Moon shadows drifted over the tranquil pond, while seasons changed and stars shifted through the years.
As Kato Osamu headed once more to the Root base, he felt that after all these years, Root seemed not to have changed in the slightest.
Withered branches clawed across the night sky like ghostly talons, startling nightingales into flight. The cold pond was like the Nether Abyss returned to the human world, freezing all life.
Deep beneath the forests of Konoha, the Root base remained bone-chillingly cold.
The closer he came, the more Kato Osamu's eyes flickered, as though he had sensed something different.
There were several times more Root shinobi hidden in the shadows than usual. In the night, countless sharp gazes seemed to be surveying the surroundings. The air was thick with killing intent and vigilance, and Kato Osamu could sense that they were all staring directly at his group.
A Root shinobi cautiously poked his head out of the darkness. The shinobi leading the way immediately exchanged secret hand signs with him.
Seemingly finding nothing unusual, the man gave a faint nod toward an unknown direction, and the hidden sharp gazes gradually vanished back into the darkness.
"I'm afraid Hiruko's defection isn't the only problem..."
Kato Osamu sensed no fewer than dozens of Root shinobi nearby, nearly a quarter of Root's entire force. Such a level of alertness made his heart sink slightly.
The secret hand signs in the leading Root shinobi's hands flashed, and the concealed barrier slowly opened.
On a mound of earth that appeared entirely unremarkable, Root's barrier emitted a dim glow, like the entrance to the Nether Abyss.
Kato Osamu followed behind the four men and slowly stepped inside. Several Root squads, still fully prepared for battle, awaited him.
"Without the leader's permission, no one... may