After a few leaps.
A figure draped in a cloak and wearing a mask appeared.
Qing Chuan continued his sword swings.
As if indifferent, or perhaps as if he had been waiting for this moment all along...
"Uchiha Haruko."
The voice was hoarse, but it couldn't hide the icy undertone.
"You performed exceptionally well in the graduation exam."
"A certain elder from the village's leadership has taken notice of your talent."
"Come with me."
The tone left no room for refusal.
Qing Chuan didn't even need to think to know who this was.
Root.
Danzo's dogs.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
The sword swings continued.
Qing Chuan outright ignored the Root operative.
He couldn't even be bothered to spare a glance...
Was there any need?
As the saying went—
*If the sky falls, Itachi will hold it up.*
Right now, Itachi might not be able to shoulder it, but behind Itachi stood the clan's patriarch!
Faced with Root's arrival, Qing Chuan's heart was as steady as an old dog's, and he even felt like laughing.
Did they really think a single command would make him join Root?
Dream on...
He'd rather trade blows with Orochimaru than spare Root a single glance!
"Uchiha Haruko!"
"I'll repeat myself—this is an order!"
"From one of the Konoha Council elders!"
The ignored Root operative's voice grew colder, the pressure he directed at Qing Chuan intensifying.
"Come with me. Now!"
Qing Chuan's brow furrowed slightly.
"Having a dog yapping around during training is really annoying..."
His sword stopped mid-swing.
Still unsheathed, Qing Chuan turned his head coldly, his eyes brimming with mockery.
A flash of crimson had already surfaced.
"Leave now, and I'll pretend nothing happened."
"Otherwise..."
"You'll be cut into eight pieces."
Qing Chuan was ready to fight.
Killing a Root operative in the Uchiha Compound wouldn't weigh on his conscience in the slightest.
But.
That didn't mean he'd actually do it...
After all, not far away, Uchiha Shisui and another stranger were about to arrive.
He wasn't foolish enough to commit murder in broad daylight.
"You... dare to defy us?!"
A low growl escaped the Root operative as a kunai slid into his hand beneath the cloak.
Though surprised—
How could a seemingly harmless little girl say such things?
But the one standing before Qing Chuan was a Root operative.
A tool that would stop at nothing to complete a mission, regardless of the target!
Emotions were long discarded for Root.
And this little girl was clearly no pushover.
With a flicker of the Body Flicker Technique, the Root operative appeared behind Qing Chuan, his arm raised high, the kunai reversed and aimed straight for Qing Chuan's neck!
He'd done his homework before this mission.
This grove was usually deserted.
Knock the girl out, drag her back to Root, and leave the Uchiha Compound.
No risks...
Hell, once the elder was done questioning her, he could even return her without anyone noticing.
Easy.
Everything was going according to plan.
Though the girl's talent was shocking, she was still just a six-year-old child. Untested by bloodshed, no matter how gifted, she was nothing more than a greenhouse flower.
For him, subduing her in one move would be child's play.
The girl wouldn't even have time to react!
Just as he was about to succeed—
The Root operative's gaze grew disdainful.
Uchiha's so-called geniuses...
Could never grow without their elders' permission.
However.
Just as the kunai was about to strike the girl's neck—
The Root operative realized...
His arm couldn't move an inch further!
"Daring to attack an Uchiha in the Uchiha Compound? You've got some nerve!"
"Talk! Who sent you?!"
A hand firmly restrained the masked intruder. Shisui, who had arrived just in time to witness the scene, spoke with deadly seriousness!
Arriving alongside him was Kakashi.
And now, Kakashi stood behind the mysterious figure, one hand in his pocket, the other crackling with Chidori—looking impossibly cool.
The hum of lightning filled the air as Kakashi's eyes turned icy, ready to finish off the enemy at any moment!
Too close!
If they hadn't arrived in time, the girl might have...
Kakashi suppressed the pain from his reopened wounds, his gaze frosty.
Just as Asuma had said...
Once a girl became a shinobi, that smile wouldn't last long.
But he wouldn't allow it to vanish before his eyes.
Not again...
"This getup..."
"You're from Root, aren't you?"
Kakashi quickly recognized the insignia of his former organization, but even so, the Chidori in his hand didn't dissipate.
He knew.
Being targeted by Root meant only one thing.
This was the shadowy group that even dared to assassinate the Hokage!
"You... Kakashi? That traitor?!"
The Root operative, now exposed, also recognized Kakashi's voice.
A flicker of panic crossed his eyes.
Cornered by Shisui of the Body Flicker and Kakashi of the Sharingan...
Completing the mission by force was hopeless now.
"I was just following orders to bring this girl to Root. The elder admires her talent."
"Since you know who I am, you also know the consequences of defying *that man*!"
Even now, the Root operative remained defiant.
Trying to intimidate the two with the threat of "that man's" wrath.
Qing Chuan stood motionless, his face expressionless.
At this point, Root's fate didn't matter.
He'd deal with them all later, once the dust settled.
But he hadn't expected Kakashi to come with Shisui...
What was he doing here?
"About that..."
A cold glint flashed in Kakashi's eyes, but his tone remained casual.
"I've already betrayed *that man* once before. What's one more time?"
The Chidori descended.
The Root operative's kunai-wielding arm fell to the ground.
And just before it happened—
Shisui quietly covered Qing Chuan's eyes...
Too bloody.
Couldn't let little Haruko be traumatized!