Sixia froze when he saw those ninja.
Holy shit, weren't these Konoha's Root ninja?
Danzo had his eye on this shipment?
At that thought, delight crept onto Sixia's face.
Damn, had a big job just landed in his lap?
He was about to turn around and say something.
But Shuinaihao climbed eagerly out of the carriage, looking as though he had spotted his own family.
He hurried toward the ninja.
They clearly knew Shuinaihao too. When he approached, their leader stepped forward.
"Shuinaihao, where's the cargo?"
Shuinaihao greeted him with a smile. "It's on the carriage."
The Root squad leader continued, "Still alive?"
"Alive, alive. Of course."
"Surely you trust me to get the job done?"
This wasn't Shuinaihao's first time working for Root. He already knew the procedure inside out.
While Shuinaihao spoke with the Root members, several of his subordinates carried an enormous chest out of one of the carriages.
Seeing his employer chatting so warmly with them,
Sixia curled his lip in disappointment. "What a shame. They're actually not here to pick a fight. That doesn't seem right..."
The caravan had plenty of large chests like this, usually filled with extremely valuable cargo-gold, silver, jewels, and the like.
But this time, Sixia had guessed wrong.
When the chest opened,
Inside was a pretty, fair-skinned, red-haired girl wearing glasses.
She looked less than ten years old.
Judging by her red hair, she was almost certainly a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, just like him.
When the chest was carried out, the Root members immediately approached to inspect it.
Shuinaihao spoke with obvious pride.
"This girl is the 'cargo' Lord Danzo specifically requested."
"What's more, she's no ordinary member of the Uzumaki Clan. She possesses an astonishing healing ability."
"Most injuries can be healed just by biting her."
"It took me a tremendous amount of effort to get her out of Kusagakure."
Shuinaihao continued talking smugly.
Sixia, however, was stunned by what he saw.
Kusagakure?
Healing abilities?
Uzumaki?
He had a vague suspicion about the girl's identity.
It took him completely by surprise.
How did Karin end up in Root's hands at this point? Didn't she participate in Konoha's chunin ninja exams later?
Of course, Shuinaihao wasn't about to clear up Sixia's confusion.
He took two steps forward to stand beside the Root members.
"Gentlemen, not only have I brought Lord Danzo's target this time, but I've also made an extra acquisition."
Shuinaihao looked smugly at Sixia and pointed straight at him.
"He's also a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan."
"He's very powerful, nothing like an ordinary Uzumaki. He may already have awakened the special ability Lord Danzo wants."
"I hope Lord Danzo will consider my service on this mission and allow me to become a citizen of the Land of Fire."
Shuinaihao was a merchant, and merchants followed profit.
Over the years, Konoha had flourished, and the Land of Fire had grown increasingly powerful along with it.
Born in a backwater like the Land of Grass,
Shuinaihao dreamed of moving to a great nation like the Land of Fire.
He was even willing to betray Kusagakure's interests.
The Root squad leader didn't immediately respond.
There was nothing suspicious about Shuinaihao's identity. His only issue was that he was a calculating opportunist.
But for Root, that was actually a good thing.
As long as he posed no threat to Konoha and could help Root protect the village,
He would make an excellent tool, provided they kept his bowl full.
In fact, as a covert intelligence organization, they generally welcomed outside assets like him.
Of course, those assets were also expendable at any moment.
Had Uzumaki Shixia not been here, the outcome would have been obvious.
Yet Shuinaihao and the Root squad made no effort to conceal their conversation from Sixia.
Clearly, Shuinaihao believed that with several Konoha Root ninja protecting him, he no longer needed to hide anything.
Naturally, Sixia heard everything from where he stood nearby.
Well, damn. Shuinaihao really had some nerve, treating him as cargo!
Beside Shuinaihao, the Root squad leader didn't immediately attack Sixia.
He scrutinized Sixia from head to toe, paying particular attention to his red hair.
He nodded, seemingly quite satisfied.
"You've done well. Lord Danzo will give your request serious consideration."
Shuinaihao felt that with such an assurance, his acceptance into the Land of Fire was practically guaranteed!
Good fortune lifted a man's spirits.
Shuinaihao now looked at Sixia with utter arrogance.
"A worthless wandering ninja. A greedy fool."
"Did you think I hired you because I valued your abilities?"
"Hahahaha... how naive!"
"You even dared to extort two hundred thousand ryo from me earlier."
"Now you'll learn that my money doesn't come that easily!"
None of the Root members contradicted him.
Shuinaihao had no authority to order Root members around, of course. He was simply throwing his weight around under their protection.
Lord Danzo needed descendants of the Uzumaki Clan.
If Uzumaki Shixia hadn't appeared here, that would have been that.
But since Uzumaki Shixia was also among the cargo Shuinaihao had "brought," and met Lord Danzo's requirements,
The Root ninja were naturally happy to take Uzumaki Shixia back as well.
Noticing the Root members' hostile looks, Sixia didn't know whether to laugh or get angry.
These small fry would get slaughtered even by Kakuzu, yet they dared to set their sights on him!
He wasn't singling anyone out.
He simply thought that Root's people were good at stealing intelligence from enemy nations, fomenting rebellions in small villages, and stirring up infighting in Konoha.
But when it came to individual combat, few of them seemed worth a damn.
Among Root's current members, aside from their leader, Danzo,
They would probably all fall to Kakuzu.
Although several Root ninja had already spread out in a fan to surround Sixia,
These five or six ninja put no pressure on Sixia whatsoever.
What really pissed Sixia off was the way Shuinaihao and these ninja looked at him as though he were merchandise!
"The hell are you staring at? I sell my skills, not my body."
Root members always prioritized efficiency!
They had absolutely no intention of trading insults with Sixia.
As they approached Sixia, the squad leader spoke in an icy voice.
"Seize him and take him back to Lord Danzo!"
The moment he finished speaking, the other ninja sprang into action.
Clang-
A series of crisp metallic sounds rang out as they swiftly drew their ninja blades.
Then they closed in on Sixia at tremendous speed.
Shuinaihao knew Sixia was no ordinary fighter.
Though he had complete confidence in the Konoha ninja, he still spoke up.
"Everyone, assist the Konoha ninja! Move together!"
"If we capture Uzumaki Shixia, everyone gets a reward of ten thousand ryo!"
Sixia might have earned two hundred thousand ryo with ease.
But for the other guards and ninja,
Earning ten thousand ryo under normal circumstances was no easy task.
This time, that ten thousand ryo would be easy money.
The Konoha ninja were renowned.
Following behind these ninja to deal with Sixia would make the reward practically free money.
Without a moment's hesitation, everyone joined the attack.
At the sight, Sixia didn't know whether to laugh or get angry.
These caravan guards were all ungrateful bastards.
How long had it been? Had they already forgotten the terror of being at Kakuzu's mercy?
Besides, this batch of Root members clearly wasn't very good at analyzing intelligence!
If they had any brains at all, they should have figured out his strength from his fight with Kakuzu.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before Sixia could think any further, three shuriken with explosive tags attached flew toward him.
The shuriken were fast.
But Sixia moved even faster, like a streak of lightning.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three explosive tags blew up nothing but empty air.
Sixia had long since vanished from his original spot.
He moved at full speed.
Even with their eyes stretched wide, the Root members could barely track his movements!
Aah!
In an instant, one Root member let out a scream.
Sixia had appeared behind him and delivered a devastating punch, empowered by lightning release chakra!
As that Root member took the hit, another Root ninja nearby acted decisively.
He rapidly formed hand seals and unleashed his Ninjutsu.
"Mind Body Switch Technique!"
This Root ninja was clearly from the Yamanaka Clan!
But after activating his Ninjutsu, he froze.
"What's going on?"
For a moment, he couldn't understand why his secret technique had failed.
He hadn't managed to seize control of Sixia's body.
Bang!
Unexpectedly, Sixia's body burst into a cloud of white smoke.
Shit!
It was a clone!
Meanwhile, the real Sixia appeared beside the ninja.
Before he could form hand seals and activate his secret technique again, Sixia's knife-hand strike, cloaked in lightning release chakra, slammed into his neck.
Under the crushing blow, the ninja's eyes rolled back, blood spilled from his mouth, and he crumpled to the ground.
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