Did I Give You Permission to Leave? Those Who Kill Shall Be Killed

"Of course I know." Kakashi held his kunai across his body, lowered his stance slightly, and shifted his weight forward, ready to fight. "So let me ask you the same thing. Do you know what attacking a fellow ninja inside Konoha means?"

The Root ninja did not answer.

Or rather, they answered with their actions.

All four moved at once.

This attack was fiercer, faster, and deadlier than the last.

And this time, Zuo Hao was no longer their only target.

Kakashi was within their attack range, too.

"Sensei!"

Naruto's voice came from a distance, carrying a rare note of terror.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

He did not retreat.

Not because he couldn't, but because his Team 7 students stood behind him.

He was their teacher.

Earth Release: Multiple Earth-Style Wall.

Four earthen walls erupted from the ground, blocking all four attacks. Broken stones flew, and dust filled the air.

Kakashi stood firm as a rock amid the swirling dust, his hands forming hand seals at a dizzying speed.

"Lightning Blade!"

Blue arcs exploded in his palm, and a shrill chorus of birds tore through the silence of the Training Ground.

"I'll ask you one last time!"

Blinding lightning gathered in Kakashi's right hand. Arcs spread along his arm to his shoulder, ionizing the surrounding air into a distorted halo.

"Are. You. Backing down?"

The lead Root ninja finally stopped.

He stared at the Lightning Blade in Kakashi's hand, remained silent for three seconds, then slowly raised his hand.

"We have interference. Withdraw."

Just then—

"Did I give you permission to leave?"

Zuo Hao stepped out from behind Kakashi.

His pace was unhurried, his hands tucked into his pockets and his chin slightly raised.

All four Root ninja stopped at once.

Their leader slowly turned, his voice undisguisedly cold. "What did you say?"

"I said... did I give you permission to leave?"

It felt as though all the air had been sucked out of the Training Ground.

Sasuke frowned and said under his breath, "Brother!!"

"Don't speak." Zuo Hao raised a hand to cut Sasuke off. His gaze remained fixed on the Root leader, and he did not even glance at his younger brother. "You were trying to kill me just now, weren't you?"

Seeing a brat fresh out of the academy dare to act so arrogantly, the lead Root ninja's eyes flooded with murderous intent, and he let out a cold laugh.

"Brat, we want you dead. What can you do about it?"

At those words, a smile devoid of warmth curled Zuo Hao's lips.

"Heh. In that case, you must never have heard this."

"Those who kill shall be killed."

"Big words, boy." The Root leader scoffed, his eyes full of contempt. "You? A worthless genin who just crawled out of the Ninja Academy thinks he can kill us?"

Before he had finished speaking, Zuo Hao leaped into the air, his fingers flashing through seals so fast they almost left afterimages.

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

In an instant, scorching waves filled the air.

An enormous wall of blazing fire roared forward, threatening to devour the entire area.

Nearby, Kakashi's pupils abruptly contracted. "Impossible... that amount of chakra is already at jōnin level!"

The four Root ninja were equally stunned.

"That's impossible!" The Root leader gritted his teeth, a trace of fear finally creeping into his voice. "How can a worthless genin unleash Fire Release this powerful?"

But having carried out countless assassination missions, they reacted without hesitation.

All four sidestepped and formed hand seals in perfect unison.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

A thick wall of water surged into existence, barely managing to rise in front of the flames.

Water and fire collided with a deafening hiss, and a vast cloud of scalding steam burst outward.

White vapor rolled back like dense fog, completely swallowing everyone's field of vision.

With visibility cut off, it was the perfect moment for an assassination.

But the Sharingan in Zuo Hao's eyes slowly spun, clearly reflecting the four men's startled outlines through the steam.

He appeared soundlessly behind one of the Root ninja.

The kunai in his hand swept cleanly across the side of the man's neck.

"Aaargh!!!"

A brief, piercing scream tore through the steam, only to be swallowed by the fog.

The Root ninja did not even have time to turn before he crumpled to the ground, dead on the spot.

From deep within the mist came the Root leader's furious roar. "You damned genin brat... enough!"

"Enough?"

Zuo Hao's voice drifted out of the mist, tinged with a mirth that chilled them to the bone.

"Does Root even have the word 'enough' in its vocabulary?"

His figure flickered in and out of view amid the steam, the three tomoe of his Sharingan slowly turning.

The Root leader clenched his teeth and ordered his remaining comrades in a low voice, "Don't waste words on him. Use combination ninjutsu!!"

Before he could finish, two more screams rang out.

Clean and decisive. One strike, one kill.

The steam finally began to clear.

Three Root ninja lay on the ground, utterly lifeless.

Zuo Hao stood among the corpses, a few flecks of blood staining the hem of his clothes.

Only one remained.

The lead Root ninja stood where he was, his hands still poised in a hand seal, but his fingers were trembling slightly.

For the first time, this veteran of countless assassination missions felt fear while facing a genin.

It was the most primal kind of fear, seeping from deep within his bones.

"You... who are you, really?" The Root leader's voice finally lost its earlier arrogance. "Sahiro Uchiha, there's no way you're a newly graduated genin!"

"What does it matter to you whether I'm a genin?"

Zuo Hao tilted his head, his lips curving into a cold smile.

"What matters is, when you came to kill me, did you never consider that you might be killed yourselves?"

"Or," he continued, advancing toward the Root leader step by step, each footfall seeming to land on the man's heart, "do you Root ninja think only you're allowed to kill, and no one's allowed to kill you?"

The Root leader suddenly pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch and assumed a defensive stance, but his feet kept retreating.

"The Third Hokage won't allow this! Killing a fellow ninja inside Konoha is a capital offense!"

"Oh?" Zuo Hao stopped, his smile growing colder. "Now you remember this is Konoha? Now you remember we're fellow ninja? Why didn't you remember any of that when the four of you ganged up on me?"

The Root leader's Adam's apple bobbed, but he could not get a single word out.

Just as Zuo Hao was about to strike, the Third Hokage's voice suddenly came from nearby.

"Zuo Hao, stop."

A moment later, an iron staff fell from above and drove three inches into the ground between Zuo Hao and the Root leader, its shaft still trembling slightly.

It was the Third Hokage's Enma's Adamantine Staff.

Zuo Hao frowned slightly and looked up.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi descended from the sky and landed beside the staff.

Seven or eight ANBU followed behind him, swiftly surrounding the entire Training Ground.