Sasuke picked up the money, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
That should cover some of the expenses coming up, right?
Those big eaters could really put away food.
If he didn't think of a way to make money, he'd go broke.
Delighted, Sasuke pocketed the money and headed toward his house.
"Hm?!"
A few minutes after he set off, Sasuke sensed an unusual presence.
"Come out."
Sasuke stopped walking.
He was very close to the Uchiha Compound. If he ran into danger, he had enough confidence to escape.
So he wanted to see who was watching him.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
A rush of air sounded, and three shinobi wearing fox masks appeared in his sight.
They surrounded Sasuke in a Three Talents Formation.
"Root?"
"What, are you going to attack me?"
Sasuke looked puzzled.
Even if he was a genius, and even if he'd been in the limelight recently, surely that wasn't enough to make core members of the Root Organization come after him?
Besides, Root wouldn't dare take him away and lock him up in their organization.
Never mind the Uchiha; even Hiruzen Sarutobi probably wouldn't agree.
"Come with us."
"That way, you won't have to suffer as much."
"If you resist... it might hurt a little!"
The Root Organization member directly in front of him spoke mockingly.
At the same time, he took out a sealing scroll and the short sword strapped to his back.
"Go with you?"
"To the Root Organization?"
For some reason, a sudden sense of unease rose in Sasuke's heart.
This decision had been made by Danzō.
But that man shouldn't be stupid enough to take him straight back to the Root Organization.
There had to be something else going on.
"You don't need to know."
"Because you might be dead soon..."
"A corpse... doesn't need to know too much."
A sinister voice sounded beside Sasuke's ear.
In an instant, a pair of hands grabbed his ankles.
"Earth Release... When did that happen?"
Sasuke was surprised.
With his perception, he should've been able to sense even what was beneath the ground.
But just now, he hadn't noticed a thing behind him.
Now someone had him by the legs, while three core members of the Root Organization watched him menacingly from the front.
What was Danzō trying to do...? Was I the target?
Could it be?!
Sasuke suddenly thought of a pale face—Orochimaru?!
Shimura Danzō had once wanted to make Orochimaru Hokage, only for Minato to snatch the position away.
The two of them must have had some kind of dealings and contact.
"Taiji!"
Sasuke suddenly assumed Taiji's opening stance.
His body swayed slightly, and his chakra stirred in response.
A surge of internal force shot down to his feet, breaking him free of the grip.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Thunder God Mode!"
Sasuke immediately put all his chakra into motion.
After unleashing Fire Release, he scattered in every direction.
"Quick! We have to take him away tonight."
"Fugaku Uchiha will send reinforcements soon."
The leading Root Organization member barked an order and chased the Sasuke heading in his direction.
"Shing!"
The instant he raised his foot, lightning flashed before his eyes.
At the same time, a practice kunai pierced his heart.
"You..."
"Pfft..."
Before he could finish speaking, a violent surge of lightning poured from the kunai and destroyed his heart.
He toppled stiffly to the ground.
Sasuke immediately changed positions and dashed into the nearby woods.
He sent his Shadow Clones scattering to buy as much time as possible.
To confuse the Root Organization members, each Shadow Clone even held a bloodied kunai.
Behind a tree trunk.
"Just as I thought... I still can't suppress the feeling that comes after killing someone?"
"How could those guys..."
Sasuke panted, doing his best to steady his emotions.
If he let himself be affected, they might really take him away tonight.
And if Orochimaru was the one who'd hired them, then with his current strength, he wouldn't be able to escape if he was captured.
Fugaku Uchiha must have been tied up with something.
He'd bought himself ten minutes.
As long as he wasn't taken away within those ten minutes, then... these guys wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
Thinking this, Sasuke tightened his grip on the kunai.
He calmed his mind and started planning.
There were at least three more of them outside.
Their strength was at the elite jonin level.
He had no specific information and didn't know what the other side specialized in...
Damn Kishimoto, why couldn't he have given me a little more information about the Root Organization?!
"Found you!"
"Bang!"
As a Root Organization member brought his hand down in a chop, the Sasuke in front of him vanished in a puff of white smoke.
"A Shadow Clone?"
"This guy..."
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
At that moment, the Root members also released Shadow Clones.
They attacked every Sasuke at once.
That way, they could naturally find the real one.
Soon, dozens of figures appeared in the woods.
The sounds of battle rang out continuously.
Three minutes later.
The three remaining Root members stood together, looking bewildered.
"They were all Shadow Clones!"
"How could his concealment technique be this good?"
Root Member 1 was baffled.
They had taken out every "Uchiha Sasuke" in the woods, yet they hadn't found the real one.
And they'd kept their senses active the whole time. No one had escaped, either.
Had Uchiha Sasuke disappeared?!
"Outside!"
Suddenly, one of them realized something and immediately dashed out of the woods.
"Wind Release: Wind Flow Wave!"
One of the Root Organization members unleashed Wind Release, blowing away the dust left behind by Sasuke's earlier battle.
A figure appeared right before them.
"So you found me after all?"
"As expected of the leader of Konoha's underground organization. Root really is impressive."
"But it's too late for you to take me away now..."
Sasuke's calm voice rang out.
Though he'd spoken just three short sentences, they put immense pressure on the three of them.
Five minutes had already passed.
Uchiha chakra could even be sensed in the distance.
If they insisted on fighting, then...
"Zzzzt..."
As the Root Organization members weighed their options, they suddenly heard the sound of electricity.
"What's that... a kunai?!"
He stared at the kunai by his feet as electricity slowly crackled across it.
He froze...
"Zzzzt!"
The next moment, several Little White Worms enveloped him.
The violent Lightning Release chakra instantly paralyzed his body.
"Ugh..."
A faint twinge of pain came from his chest.
When he looked closely, Sasuke had already appeared right in front of him.
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