Hurry and Get the Lord Third~

"What should we do now, Lord Zhixiang?" One of the Root shinobi turned to the Aburame clan member whom Lord Danzo trusted so deeply!

"sigh Lord Danzo has already made up his mind to die. We can stop him once, but we can't stop him forever. There's nothing I can do in this situation. Hurry and get the Lord Third!"

"Yes, Lord Zhixiang!" Before the words had even left his mouth, the Root shinobi vanished in a flash!

Utatane Gen... What had he done to Lord Danzo? Aburame Zhixiang stared at the outrageous slogan Utatane Gen had left on the wall, unsure what to do!

Sarutobi Clan Compound~

"What? You're saying someone invaded Root?" Hiruzen Sarutobi stared in bewilderment. Konoha had only recently endured the Nine-Tails Rebellion. How much time had passed since then? And now someone else had invaded Root, with no regard for their own life? What a turbulent time!

"Yes, Lord Third! Lord Aburame Zhixiang sent me to inform you so you could take charge!" Root Shinobi A hurriedly explained!

"Me? Take charge? What about Danzo? How is he? Could it be...?!" Given Danzo's temperament, messing with his Root was even more serious than messing with his manhood. He showed no mercy to anyone over this, no matter who they were—not even Hiruzen, the Lord Third!

But now a Root shinobi was asking him to take charge? Could it be that Danzo...

The thought of his old friend leaving him after all these years sent a pang of anguish through Hiruzen's heart! He took two sharp puffs on his pipe, barely managing to steady himself!

"Lord Danzo is fine. He's just a little unstable at the moment and keeps trying to kill himself!" Root Shinobi A reported honestly!

"??? Did I hear that right? What did you just say?" Hiruzen looked at him in disbelief. Could this Root shinobi be an enemy spy?

"You heard correctly. Lord Danzo really is trying to kill himself! Our Root medics barely managed to save his life. Right now, it's only thanks to all the Root shinobi working together that we've managed to restrain him. Otherwise, Danzo would probably have already gone to the Underworld to meet the First and Second! Lord Third, please hurry and take a look. Lord Aburame Zhixiang might not be able to keep things under control!" Root Shinobi A said, his voice full of grief!

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Danzo? Killing himself? Him? I've worked with Danzo for decades! No one understands what kind of person he is better than I do! I'd sooner believe that I was trying to kill myself than that Danzo was! You bunch of clowns actually think you can fool me, Hiruzen Sarutobi? Tell me! Who put you up to this?" Hiruzen sensed something was wrong and immediately shifted into a combat stance, shouting at him to stop!

"Nani? Who put me up to this? Me? Lord Zhixiang sent me!" Root Shinobi A was just as bewildered!

"So that's it! Aburame Zhixiang, is it? I never thought his ambitions were so great! Danzo, Danzo... You spent your whole life hunting geese, only to have one peck your eyes out! Hmph! In the end, I'll have to clean up the mess myself! Aburame Zhixiang! He's a treacherous, scheming sort—he'll never amount to anything! Someone, come here!" Hiruzen privately spun up this whole story in his head, then casually gave an order!

"Here, Lord Third!" A shinobi in an Anbu uniform stepped out of the shadows!

"Go inform the Fourth Hokage. There's a special situation. Have him assemble at once!" To be safe, Hiruzen sent someone to fetch Namikaze Minato first. If Aburame Zhixiang wanted to lure him to Root, then he must be confident he could keep him there! Better to play it safe and bring Minato along; at least they could watch each other's backs!

An incense stick later!

"Lord Third, what did you need me for?" His voice came before he did. A streak of yellow flashed into Hiruzen's view!

"Minato, something's happened at Root! Aburame Zhixiang has rebelled, and Danzo's life or death is uncertain! Come with me!" Hiruzen said gravely!

Huh? What a nice surprise! Danzo's life or death was uncertain? He should've stayed away!

"Aburame Zhixiang? A rebellion? I've always thought an organization like Root, operating outside the Hokage's authority, was unreliable. Now it's finally caused trouble. Lord Third, I think we need to disband Root!" Minato seized the opportunity to suggest!

"Hmm? I'll consider it. For now, our priority is capturing Aburame Zhixiang and rescuing Elder Danzo!" Hiruzen pretended to mull it over. As if he'd ever disband Root! Officially, Root belonged to Danzo, but in truth it was on Hiruzen's side. Disbanding it would cut the Elders' influence in half. Disband Root? The very idea was absurd!

"Yes, Lord Third. Then let's discuss it after we've rescued Elder Danzo!" Seeing that Hiruzen was brushing him off, Minato could only nod helplessly.

Root~

Since the two sides had completely different information, Root assumed Hiruzen had come to take charge, so no one tried to stop him!

Hiruzen and his party, meanwhile, assumed Root was merely letting its guard down on the surface while lying in wait with layer upon layer of traps! Though they kept their composure as they walked, their nerves were stretched taut!

Inside Root's main office, Aburame Zhixiang was anxiously holding Danzo down to stop him from trying to kill himself again!

Hiruzen and the others walked in just in time to see this scene!

"Aburame Zhixiang! How dare you! Let go of Elder Danzo at once!" Hiruzen shouted. At the same time, he signaled Minato to take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack and quickly subdue Zhixiang!

Minato understood and kept his eyes on Aburame Zhixiang, waiting for the right opening! After all, Zhixiang was a capable jōnin, and he was holding Danzo hostage. Hiruzen and the others had to act with caution!

"Lord Third, you're finally here! Please talk some sense into Lord Danzo! He wants to—" Aburame Zhixiang thought the Lord Third was telling him to let go of Danzo because he would handle everything. Hearing this, he relaxed his guard and started to release Danzo!

Bam! The instant Aburame Zhixiang's hands left Danzo, Minato used the Body Flicker Technique and drove a Rasengan, already prepared behind him, into Zhixiang. The blow smashed him against the wall like a painting!

"Na—Nani????" The surrounding Root shinobi were utterly bewildered! So many strange and outrageous things had happened that day that their little brains couldn't keep up! They had no idea whose side to take anymore...

At the same time, freed from Zhixiang's hold, Shimura Danzo used the Body Flicker Technique to hurl himself headfirst forward!

"Thud!" Just hearing the sound hurt! Unfortunately, the mental blow and the long time he'd spent restrained had badly weakened Danzo, so his collision with the wall didn't end with his brains splattered everywhere!

"Quick, hurry and get the medics!" Hiruzen ordered at once when he saw what had happened!

Just then, Aburame Zhixiang, clinging to his willpower, began painstakingly pulling himself off the wall, using both hands and feet!