Root's Siege

In Konoha's shadows, dozens of dark figures moved silently, making not the slightest sound.

These people were death warriors personally trained by Danzo—the Root ninja.

They had no names, no emotions, and knew only how to carry out orders. Ruthless and sinister, they were poisoned thorns hidden in Konoha's darkness.

At this moment, they had all mobilized for a single target: Uchiha Lin Chen.

In less than half a day, the Root ninja had tracked down Lin Chen's whereabouts.

At the edge of Konoha stood a secluded little house, far from the bustling streets and scarcely inhabited. It was Lin Chen's temporary lodging.

Dozens of Root ninja instantly surrounded the house. Dressed in black and masked, they radiated overwhelming killing intent. Poisoned Kunai and sealing talismans were clutched in their hands, ready to strike with everything they had at a single command.

Leading them was a Root jonin of considerable strength. Lowering his voice, he signaled to the subordinates behind him, then walked to the door and knocked with feigned calm.

"Uchiha Lin Chen, we are Konoha ANBU. By the Hokage's order, you are requested to come to the office and assist in the investigation of the battle at Kannabi Bridge. Come with us."

He did not dare reveal that they were Root, so he could only borrow the ANBU's name and try to trick Lin Chen into opening the door.

The moment the door opened, they would strike immediately and forcibly seize him.

Inside the house, Lin Chen was resting with his eyes closed. The vicious, violent killing intent outside was impossible to hide.

ANBU?

A cold smile curled across Lin Chen's lips.

Konoha ANBU acted with discipline and carried themselves with steady composure. They were nothing like this pack of sinister murderers overflowing with killing intent. These people were clearly Danzo's dogs.

Trying to trick him into opening the door was simply laughable.

Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes. His scarlet Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan appeared instantly, and faint ripples spread through the space around him.

He neither rose nor opened the door. His indifferent voice passed directly through it and rang clearly outside.

"Danzo's dogs, stop pretending to be ANBU. Whatever tricks you have, show them."

With a single sentence, he exposed every bit of their disguise.

The Root jonin outside changed expression sharply, his face instantly turning grim.

Since they had been exposed, there was no need to keep up the act.

"Uchiha Lin Chen, since you already know, surrender obediently and return with us to the Root base. Perhaps we will leave you an intact corpse. Dare resist, and do not blame us for being merciless!"

The Root jonin's voice was icy and filled with threat.

"Merciless?"

Lin Chen gave a quiet laugh, his tone dripping with disdain.

"Danzo wants my eyes? Then let him come himself. Sending a pack of trash like you is nothing more than delivering yourselves to death."

"Arrogant!"

The Root jonin was thoroughly enraged.

He had spent many years in Root and carried out countless assassination missions. Never had anyone dared look down on them like this.

This discarded Uchiha brat might have some skill, but he was far too conceited!

"All of you, attack! Capture Uchiha Lin Chen alive or dead!"

As the sharp command fell, dozens of Root ninja moved at once.

Like ghosts, they lunged toward the little house. Kunai slashed at the door, ninjutsu chakra surged, and talismans filled the sky. Every killing move was unleashed, every strike aimed to kill.

For a moment, the glow of ninjutsu and the cold gleam of Kunai completely engulfed the house. The dense killing intent nearly froze the air.

Yet Lin Chen remained seated inside, utterly calm.

Faced with the overwhelming assault, he merely spoke one word.

"Kamui."

There was no earth-shattering roar, no dazzling display of ninjutsu.

The space around the house violently twisted in an instant, forming an invisible spatial barrier.

Every incoming ninjutsu, Kunai, and talisman fell into the distorted space and vanished without a trace.

Not a single attack could come within half a step of the house, much less injure Lin Chen.

"How is that possible?!"

The Root jonin's pupils shrank sharply, his face full of disbelief.

They had attacked with all their strength, yet they could not even touch him. This space ninjutsu was far too terrifying!

"Keep attacking! Use sealing techniques to block his spatial ability!"

The Root jonin roared and gave another order.

The remaining ninja rapidly formed hand seals, sending a dense barrage of sealing talismans flying toward the house in an attempt to seal the surrounding space and prevent Lin Chen from using Kamui.

But it was all futile.

Lin Chen lightly raised a finger, and a faint surge of spatial power flowed forth. Before the sealing talismans could approach, they were shredded apart and turned into dust that scattered through the air.

"Impossible! How can your ninjutsu have no weakness? No hand seals, no chakra consumption—this is not a ninja's power at all!"

The Root jonin cried out, terror filling his heart.

At that moment, the door of the little house slowly opened.

Lin Chen walked out at an unhurried pace, standing tall before the Root ninja.

His scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan swept coldly over them. The pressure emanating from him made every Root ninja present stiffen, unable to move.

"You Root have committed countless evils in Konoha's shadows. You have harmed comrades, stolen Sharingan, and done every kind of wicked deed."

"Danzo is consumed by ambition. He seeks to control Konoha and plunge the Ninja World into chaos. I had not intended to clean you up so soon."

"But you insisted on coming to your deaths. Then do not blame me for being ruthless."

Lin Chen's voice was calm, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness. Every word made the Root ninja tremble inwardly.

They finally realized that the young man before them was not someone they could afford to provoke!

Their former confidence and ruthlessness crumbled instantly before absolute strength, leaving behind only endless fear.

"Retreat! Retreat at once! Return and report to Lord Danzo!"

The Root jonin was terrified out of his wits. No longer daring to fight, he immediately ordered a retreat.

The other ninja turned to flee in all directions, but the moment they moved, they discovered that the space around them had already been completely sealed.

Invisible spatial power formed a cage. No matter which direction they ran, they were blocked completely, unable to escape.

"Trying to run?"

Lin Chen sneered, his gaze indifferent.

"Since you came, stay here."

As his words fell, spatial power erupted.

Countless tiny spatial rifts appeared out of thin air and swept toward the Root ninja like venomous snakes.

Riiip! Riiip!

There were no other sounds, only the soft hiss of space cutting through flesh.

One Root ninja after another was shredded by the spatial rifts before they even had a chance to resist. Blood splattered everywhere, and screams rose one after another.

Some tried to form hand seals and use ninjutsu, but before they could even gather chakra, their bodies were swallowed by space.

Some tried to use secret techniques to escape, but Spatial Confinement held them fast, leaving them only able to watch helplessly as death descended.

In mere dozens of seconds, dozens of Root ninja had been killed or injured. Only the leading jonin remained, covered in wounds and collapsed on the ground. His face was pale as paper, his eyes filled with despair.

He simply could not understand how a capture mission that should have been certain had turned into a one-sided massacre.

Root's elite were like ants before Lin Chen, utterly incapable of withstanding a single blow!

"Uchiha Lin Chen, you dare kill Root's men? Lord Danzo will not let you off! He will personally tear you to pieces!"

The Root jonin roared, using Danzo as his final threat. His voice was filled with fear and unwillingness.

Lin Chen slowly walked up to him, his eyes completely still.

"Danzo? If he dares come, I will kill him too."

"Root is Konoha's cancer. Killing you today is only the beginning. Sooner or later, I will wipe out Root entirely and make Danzo pay for everything he has done."

As his words fell, Lin Chen lightly pointed a finger.

A strand of spatial power surged out. The Root jonin did not even have time to scream before his life was completely snuffed out.

Thus, every Root ninja who had come to surround and kill Lin Chen was wiped out. Not one survived.

Lin Chen looked at the blood and corpses covering the ground, his expression unchanged. He felt not the slightest pity for these people who had committed so many evils.

With a wave of his hand, spatial power surged forth and cleaned away every corpse and trace of blood, leaving nothing behind, as though the massacre had never happened.

After finishing everything, Lin Chen turned and returned to the little house, his expression calm, as if he had merely done something trivial.

Meanwhile, inside the Root base.

Danzo sat in a dark chair. After waiting for a long time without hearing any news from his subordinates, the unease in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

"Someone! Go find out how the mission is progressing!"

Danzo barked coldly, impatience in his voice.

A Root ninja hurried away. Before long, he returned with a deathly pale face, dropping to his knees with a thud, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"Lord Danzo, something is wrong!"

"All the brothers sent to carry out the mission are dead. Not even their bodies remain. The scene was completely clean, without a single trace!"

"What?!"

Danzo abruptly rose to his feet, overwhelming fury bursting from his body. His single eye widened in utter disbelief.

Those were dozens of Root elites, led by a jonin. They had all died without even being able to put up the slightest resistance?

Just how strong was Uchiha Lin Chen?!

Danzo shook with rage. He grabbed the ninja before him by the collar and roared, "Trash! You are all trash!"

Beneath his fury, a trace of apprehension quietly arose in his heart, only to be swallowed by an even deeper greed.

Those Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan with Dual Kamui were too tempting. No matter how many subordinates he lost, he had to obtain those eyes!

Danzo released his grip. His expression became incomparably sinister, killing intent spreading from his body.

"Good! Very good! Uchiha Lin Chen, you dare kill Root's men? I will make you pay in blood!"

"Make preparations. I will act personally!"

"I want to see just how strong you truly are, and whether you can stop me!"

Danzo was thoroughly enraged and decided to personally deal with Lin Chen.

A fiercer confrontation was about to unfold in Konoha.

Inside the little house, Lin Chen sensed the cold killing intent coming from afar, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

Danzo, can you finally no longer sit still?

Good. I will take this chance to pull out Konoha's cancer once and for all.