"I'm truly sorry for causing everyone trouble."
Looking at the blond youth bowing deeply before them, Aburame Torune and Shisui Uchiha could only feel utterly helpless.
Between the three of them lay Kushina Uzumaki, unconscious and asleep.
For the Root Four, who thought highly of themselves, fighting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was more dangerous than anything except facing those Eyes of God in the Land of Rain. If Shisui hadn't stood at the very front with Susanoo activated, the other Anbu might have been taken out in a single exchange.
But even after making every possible preparation, and with Hizashi Hyuga—a Byakugan expert—helping them activate the Four Symbols Seal, they had nearly been torn to pieces by the savage Nine-Tails.
At the crucial moment, Shisui Uchiha had nearly defied Danzo's orders and used the Dojutsu in his right eye.
Fortunately, Namikaze Minato arrived in time and calmed the Jinchuriki. Then, to the disbelief of Aburame Torune and the other Konoha Ninja, he single-handedly performed the Four Symbols Seal and reinforced the Tailed Beast's seal.
"Minato, you should be on the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water right now, not here."
"I'm sorry, sir. When I heard that Kushina had run away, I was very worried. She's gentle by nature, but the Nine-Tails inside her is another matter. I was afraid she'd hurt you, so I rushed here in a panic."
Aburame Torune knew Kushina Uzumaki's true nature, and when he heard the word "gentle," his stiff face twitched. The Root members nearby, along with the Ninja sent by Konoha to track the Jinchuriki, looked at the forest around them, which had nearly been turned into a valley. They were furious, but didn't dare say a word.
"Forget it. You broke the rules, but you saved our lives. I'll report the facts to Lord Danzo."
Though Aburame Torune thought highly of this junior, he knew what his leader was like. Danzo treated the rules as iron laws. Even White Fang, once, had been expelled from his tutelage after doing something like that.
And Minato was part of the Hokage's faction, to boot. Danzo would probably order Torune to arrest him as soon as they returned to the front.
"I'm already grateful that you're willing to do that, sir. Whatever punishment Lord Danzo gives me, I'll deserve it. As a Jonin of the village, I abandoned my post and left my comrades to face the enemy alone. That's a grave sin."
After speaking, Namikaze Minato gently picked up the unconscious Red-Haired girl. Then the couple vanished before everyone's eyes, fading away like phantoms, leaving behind only an utterly showy remark.
"But I made some preparations, too. Once I found Kushina, I could follow the Mark and return to base within ten minutes."
Shisui Uchiha's eyes turned crimson. He wanted to copy the technique, but realized it was futile.
"Was Lord Danzo joking when he said I had the potential to learn the 'Flying Thunder God Technique'?"
No matter how fast the Body Flicker Technique was, the Sharingan could still track it. But this technique was completely impossible to see through.
At ten years old, Shisui had no equal in the entire Uchiha Clan when it came to the Body Flicker Technique. To become even faster, he would have to seek a breakthrough in Space-Time. And in the whole village, the only person who could guide him in that was Namikaze Minato.
"Ryoma, what do we do?"
Gui, the only woman among the Root Four who had gone on this mission, spoke up.
Of the Ten Root Elites, only Aburame Torune and Orochimaru didn't hide their identities. The former had to handle some of Danzo's dealings with outsiders, while the latter was simply too famous and only held a nominal position in Root.
"Although the mission wasn't completed, it can't be called a failure either. We'll head to the front and report what happened. Then we'll let Lord Danzo decide."
"We're going to the front again..."
Shisui Uchiha picked up the short sword that the Jinchuriki had knocked away and slid it back into its sheath at his waist, suppressing the turmoil inside him. He had once witnessed his father die on the battlefield in the Land of Water, protecting him.
"This time, I'll use my Sharingan to protect the people of the village."
Aburame Torune and Hizashi Hyuga also wrote a report on a scroll, which Hizashi would take back to the village and deliver to the Third.
Land of Hot Water!
With a thunderous boom, an unprecedented pressure descended upon the Konoha Ninja.
"Oh, it seems Kumogakure had good intelligence. They must have known that Minato, that traitor, wasn't here. No wonder they've gathered such a formidable force."
On the cliff, Guo Wang wore a black coat and, unusually, a Forehead Protector. A standard Root short sword was tucked into his belt. He watched the burly man across from him, who was bare-chested, with gray-black skin and yellow-white hair. His expression was calm and composed.
"This was my failure. After the battle, I'll go to the prison block and accept my punishment."
Although he had yet to recover, Jiraiya had put on his Jonin vest and come to the battlefield in the face of Kumogakure's invading army. When he saw the Raikage and the AB Duo personally enter the fray to direct the advance, he knew there was a traitor on their side, or that an enemy spy had infiltrated them.
"Of course. But what we need to do first..."
Guo Wang closed his eyes and pretended to ponder for a moment, then looked at the Ino-Shika-Cho trio beside him.
"Ghost of the Yamanaka Clan, now that you're married, I hope your clan's secret techniques haven't grown rusty."
"Don't worry, Lord Danzo. I'll find Kumogakure's spy before you return."
Inoichi Yamanaka wasn't one for many words, but at a time like this, he still spoke with a distinctly manly air.
"It could also be a rotten branch. In this special situation, don't hold back. Kill them on the spot."
After saying this, Danzo undid the clasp at his collar. His black coat billowed away in the wind, and his bandaged right hand gripped the sword at his waist. Yet he himself vanished before everyone's eyes.
"Find a way to hold off those brats from Kumogakure. Give me a little time to strip the big guy of his armor."
He had disappeared, but his words still reached Jiraiya and the others. Danzo might have a bad reputation in the Shinobi World, but his strength was recognized as second only to the Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, in Konoha.
And though his past record against the Raikage wasn't in his favor, he had mastered Wind Release in both nature and shape transformation. Holding off the Raikage would be no problem.
"I'll take on the brats. You guys do your best to break up the Raikage's guards' formation."
Jiraiya coughed softly twice, then used Summoning Jutsu. Gamabunta, the ultimate weapon of the battlefield, appeared out of nowhere, crushing more than a dozen unsuspecting Kumogakure Ninja into a bloody mess.
"Take down your opponents as quickly as you can. Wind Release counters Lightning Release, but our opponent is the Raikage himself. We can't let Lord Danzo lose his other eye as well."
Nara Shikaku had barely finished speaking when a flash of emerald light spiraled past. In the middle of the battlefield, the Third Raikage had been charging through the enemy ranks unhindered—then Danzo struck him with a sweep of his hand, sending him flying.
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