A Senior's Proposal

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Countless shuriken plunged straight into the great snake's eye sockets.

A snake's eyes were fragile to begin with.

Roar!

Roar!

The great snake's cries shook the air.

Driven mad by pain and the approaching danger, its long body thrashed so violently it nearly tore up the ground.

In its frenzy, it could no longer protect the vital spot below its head, leaving it fully exposed.

"Found it!"

A rare note of delight rang through Kakashi's shout.

"Right here!"

"Chidori!"

Vivid blue lightning gathered in his hand once more.

The devastating lightning struck the giant python squarely.

With the last of its strength, the great snake lashed out viciously.

It was over.

Boom!

Amid the thunderous crash, the giant python collapsed to the ground and lay still.

"We did it."

Kakashi's voice was calm.

Beneath his mask, a faint smile appeared on A's face.

"We did it."

But a moment later, his eyes dimmed.

"Goodbye, Kakashi, Uchiha Satoru."

"This is where we part ways."

He secured his mask and turned to leave.

"Where do you think you're going, A?"

Kakashi stopped him.

He knew Root's rules all too well.

Discard the past and the future alike. No name, no memories, no emotions. That was what it meant to be a Root ninja.

The higher-ups would never let someone who failed his mission and deserted Root off easily.

If A left now, they might never see him again.

At that thought, complicated emotions filled Kakashi's eyes.

A smiled and spoke softly.

"Root is where I have to return. I don't know anywhere else I could go, so that's my only choice."

"Besides, Lord Danzo might not actually do anything to me."

Those words were meant not only for them, but to bolster his own courage.

"Am I completely invisible here?"

Gojo Satoru had produced a skewer of Three-Color Dango from somewhere and stuck it in his mouth.

"Forgetting what I just said already? You're really not showing your senior any respect."

"Since when were you our senior?"

Kakashi gave him a speechless look.

The words he had just worked out in his head were thrown into disarray by this guy.

"In the ANBU, obviously."

"Whatever else you might say, I joined before A. That definitely makes me his senior."

Gojo Satoru yawned and kept rambling.

The ANBU?

A?

Something suddenly flashed through Kakashi's mind, and he looked at Gojo Satoru.

"Getting A into the ANBU would be one way."

"No matter how far Danzo's reach extends, he can't get past the wall that is the Hokage."

After speaking, he tugged his forehead protector down to cover one eye.

Gojo Satoru shook his head at that.

"Danzo's been climbing over the Hokage's wall for ages."

"Right after the Fourth Hokage died, when the Third Hokage took office again, Danzo was already arranging his assassination so he could take the position."

"That thing I mentioned earlier about Konoha's roots...?"

Gojo Satoru eyed the two of them suspiciously.

"Did you both forget?"

After hesitating for a long while, A finally said slowly, "I thought you were just using a metaphor."

Kakashi looked at Gojo Satoru the same way A did.

Both of their faces were covered now, so their expressions were impossible to read.

They had initially taken it as a description of the relationships within Konoha. Who would have thought he meant that?

Gojo Satoru understood the looks they were giving him, and his brilliant smile stiffened slightly.

"Who knew you two were so poetic?"

"That's one abstract interpretation."

That line of his about Konoha's roots.

Its meaning had been so straightforward.

He had simply meant for them to seek out the Third Hokage and serve under him.

Who knew their minds would wander off somewhere so strange?

A Wood Release ninja carried enormous weight for Konoha.

It was something Konoha had dreamed of having.

In the past, its leadership had not even blinked at conducting high-risk human experiments to obtain that power.

It could also suppress a jinchūriki's rampaging tailed beast.

The Third Hokage would definitely be willing to offer protection.

Right, how much reward money would a Wood Release ninja be worth?

Gojo Satoru stared at A in front of him, lost in thought.

If I could sell the same person three times, could I collect three payments?

I'd be rich.

His stare sent a chill down A's spine.

Why is my senior looking at me so strangely?

He had quite naturally accepted Gojo Satoru's reasoning for being his senior.

"What are you daydreaming about? Let's go."

Kakashi glanced at the distracted Gojo Satoru.

They could not linger in this cave.

It would be no surprise if it collapsed at any moment.

With that, he turned and headed out of the Snake Den.