Outside Shangtian Town, in the dense forest, hundreds of masked individuals stood in silence. Each of them radiated a chilling, disciplined aura, their presence more mechanical than human as they awaited orders.
At the center of this assembly stood an old man leaning on a cane, his right hand and right eye covered in bandages. His lone visible eye glimmered with cold determination—it was none other than Danzo Shimura, the shadowy leader of the Root.
Danzo had left Konoha two days prior with a select group of elite Root members. Now, they lay in wait, ready to strike.
"Wild Boar, check to see if the trap worked," Danzo ordered, his voice cold and commanding.
"Yes, sir."
The man with a pig-faced mask bowed and performed the Mind Body Switch Technique on a bird perched nearby.
His consciousness transferred to the bird, which then flew toward Shangtian Town. As the bird approached the town's ruins, it spotted movement among the debris. However, before it could gather more information, a kunai flashed through the air with terrifying speed.
The bird's feathers bristled in terror, and the pig-masked man, sensing imminent danger, quickly canceled his technique.
Thwack—
The kunai struck the bird, killing it instantly.
Back in his body, the pig-masked man gasped for breath, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
"What did you see?" Danzo's voice cut through the silence.
"Uchiha Fugaku is alive," the pig-masked man replied shakily. "He noticed my jutsu… I nearly didn't make it back."
Danzo's frown deepened. The trap, carefully laid out with explosive tags and sacrificial pawns, had failed. He hadn't anticipated Uchiha Fugaku surviving, let alone being sharp enough to detect their surveillance so quickly.
"Master Danzo, what should we do now?" the bug-faced Root operative asked cautiously.
Danzo's lone eye narrowed. "If the trap has failed, we will execute Plan B. Surround them and kill them directly."
His tone left no room for argument. The Root's elite forces, numbering in the hundreds, were more than enough to take on Uchiha Fugaku and his entourage.
Back in Shangtian Town, chaos reigned. Shops were closing hastily, and frightened townspeople fled the streets. Amid the turmoil, Uchiha Fugaku acted decisively.
Spotting a bird in the sky, he drew a kunai and hurled it with precision.
Thwack—
The bird fell from the air.
"Chief, what's going on?" Uchiha Atsuko asked, alarmed.
"We're being watched," Fugaku replied grimly. "The enemies we killed earlier were far too weak to be the ones who ambushed the caravan. This was all a setup."
Uchiha Huang, ever stoic, added, "With the traps and now this surveillance, it seems clear that this is a scheme targeting you, Chief."
Fugaku nodded. "Indeed. I'm certain now—this is Danzo Shimura's doing."
"What are our next steps?" Atsuko asked, glancing at the unconscious Taiwa Yoshi. "If the enemies are closing in, we won't be able to protect him."
"We'll create a decoy," Fugaku decided. "Two of us will stay behind to protect the real Taiwa Yoshi while the rest of us retreat with a shadow clone posing as him. That should buy us some time."
The group quickly enacted Fugaku's plan. After ensuring Taiwa Yoshi was safe, Fugaku and the remaining team set off, leaving Shangtian Town.
Half an hour later, deep in the forest, Uchiha Huang, leading the group, suddenly raised a hand.
"Stop!"
The group halted immediately, their senses on high alert.
"There's a trap," Huang said, his Sharingan revealing nearly invisible threads crisscrossing their path.
With their Sharingan active, the rest of the group confirmed his observation. The threads were so fine they were nearly undetectable, and they spanned not just the path ahead but also the sides of the forest.
"These threads form a web," Atsuko muttered. "If we'd walked into it, we'd have triggered countless traps."
"Work together to dismantle it," Fugaku ordered.
Kunai flew through the air, severing the threads. As each thread snapped, hidden traps activated, unleashing volleys of projectiles and explosions. The forest echoed with the sounds of detonating tags and clanging steel. Birds scattered in panic, fleeing the chaos.
Amid the commotion, Fugaku's Sharingan flared. He sensed an ominous presence.
"They're coming," he said, his voice low and tense.
The Uchiha quickly formed a defensive formation, standing back-to-back as they scanned their surroundings.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Figures emerged from the shadows, encircling the group. They wore masks, their cold, murderous intent palpable. These were elite operatives of the Root.
At their center stood Danzo Shimura, leaning on his cane, his lone visible eye gleaming with malice.
(End of Chapter)
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