Toru looked up. Through the Six Eyes, he could clearly see the countless tiny, intricate streams of Chakra inside the masked man's body.
"Bugs? Looks like the Aburame clan."
Toru had seen Aburame clan students during his time at the ninja academy. Their bodies housed these special insects that possessed Chakra. Normally, the insects fed on their Chakra, but in battle, they assisted them.
The Aburame clan was considered a major clan in Konoha, a renowned family of insect manipulators throughout the ninja world.
"Lord Danzo has summoned you. Please come with me." The masked Aburame clan man repeated his request.
Toru looked at the masked man's face. Through the mask, he could vaguely see some kind of seal on the man's tongue.
Combined with the man's special identity and Danzo's manner of handling affairs that Toru had observed, it was not difficult to infer that it was a seal meant to prevent the leaking of secrets.
"And you are?"
Toru asked.
The masked man removed his mask, revealing a face hidden behind sunglasses. A purple marking was tattooed beside his lips on the right side of his face. Expressionlessly, he said, "Aburame Ryoma, a member of Root."
"Root? That's the codename for the Anbu Training Department, right?" Toru said thoughtfully.
Aburame Ryoma put his mask back on and continued in the same unruffled tone, "Lord Danzo invites you to Root's base."
As Toru wondered whether every member of Root was this stone-faced, he said, "All right. Lead the way."
Root's base lay deep underground. Through the Anbu Training Department building aboveground, one could descend directly into a vast space a hundred meters below the surface.
Hidden so deeply, it truly lived up to the name Root.
Like roots buried deep in the earth, Root's base was concealed beneath the