoke.

To be safe, Kitahara Kaede decided to have Hyuga Keiko use her Byakugan to investigate.

"Byakugan, activate!"

Hyuga Keiko formed several hand seals and activated her Byakugan.

This was one area where the Byakugan was inferior to the Sharingan. While the Byakugan had a higher chance of awakening, it required some preparation in battle. The Sharingan, on the other hand, had a lower chance of awakening but required no preparation at all once it was awakened.

"Someone's coming!"

Hyuga Keiko suddenly said.

"A squad is rapidly approaching us. Their target is our direction. Judging by their attire, they're Anbu."

"If they're Anbu, then it's no big deal." Soten Genryu shrugged. "You scared me."

Kitahara Kaede raised an eyebrow. Of course there was a problem.

He had a feeling that these Anbu were coming for him, but there was no need for that. The Anbu answered to the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. If Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to deal with him, there was no need to go through so much trouble.

Had this sudden mission been intended to lure him out of the village before dealing with him?

No, there was another possibility—Root.

Was it because he had come into contact with Uzumaki Naruto yesterday?

If that was really the case, then the only one who might make a move was Shimura Danzō.

Still, this was only Kitahara Kaede's speculation.

"How far away are they?" Kitahara Kaede asked.

"About one kilometer away," Hyuga Keiko said.

Her Byakugan was defective. With her current strength, she could only see roughly a kilometer away, and there were still some blind spots in her vision.

However, that one-degree gap was not fatal during long-range detection. She could avoid the one-degree blind spot by moving her head.

"We'll change directions. If those Anbu keep following us, then they're probably coming for us," Kitahara Kaede said.

Only then did Soten Genryu realize the seriousness of the situation.

He even realized that the arrival of these Anbu might be directly related to Kitahara Kaede.

This was the moment that tested how obedient they were to Kitahara Kaede.

Kitahara Kaede had made it clear enough. These Anbu were most likely after him, and following him now could get them dragged down with him.

"You don't have some kind of problem, do you?" Soten Genryu looked at Kitahara Kaede suspiciously.

"It has nothing to do with me. Besides, they're probably not Anbu—they're Root," Kitahara Kaede said without hiding anything.

"Root? What's that?" Soten Genryu had no idea.

But the moment Hyuga Keiko heard that, her expression changed.

As someone born into a major clan, even if she was merely from the Branch Family, her horizons were completely different from those of a pure civilian like Soten Genryu.

At the very least, she had heard of Root. The brutality of Root was recorded among the major clans, and they had even taken many people from those clans away for training.

Living people went in, and when they came out, they had become emotionless killing machines.

The major clans were not unaware of this. In fact, they largely turned a blind eye to it, because they could not afford to provoke Danzō—or rather, the Third Hokage's faction behind Shimura Danzō.

This group, centered around the Second Hokage's disciples, firmly controlled Konoha's upper ranks.

Whenever people mentioned Root, they turned pale at the very thought of it.

"It's a mysterious organization hidden beneath Konoha. On the surface, it's an Anbu training institution, but in reality, it commits every evil imaginable. If you encounter Root members in the future, it's best to stay far away from them," Hyuga Keiko explained. "But they aren't easy to identify. They may appear under the guise of Anbu."

Soten Genryu's expression also grew solemn. This Root really did not sound like anything good.

Root Reputation -1

"Let's go. We'll change directions, and we'll soon find out whether they're really after us," Kitahara Kaede said.

Then he glanced at the two of them. They understood now: if the other side was Root, that meant some unknown big shot in Konoha had set their sights on Kitahara Kaede. If they continued to stay with him, they might be eliminated along with him. This was a choice between life and death.

"Why are you looking at me? Of course I'm going with you. We're teammates. If the Higher-ups think you need to be eliminated, with our relationship, do you think I could just run away?" Soten Genryu said unhappily. "Besides, if Hokage-sama thought there was something wrong with you, the Anbu would have come for you alone. If not, then they're coming for our entire squad. Do you think I could escape?"

"From what I've heard, Root will kill even Shinobi from the same village. If that person gives the order, they're all cold-blooded killing machines," Hyuga Keiko said after thinking for a moment.

She did not dare mention Shimura Danzō's name. To those who knew of his existence, he was an utterly terrifying figure. Saying his name felt as though it would bring some kind of misfortune upon them.

From their perspective, he was an incomparable big shot.

Kitahara Kaede, on the other hand, remained quite calm. First, he knew exactly what kind of person Shimura Danzō was. Second, compared to the villains who would appear later, this was really nothing.

Soten Genryu said with a wry smile, "Looks like I really can't get away."

"It might not be that bad." Kitahara Kaede sighed. "But Genryu was right just now. If the Third Hokage thought there was something wrong with me, Anbu would have come to find me alone while I was still in the village. Since they didn't, it only proves that either this Anbu squad wasn't after me, or Root acted behind the Hokage's back."

"Behind the Hokage's back? Does that Root really have that much nerve? I heard that the Anbu answers entirely to Hokage-sama. Since Root is the Anbu's training organization, shouldn't it be the same? How could they dare to kill a shinobi from the same village without Hokage-sama's knowledge?" Soten Genryu asked in shock.

"What's so surprising about that? Shimura Danzō used to be the head of the Anbu," Kitahara Kaede said flatly.

Shimura Danzō!

Soten Genryu silently committed that name to memory.

"Besides, he once even dared to assassinate the Hokage. What does killing an insignificant nobody like me amount to now?" Kitahara Kaede dropped a bombshell.