Root Ninja

Qingcheng was underground, watching the twenty-plus ninja ambushed in the forest, including two Root ninja who were Elite Jonin.

These must be Root ninja. Danzo probably wants to deal with me, so he's grabbing Kurenai first to force my hand, Qingcheng thought to himself.

The Root ninja, all wearing animal masks, were hidden among the trees in the forest. The leader, wearing a yellow fox mask, watched Kurenai Yuhi and the others enter their ambush. He spoke sternly, "Capture Kurenai Yuhi. Kill everyone else. Leave no survivors."

Kurenai Yuhi clapped her hands and said with a serious expression, "We're going back the way we came. This mission must be aborted."

Hayate Gekko said gravely, "If we abandon the mission, our completion rate will drop. I'm about to become a Special Jonin, so I can't just give up like this."

Yugao Uzuki immediately spoke up, "Kurenai-senpai, is something wrong here?"

Just then, over a dozen masked Root ninja charged out of the forest, directly attacking Kurenai Yuhi and her group.

Hayate Gekko immediately drew his katana and shouted sternly, "I am Hayate Gekko of Konoha, a man who will one day become Hokage! What do you intend to do to my client?"

No sooner had he spoken than Hayate Gekko activated his Hiding in Mist Technique and charged towards the Root ninja, shouting again, "Konoha Style: Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

Yugao Uzuki also immediately drew her long sword, standing beside the client with a grave expression, and warned, "Hayate, be careful. There are too many of them."

Kurenai Yuhi immediately pulled out a Sealing Scroll, retrieved Explosive Tags from within, and shouted, "Yugao, I have two hundred thousand Explosive Tags! Help me throw them and blow them all up!"

Yugao, hearing Kurenai Yuhi, her face filled with surprise, said in shock, "Two hundred thousand Explosive Tags? Kurenai-senpai, you're incredibly rich!"

Hayate Gekko used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to create two clones. The three of them swung their katanas, beginning to perform the Dance of the Crescent Moon.

The two Shadow Clones, along with Hayate Gekko, directly attacked the Root ninja at the front. With a flash of cold light, a sharp katana appeared, and Hayate Gekko's Dance of the Crescent Moon instantly killed one Root ninja.

The remaining two Shadow Clones swung their katanas, charging towards the other Root ninja.

The man with the fox mask shouted, "This kid is a Kekkei Genkai ninja! He can become invisible and use the Hiding in Mist Technique! Sensory-type members, attack him!"

Qingcheng watched the invisible Hayate Gekko constantly darting and weaving through the trees. He couldn't help but praise the swordplay that resembled a dance: "As expected of Hayate Gekko! This Hiding in Mist Technique is perfectly timed, and this Dance of the Crescent Moon is incredibly elegant. Truly commendable!"

Qingcheng continued to praise him, "Hayate Gekko, truly the man who almost survived until Shippuden! His swordplay is sharp, almost a third as good as the Uchiha Clan's kenjutsu!"

Just as Qingcheng was engrossed in watching, Hayate Gekko was discovered by a sensory-type ninja. That sensory-type ninja immediately shouted, "He's over there!" After speaking, he threw hundreds of shuriken, followed by a Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

Immediately, a large group of Root ninja also fired Ninjutsu at Hayate Gekko. Large amounts of Fire Release and Wind Release directly attacked Hayate Gekko.

The invisible Hayate Gekko, unable to dodge in time, was instantly riddled with holes. Hayate Gekko let out a few more agonizing screams: "Ah, ah!"

Bleeding from all over, he fell directly from the tree.

As Hayate Gekko fell, he was hit by several more Wind Release: Great Breakthroughs. With several swishes, his body was instantly torn into several pieces, a bloody, mangled mess, falling directly to the ground.

Qingcheng was instantly stunned. He said with a grave expression, "He should have died at the hands of Baki (Sand Ninja). How did he get killed by Root ninja? Perhaps it's the butterfly effect."

Yugao, seeing Hayate's gruesome death, cried out sadly, "Hayate, I'll avenge you!" Then, she began throwing Explosive Tags.

Large numbers of Explosive Tags, wrapped around kunai, shot towards the Root ninja.

Kurenai Yuhi worked with both hands, exerting force to hurl kunai with Explosive Tags attached fiercely at the Root ninja.

The attacking Root ninja, seeing piles of Explosive Tags as dense as a locust plague shooting towards them, immediately began to dodge, leaping towards the trees.

Two other ninja, wearing dog masks, immediately formed hand seals and shouted, "Earth Release: Earth Wall!"

With a rumbling sound, two mud walls appeared from the ground, protecting them.

In the forest, large numbers of Explosive Tags began to explode, instantly creating deafening booms and roars. Red light flashed, dust flew, and the ground began to vibrate.

Many trees were destroyed by the Explosive Tags, and plumes of black smoke rose into the sky.

Many birds, startled, shrieked and frantically flapped their wings, fleeing the forest.

Some Root ninja, unable to dodge in time or caught by the huge explosion radius, were directly killed by the Explosive Tags.

Because there were so many Explosive Tags, those Root ninja who were killed were mostly obliterated.

The two Root ninja using the Earth Wall were directly covered in mud, lying at the base of the wall. The Earth Wall had become an earthen tomb.

Kurenai Yuhi and Yugao did not stop throwing Explosive Tags. Like Gatling guns, they fired with both hands at the fleeing Root ninja.

Meanwhile, the client's carriage, and the horse pulling it, startled by the explosions of Explosive Tags, bolted into the forest.

The Minister of the Land of Hot Water, hiding in the carriage, was scared out of his wits and cried out in panic, "You two, hurry and save me! My horse is startled and won't stop!"

Kurenai's face was also serious. She said, "Yugao, go save him. The mission can fail, but the client cannot die."

Yugao nodded immediately, saying earnestly, "I understand, Kurenai-senpai."

With that, Yugao chased after the carriage, using the ninja run, with her arms behind her back, pursuing the carriage.

Kurenai Yuhi continued to throw Explosive Tags while also chasing the carriage.

The Root ninja, seeing that the Explosive Tags had decreased, all pursued Kurenai Yuhi. The leading fox-masked man said, "Dog, let's step in, or Lord Danzo's mission won't be completed."

The man with the black dog mask said angrily, "I can't believe these two wretched women had so many Explosive Tags, causing us to lose so many Root ninja. When we catch them, we'll break their limbs first."

Immediately, a large group of Root ninja used the Body Flicker Technique and swiftly darted towards Kurenai Yuhi.

Qingcheng, underground, watched as these two Root ninja directly attacked Kurenai, preparing to heavily injure her with a single blow.

Qingcheng immediately activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and instantly used Yomotsu Hirasaka, preparing to appear beside Kurenai.

Kurenai Yuhi also looked terrified, seeing that these two Elite Jonin both used advanced Body Flicker Technique and would soon catch up to her and Yugao.

Damn it, there's no going back now. I'll never see Qingcheng-kun again, she thought. Then, Kurenai Yuhi suddenly remembered something and pulled out a Three-pronged Kunai, shouting, "Old Man Yongcheng, hurry and help!"

Two Root ninja immediately used the Body Flicker Technique, appearing in front of Kurenai Yuhi and reaching out to grab her shoulders and neck.

Seeing the sudden appearance of the Root ninja, Yugao Uzuki cried out a warning, "Kurenai-senpai, watch out!"

Kurenai Yuhi's face was pale as she watched the large hands reaching for her. Just then, a black spatial rift appeared, and a yellow Susanoo skeleton emerged, enveloping Kurenai Yuhi.

The massive yellow skeletal hand directly grabbed the two Root ninja.

Kurenai Yuhi watched as she was enveloped by the yellow skeleton. A masked Uchiha ninja, clad entirely in black, appeared beside her.