"This is a genjutsu. When did you—?" The Root ninja jolted in surprise. By the time he realized what was happening, all four limbs had been embedded in the tree trunk, leaving him unable to move.
"Of course I cast it the moment I stepped through the gate. Scum, your disguise was far too shabby." Before anyone knew it, Chiya had appeared in front of the Root ninja. To the other man's astonishment, he swung a whip-like kick straight at his groin.
"Argh!" Amid the screams, the Root ninja was left writhing in agony.
The intense pain automatically dispelled the genjutsu. Clutching his groin, the Root ninja let out a heart-wrenching scream. Blood stained the ground as his body convulsed and he rolled around, wracked with pain.
He was no longer a man.
Chiya folded his arms and looked down at him. Though he already knew the answer, he asked, "Quick, tell me. Who sent you to infiltrate Konoha, and why did you attack me?"
"I'm from Dan—" The Root ninja had just started to explain that Danzo had sent him to summon Chiya when Chiya kicked him again. His voice abruptly became a long, shrill scream.
Hearing the unending cries from outside, Uchiha Izumi ran out of the house. She spotted Chiya and felt relieved, but then looked at the Root ninja writhing on the ground in agony and asked in confusion, "Chiya, what happened?"
"Nothing. I just caught a spy from an enemy country. I'm taking him to Lord Hokage." Chiya blocked Uchiha Izumi's view and kicked the Root ninja again. His body twitched a few times, then he was in too much pain to speak.
"Oh." Uchiha Izumi didn't suspect anything. "Come back soon. Dinner will be ready in a little while."
"Mm. I'll be right back." As he spoke, Chiya grabbed the Root ninja like a chicken and disappeared from the courtyard, heading straight for the Hokage Office Building.
Before leaving, he had left a Shadow Clone in the courtyard, just to be safe.
In a building not far outside the Uchiha Clan Compound,
the Anbu Ninja assigned to monitor the Uchiha Clan spotted Chiya on their surveillance feed. They were all startled. "Captain Kakashi, we have a situation. Chiya seems to have caught a Root ninja."
Kakashi's mouth twitched. "You all stay here and keep watch. I'll go take a look."
"Yes, Captain Kakashi." The Anbu Ninja answered in unison, and Kakashi vanished from the building.
Before long, he caught up with Chiya, who had just left the Uchiha Clan Compound. "Chiya, what are you doing?"
"Oh, Captain Kakashi. Perfect timing. I just caught an enemy spy who attacked me, and I was about to take him to Lord Hokage. Since you're here, I can save myself the extra trip." Chiya casually tossed the Root ninja in front of Kakashi, spouting nonsense with a straight face.
Kakashi looked at the Root ninja's bloodied groin and realized the man was no longer whole. He couldn't help feeling sorry for him. "He's not a spy. He's a Root ninja."
"Lord Danzo's subordinate? Really? No way." Chiya feigned surprise, then asked, "But why would he attack me out of nowhere? He didn't even say a word before going straight for the vital spot on my back. I was this close to being killed."
The Root ninja, already left a shell of a man, could only complain bitterly to himself. I was just greeting you and trying to put on a show of force. Did you really have to take it this far?
Kakashi had once served in Root and knew the sort of people who worked there. Hearing Chiya's explanation, he quickly pieced together what had happened.
"You've never dealt with Root before, so you might not know. This is just their most basic way of greeting someone. The Anbu do the same kind of test when they first meet new recruits. You were the only exception back then. I imagine Lord Danzo wants to summon you."
As he spoke, Kakashi turned to the Root ninja and asked, "Is that right?"
The Root ninja weakly nodded. After what had just happened, he didn't even have the strength to speak.
"Hey, you should've said so sooner. I kept asking, but he wouldn't say a word. Even if Lord Danzo wanted to summon me, he could've at least told me. Look at this—what a tragedy." Chiya shrugged, looking utterly innocent.
Kakashi didn't know what to say. He had never encountered a situation like this before. "You know where the Shimura Clan Compound is, right? Lord Danzo is there. Go meet him first. I'll take this man to the Medical Department and explain things to Lord Hokage and Lord Danzo later."
"Then thank you, Kakashi-senpai." As soon as Chiya finished speaking, he vanished from Kakashi's sight in a flash.
"He sure ran off fast." Kakashi gazed at the spot where Chiya had disappeared and sighed helplessly. Then he picked up the Root ninja and headed for the Medical Department.
Meanwhile,
at the Shimura Family Mansion,
the sky was growing dark. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled beneath thick clouds.
Just as in the original story, Danzo had summoned Uchiha Itachi.
Using Uchiha Sasuke as leverage, he ordered Itachi to kill every member of the Uchiha Clan, sparing only his younger brother.
The result was inevitable. After a painful struggle, Itachi, with his weakness held against him, agreed.
"For the sake of the village, you've made the right choice. I'm pleased." Danzo nodded in satisfaction. "But besides the Uchiha Clan, I need you to kill one more person for the village."
"Who?" Uchiha Itachi asked impassively. By then, he was nearly numb inside. All he wanted was to protect his younger brother and prevent a civil war from breaking out.
But when Danzo handed him the target's information, he still reacted.
A deep wariness flashed in his eyes.
Fujiwara Chiya.
He was one of the few men whose true strength Itachi couldn't gauge.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Danzo's lips curled slightly. His already rigid old face twisted into a wry smile. "This should be an easy opponent for you to deal with. After all, your Sharingan is specifically suited to counter his genjutsu."
"You should know that Chiya knows the truth about the Uchiha. If he lets it slip, he'll pose a tremendous threat to both you and the village."
"No, there's no problem." Uchiha Itachi shook his head.
Though he was wary of Chiya's strength, he had faith in his Mangekyō Sharingan and chose to accept the mission.
"Good. We'll act tomorrow night, on the night of the full moon. In the meantime, I'll suspend Fujiwara Chiya's mission to monitor the Uchiha. I'll let him spend one last beautiful night with that Uchiha Izumi girl. Once everything is settled, I expect to see him die as a hero, on the path of Protect Konoha."
Danzo's gaze flickered as he added, "This is all for the sake of the village."
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