Root Attacks

The newborn sun was slightly dazzling.

Anko instinctively closed her eyes. It took her a while to recover.

She gradually adjusted to the outside world.

She had spent nearly half a month in the underground laboratory.

Coming out again, it felt as though she had entered an entirely different world.

She tidied her hair and tied it back.

Her dark eyes swept over the surroundings. Many anomalies she had never noticed before now stood out clearly.

Some were precautions her teacher had left behind. Several little snakes had been placed near the base to watch for any activity.

Several ninjas concealed in the shadows were clearly up to no good.

She glanced over without showing any reaction, roughly gauging their strength: one Jonin and three Chunin. If she acted now, some might escape.

After learning that her teacher had made some preparations,

she pretended not to know anything and left, so as not to alert the enemy.

The Root ninja hidden in the shadows didn't grow suspicious. They hadn't expected Anko's strength to change so drastically in such a short time that she would spot every one of them.

After Anko left, they quietly revealed themselves. They exchanged glances, then slipped into the laboratory.

"Sengen, go deal with that Uchiha."

"The rest of you, come with me to find Kinoe!"

The Root Jonin leader gave the order.

Their mission was to seize the Wood Release test subjects in Orochimaru's possession, along with some related research materials.

They would also take care of a troublesome member of the Uchiha Clan.

Lord Danzo didn't want the Uchiha to grow too close to Orochimaru.

He wanted to avoid any unnecessary trouble when the time came to deal with the Uchiha Clan.

The lowest level of the laboratory.

Inside a break room.

Ao held an injection and examined it repeatedly.

It contained the First Hokage Serum.

It was a sample set aside during the early preparations for the First Hokage Cells transplant experiment. Orochimaru had probably noticed his little maneuver, but hadn't intervened.

The immense shock of Anko's dramatic increase in strength had affected him deeply.

He couldn't help bringing his plan forward.

"I have to make improving my strength a priority."

"Not long after the Nine-Tails Incident, the Third took office, and Orochimaru defected."

"Given how useful I am right now, Orochimaru will definitely take me with him..."

"But there's no guarantee I'll survive Konoha's pursuit. No matter what, I can't put all my hopes on Orochimaru."

Many thoughts flashed through Ao's mind.

He had originally planned to wait until the Cursed Seal research was complete, then use the perfected Cursed Seal as a model to develop a forbidden technique that would improve his body's innate potential and let this body absorb Natural Energy.

But there wasn't enough time now.

Orochimaru hadn't returned in a long while. Most likely, something outside had kept him occupied.

This was his best chance to conduct research on his own.

But it could also be a trap Orochimaru had set to make him reveal his trump card.

The First Hokage Serum had been stripped of almost all the cells harmful to the body, leaving only blood components that specifically enhanced the body and stimulated its immune response. It could maximize the body's ability to assimilate the power of the First Hokage Cells while minimizing side effects.

Ao made a few preparations, wedged the door shut, then drove the needle straight into his arm. The serum flowed through it and into his body.

A scorching sensation surged through him.

The side effects he had expected didn't appear.

Instead, heat welled up throughout his body, searing him from head to toe as if he were being roasted over a fire.

Soon, the Chakra in his abdomen began to run wild, triggering a chain reaction.

His cells began producing Chakra involuntarily.

One drop, then two...

Liquid Chakra gathered in his abdomen and gradually increased.

At the same time, a cool sensation spread through his eyes.

His temples bulged slightly. As Chakra continuously coursed through them, it felt as if something were about to burst through the earth.

"Whew..."

"Not bad. The First Hokage Cells are just too exceptional. Even a little serum can have such a huge effect. If I transplanted the whole thing... I wonder whether my body could withstand it."

"My Chakra has doubled, but I can't see any change in my physical abilities yet... Maybe the First Hokage Cells stimulated my own cells, greatly accelerating their activity."

"As expected, changes in the cells can drive a qualitative change in Chakra."

A smile tugged at Ao's lips.

In just one month, he had gone from a Genin who barely met the Chakra requirements to the level of an elite Genin.

He was already close to the amount of Chakra Anko had before the experiment.

Drugs really were a shortcut.

Unfortunately, this was a one-time dose. He couldn't inject it repeatedly.

Ao set down the syringe.

His ears twitched.

He heard a sound outside the door.

He was the only one in the laboratory who could move freely. The others were either test subjects locked in the laboratory's dungeon or deformed, disabled results of failed experiments...

None of them could make footsteps that sounded so normal.

Who was it?

Ao sprang up at once. He pulled a silver metal scalpel from his ninja pouch, gripped it backward, and quietly moved to the wall beside the door.

He pressed his ear to the wall, held his breath, and watched for movement outside.

Creak.

The door moved.

Someone pushed it, but the latch held.

The sound was faint. It would have been hard to notice if he hadn't been paying attention.

Ao's expression turned solemn as he watched the latch in silence.

A small knife slipped in from outside.

It gently pried at the latch.

Clunk...

The latch fell to the floor.

The door opened.

A foot wrapped in white bandages stepped inside.

In that instant,

Ao moved.

The silver scalpel shot from his hand, straight toward the foot that had entered.

Clang!

Metal struck metal.

A pitch-black Kunai knocked the flying scalpel to the ground.

Then a face covered by a Rabbit Mask appeared at the doorway.

"Well... pretty alert. A Genin actually noticed me..."

The intruder let out a contemptuous chuckle.

He stepped all the way in and closed the door behind him.

The Kunai spun around his fingertips. Beneath the mask, his gaze was full of amusement, like a cat toying with a mouse.

In his eyes,

Uchiha Ao was already a dead man.

"Root?"

Ao spat out the word, keeping his eyes fixed on the intruder as his hidden hand quietly formed one hand seal after another.

"So you know about us? You know a fair bit for a brat... No wonder Orochimaru thinks so highly of you."

The Root Chunin sounded surprised.

"Stop struggling. I'll make it quick."

He noticed Ao's little movements and gave him no chance to fight back.

He lunged forward. Ao instinctively reached out, forming a pale blue Chakra Blade in his hand, but the other man dodged it with ease.

The difference in their strength

was despairing.

He was only a Genin. His mind held extensive knowledge of experiments from his previous life, but he had virtually no combat experience.

No matter how useful the knowledge in his head was, or how cautious he was,

he could do nothing against an experienced Anbu Chunin.

Nor had he managed to turn his newly gained strength into combat power in time.

Thud!

The Kunai plunged into his body.

At the last moment, Ao twisted with all his strength, avoiding a fatal blow to the heart.

The Kunai sank into his arm.

He endured the pain and suddenly reached out with both hands, clutching the intruder tightly.

Then his mind jolted!

His soul trembled.

"Spirit Transformation Technique!"

The hand seals for the technique he had already completed appeared, and the formula channeled his Chakra into a sudden burst.

His soul was torn from his body.

Boom!

In an instant, his soul slammed into the other man's body.

Pfft!

The moment their spirits collided,

the other man's soul, caught completely unprepared and offering no resistance, dissolved.

Then both bodies slumped limply to the ground, lifeless.