"I think I finally know why the Hyuga clan can never become Root members—and why there are so few of them in ANBU."
Hyuga Arin held up a small mirror, looking at his masked reflection.
The mask's eye holes were pitch-black, making the stark white of his Byakugan painfully obvious.
On a mission like this, as long as even one person survived, the enemy could immediately lock onto the Hyuga clan.
Those white pupils—no one else in the shinobi world had them.
If something happened, the Hyuga would be the first suspects every single time.
No wonder the Hyuga clan wasn't enthusiastic about sending people into ANBU.
Just how many black pots would they end up carrying?
The Root operative beside him—codename Crow—twitched at the corner of his mouth.
No, seriously.
What kind of ninja brings a mirror on a mission?!
The two of them moved rapidly through the forest, trees blurring past on either side.
Despite their speed, they made no sound at all.
Even Crow couldn't help but admire Arin's movement.
Crow was traveling at a full jōnin pace, yet Arin—clearly still registered as a genin—kept up effortlessly.
And he was relaxed enough to check himself in a mirror.
That alone proved Arin's strength was nowhere near as simple as it looked.
"Be careful," Crow said in a low voice. "Mirror reflections can expose our position."
"Yeah, yeah." Arin waved a hand and finally put the mirror away.
He was actually quite satisfied with the Root combat uniform—except for one thing.
His muscles stretched the outfit tight, making it look… off.
And judging by the trajectory, the effects of Ogre Back were only going to get worse.
He was only thirteen.
If he grew another two years… would his muscles keep growing too?
Arin sank into silent distress.
"We're here," Crow said suddenly, stopping atop a tree.
Arin flipped upside down, hanging from a branch beside him.
They were hidden within the forest. Beyond the treeline lay a wide lake.
Arin looked at the figures in the distance and his mouth twitched.
"Don't tell me… those are the targets."
Crow didn't answer directly. Instead, he spoke in a flat, emotionless tone:
"Root and ANBU are different.
Root members have no names and no emotions.
No past. No future.
We exist for one purpose only—completing the orders from above."
That was answer enough.
Those people by the lake really were the targets.
Ahead was a standard ninja squad:
one team leader and three genin.
They were resting by the water.
But this squad was different from ordinary Konoha teams.
The flame-fan crest on their backs made their identity unmistakable.
The Uchiha clan.
And among them was someone Arin knew very well—
his former classmate, Uchiha Sōsuke.
So…
Did the Uchiha dig up Danzō's family graves or something?
This was outright targeting.
The war was still ongoing, and Root was already moving against the Uchiha?
This wasn't cleaning up missing-nin—this was blatant abuse of power to suppress the Uchiha clan!
Arin glanced further into the distance.
"So this is the route to the Mist front?"
During the Second Shinobi World War, the Uchiha had been stationed almost exclusively against Kirigakure.
Only later, in the Third War—when Konoha was short on manpower—were they reassigned elsewhere.
If this was an Uchiha squad, then they were almost certainly headed for the Mist battlefield.
Crow was silent for a moment before replying, "Correct. This leads to the Land of Water front."
During the Second War, Kirigakure's presence wasn't especially prominent.
Thanks to a certain scheming individual, the entire village lacked any ambition to grow or expand.
The whole village existed to serve that one person.
So aside from their intense clashes with the Uchiha, Kirigakure wasn't nearly as disruptive as Kumogakure, who showed up everywhere like a plague.
Their only truly major action was the suspected destruction of the Uzumaki clan.
In Konoha, the fall of Uzushiogakure was top-secret—known only to a select few.
But Kirigakure's involvement was certain.
Whether other villages took part was another matter.
From Arin's perspective, the destruction of Uzushiogakure had been a joint effort by all the great nations.
Including the Land of Fire.
The most telling sign was that Konoha never sent reinforcements.
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew perfectly well what a blow this would be—Uzushiogakure had always been Konoha's staunchest ally.
Yet he still refused to act.
For him to make such a decision, the pressure couldn't have come from the Uzumaki themselves, nor from fear of other villages.
Even Uzumaki Mito—who could subdue the First Hokage—remained silent.
So where did the pressure come from?
The answer was obvious.
The Fire Daimyō.
Dig deeper, and it became a matter of the relationship between daimyō and shinobi.
But that wasn't Arin's concern right now.
What mattered was—
"What's the strength of their team leader?" Arin asked eagerly.
Yes, there was his classmate in there.
Which meant he'd strike fast—out of pure classmate affection—and make sure Sōsuke left this world without pain.
Crow stared at Arin, speechless.
No—
Why were you excited?
Shouldn't you be struggling? In agony?
That's your classmate down there!
Crow truly didn't understand why Lord Danzō had recruited Hyuga Arin.
Root members might lack emotions, but did they really have to lack humanity too?
…Then again, Root never had much humanity to begin with.
Finally, Crow answered, "Chūnin."
"Leave him to me," Arin said immediately.
At least hesitate a little!
Arin pulled out several kunai, gauging the distance.
Crow suddenly felt that compared to Arin, he was the morally upright one.
"I'll hold off the chūnin—"
"No need!" Arin shot him a sharp look. "Try to steal my kill and I'll kill you, okay~?"
Crow laughed in disbelief.
He was trying to help, and this kid had the nerve to threaten him.
"Fine. All yours."
Arin turned his attention back to the riverside.
"Byakugan."
At this distance, a chūnin could close in within a dozen seconds.
Arin raised his kunai. Under the Byakugan's vision, the targets were instantly magnified.
"Bear Paw Palm."
Fleshy pads formed on his palm.
"Sniper—Heavy Firepower!"
Bang! Shadow Clone! Unknowable Fire—ON!!
The next instant—
The kunai in Arin's hand vanished.
The Uchiha chūnin was grilling fish while lecturing his students.
"Our Uchiha excel at Fire Release. As long as you master fire—"
Bang!
A fireball abruptly appeared on his forehead and smashed into it.
The smile was still frozen on his face as his pupils began to dilate.
Uchiha Sōsuke's eyes shrank violently.
Through the hole in his teacher's forehead, he could see the scenery behind him.
"Teacher!!"
His pupils turned crimson.
A single tomoe slowly began to rotate.
In that instant of overwhelming pain and shock—
He awakened the Sharingan.
The Uchiha chūnin's body collapsed.
Bang! Bang!
Two more sharp sounds rang out.
Sōsuke turned stiffly, seeing small, scorched holes in the heads of his two teammates.
"AAAAAAHHH!!!"
Uchiha Sōsuke screamed in agony.
In his blood-red eyes—
Two tomoe spun into place.
Two-tomoe Sharingan—awakened in rage!
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