A gentle breeze drifted across the broad lake, ruffling its surface into ripples. Waves slapped against the shore with a splashing sound. Towering trees, clear water, birdsong, and the chirping of insects made it seem as though they were standing inside a beautiful landscape painting.
Yakushi Nonō looked at the handsome, fresh-faced Sato Hideaka and drew a deep breath. "Hideaka, did you use ninjutsu to make that charred hole in the rocks by the artificial hill in the courtyard?"
"Sorry, Sister Nonō. After reading the Basic Ninja Knowledge scroll, I wanted to try creating a jutsu of my own using the methods in it... I didn't expect to get so carried away and cause that much damage!"
Sato Hideaka awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. He felt guilty and embarrassed about damaging a corner of the once-quiet, elegant courtyard.
Looking at Hideaka's obvious embarrassment, Yakushi Nonō's expression turned serious. "Could you try it again? Use your self-created jutsu here."
"Okay."
Sato Hideaka's expression shifted. He suddenly noticed that Yakushi Nonō wasn't wearing her usual warm smile. Instead, she looked somber and grave, and even her smile from earlier had seemed forced. He had a vague sense that something was wrong, as though he'd overlooked something...
He gathered single-natured chakra of the fire and earth elements in his right arm, mixing them in the proper proportions. Waves of heat rose from his arm as dark red lava covered it, bubbling like liquid and giving off faint wisps of smoke.
Fixing his eyes on a distant tree so large that five people could encircle its trunk, Sato Hideaka dashed toward it. The lava on his right arm began to churn, gradually taking on the shape of a hound...
[Lava Style: Hell Hound]!
His fist slammed into the tree trunk. The scorching lava took the shape of a hound, opened its fearsome jaws, and plunged deep into the tree, punching right through its massive trunk. The lava's immense heat brought the tree to its ignition point.
The tree burst into flames around the hole!
Lava dripped from the tree, falling inside the trunk and slowly melting down onto the ground under the pull of gravity. The ten-meter-tall tree, its roots buried deep in the earth, was reduced to ash.
"L-Lava Release... It really is Lava Release?"
Yakushi Nonō's pupils contracted sharply. Hideaka's lava-like jutsu was clearly a Kekkei Genkai formed by combining earth and fire chakra—Lava Release.
Even though she had prepared herself, Yakushi Nonō was still shocked. She had adopted another orphan from the village, just as she always did, never expecting the child to possess such incredible talent.
Most importantly, he had a Kekkei Genkai!
Everyone with a Kekkei Genkai possessed greater power than ordinary ninja. They were the elite combat strength of a ninja village. As the saying went, a man was not guilty of a crime, but of possessing a treasure. Perhaps having such power was a crime in itself.
Those with Kekkei Genkai were taken very seriously by both nations and ninja villages. A child with a Kekkei Genkai who had yet to mature would be protected by their own side and kept hidden from outsiders. On the other hand, enemy forces would spy on and assassinate them, bringing disaster upon them.
Yakushi Nonō knew that with her strength and standing, there was no way she could protect a child with a Kekkei Genkai. That was what worried her most when she realized Sato Hideaka might possess Lava Release.
Just as Yakushi Nonō was caught in her dilemma, a rustling sound from a clump of bushes drew her attention. A ninja's instinctive vigilance made her swiftly leap into a tall tree to survey the area and prepare for danger.
A shadow darted through the dense forest and quickly left the area...
Seeing the familiar clothes and the way the figure moved, Yakushi Nonō's face turned deathly pale. That was the way of Root...
No one understood better than Yakushi Nonō what terrifying, rotten things lurked beneath peaceful Konoha. In the sinister underground world, there was an organization called Root. It trained one emotionless "killing machine" after another.
Before their training was complete, these "killing machines" had to sever their bonds. They had no names or emotions, no past or future. They had completely lost their humanity, with nothing in their hearts but their missions!
Remembering the inhumane, brutal training she had endured in the dark Root, Yakushi Nonō began to tremble. Fear showed in her eyes—
Hideaka was only five. She absolutely couldn't let Root take him away.
No matter what it cost her!
The fear in Yakushi Nonō's eyes gradually gave way to resolve. She jumped down from the tree and told Sato Hideaka to take the children back to the orphanage. Then she warned him, "Hideaka, don't go with anyone until I come back. Understand?"
Seeing Yakushi Nonō's grave expression, Sato Hideaka nodded in agreement.
After giving him those instructions, Yakushi Nonō hurried into the woods alone and set off toward Konoha once more—
If anyone in Konoha could stop Root's leader, it was this one person!
Near an isolated warehouse on the outskirts of Konoha.
A strange, stealthy figure wearing a peculiar mask and a beige trench coat, with his entire body wrapped up, suddenly slipped into a room. He opened a concealed hatch in the floor, revealing a pitch-black staircase.
At the bottom of the stairs lay a maze of tunnels. The masked man navigated them with ease and soon reached a bare, eerie room lit by candles, with several bookshelves, a square table, and wooden chairs.
"I'm Number 167. I have special intelligence to report to the leader!"
The man sat down on a wooden chair and spoke toward the empty room, as if talking to himself. The room fell silent.
After an unknown amount of time, the bookshelves slowly shifted, revealing a long, dark passage!
The masked man lit a torch with the candle flame, then raised it in his right hand to illuminate the pitch-black passage. After walking more than two hundred meters, he reached an underground hall.
In the middle of the hall, atop five tiers of steps, stood a wooden chair. A middle-aged man with bandages wrapped around his head sat in it. One hand propped up his chin, which bore a cross-shaped scar, as his one visible eye stared menacingly down at the man below.
"Leader, you ordered me to watch Yakushi Nonō. She spotted me, and the mission failed!"
The masked man in the trench coat dropped to one knee and bowed his head respectfully.
"Number 167, I recall that your colleague was executed for failing a mission. I doubt you asked to see me just to die over your own failure."
The bandaged man narrowed his one visible eye, his expression edged with impatience and murderous intent.
"Yes, leader. I found the child you told us to keep an eye on. He not only has exceptional ninja talent, but also a Lava Release Kekkei Genkai. That's why Nonō spotted me while I was gathering information!"
"A Kekkei Genkai? A Lava Release Kekkei Genkai?" The bandaged man abruptly rose from his chair. A few seconds later, he sat back down and spoke toward a dark corner. "There's no need to investigate the brat's identity. Number 4, take your squad and bring him back. I want him brought back completely unharmed..."
Several shadows flashed through the dark corner and disappeared. Number 167, one of the members of Root's Number 4 Squad, vanished with them.
Shimura Danzō sat in his chair, feeling his breathing grow slightly labored. Under normal circumstances, such rapid breathing was almost impossible. Nothing could affect a heart as cold as his.
But Yakushi Nonō, you really have brought me a surprise!
With a Lava Release Kekkei Genkai and such astonishing talent, if the brat could endure the trials and grow up, Root would gain at least one elite jonin. With the right training, he might even become a Kage Level powerhouse!
Sato Hideaka... In Danzō's mind, he was already as good as his.