A Great Battle Loomed, Worldviews Shattered

Kitahara Kaede dropped a bombshell, instantly frightening the two of them senseless.

What kind of damned revelation was this? This man named Shimura Danzō had once even been the head of the Anbu, and someone like him had actually attempted to assassinate the Hokage?

Even more absurdly, the person who had tried to assassinate the Hokage had not been purged, and could still continue leading Root?

Hyuga Keiko stared at Kitahara Kaede as if she had seen a ghost. Even people from great clans like theirs did not know of such top-secret matters. How did a civilian kid like Kitahara Kaede know?

Could there really be something wrong with him?

"Th-this... this... how could that be possible?" Soten Genryu stammered at the news.

Only then did he fully realize what sort of problem he might have run into. This was a terrifying figure who had even dared to assassinate the Hokage—and after doing so, had still remained unscathed and become one of Konoha's higher-ups.

"What's so impossible about it? Otherwise, why do you think he went from being the head of the Anbu to this?" Kitahara Kaede replied.

Shimura Danzō had been stripped of his original position as head of the Anbu and ultimately left with only Root under his command. That had a great deal to do with what happened back then.

Although Sarutobi Hiruzen could not bring himself to ruthlessly kill his old friend, punishment still had to be dealt out.

Danzo directly lost control over the Anbu and became the person in charge of Root.

That had also severed his path to becoming Hokage.

After all, as a Root hidden in the shadows, he had no visible achievements for Konoha. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for him to receive a recommendation from the Jonin Council.

Unless the circumstances were abnormal.

The Third Hokage's move had been vicious. He had successfully cut off Shimura Danzō's path to redeeming himself, as well as his path to becoming Hokage.

And because he had once committed such a treasonous act, Shimura Danzō had no grounds to resist Sarutobi Hiruzen's arrangements. In the end, he could only accept it all and become the Root hidden in the darkness.

"But you'd better not spread this around. Otherwise, whether it's Shimura Danzō or the Third Hokage, neither of them will let you off. That's when you'll truly die," Kitahara Kaede said bluntly.

He now called Shimura Danzō by name. He had never held much respect for that infamous Pot Kage to begin with, much less now that the man had most likely set his sights on him.

But he also did not want to bring danger to his two companions.

"Understood, understood!"

Soten Genryu felt as though his worldview had shattered. In such a short time, he had already heard things enough to overturn everything he believed.

If he kept listening, he was afraid his heart would burst.

This was way too insane.

He had already begun regretting asking so many questions. The professional instincts of a ninja told him that sometimes, knowing too much was not a good thing.

"Move out!"

Kitahara Kaede spoke.

The three of them did not delay, immediately changing routes and darting into the distance.

At the same time, the Root ninja squad following behind them sensed that they had changed routes and came to a stop.

The ninja at the front, wearing a Monkey mask, stopped on a tree branch. A Kikaichū crawled over his finger, revealing his identity as a ninja of the Yamanaka Clan.

"They changed routes. Did they sense our presence?" Monkey Mask Ninja asked flatly.

Based on the information relayed by the Kikaichū, he had already reached a conclusion.

"Most likely. There's a Hyuga Clan Branch Family member in that squad. It's normal for her to notice us," Goat Mask Ninja said behind him.

"It doesn't matter. At the end of the day, they're only a few ordinary Chunin. Even if they discover us, it changes nothing."

Eagle Mask Ninja spoke.

"Right. With our speed, catching them is only a matter of time!"

Fox Mask Ninja said last.

Monkey Mask Ninja nodded. "After killing them, make it look like Suzuki Ryujin did it!"

Unlike the other subordinates, who knew nothing, Monkey Mask Ninja knew the reason.

This Chunin named Kitahara Kaede had inexplicably approached the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox Jinchuriki yesterday. He was a dangerous factor, so Lord Danzo had urgently changed Kitahara Kaede's mission, sent him out of the village, and arranged to kill him along the way.

By then, even if the Third Hokage realized something was wrong, it would already be too late.

As a Root ninja, he was absolutely loyal only to Shimura Danzō. Even if Danzo ordered him to assassinate the Hokage now, he would carry it out without hesitation.

"Chase!"

Monkey Mask Ninja gave the order.

The squad instantly picked up speed and pursued the Kitahara Kaede Squad.

"They're coming after us. So they really are targeting us."

Hyuga Keiko spoke while keeping her Byakugan active, but after confirming that the people behind them were relentlessly pursuing them, she shut it off.

Like the Sharingan, the Byakugan consumed chakra as long as it was active.

With a great battle about to begin, every bit of chakra saved mattered.

"Looks like we need to prepare for battle." Kitahara Kaede sighed.

Yet he also felt a faint stirring of anticipation in his heart.

As the saying went, when one possessed a sharp weapon, the urge to kill arose naturally.

And now that the Diary System had greatly increased his strength, Kitahara Kaede had undoubtedly reached that point as well.

By Kitahara Kaede's own assessment, in terms of chakra reserves alone, he had grown to the level of an Elite Jonin. With the help of his One-Tomoe Sharingan, dealing with an ordinary Tokubetsu Jonin in a real fight would be effortless.

He thought about it. Based on the usual Anbu setup, the squad leader was most likely a Tokubetsu Jonin, accompanied by a powerful small unit entirely made up of Elite Chunin. That was enough to handle most situations.

But Root's configuration was difficult to predict.

Kitahara Kaede himself was strong enough, but both Hyuga Keiko and Soten Genryu were only ordinary Chunin. Against Anbu or Root elites, they would normally be completely helpless.

It seemed the only option was to kill the enemy's leading Jonin as quickly as possible, then deal with the remaining ordinary Root members.

With that thought, Kitahara Kaede took a small box from the vest on his body. Inside were Cosmetic Contact Lenses.

Ever since awakening the Sharingan, he had specifically prepared these Cosmetic Contact Lenses. They could conceal the color of his Sharingan and catch his opponents off guard.

After all, the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out long ago. The enemy probably would not expect to encounter a pair of Sharingan again.

He just had not expected Danzo's purge to come so quickly, or for him to be this brazen.

Kitahara Kaede had figured it out by now. Even the mission to hunt down Suzuki Ryujin had probably been specially arranged to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

No wonder Uzumaki Naruto had not had any friends growing up. Anyone who got close to him was probably purged.