A Few Root Shinobi Think They Can Test Me? Send Danzo!

Naruto froze for a moment at the sight, then couldn't help laughing. "System, I just don't feel like eating pork. Why are you insulting me in such a roundabout way?"

[Beep! The ATM is out of order. Where are your coins, host?]

"All right, all right!" Naruto hurriedly waved his hand, trying to end the subject.

Good grief, was this system some kind of village troll?

At the thought, Naruto looked at the two men, already swallowed by Fire Release: Rasengan and charred black, unable even to scream. Suddenly, he broke into a smile. "Now I like eating pork again."

With that, Naruto calmly picked up his chopsticks and savored the shop's last bowl of tonkotsu ramen.

While Naruto remained composed, the onlookers' faces were filled with shock.

They couldn't believe that the black-haired man before them had dared to kill someone in broad daylight in Konoha!

Everyone knew that, in a great nation's territory, who but a madman like Orochimaru would have the nerve to kill so recklessly?

Konoha would never let this man get away with it!

The crowd had yet to recover from their shock.

Suddenly, wind howled all around them.

The next moment.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Dozens of figures appeared in an instant. They all wore animal masks of various designs and matching uniforms, and an icy aura emanated from them.

They were none other than the Anbu, directly under the Hokage—and the law enforcers of Konoha.

At the sight of them, the people present felt as if a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders, like their saviors had descended from the heavens.

"Thank goodness! It's the Anbu. That man is done for!"

But before the crowd had finished speaking,

another flurry of movement brought a second group onto the scene. Their uniforms were slightly different from the Anbu's.

There was no need to guess. They had to be Root...

Naruto noticed them too, but acted as though he hadn't, continuing to eat his ramen as he turned his gaze to the system panel that had appeared before him.

[Villain Points: 63]

Seeing that his Villain Points had only increased by the amount he'd just taken from that couple, Naruto couldn't help wondering.

Had the sight of him killing those two really failed to frighten anyone else?

But Naruto immediately figured out the reason.

It was probably only the people he deliberately targeted with his villainous actions who gave him Villain Points. Clearly, that crowd hadn't been among his targets.

By then, Sarutobi Akiyama, the captain of the Anbu squad, had more or less grasped what had happened.

He looked at the two charred bodies and Naruto, who was still eating as if nothing had happened. His expression turned grave, and he ordered, "Anbu, surround the target!"

At his command, the Anbu moved in a flash, drawing their weapons and surrounding the ramen shop with murderous intent.

Sarutobi Akiyama stepped forward warily and demanded, "Who are you, exactly? What grudge did you have against them? Why kill them so cruelly?"

Naruto had just finished his meal. He picked up the hot tea on the table and took a sip before answering at an unhurried pace.

"I didn't really have a grudge. If I had to say..." Naruto paused thoughtfully, then smiled. "I guess it's because they insulted me!"

"What?!" Sarutobi Akiyama's veins bulged across his forehead.

He couldn't believe that this man had killed two people so brutally over a couple of insults.

Just as he was about to order Naruto's arrest in a fit of rage,

an Anbu member suddenly cried out in shock.

"Wait! That's right, that's right! He... he's Uzumaki Naruto!"

The revelation sent a shockwave through the crowd!

"How is that possible? Didn't Uzumaki Naruto leave the village with Lord Jiraiya to train?" someone asked in disbelief.

"Exactly! Besides, this man has black hair and a tall, imposing figure. How could he be that little runt?"

"Right! What nonsense!"

Despite the crowd's doubts, the Anbu member stood firm. Pointing at Naruto, he shouted, "There's no mistake! It's been three years! People grow up. I was ordered by Lord Third to protect him for a while. Even though the Jinchuriki's appearance has changed so much, I can still recognize him!"

Hearing his certainty, everyone hurriedly focused their attention on Naruto's face.

Then they saw it: apart from the color of his hair, the face of the shabby little blond boy from the past matched Naruto's almost perfectly. There was no inconsistency at all.

In an instant, everyone present froze as if struck by lightning. Their eyes narrowed, and their jaws nearly hit the floor.

They looked as if they'd seen a ghost.

Naruto's expression remained unchanged. He slowly rose to his feet and headed straight for the door.

He wasn't someone who slaughtered the innocent. As long as they didn't provoke him, he was willing to let everyone there live.

But the others didn't see it that way.

The Root shinobi had been watching coldly from the sidelines. Once Naruto's identity was confirmed, they immediately snapped out of it, their burning desire to climb the ranks rising in their hearts.

The Root squad captain, Ito Kakuri, leaped forward and roared, "You're not going anywhere! Uzumaki Naruto, you're utterly depraved—you dared to murder Lord Danzo's clansmen! Surrender at once and come with us to Root to face punishment!"

At his words, the Root shinobi immediately joined the Anbu in surrounding Naruto.

Sarutobi Akiyama gave them a cold glance. He knew exactly what they were plotting. After all, everyone knew of Danzo's covetous interest in the Nine-Tails.

But the priority was to capture Naruto and hand him over to Lord Hokage for judgment.

With that in mind, Sarutobi Akiyama raised his right hand, ready to give the order to seize Naruto.

Naruto's lips curled into a teasing smile. "Seriously? They insulted me, so I just gave them a little slap on the wrist. Isn't that perfectly normal?"

A little slap on the wrist?!

The crowd's expressions turned indescribable. It was as if someone had slapped them hard across the face. As they stared at the charred bodies, they couldn't help but rage inwardly.

You call that a little slap on the wrist?!

Hearing this, Ito Kakuri immediately exaggerated Naruto's crimes, shouting furiously, "You're not even human! You killed them just because they insulted you! After all these years of Konoha's careful nurturing, have you thrown your Will of Fire to the dogs?"

"The Will of Fire..." Naruto murmured, then curled his lip in disdain. "What, a lighter?"

Everyone's faces twitched.

They couldn't believe Naruto had not only killed people in broad daylight, but had also dared to blaspheme the Will of Fire!

How was that any different from treason?

"Heh..." Ito Kakuri laughed instead of getting angry. He'd accomplished his goal. Naruto had no chance of escape now; he could only submit to Lord Danzo's control!

At the thought, he waved his hand and bellowed with all his might,

"Then let Root give you a proper test! Root, take him down!"

At his words,

Whoosh—

Ito Kakuri charged in first, followed closely by the Root shinobi. They raised their gleaming weapons and struck at Naruto!

Naruto didn't even flinch.

Then his body shifted slightly, and he vanished from the spot.

"What happened? Where did he go?!" Ito Kakuri froze.

Before he could say anything else,

the next moment,

"Whoosh!" Naruto suddenly appeared behind Ito Kakuri. He raised his right foot and brought it down with tremendous force.

Ito Kakuri was driven straight into the ground by the blow, embedded so deeply that he couldn't pull himself out!

Before the others could recover,

Naruto had already formed the hand signs. He slammed both hands onto the ground.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

In an instant,

Rumble—

The ground shook violently, like a giant beast being roused. The earth split open, and a terrifying yellow-brown swamp surged up from below, radiating the power to devour everything!

In the blink of an eye, it swallowed all the Root shinobi who had come close, leaving them unable to move an inch!

In the time it took to blink, he had dealt with every Root shinobi there!

At that moment,

Naruto stood atop Ito Kakuri's head, his blue-green eyes sweeping over the crowd as he declared proudly,

"A few Root shinobi think they can test me? Send Danzo!"