At that very moment, on the other side of Konoha.
After easily disposing of the three ninja before him, Uchiha Itachi was about to lower his head to examine one of their bodies when it burst with a pop, releasing a cloud of potent poison gas!
Left with no choice, Uchiha Itachi hurriedly stepped back.
Once the poison gas dispersed, Uchiha Itachi discovered that the three ninja's bodies had completely dissolved, as though they had never existed.
"Hmm? This was Root's work!?"
Uchiha Itachi immediately sensed something amiss. Only then did he realize that his plan to infiltrate Amegakure with Kakashi and the others had probably been leaked.
Danzo had taken this opportunity to have his subordinates pose as Anbu members and kill them amid the chaos.
Although this was hardly the first time Danzo had stirred up trouble, the thought that Uchiha Minato had only just joined the Anbu and had no ability to tell the impostors apart sent Itachi's heart straight into his throat.
"Minato, you'd better be all right!"
With those words, Uchiha Itachi sped off toward the places where Root members might have set their ambushes.
Meanwhile, Kakashi and the others had also seen through Danzo's plot. After dealing with the Root members, they headed straight for Ning Feng's location!
Following quietly behind the three Root recruits, Ning Feng wore an exceptionally broad smile.
For anyone else, this might well have been a tremendous crisis, but for Ning Feng, it was a precious opportunity to level up extremely quickly.
"Captain, what's our main objective on this mission!?"
Following his three impostor companions, Ning Feng asked curiously as he sped through the trees.
The impostor captain leading them turned to glance at Ning Feng, seemingly not expecting anyone in the Anbu to be such a chatterbox. "Weren't you listening when the Anbu assigned your mission!?"
"We're carrying out an infiltration mission. We need to successfully infiltrate Amegakure and investigate its secrets."
"Once we've gathered some intelligence, we can return and report!"
"Oh! Got it!"
Ning Feng nodded, pretending to understand perfectly, while the glow of his scarlet Two-Tomoe Sharingan grew increasingly intense.
Suddenly, while the impostor captain's attention was elsewhere, Ning Feng slashed his sharp Kunai toward one of the Root recruits at tremendous speed.
Before the Root recruit could even react, Ning Feng had easily killed him with his dagger, without making the slightest sound throughout the entire process.
Despite being a Chunin, the recruit had fallen victim to Ning Feng's overwhelming speed. Besides, he had never imagined that Ning Feng had already seen through their identities...
Spurt!
Amid the sound of spraying blood, the Root recruit became a corpse, dropping equipment, materials, and Ninjutsu Scrolls all over the ground!
"Congratulations! You successfully killed a Chunin above your level! You will receive an additional double experience bonus!" "You gained 20,000 experience points!" "You leveled up! You reached level 22!"
Amid the crisp, pleasant notifications, Ning Feng swiftly lunged at the second Root recruit.
However, this was an expert who was at least Chunin level. The instant he sensed his life was threatened, the Root recruit raised his Kunai and deflected Ning Feng's lethal strike with a clang.
"Hmph, to think you actually figured out we were impostors, brat!"
"And you even cost us a teammate!"
Only then did the ninja posing as the Anbu captain realize what was happening. He landed on the ground and turned around.
The other Root ninja posing as an Anbu ninja also landed and turned around, fixing his icy eyes on Ning Feng.
In truth, both of them were particularly puzzled at that moment: how had Uchiha Minato managed to detect that they were impostors?
With that thought, the two discarded their Anbu Masks and put on Root masks.
"Lord Danzo told us to spare your life, but that probably won't be possible now. After all, you know too much!"
As the lead Root ninja spoke, a massive chain appeared in his hands. Lightning Release Chakra soon coated it, making the chain look particularly terrifying and incomparably sharp!
The other ninja now held three enormous Fūma Shuriken, also filled with Lightning Release Chakra and incomparably sharp.
"Hmph!"
This was Ning Feng's first time facing experts of Chunin level or above, but even so, he was completely unafraid.
With a cold snort, Ning Feng lunged straight at the lead Root ninja at tremendous speed.
Before Ning Feng could reach him, however, the enormous chain came crashing down toward his head as fast as lightning.
With a clang, Ning Feng blocked it with his Kunai, only to face a fierce, relentless storm of chain strikes. The Lightning Release Chakra coursing through the chain made it all the sharper.
Surely, even the slightest contact would leave Ning Feng cut in two...
Clang, clang, clang!
Several more metallic clashes rang out. At some point, the Kunai in Ning Feng's hand had become covered in damage.
Had he not possessed the Sharingan, eyes with such formidable powers of perception, the chain would likely have pierced his body long ago.
"Hahahaha! I'm the best chain wielder among all the ninja in Root!"
"It's so fast, it's practically impossible to dodge!"
The lead Root ninja could not help sneering. Just as he was about to swing his chain again, a sudden flash appeared overhead. Amid a sharp hissing, Ning Feng descended from the sky with Chidori in hand.
A Chunin after all, the ninja swiftly swung his chain, easily blocking Ning Feng's path with a clang.
The Root ninja beside him was about to use his Fūma Shuriken to finish the battle once and for all when the descending Ning Feng turned into foam and vanished without a trace!
"Hmm? The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!?"
The lead Root ninja seemed to realize something at once, and his expression changed drastically. He instinctively turned around, only for Chidori to drive straight through his body.
"Congratulations! You successfully killed a Chunin above your level! You will receive an additional double experience bonus!" "You gained 20,000 experience points!" "You leveled up! You reached level 23!"
Amid another crisp, pleasant notification, Ning Feng leveled up once again, and all his attributes increased considerably once more.
"So this is Chidori's power!?"
Looking at the powerful ball of lightning in his hand, capable of destroying everything, Ning Feng only now realized just how terrifying Chidori was!
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