The roar of the Land of Lightning still echoed a thousand miles away.
The sunlight in Konoha, however, was clearer and brighter than ever before.
In the early morning, a gentle breeze swept across the newly built main road of Konoha.
Senju Kenya shirtless, his large floral shorts swaying in the wind, and he wore his signature flip-flops.
He held a white jade pipe in his mouth and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.
Beside him.
Kato Yosuke in a sharp suit, with gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, and carrying a large briefcase.
And behind the two of them.
Zabuza Momochi, carrying a heavy black iron sword weighing several tons with one hand, resembled a fierce iron tower god.
Leading fifty elite members of the Iron Fist Chamber of Commerce, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses, their steps were perfectly synchronized, exuding a menacing aura.
The group walked through a secluded forest path in the east of the village and arrived directly at the underground entrance to the back mountain that originally belonged to the Shimura Clan.
This is the forbidden area that once struck fear into the hearts of all Konoha Ninja —the headquarters of the "Root" clan.
Although Danzo fled in Danzo last night, the outer guards were basically Kenya and taken over by Kenya's cold snort.
But this core stronghold, buried dozens of meters underground, is still shrouded in a sinister and terrifying atmosphere.
"Boss, Lady Tsunade signed the order for the complete liquidation of the territory this morning."
Yosuke pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes gleaming with the shrewdness and excitement characteristic of a professional butler:
"According to your new policy guidelines, Konoha will achieve universal meat supply, free medical care, and large-scale repairs."
"The village's existing financial reserves are clearly insufficient."
"To completely fill this hole, and fill it so well it's overflowing with oil, we must first cut into the Root."
Kenya, with his pipe in his mouth, chuckled.
"That old dog with the broken leg lurked in the shadows of Konoha for decades."
"He takes 30% of the village's annual defense budget and 20% of the tributes from the various ninja clans."
"Plus the dirty work they did behind the scenes with the black market and various missing-nin."
Kenya kicked at the pebbles under his feet, his eyes full of a smile as if he were looking at a nouveau riche:
"The old man complains about being poor in his office Tenten. If there wasn't a mountain of gold hidden underground, I'd swallow this pipe whole."
As they spoke, the group had already followed the dark and gloomy spiral stone steps deep into the most important core area underground.
Suddenly, everything became clear.
An underground city entirely constructed of thick bluestone appeared before everyone's eyes.
However, before the dark iron gate leading to the central secret vault...
Two senior civilian archivists from the Root organization, dressed in grey robes and wearing faceless masks, stood guard there, trembling.
Seeing Kenya swaggering towards them, the two trembled, but still gritted their teeth and stood in front of the door:
"Stop... stop!"
"This is Root's top-secret archives and forbidden vault!"
"According to Konoha's Special Security Law, no one may enter without Danzo's top-secret seal and password!"
"Even if the Lord Hokage were here, he would not have the right to access these top-secret files!"
Listening to these two remnants of the old regime reciting outdated regulations from the past.
Zabuza, who was walking in front, Zabuza maliciously and suddenly swung his heavy black iron sword forward:
"You two blind old bastards, I bet you really don't know what death means!"
Zabuza, step back.
Kenya casually waved his hand, blocking Zabuza behind him.
He walked unsteadily in his flip-flops Earth Flow the two pale-faced archivists.
Kenya took a deep drag on his cigarette, then blew a cloud of smoke directly onto the other person's mask.
" Danzo's seal?"
Kenya grinned, revealing a set of large, white teeth:
"That old dog is probably out there drinking the wind in some stinking ditch now."
"As for the rules you mentioned..."
Kenya didn't even glance at the Ninja Blade at their waists.
He casually raised his right hand, and his large, fan-like hand suddenly swung in a wide arc in mid-air!
"Slap! Slap!"
Two sharp, firecracker-like sounds echoed through the hall.
Those two self-important senior archivists couldn't even let out a proper scream.
He spun around at high speed in mid-air like a kite with a broken string, completing five or six full rotations.
"Boom!"
The two were sent flying more than ten meters away by the blows, their cheeks swelling up and embedding themselves deeply into the cracks of the nearby bluestone wall.
Their eyes rolled back, and they all passed out completely, impossible to pry out.
"You talk too much nonsense."
Kenya dusted off his hands and turned to look at the tightly closed door of the Xuan Tie Security Vault.
The gate was several meters high, its surface carved with layers upon layers of defensive Sealing Jutsu, making it incredibly sturdy.
It is said to be the gate of the sanctuary, originally built during the Second Hokage's time to protect against attacks from Tailed Beast.
"Boss, this door is sealed with four layers of anti-vibration seals. Forcibly breaking it might trigger a self-destruct mechanism..."
Yosuke forward, carefully examining the runes on the door, and offered a somewhat worried reminder.
"Self-destruction? It doesn't even deserve it!"
Kenya chuckled, not even bothering to fully cover himself with Armament Haki.
He simply spread his feet slightly apart, his right arm muscles bulging slightly, and casually threw a straight punch!
" Gate of Opening the door and let us in!"
"BOOM--!!!"
A deafening, violent roar exploded deep underground!
That massive black iron gate, weighing tens of thousands of kilograms, was said to be able to withstand continuous bombardment from high-level Fire Style.
Faced with Kenya's pure, extreme, and monstrous strength.
They couldn't even put up a half-second of resistance.
The entire door was smashed so hard that it was severely dented and deformed inwards, with a large hole torn open in the middle!
The violent shockwave snapped the door hinges, turning the heavy iron door into a twisted disc that crashed into the depths of the warehouse with a loud thud!
The sealing talismans inside instantly short-circuited and went out like fireworks.
Smoke and dust filled the air, but the passage remained unobstructed!
"Alright, let's call it a day and get back to the site."
Kenya, with his pipe in his mouth, snapped his fingers at the stunned chamber of commerce team behind him.
Kato Yosuke wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly waved his hand:
"Quickly! The accounting team and the appraisal team, all of you, move in!"
"Take out every single ledger, file, and contract inside, not a single word of them should be missed!"
Thirty chamber of commerce elites, all experts in finance and auditing, immediately swarmed into the confidential vault like wolves.
The underground vault is larger than I imagined.
Thousands of metal cabinets were neatly arranged.
Although the dust on top was thick, the accounts inside were recorded in great detail.
"Splash..."
The crisp clinking of the abacus and the rustling of pages instantly echoed throughout the underground hall.
As one yellowed, top-secret ledger after another was opened...
The auditors present gradually changed from excitement to disbelief and horror!
"My God... In the 48th year of Konoha, half of the 200 million ryo special forces funds allocated by the Third Hokage to the Anbu were directly transferred to Root's secret account!"
"That's nothing! Look at this! In the fifty-first year of Konoha, Danzo 40% of the revenue from the Uchiha Clan's security detail!"
"And this... a full thirty percent of the annual border defense reinforcement funds allocated by the Daimyo's government in the Land of Fire are used to purchase black market equipment for Danzo's private guard!"
The accounts are appalling!
There was not only embezzlement and misappropriation, but also countless shady and criminal transactions.
Kato Yosuke held several black leather ledgers that recorded the human organ trade and the profits split among black market mercenaries.
Even the usually calm and composed butler couldn't help but tremble slightly with his hands.
He strode over to Kenya, who was leaning against a box chewing on a rice cracker.
The abacus in his hands spun rapidly, making a series of loud popping sounds.
"Boss... the preliminary overall calculations are complete."
Yosuke a deep breath and tremblingly handed a white sheet of paper filled with astonishing figures to Kenya.