To Root-Kill Danzo!

"Is that so? So that's what you think. Then that couldn't be better!" Uchiha Shunichi suddenly appeared beside Neji Hyuga and spoke.

"What?!" Neji Hyuga was startled by Uchiha Shunichi's sudden appearance and hurriedly retreated into a defensive stance.

Ninjas were the kind of people with high offense and low defense. For most ninjas, a light slash was enough to kill them.

Thus, the enemy all ninjas feared most was the enemy they could not see.

It was precisely because of this that the Hyuga clan's Byakugan was so coveted, while the Mist Shinobi's assassination techniques were so famous.

"As expected of the Uchiha Clan. His use of ninja tools and judgment of timing are already no weaker than a Jonin's." Greed and desire flashed through the eyes of Orochimaru, who was posing as the Kazekage.

However, the one he coveted was neither Uchiha Shunichi nor Uchiha Itachi, but Uchiha Sasuke, who had yet to mature.

"Shunichi... is a true genius." Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke with a trace of emotion.

If not for the surveillance, Sarutobi Hiruzen would never have imagined that a child who had almost never been on a battlefield and had only trained at the academy could possess such strength.

"Neji, I'm curious. Has the Branch Family of your Hyuga clan truly never resisted the Main Family?" A massive Fūma Shuriken appeared out of thin air in Uchiha Shunichi's hand as he stood some distance away and questioned Neji Hyuga.

"This has nothing to do with you!" Neji Hyuga's expression turned solemn. Through his Byakugan, no matter how he looked at it, Uchiha Shunichi possessed only a tiny amount of chakra.

A normal ninja could never have such weak chakra. That amount probably was not even enough to cast a single Ninjutsu.

"Don't worry. I don't have any backup plans, and I have no need for such things. All you need to face are my ninja tools." Uchiha Shunichi smiled as he watched Neji Hyuga's expression.

With that, Uchiha Shunichi hurled the enormous Fūma Shuriken directly at him.

With such a huge ninja tool being used so openly, how could Neji Hyuga possibly fail to evade it?

And what Uchiha Shunichi needed was not actually a hit. He only needed to throw it.

Neji Hyuga dodged the flying Fūma Shuriken, but before he could recover, Uchiha Shunichi suddenly pulled his hand back...

The massive Fūma Shuriken instantly shattered, turning into countless fragments that flew toward Neji Hyuga.

Having spotted everything with his Byakugan, Neji Hyuga decisively used Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven. However, the rapid explosions that followed sent him flying.

It turned out that Uchiha Shunichi had attached numerous Explosive Tags to those fragments...

"Hey, are you alright? According to my calculations, that shouldn't have hurt you, right?" Uchiha Shunichi walked over to Neji Hyuga and nudged him with his foot.

Suddenly, a finger shot fiercely toward Uchiha Shunichi's chest, yet no matter how far it pushed forward, it could not reach him.

That mere dozen centimeters seemed like an impassable chasm. No matter how hard the finger tried, it could not advance any further.

"The limit of the Gentle Fist lies within arm's reach. You still don't have any long-range attacks, do you? So as long as I watch this distance, I'll occupy an invincible position." Uchiha Shunichi lightly tapped Neji Hyuga's finger with the kunai in his hand.

At once, blood streamed from Neji Hyuga's finger.

A ninja's kunai was not only of good quality, but also exceptionally sharp.

"Neji Hyuga, concede! Your opponent already held back twice. Otherwise..." Genma Shiranui, acting as referee, spoke up with a sigh.

Originally, as the referee, he should not have said such a thing. The victor had yet to be decided, and neither side had conceded.

But he truly could not bear to watch Uchiha Shunichi toy with his opponent any longer.

That was right—toy with him. By now, Uchiha Shunichi had displayed speed far beyond his opponent's, while his combat experience and grasp of timing were both nearly flawless.

If his opponent had been a Jonin, there might still have been some suspense. But Neji Hyuga was still lacking.

Neji Hyuga acted as though he had not heard the referee's words and once more assumed the stance of the Gentle Fist.

At this point, Uchiha Shunichi no longer wanted to waste chakra. Watching Neji Hyuga charge at him, he turned smoothly, and a blade was placed across Neji Hyuga's neck.

"The match is over. The winner is Uchiha Shunichi..."

"Uchiha Shunichi, are you really going to Root? That isn't a good place, and it's fraught with danger—more dangerous even than the Anbu." Yakushi Kabuto, who had been forcibly drafted by Uchiha Shunichi's original body, looked deeply troubled and was already beginning to regret coming.

"Relax. Once you see Shimura Danzō, you can leave." Uchiha Shunichi estimated the time as he hid near Root's entrance, in no hurry to enter.

Yet in Yakushi Kabuto's eyes, this looked like Uchiha Shunichi was hesitating, so he intensified his attempts at persuasion.

After all, in Yakushi Kabuto's eyes, infiltrating Root alone was practically suicide. Putting aside Root's many other ninjas, Shimura Danzō alone was troublesome enough, being roughly on the same level as Sarutobi Hiruzen.

And Uchiha Shunichi actually intended to kill Shimura Danzō in Root. How was that any different from killing the Hokage in the Hidden Leaf Village?

"The time's about right. Let's go!" Uchiha Shunichi strode openly toward the guards at Root's entrance.

"I'm here to see Shimura Danzō. Lead the way!" Uchiha Shunichi wore an unfamiliar mask at this moment. Although he wore the attire of the Uchiha Clan, Root's people still could not identify him.

"Who are you?!" The Root guards immediately prepared to attack.

But in the next second, they were immersed in Genjutsu and collapsed unconscious.

"Looks like that still won't work. From here on, I can only rely on you." Uchiha Shunichi turned and looked at Yakushi Kabuto.

Yakushi Kabuto stared at the Mangekyō Sharingan pattern in Uchiha Shunichi's eyes in surprise.

Were Uchiha Shunichi's eyes... like this?

Of course not. How could Uchiha Shunichi reveal his own Mangekyō Sharingan? A layer of Genjutsu covered his eyes, and anyone who looked into them would mistake them for Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan.

Stepping over the Root members lying on the ground like corpses, Uchiha Shunichi continued deeper into Root.

Because of Sarutobi Hiruzen's orders, many Root members had joined the operation to monitor the Sand Shinobi. Thus, Uchiha Shunichi did not encounter many Root ninjas along the way.