The Root Hopes You Like It (Seeking Follow-ups)

Shiba Seika's scheme was simple when laid bare—a straightforward Lure the Tiger Away.

The strongest in the Sunagakure squad was Pakura!

As long as Pakura was lured out, the remaining two were no match for Konan and her team. And Shiba Seika, exploiting the rift within the Sunagakure squad and Pakura's thirst for the truth behind the Third Kazekage's death, succeeded in baiting this woman out without spending a single soldier!

After that, he used various intelligence and secret lore to lock her down for nearly a minute!

By the time Pakura realized it, it was already too late.

When a Shadow Clone disperses, it transmits all the memories of its experience back to the original. Now Pakura knew her teammates were done for!

What was worse: when her comrades were suddenly attacked and found that Pakura in their squad was just a Shadow Clone, the look the Sunagakure Captain and the other companion gave her chilled Pakura to the bone.

Through that venom-laced gaze, Pakura had no doubt they would immediately relay news of her "betrayal" back to the village!

Though they were already dead, ninja had many ways to pass information—Summoning Technique was a common one.

Just then, as if to shatter every last shred of her hope, Shiba Seika spoke up at the right moment.

"There's a girl in our team who's quite skilled at Summoning Techniques. She's confirmed that your teammates sent out a total of three summoning beasts to the border before they died. Miss Pakura, why don't you guess the odds that they're hiding news of your betrayal?"

Pakura pressed her lips tight, her hands trembling uncontrollably with rage. Her beautiful phoenix eyes reddened as she stubbornly lifted her chin and swore, word by word, "I, Pakura, have never betrayed the village!"

Shiba Seika let out a laugh of pure delight. "Fine then, go back and tell Kazekage Rasa that. See if he believes you."

"Are you forcing me to die?"

"Sorry, I'm a Rain Ninja."

"You bastard!!"

Pakura could no longer hold back. She quickly formed hand seals, summoning a Scorch Release fireball, then grabbed a Kunai and charged forward recklessly.

But Shiba Seika remained unruffled.

The next moment, a thunderous "BOOM" rang out!

The violent blast sank the ground around them by several centimeters!

"What?!" Caught off guard, Pakura was instantly swallowed by flames and smoke!

Shiba Seika smiled faintly. As a steady poison strategist, how could he come face dangerous enemies without any preparation?

He had chosen the coordinates himself, naturally having arranged and modified everything around him in advance.

The benefit of building a good relationship with Konan showed itself now—Exploding Tags in abundance.

Battered and soot-covered, Pakura barely managed to leap out of the smoke, retreating several meters back.

Her hairband had come loose, her tea-colored hair falling down, and blood streamed from her forehead beneath the strands, nearly covering one eye.

Though she still glared fiercely at Shiba Seika with her other eye, reason had mostly returned to her gaze. She wasn't sure how many trap Exploding Tags this despicable Rain Ninja brat had buried around, and that blast had cleared her mind considerably.

"Calmed down now, Miss Pakura? Don't be so agitated. Why not recall what I said when I threw that Paper Shuriken at you?"

Pakura roared, "How long are you going to toy with me, you inherently evil Rain Ninja brat!"

Shiba Seika spread his hands, looking sincere. "No, no, this isn't toying. Miss Pakura, I never lied to you from the start. I said then: only I can give you the sole path to survival. Going back to the village now would only be a dead end. You should know well how the Kazekage sees you. Even without my push, he would one day discard you as a sacrifice. For now, why not hear my suggestion?"

Pakura refused without a second thought. "I will never betray the village! And I will never join your evil organization!"

But what Shiba Seika said next caught her completely off guard.

"Alright, Miss Pakura. If you're not willing to turn from darkness to light for now, that's fine. But you clearly can't return to the village like this. In Kazekage Rasa's eyes, your 'betrayal' is already set in stone. How about I point you a path to survival—go find Sasori of the Red Sands. Only by bringing back this true traitor can you overturn your current disadvantage and gain leverage to speak with the elders on equal footing."

Shiba Seika's words stunned the furious Pakura.

This was a path she had never considered, but upon careful thought, it seemed reasonable in every way.

Sasori was a true rogue ninja. Regardless of his reasons or background, he had killed a village's Kage and deeply wounded Sunagakure. If Pakura could bring him back, the merit would outweigh everything.

Moreover, since Sasori was the direct kin of the two elders, this would give Pakura a huge advantage when negotiating with them.

She hadn't expected that the Rain Ninja youth, after thoroughly screwing her over, would actually point her to a seemingly viable path to survival.

"Would you be so kind? Do you know where Sasori is?"

"I don't, but I know there's a ninja from Konoha by Sasori's side named Yakushi Kabuto. That might be an important clue."

In truth, Shiba Seika wasn't sure if Kabuto was following Sasori at this point in time, but it didn't matter.

Because what he was about to say next was the true purpose of today's scheme!

"According to our investigation, this ninja named Yakushi Kabuto comes from a secret organization in Konoha called Root.

As a Sunagakure Jonin and a hero who personally took part in the last Great Ninja War, Miss Pakura should be no stranger to this organization!

The fact that your village's traitor, Sasori, has a member of Konoha's Root by his side—what that intelligence truly implies is something Miss Pakura may need to uncover for herself.

As for my request, it's very simple: as long as Miss Pakura is willing to help deal with Konoha's Root, we will be eternal friends."

True high-level deception was never about telling outright lies—it was about using the truth to deceive!

Not a single piece of information Shiba Seika had told Pakura so far was false!

Whether she spent weeks, months, or even years verifying it, he had no worries.

But it was precisely these truths, skillfully woven together, that formed a seamless, logically self-consistent trap—one that Pakura believed without a doubt—

"Konoha... Root! Damn it! So the Third Kazekage's death really was their doing after all!

Heh, hahaha, hahahaha! How ridiculous! So we really didn't wrong Konoha! They all deserve to die!"

At this point, Pakura's hatred had completely shifted toward Konoha's Root!

And Shiba Seika simply smiled faintly, concealing his merit and his name.

His strategic approach had never changed: for now, stabilize Hanzō and strike hard at Danzō!

Since that was the case, today he would send a little gift to Comrade Shimura Danzō, far away in Konoha—

a beautiful Scorch Release big sister, burning with vengeance and fighting for survival in a desperate situation. He hoped Root would enjoy her.