Looking at Shisui Uchiha, surrounded at the edge of the cliff with blood continuously streaming from his tightly shut right eye, Shimura Danzō stood at the front and said, "Shisui Uchiha, give up resisting. Give me your left eye, and let me place a Cursed Seal on you. I can spare your life and let you live on as a Root Ninja."
When training the members of Root, Danzō demanded that they have no names, no emotions, no past, and no future—that their only concern be their missions.
To prevent Root's secrets from getting out, Danzō placed this Cursed Seal on its members. Whenever one of them tried to speak about Danzō, their whole body would go numb, leaving them unable to speak or move.
Perhaps the change in his outlook after coming face-to-face with death had finally awakened Shisui Uchiha. One of the few members of the Uchiha Clan who longed for peace, he was an honest man. He said nothing, only swiftly activating his Sharingan. Its three Tomoe joined together and spun, transforming into a shape resembling a Fuma Shuriken.
Seeing this, Danzō stopped wasting his breath. As long as he got Shisui's eyes, it didn't matter whether the man was alive. He waved a hand, signaling the Root Ninjas to attack Shisui.
Suddenly, two figures appeared between Shisui and the Root Ninjas. They were Jiraiya and Naruto, transformed into Kakuzu and Hidan.
At the sight of the two who had suddenly barged into the scene, both sides stopped moving.
Shimura Danzō shouted sternly, "How dare you! Rogue ninja from Takigakure and Yugakure, what are you doing in Konoha?"
Naruto let out a cackling laugh and replied, "Our Akatsuki organization recruits rogue ninja from every village. We heard that Shisui Uchiha of Konoha was unmatched in the Body Flicker Technique, so we came to take a look. And now, of course, we're going to save him."
"You're nothing but a pair of rogue ninja, and you dare to boast like that? Attack!" Danzō roared.
As soon as Danzō finished speaking, the Root Ninjas charged at Naruto and Jiraiya.
Signaling for Jiraiya to stay back, Naruto walked toward the oncoming ninja. He didn't plan to use Spirit Energy or martial techniques. He wanted to test how strong he'd become using only his body.
After Naruto walked off, Jiraiya moved to Shisui's side.
Seeing Shisui watch him warily, Jiraiya said, "Don't be nervous. We're just here to invite you to join our organization. Take a rest for now. You can ask questions later."
Seeing Naruto approach at an unhurried pace, completely undefended and showing no sign of performing a jutsu, Danzō was furious. Naruto was blatantly looking down on him. "Kill him!"
The Root Ninjas promptly drew their Shuriken and hurled them at Naruto.
Naruto didn't dodge. He simply closed his eyes and let the attacks land. Like Shadow Clones, a Transformation Technique performed with Spirit Energy wouldn't be dispelled when struck, so Naruto kept Hidan's appearance.
The Shuriken struck Naruto with a series of metallic clinks, then all fell to the ground.
When the Root Ninjas saw their Shuriken attacks had failed, they swiftly formed Hand Seals and used ninjutsu.
There was the Earth Release Earthquake, the Water Release Water Dragon Bullet, the Fire Release Great Fireball, the Wind Release Pressure Damage, and more.
Naruto didn't dodge. He'd wanted to test for a long time whether he could withstand ninjutsu head-on. Jiraiya was right behind him, and Kurama's seal had been undone. Even if Naruto couldn't take the attacks, Kurama would quickly use Spirit Energy to shield him. At worst, he'd suffer some minor injuries.
Since different people had cast the jutsu, they didn't combine into a coordinated technique.
As the jutsu were about to hit him, Naruto closed his eyes and channeled a little Spirit Energy into his eyeballs, forming a protective layer over them.
As he shut his eyes, Naruto felt his body take a slight impact. Before he could open them, he also felt as though someone had stabbed him.
When he opened his eyes, Naruto saw Shimura Danzō standing in front of him, gripping a Kunai and holding it in the act of stabbing. The Kunai was pressed against Naruto's heart.
Naruto had been focusing his senses on the ninjutsu just now, so he hadn't paid much attention to when Danzō had approached. But that wasn't what puzzled him. There was no chakra nature transformation on Danzō's Kunai—it was just an ordinary attack.
That didn't make sense. Danzō was Hiruzen Sarutobi's contemporary and a fellow student of the Second Hokage. Even if he wasn't as strong as Hiruzen Sarutobi, he shouldn't have been much weaker.
Putting aside his confusion, Naruto swiftly raised his right leg and kicked Danzō with all his strength. It was just an ordinary kick, not Mad Demon Leg. Naruto was afraid he might kick Danzō to death. It wasn't time for Danzō to die yet.
As Naruto's foot struck Shimura Danzō in the stomach, there was a thud, and Danzō went flying.
Danzō had flown about five meters before landing. Clutching his stomach, he struggled to his feet, ordered the other Root Ninjas to keep attacking Naruto, then turned and ran.
Naruto didn't chase him. He'd deal with the Anbu Ninja here first.
Most of the Anbu Ninja present were Special Jōnin, with a few other ninja among them. Naruto didn't want to waste any more time. They weren't strong enough to help him test anything.
After using Spirit Energy Body Infusion, Naruto charged at them. He didn't use any martial techniques, just ordinary punches and kicks.
Even so, these ninja couldn't withstand them. Ninja were naturally stronger on offense than defense. Unless they used a special jutsu, their defenses were no better than an ordinary person's.
Before long, Naruto had killed all the Root Ninjas. Their bodies lay on the ground, each with several large holes in them. The layer of Spirit Energy surrounding Naruto's body after Spirit Energy Body Infusion had kept the blood away, so none had gotten on him.
Seeing that all the Root Ninjas there had been killed, Naruto walked over to Jiraiya and Shisui Uchiha. "Pervy Sage, come with me to Root's headquarters. Shisui Uchiha, wait here for us. We'll be quick."
By then, Shimura Danzō had returned to headquarters. He'd gathered all the ninja currently there and was about to lead them in an attack on Naruto and Jiraiya.
Before he could set out, however, the ninja responsible for guarding Root's Sensory Barrier reported that two people had broken in.
Danzō immediately ordered all the ninja who had gathered to rush toward the passage Naruto and the others had entered through.
Naruto sensed a large group of Root Ninjas surging toward them. He turned to Jiraiya and said, "Pervy Sage, this one's yours."
Jiraiya stopped and nodded. Then he folded his arms and waited where he stood.
When the sound of hurried footsteps approached, Jiraiya swiftly used Spirit Energy Body Infusion. As soon as he saw the ninja charging toward them, he quickly formed Hand Seals. "Fire Release: Flame Bullet Technique!" A stream of fire shot from his mouth, not in the shape of a ball, but as a beam aimed at the Root Ninjas.
After the chakra in Jiraiya's body had all been replaced with Spirit Energy, his Flame Bullet could still attack in the form of a ball, as it had before. But he could also change it into a beam of fire, as he did now. As long as he kept channeling Spirit Energy, the beam would continue to pour from his mouth.
In the narrow passage, the beam of fire Jiraiya released filled almost the entire space. The Root Ninjas had charged too quickly to react, and the passage was too narrow to give them anywhere to dodge.
The moment the beam touched the body of the ninja at the front, he burst into flames. Those behind him, unaware of what was happening, kept rushing forward.
Jiraiya increased his Spirit Energy output, extending the beam of fire even farther. It engulfed almost all of the Root Ninjas. Only a few at the back, who were running more slowly, managed to retreat when they saw the flames.
By then, all the Root Ninjas caught in Jiraiya's beam had been reduced to ashes. Jiraiya stopped channeling Spirit Energy, and the beam vanished. A pungent smell of burning soon filled the air.
Naruto and Jiraiya didn't go any farther. They'd accomplished their goal, and could now leave with Shisui Uchiha.
Why had Naruto asked Jiraiya to kill so many Root Ninjas? First, they'd undergone Danzō's training for so long that they'd lost their humanity and become machines. Even if Danzō was killed later, they wouldn't return to normal.
Second, it would show Konoha how powerful the Akatsuki organization was, paving the way for Jiraiya's plan to return to the village.
Feeling the scorching heat coming from the passage, Shimura Danzō knew the ninja he'd sent out were probably doomed.
Sure enough, less than ten people came back from the passage. As for the rest, he didn't need to guess what had happened to them. Just as he was wondering what to do, the ninja in charge of the Sensory Barrier told him that the two intruders had left and weren't coming any farther in.
Hearing this, Shimura Danzō didn't have time to think. He immediately turned and headed down another passage. There weren't many ninja left guarding Root, so he had to find Hiruzen Sarutobi. He had to make sure those two damn rogue ninja stayed in Konoha.
Shimura Danzō soon arrived at the Sarutobi Clan's compound. After explaining why he'd come to the guards, he waited at the entrance.
Seeing how disheveled Shimura Danzō looked, the guards didn't dare delay. One of them hurried inside to report to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had already gone to bed. When he heard the guard report that Shimura Danzō had something urgent to discuss and was in a sorry state, he quickly got up and followed the guard to the entrance.
The moment Shimura Danzō saw Hiruzen Sarutobi come out, he hurried over and said, "Hiruzen, gather the ninja quickly! Two rogue ninja came and took Shisui Uchiha. They also killed many of Root's ninja."
When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard that Shisui Uchiha had been taken, he assumed their plan had been exposed. After asking where it had happened, he immediately told the Anbu Ninja stationed near his home to gather reinforcements, then hurried off with Danzō.
Before you continue