A Coiled Giant Python and the White-Haired Boy on Its Head

"A, what are you standing there for?"

A member of Root eyed A, who was still standing in a daze, with confusion in his voice.

"Move it. Keep up."

"Kill this traitor who murdered his own comrade."

"A?"

"You planning to turn against Root, boy? Betray Lord Danzo?"

When A still showed no sign of acting, the Root members raised their voices.

A's mind was a tangled mess.

Was everything Lord Danzo said right?

Why did we in Root, part of the Konoha ANBU, have to fight Leaf to the death?

Weren't we supposed to be comrades fighting side by side?

His eyes were filled with confusion.

After a moment, that uncertainty faded, and resolve took root in his eyes once more.

He stopped hesitating, strode after them, and plunged back into the battle.

But what he did next was something else entirely.

"Wood Release: Wood Wall!"

A shouted.

Several shields woven from wooden vines burst out of the ground, completely screening Gojo Satoru and Kakashi behind them.

He did not turn around, leaving his back exposed to them.

He spoke in a low voice.

"Senior Kakashi, I was blind to misjudge you before."

"Get out of here, both of you."

"Senior Kakashi could never be the kind of man who sells out his comrades."

"Lord Danzo must have made a mistake."

The remaining Root members lined up in front of him, looking down their noses at him.

"A, so you're dead set on betraying Root?"

"You grew up in Root. Have you forgotten that completely?"

Each was more agitated than the last, viciously berating A for turning against them.

"Tsk. What a shame."

Gojo Satoru spoke without haste.

"You lot have even lost yourselves."

"He isn't a root of Root. He's a root of Konoha."

With just these few losers, forget taking him down-they would be lucky even to stop Kakashi and the others.

A shuddered at those words.

A root of Konoha?

Yes, he was a root of Konoha.

Roots and leaves were meant to support each other. They couldn't be separated.

Beneath his mask, the corners of his mouth curved into a faint smile.

He had not expected this companion of Senior Kakashi's to possess such insight.

At first, he had thought Gojo Satoru was nothing more than a young, inexperienced brat.

Then his remarks about killing had shattered that impression of the boy.

In its place stood a shinobi living in the shadows, a textbook cold-blooded machine who cared nothing for comrades or anything else, whose mission meant everything.

Now he was saying something completely different.

The deeds done in darkness were for a brighter future.

A turned to look at Gojo Satoru beside him, his gaze holding complicated feelings and a touch of admiration.

This guy was more like a true root of Konoha, bearing the weight and supporting the entire tree.

Gojo Satoru had no idea what was going through his mind.

Had he known, he would have jumped up immediately and rejected that horrifying assessment in a tone of utter disbelief.

The two sides were at a standoff.

With a thunderous crash, the laboratory began to shake violently.

Bang!

Clatter!

Countless sounds of glass bursting and shattering rang out together.

Who knew how many heavy objects came crashing down.

"What's going on?"

A was full of questions.

"Probably a chain reaction from that explosion earlier."

With a blindfold covering Gojo Satoru's face, his expression was impossible to read.

Earlier, they had attacked with kunai fitted with explosive tags.

But this place was a snake den that had been abandoned for years, and its structure was already unsound.

It was perfectly normal for a few sections to collapse after an explosive tag went off.

"Something's coming."

His voice was flat, without a trace of inflection.

"Something? What something?"

At those words, Kakashi and A both went on high alert, cautiously scanning their surroundings.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several shuriken flew toward them.

The Root members hurried forward, tightening the encirclement.

Kakashi's heart jolted.

Was this what Satoru meant?

He considered it, then shook his head.

That didn't seem right.

Rumble-

Something enormous plowed toward them, overturning countless pieces of equipment and debris along the way.

A terrifyingly huge python coiled above their heads.

Hiss, hiss, hiss!

"What is that?!"

"A monster!"

The Root members' screams cut off almost as soon as they began, their bodies swallowed whole by the giant python.

"Don't tell me this is Orochimaru's son, Big Orochimaru."

Gojo Satoru clicked his tongue as he looked at the giant python, twenty men tall.

"Quit joking around. It's got its eyes on us."

Those golden eyes were locked firmly on the three remaining men.

The snake's pupils were icy cold, devoid of any emotion.

"I'll hold it off. You two run."

A unleashed Wood Release, trying to pin the giant python in place.

But with his current strength, how could he possibly restrain such a colossal creature?

"Don't underestimate your senior."

Kakashi's tone turned cold.

His gaze remained fixed on the huge snake, never wavering.

"Chidori!"

A mass of blue lightning erupted in Kakashi's right hand, and he charged toward the giant snake's vulnerable spot behind its head.

As though sensing something that could kill it, the huge snake thrashed and lashed about wildly.

Every movement carried terrifying weight and force.

Kakashi was thrown about so much that he could not aim at the right spot.

A's hold on it was also growing weaker.

"You boys are really fired up."

"Then I'll lend a little support."

A brilliant smile spread across Gojo Satoru's face, and with several leaps, he landed on the snake's head.

The wind tossed his white hair, and his azure eyes beneath the blindfold held a hint of amusement.

He stretched out his hand and looked down at the huge snake beneath his feet.