You Killed Him Too Decisively

Boom!

The warehouse doors were kicked to pieces.

Uchiha Tekka charged in first.

Behind him were more than a dozen elite members of the Uchiha Police Force.

The Hokage's Anbu followed close behind them.

Both sides arrived almost at the same time.

But the Uchiha were a step faster.

They'd been holding in their anger all night.

They hadn't come to "investigate" at all.

They'd come to smash the place!

Tekka's Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated, and he raised his long blade.

"Everyone, listen up!"

"If anyone dares burn a scroll, chop off their hand!"

"If anyone dares destroy evidence, break their legs!"

"If anyone resists, treat them as rogue ninja and deal with them on the spot!"

As soon as he finished speaking,

the Root ninja attacked without a word.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A flurry of senbon, kunai, and shuriken shot out of the darkness.

Tekka sneered.

"They're still resisting?"

He swept his long blade around, Fire Style Chakra coiling around it.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Blade!"

Boom!

A blade of flame swept across the room.

The three Root ninja charging straight at him were forced back.

The Uchiha Police Force pressed forward at once.

Sharingan activated!

Genjutsu unleashed!

Shuriken blocked their escape!

Fire Style erupted!

In an instant, flames burst at the entrance to the underground hideout.

Root excelled at assassination.

The Uchiha excelled at overpowering their opponents head-on.

Once Root lost the initiative and the Uchiha trapped them inside the hideout, their advantage was immediately cut in half.

And the Anbu were there too.

Though the Anbu and the Uchiha were wary of each other, they shared the same goal for now.

Seal off Root's hideout.

Seize the evidence!

Anbu Captain Dog gave his orders in a low voice:

"First squad, seal the exits!"

"Second squad, secure the scrolls!"

"Third squad, subdue the Root members!"

Tekka roared:

"Uchiha, follow me to the armory!"

"They must be burning something!"

Both sides charged in at once.

The underground hideout descended into chaos.

Outside the hideout,

Shin-getsu stood on a rooftop, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan turning slowly.

Shisui stood beside him.

"You're not going in?"

Shin-getsu replied calmly,

"If I go in now, Root could focus their fire on me."

Shisui glanced at him.

"At least you're thinking clearly."

Shin-getsu said,

"I'm not here to get myself killed."

Shisui felt a little helpless.

This kid could always make the most reasonable things sound like the coldest of blades.

But he was right.

Shin-getsu was strong with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

But he was still small, and his chakra was limited. Forcing his way into Root's hideout would be risky.

True strength wasn't about showing off your courage in the moment.

It was about knowing when to act and when to wait for an opportunity.

Shisui suddenly asked,

"What are you waiting for, then?"

Shin-getsu's gaze settled on a patch of shadow behind the hideout.

"For someone to escape."

Shisui's eyes narrowed.

Almost as soon as Shin-getsu finished speaking,

the ground behind the hideout suddenly split open.

A shadowy figure emerged from underground.

A Sealing Box was clutched in his arms as he raced toward the village outskirts.

Shisui was just about to move when Shin-getsu raised a hand.

"Not yet."

Shisui frowned.

"He's getting away."

Shin-getsu activated Causality Perception.

Three escape routes appeared around the shadowy figure.

The rooftop to the left.

The drainage ditch.

Behind the chimney of an old warehouse.

Shin-getsu instantly figured out his route.

"He won't get away."

As he spoke, Shin-getsu formed Hand Seals.

Lightning Chakra crackled in his palm.

"Lightning Style: Earth Flash!"

Zzt!

A streak of blue-white lightning raced over the roof tiles.

The lightning wasn't powerful.

But its angle was devious.

Instead of striking the target head-on, it blocked the spot where the figure was about to land.

The figure had just leapt onto the roof when his foot landed right on the lightning.

Zzt!

His body went numb in an instant.

His movements stalled for half a beat.

That half beat was all Shin-getsu needed.

He leapt down from the rooftop, his kunai flashing with a cold glint.

The figure's expression changed, and he twisted aside to avoid a fatal blow.

Stab!

The kunai sank into his shoulder.

Shin-getsu didn't stop.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan locked onto the man's wrist.

He kicked at the back of the man's knee.

Thud!

The figure dropped to one knee.

The Sealing Box slipped from his arms and flew away.

Shin-getsu flicked his left hand, steel wire wrapping around the box before he yanked it back.

The figure's eyes widened.

"Give it back!"

He opened his mouth and spat out a poisoned needle.

Shin-getsu dodged it with a tilt of his head.

The next instant, he sent Sharingan Genjutsu straight into the man's eyes.

It was only a basic illusion.

But boosted by his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, it was enough to make the man's mind freeze for an instant.

The figure's pupils went unfocused.

Shin-getsu struck back with his kunai.

Stab!

The kunai pierced the man's throat.

His body stiffened as blood gushed out.

This was the first time Shin-getsu had killed someone in a head-on battle by combining his own ninjutsu, Sharingan, and Taijutsu.

No Explosive Tags and mutual destruction.

No collapsing roof beams.

No relying entirely on someone else to protect him.

He had killed an elite Root ninja with his own hands.

The System Prompt rang out at once.

[Host killed an elite Root Chunin.]

[Lightning Style: Earth Flash achieved its first kill in actual combat.]

[Obtained Causality Points: 1800.]

[Obtained blue trait: Lightning Style: Activation.]

[Detected that the host achieved his first head-on kill with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.]

[Obtained bonus reward: Sharingan Dynamic Enhancement.]

Shin-getsu's lips curled up slightly.

That felt good.

This was the pace he wanted.

Kill the enemy.

Get rewards.

Grow stronger.

Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique to land beside him. He glanced at the corpse on the ground, then looked at Shin-getsu.

"You killed him too decisively."

Shin-getsu put away his kunai and replied calmly,

"He was trying to escape."

Shisui said,

"You could have taken him alive."

Shin-getsu looked at the Root corpse.

"His tongue was moving just now."

"One second more, and he would've killed himself."

Shisui fell silent.

Shin-getsu tossed him the Sealing Box.

"Open it and take a look."

Shisui took the Sealing Box, examined it for a moment, then broke through the outer seal.

The box opened.

There were three things inside.

First, a stack of surveillance files on Uchiha Clan members.

Second, several empty bottles of Sharingan Preservation Fluid.

Third, a list.

When Shisui saw the empty bottles, his expression changed instantly.

"Sharingan Preservation Fluid?"

Shin-getsu's gaze turned cold.

"Just as I thought."

The Root had been collecting Sharingan for a long time.

If this box had been sent away, Danzo could have kept making excuses.

But now, it had fallen into Uchiha hands.

Shisui picked up the list.

He glanced at it once, and his pupils contracted.

"These names..."

Shin-getsu asked:

"Uchiha Clan members?"

Shisui nodded grimly.

"Some were clan members who died in battle."

"Some... were clan members who went missing."

Shin-getsu sneered.

"After they died in battle, their eyes were gouged out."

"After they went missing, their bodies disappeared."

"Do you still think some people can be reasoned with?"

Shisui clenched the list in his hand and said nothing.

For the first time, his expression turned utterly grim.

He had known that Danzo distrusted the Uchiha.

He had also known the Root used dark methods.

But seeing the empty bottles of Sharingan Preservation Fluid and the list of missing clan members with his own eyes was something else entirely.

This wasn't suspicion.

It was a blood debt.

Shin-getsu didn't keep provoking him.

That was enough.

What was in this box today was worth more than a hundred things he could say.

Inside the underground hideout.

The fighting was nearly over.

The Uchiha and Anbu had joined forces, and the Root's outer hideout had no chance of holding them back.

Tekka kicked open the Armory door.

Inside, two Root shinobi were frantically burning scrolls.

"Bastards!"

Tekka used the Body Flicker Technique to rush in and cut off one man's arm with a single slash.

The other tried to form Hand Seals to kill himself, but Inabi pinned him with a Genjutsu.

Uchiha Yashiro immediately stepped forward and sealed his chakra.

"Keep them alive!"

"Don't let them die!"

Tekka snatched the scroll that hadn't finished burning beside the brazier.

He opened it and took a look.

His expression twisted with rage.

"Uchiha Compound Surveillance Log."

"Root Operation Record."

"Uchiha Orphan Sample Assessment..."

When Tekka read the last line, his killing intent exploded.

"Sample assessment?"

"Son of a bitch!"

He turned and kicked the captured Root shinobi.

Thud!

The man's ribs broke on the spot.