Root Pursuit Squad

The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.

Amid a field of jagged rocks.

This place was only half a day's journey from the Ninja Cat Clan's habitat.

With the Flying Technique, it would take only half an hour.

Nekota of the Nekomata Clan and Cat Stone, the chief of the Maneki-neko Clan, hid themselves and waited for the Root pursuit squad Danzo had sent.

"Nekota, after I die, the Ninja Cat Clan will be in your hands!"

Cat Stone, the chief of the Maneki-neko Clan, looked somewhat dejected. His claws rubbed against the scroll in his arms several times.

After witnessing the formidable strength of Uchiha Feng and the others, he had completely lost any desire to resist.

"Don't overthink it. You only need to do what has been arranged. The Maneki-neko Clan won't be implicated. After all, you still have your uses."

Nekota comforted the chief of the Maneki-neko Clan.

"A disgusting presence has appeared nearby. It's the scent of dogs!"

Nekota suddenly tensed as a presence they loathed encroached upon them.

"It's Shimura Danzo's men. One of them is a ninja from the Inuzuka Clan. Go!"

The chief of the Maneki-neko Clan looked resolute. He had to pay for the mistake he had made, and that price was his life.

Only then could he secure equal treatment for the Maneki-neko Clan.

"Alright!" Nekota answered, then used the Summoning Technique to return to the Ninja Cat Clan's habitat.

Within the rocky forest, a group of elite Root pursuit squad ninjas vigilantly watched their surroundings.

"Woof, woof! Ninja cats have appeared here."

In the rocky forest, a dog from the Inuzuka Clan had likewise discovered the presence of a ninja cat.

"It's me!" The chief of the Maneki-neko Clan appeared.

The Konoha Root pursuit squad relaxed slightly. This ninja cat was the one who had made a deal with Danzo.

They had already had one perfect cooperation, so their guard had weakened somewhat.

"Did you bring the information we wanted?"

One of the ninjas, wrapped head to toe in black, took out a large bundle of banknotes and waved it as he spoke to the chief of the Maneki-neko Clan.

"I brought it!" The chief of the Maneki-neko Clan leaped down from a rock. A scroll appeared in his paws, and he approached the Root pursuit squad.

As he spoke, his claws began unrolling the scroll.

"Something's wrong~~" The ninja holding a long blade drew it and aimed it at the chief of the Maneki-neko Clan.

But it was already too late.

The scroll in the chief's paws unfurled completely, revealing layer upon layer of explosive tags packed across the entire scroll.

Their fuses had already ignited automatically.

The Root pursuit squad ninjas all used the Body Flicker Technique, trying to flee.

The chief of the Maneki-neko Clan was no slower. With a single leap, he landed among them.

"Meow~~ You idiots, die with me!"

He let out a furious roar, venting his rage.

BOOM—

A massive explosion rang out.

Smoke and dust billowed as flames burst forth.

The surrounding rocky forest was shattered by the blast, and boulders tumbled to the ground with crashing impacts.

Once the smoke dispersed, a massive crater remained.

The chief of the Maneki-neko Clan had been blown to pieces.

"Damn it. I should've known something was wrong when that greedy cat didn't snatch the banknotes right away. It really was a trap."

The ninja holding the long blade spat a mouthful of clotted blood onto the ground.

"Two are dead. Other than the three of us, only four survived, and all of them are injured to varying degrees. These civilian ninjas are truly useless!" The ninja concealed in a black robe had bugs crawling across his face, repairing his injured body.

"Woof!"

"Kuro-maru says someone is approaching!"

The Inuzuka Clan ninja had suffered the lightest injuries and received the warning from his ninja hound.

The injured ninjas swiftly changed formation, assuming a stance ready for battle at any moment.

The Root pursuit squad ninjas were highly experienced and began searching for cover nearby.

But the rocky forest had been shattered by the explosion, leaving only a few hiding spots.

"Damn it, this is a trap!" The Aburame Clan ninja, shrouded in black, roared angrily. Black insects fell from his body and scattered across the ground, searching for traces of the enemy.

"They're in the sky!"

The Moonlight Clan ninja holding a ninja blade held it across his chest and stared into the sky.

"Your opponent is me!"

A pile of rocks formed by the explosion was pushed aside from within. Yajirobe emerged, patting the dust off his body.

Having hidden himself in advance, he had been caught in the blast and buried beneath the pile of rocks.

"How is that possible? He hid so close to me, yet my bugs didn't detect him?"

The Aburame Clan ninja was stunned. Yajirobe had been within the range controlled by his insects, yet he had noticed nothing unusual.

"You mean these bugs? They taste pretty good. Five times the protein of beef!"

Yajirobe held a struggling Kikaichū in his hand, then casually tossed it into his mouth and began chewing.

Every ninja in Konoha's Root pursuit squad fell silent.

This savage was eating Kikaichū alive.

It seems I was right about him. Yajirobe only refrained from attacking ninja cats because of Korin!

Uchiha Feng's will within Tien's clone found the sight more and more familiar the longer he looked at it.

Dodon Ray!

Dodon Ray!

Tien and Dumpling attacked at the same time, firing Dodon Rays rapidly from their fingers.

Bang!

Bang!

Four heavily injured chunin had their heads pierced by the Dodon Rays and lost their lives.

Only three elite jonin from the clans remained in the Root pursuit squad.

"What?"

All three cried out in alarm.

Though these civilian ninjas had been useless, they were still elites trained by Root.

They had been dealt with so easily?

Had the explosion just now injured them that badly?

And what was that hand-signless ninjutsu?

"Be careful! They don't seem to need hand signs!" The Aburame Clan ninja exclaimed.

The black insect mist around his body quickly spread, forming a protective layer.

The three quickly found their respective opponents.

Yajirobe faced the Moonlight Clan ninja, who also wielded a blade.

Tien faced the Aburame Clan ninja.

Dumpling faced the Inuzuka Clan ninja.

Bang!

The Aburame Clan ninja split into two clones.

"Are they transmitting some kind of information?"

Tien watched the insects. Their movements entered his sight, and it seemed they had already transmitted the information while the Aburame Clan ninja appeared to be preparing to flee.

"How naive!"

Tien removed the hat and headband from his head, revealing his third eye.

"What kind of monster is that? He actually has three eyes?"

The Aburame Clan ninja cried out in shock, staring incredulously at Tien's third eye.

Tien's third eye spun constantly, instantly locking onto the Aburame Clan ninja's true body.

"Found you!"

Tien's third eye was inherited from the Three-Eyed Clan of extraterrestrials and could see the very essence of ki.

"Impossible! My clone technique creates solid bodies using Shadow Clones and Bug Clones. Even the Hyuga Clan would need time to distinguish them. How could you find me so quickly?"

The Aburame Clan ninja was still immersed in shock. It was precisely because he had mastered such a clone technique that Shimura Danzo had entrusted him with an important task and made him captain of the scouting squad.