He Must Have Been Sent by Konoha's King of Scapegoats!

Koki clenched his fists, adjusted his posture, his eyes became sharper, and his steps became more cautious. He was ready to face the unknown dangers that were about to come.

As she walked, Koki suddenly caught a slight sound in her ear. The sound was faint and discreet, as if some uninvited guest was carefully stepping over fallen leaves.

A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, but it was quickly replaced by amusement—this was nothing but a charade. He smiled scornfully to himself, but did not slow his pace, continuing to stride forward with unwavering determination.

However, the faint sound of footsteps clung to him like a persistent ailment, refusing to leave.

Moreover, as time went on, the sound gradually grew louder, as if the other party was approaching step by step.

Was this something the other party deliberately did to let him discover?

Koki's eye twitched slightly; he realized this was not a chance illusion, but something that truly existed.

He slowly stopped, his turning motion fluid and composed.

His gaze was like a sharp arrow, shooting straight into the void ahead. It seemed empty and devoid of anything, but in Koki's eyes, it was as if he could catch a figure lurking in the shadows.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze at that moment, even the swaying leaves fell silent, and the whole world seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for his next decision.

"Come out." Koki's voice was like a hard stone thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples. His words echoed in the forest, breaking the long silence, like a sharp sword cutting through all the fog.

However, he was met with deathly silence. There was no sign of life around him, only the sound of his own breathing and heartbeat echoing in his ears.

But Koki didn't doubt his intuition. He knew that the spy lurking in the shadows was watching his every move with wary eyes from some hidden corner.

"Come out." Koki spoke again, her tone cold and firm, like the north wind in winter, carrying an irresistible force.

Koki's intuition is like a wild beast's sense of smell—keen and accurate.

As soon as he finished speaking, danger, like an invisible blade, slowly approached his back. Almost instinctively, the hairs on his body stood on end, as if to defend against the impending threat.

However, there was no panic in Koki's eyes. His reaction was as precise and swift as if he had practiced it a thousand times.

His body reacted instantly, without hesitation, like a nimble bird, drawing a graceful arc in the air before landing steadily on the treetop.

Koki stood on the treetop, his clothes fluttering gently in the breeze, his gaze sharp as he surveyed everything below.

Where he had just fled, a row of Shuriken, like shooting stars in the night sky, carrying an aura of destruction, pierced through the void and embedded themselves precisely in the soil.

These Shuriken are arranged in a perfect straight line, demonstrating the thrower's superb skill and precise timing.

If Koki had hesitated even slightly, or if his reaction had been even a beat slower, those Shuriken would have become the weapons that took his life.

All of this transformation actually happened in the blink of an eye.

Koki's gaze was as sharp as a falcon's as he scanned his surroundings, searching for the figure that had launched an attack on him from the shadows.

However, apart from the rustling of the wind through the woods, there was no other sound.

A contemptuous smile curled at the corner of Koki's lips as he scoffed, "Is all you can do, like a coward, hide in a dark corner and ambush a little kid?"

His words echoed in the air, as if they could penetrate the layers of trees and reach the ears of the hidden man.

Just as he finished speaking, a series of soft footsteps sounded from the nearby bushes, and then a figure slowly emerged from his hiding place.

The person wore a large, beige cloak that seemed to absorb all light, making it impossible to see any details beneath it.

From the shadow of the hood beneath the cloak, a mask came into view, painted with strange animal patterns, exuding an eerie and mysterious aura.

Koki's gaze lingered briefly on the mask before she looked the newcomer up and down, trying to discern something from him.

However, after a moment of hesitation, Koki was unable to discern the person's true identity.

He sighed softly and gave up on further investigation.

He thought to himself that this person must be from the Anbu or Root, but based on his understanding of the Third Hokage Hokage's easygoing and somewhat cowardly nature, this person should not be a threat to him.

Therefore, this person is most likely someone sent by Danzo Shimura, the Fifth-and-a-Half Hokage of Konoha and the "King of Scapegoats" in Shimura Danzō Konoha.

Danzo is a man who has committed countless evil deeds and has a long list of misdeeds. His cowardice and fear of death when he followed the Second Hokage were tolerable, as it was a personal choice. However, his later actions are truly despicable, and even being torn to pieces would not be an exaggeration.

As the leader of the Root, you are a high-ranking official, yet you never focused on your duties. Instead, you were distracted and attempted to usurp the Hokage Position, even trying to assassinate the Third Hokage. Fortunately, Kakashi's advance warning prevented your plot from succeeding.

He colluded with Hanzō of Amegakure, sowing discord and causing Hanzo to kill Yahiko, the leader of Akatsuki. This triggered Nagato's corruption and madness, and he himself suffered severe injuries. Akatsuki was thus plunged into darkness, and he cannot escape his guilt.

Amidst the Nine-Tails' rampage and Obito's invasion, the Uchiha clan, despite possessing the Sharingan capable of controlling the Nine-Tails, remained uninvolved, showing indifference to the lives lost. Afterwards, they turned around and accused the Uchiha clan of Konoha of orchestrating the Nine-Tails' chaos, thus accelerating the coup.

He sent Kabuto Yakushi and Yakushi Nonō to different places as spies. Both of them were exhausted, and in the end, he repaid kindness with enmity, devising a cruel scheme to make them kill each other. Nonō ultimately died at Kabuto's hands.

The most tragic thing is that, in the final moments of her life, she did not realize that the killer was one of her favorite children, simply because Danzo secretly changed the photos taken over the years.

When Konoha was attacked by Pain, Danzo killed the messenger Toad, preventing Naruto was training elsewhere, from arriving to provide support. He led the Root members to remain hidden, attempting to shift the blame onto Tsunade while he reaped the benefits.

Even his subordinates couldn't tolerate such behavior, yet after Pain's invasion, Danzo gained a false title and was about to become the Sixth Hokage.