The Root members present exchanged glances.
Was it really that funny?
"You there, what are you laughing at?!" one of the Root operatives barked, his voice sharp with irritation.
Shinomiya Uzumaki laughed so hard that he nearly shed tears. After finally catching his breath, he looked up with a playful smirk.
"You just said it was an order from Lord Hokage?"
"Oh? Since when did that one-eyed old snake who slithers in the dark, forever coveting the light, become Hokage?"
"Did he appoint himself? Hah! Isn't it hilarious that a coward who dreams of the Hokage's seat has the audacity to issue commands in its name? Tell me—doesn't that make you laugh?"
he looked around at the Root members, amusement dancing in his eyes.
But none of them laughed.
Instead, a thick, palpable killing intent filled the air.
One operative slowly drew his blade, his eyes cold. "You know about Root, so you should understand that you've just committed a grave offense by insulting Lord Danzo."
"At first, we were only interested in how you learned about us and what you knew."
"But now… we have no interest in interrogating a dead person!"
Shing!
Before he even finished speaking, several Root members drew their swords and lunged at Shinomiya like thunder.
"Wind Style—Wind Blade!"
"Lightning Style—Ground Walk!"
Almost simultaneously, two operatives unleashed their ninjutsu. A deadly storm of wind and lightning filled the air and surged across the ground, sealing off every escape route.
Faced with a seemingly inescapable assault, Shinomiya Uzumaki remained utterly calm.
She whispered two words:
"Wooden Dragon."
The next moment—
BOOM!
A massive dragon, entirely formed of intertwining trees, erupted from the earth!
Its deafening roar shook the night.
The dragon lifted Shinomiya high above the battlefield, its massive, coiling body forming a shield around her, effortlessly absorbing every attack.
"What the hell is this?!"
"The reports said he only knew taijutsu!"
The Root operatives were utterly stunned.
Shinomiya stood atop the dragon's head, overlooking them with cold amusement.
With a mere thought, the dragon's enormous body surged forward, wrapping around the attackers and crushing them in an instant.
"Ahhh—!"
Their screams barely lasted before being swallowed by silence.
Now, only two Root members remained—the ones who had attacked from a distance.
"W-Wood Style?!"
Their faces went pale with horror.
Never in their wildest imaginations did they expect Shinomiya Uzumaki to wield Wood Style—and at such a terrifying scale!
"So this is what it feels like to take a life…"
Shinomiya muttered under her breath.
The first kill of both her lives.
It didn't feel like much at all.
"Alright, you two should go keep your teammates company."
With a flick of her wrist, countless sharp wooden spears shot up from the ground, impaling the last two Root members where they stood.
Their lifeless bodies hung eerily in the moonlight, their eyes still wide with disbelief.
"I never thought I'd turn someone into a pincushion today," Shinomiya mused.
She landed gracefully, and as soon as her feet touched the ground, every trace of her Wood Style disappeared without a single mark left behind.
Unless someone with Wood Style examined the scene, no ordinary ninja would ever figure out how they had died.
Satisfied, Shinomiya turned toward her home, humming a lighthearted tune.
Tonight, however, was far from over.
---
Hyuga Clan Mansion
Hyuga Hiashi frowned at the document in his hands.
"Are you certain this is his file?"
"Yes, Lord Hiashi," Hyuga Qingchi replied, bowing. "It was obtained directly from the Ninja Academy."
Hiashi narrowed his eyes.
"Then something is very wrong… Six years of ranking at the bottom of the academy? Either I misjudged what I saw today, or there's more to this than we know."
"Regardless, we will not intervene in this matter. For now, we wait and observe."
"If the time comes, we can consider lending him assistance—when it benefits the Hyuga Clan."
"Understood," Qingchi nodded.
---
Hokage's Office
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his desk, puffing on his pipe as he reviewed a fresh report.
A single student—a so-called academy failure—had broken into the Hyuga compound and instantly defeated four Hyuga Chunin using taijutsu alone.
"Are you absolutely sure it was him?" the Hokage asked.
"Yes, Lord Hokage. This information was directly obtained from the Hyuga Clan."
Hiruzen exhaled slowly, lost in thought.
Shinomiya Uzumaki…
A child whose name he knew well.
Yet tonight, it seemed he had never truly known him at all.
Before Hiruzen could speak, the door to his office swung open.
Shimura Danzo entered with a dark expression.
Sarutobi gave a subtle nod to his Anbu guard, signaling him to leave.
Once they were alone, he looked at Danzo.
"What is it this time?"
Danzo dropped a stack of documents on his desk.
Sarutobi glanced at them.
"Why are you showing me this?"
Danzo's voice was cold.
"Don't you find Shinomiya Uzumaki… suspicious?"
"I won't deny there's something strange about him," Sarutobi admitted.
"Exactly." Danzo's gaze sharpened. "This boy has a close relationship with the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. He's hiding secrets. I suggest we bring him in for interrogation immediately."
Sarutobi shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I will speak with him myself."
Danzo's tone grew harsh. "Hiruzen, you're too soft. This concerns the safety of the Jinchūriki. Do you want another Nine-Tails attack?!"
Hiruzen's expression darkened. He took a long pull from his pipe before responding.
"There's no need to be so hasty. Shinomiya is Naruto's only friend. We shouldn't create unnecessary hostility."
Danzo sneered. "I expected this weakness from you."
"That's why I already sent a team to 'invite' him for questioning."
Hiruzen's pipe cracked in his grip.
"You did what?"
Danzo turned to leave. "We'll know the truth soon."
Bang!
Hiruzen slammed his fist against his desk.
"DANZO!"
Danzo stopped.
"You act as if I don't exist as Hokage," Hiruzen growled. "Effective immediately, you are stripped of your position as Hokage's advisor, and Root is disbanded."
Danzo's eyes widened. "You would do this for a single unknown brat?"
"He is not just a 'brat.' He is Naruto's friend. If anything happens to him, I will have failed Minato even more than I already have."
Danzo's face was livid.
This had started as a simple capture order—but it had cost him everything.
As he stormed back to the Root headquarters, one of his operatives rushed toward him.
"Lord Danzo! The twelve-man team sent to apprehend Shinomiya Uzumaki—"
Danzo's patience was razor-thin.
"What about them?"
The operative's voice trembled.
"They're all dead."
Danzo's tea cup shattered in his hands.
His subordinate continued, "We tracked their last known location… It wasn't Shinomiya Uzumaki's residence—it was the Forest of Death. They were lured in… and slaughtered."
Danzo's breath hitched.
Impossible.
He stormed toward the site, his cloak billowing behind him.
When he arrived, the twelve mutilated bodies lay before him.
Danzo's fingers curled into a tight fist.
But his rage froze when he examined the wounds.
His single eye widened.
"Wood Style?!"
For the first time in decades, fear crept into his heart.
---
[End of Chapter 15]
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