The roar of clashing Ninjutsu had yet to die away; smoke and mist still curled through the air.
"Twee—twee—!"
The shrill whistles of the Security Platoon were already closing in.
Several figures landed on rooftops and broken walls around the street, loosely surrounding the area.
Some wore animal masks —Anbu —others the standard Konoha-nin uniform with the Security Platoon armband.
"What's going on?!"
"Using jutsu of this scale inside the Village?!"
An Anbu squad-leader in a Fox Mask barked, sharp eyes sweeping the scene.
His gaze took in the ruined street—collapsed walls, cracked earth, muddy water everywhere —and Tejima Shinichi standing amid the rubble.
Then he spotted the three masked Ninja in disarray: Root operatives.
The Anbu captain's pupils narrowed.
He recognized them, but protocol had to be followed.
"Who are you people? Why attack a Genin of this Village?"
His voice, filtered by the mask, was icy.
The lead Root Ninja in a tanuki mask stepped forward, trying to keep it short:
"By Lord Danzo's order, we're to escort Tejima Shinichi to—"
"They claim they're from something called 'Root'."
Shinichi cut in before he could finish:
"I'd just returned from a mission when these three blocked my way, saying I had to meet someone named 'Danzo'."
He looked around at the arriving Konoha-nin and raised his voice:
"I've never heard of any 'Root' in the shinobi handbook or the Village registry, and I don't know any 'Danzo'. I, Tejima Shinichi, am a registered Ninja under the Hokage—answerable only to the Third Hokage-sama and my Jonin Instructor, Captain Yamato."
He turned to the three Root Ninja:
"I told them plainly: without orders from the Hokage or Captain Yamato, I'm going nowhere. They threatened me —said it was my last chance before they 'used force'."
A cold laugh escaped Shinichi.
"Inside Konoha, openly threatening to abduct a Village Ninja —who gave them the guts?"
The gathered Ninja instantly understood what had happened.
Root's recruitment style… an old habit. And the boy was this year's Top Student—of course they believed him.
The Konoha-nin—Security and Anbu alike —glared at the three Root operatives with open hostility.
"Scum!"
"What do you take this Village for?!"
"…how dare you!"
Facing the outraged crowd, the tanuki-masked Root Ninja hesitated, still trying to explain:
"We…"
"Enough!"
A voice thick with restrained fury rang out.
A figure flickered into place in front of Shinichi —Yamato had returned.
Yamato's face was livid as he stared at the three Root Ninja.
He hadn't gone far; sensing the familiar surge of Water and Earth Release Chakra —and the blast —he'd raced back.
The scene and Shinichi's accusation told him everything.
As the former "Kinoe", he knew Root's methods all too well.
"As expected…" Yamato's voice was glacial. "Elder Danzo's reach has grown too long! Shinichi is my student, a Konoha Genin personally recognized by the Hokage! Who gave you the right to threaten and attempt to abduct him inside our own Village?!"
The three Root Ninja fell silent.
Against Yamato —who knew every secret —and the growing number of hostile comrades, any defense was useless.
The Anbu captain stepped forward, voice cold: "You three, come with us. The Hokage will decide this."
He turned to Yamato and Shinichi: "Captain Yamato, Genin —please accompany us and report to the Hokage."
Yamato nodded, giving Shinichi's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"Well done, Shinichi. You did right."
Shinichi remained calm: "A few clowns —hardly worth my time."
Under the watch of many Konoha-nin, the group set off toward the Hokage Building.
The three Root operatives, hemmed in on every side, marched in silent escort toward the Hokage Office.
The air was heavy.
Hiruzen Sarutobi listened to the Anbu captain's report, gaze shifting from the three silent, downcast Root Ninja to the composed but sharp-eyed Shinichi, then to the still-furious Yamato.
Without a word he lifted his pipe, packed it leisurely, struck a flame with a "scratch" and took a long draw.
Thick smoke rose, veiling his lined face and hiding whatever storm brewed behind it.
When the silence had almost choked the three Root Ninja, Shinichi stepped forward and bowed slightly:
"Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen looked at him through the haze.
Shinichi met his gaze:
"I don't understand,"
he began, tone controlled but cutting:
"I'd just completed a mission for the Village and was on my way home when these three masked Ninja blocked and attacked me."
He turned, finger pointing at the Root trio, eyes like ice:
"They call themselves 'Root', claim they serve a 'Lord Danzo', and tried to drag me away. I told them I'm a registered Konoha Genin under Captain Yamato, loyal to you—Third Hokage-sama!"
"Yet they ignored that and threatened force. Inside Konoha, openly threatening to abduct a Village Ninja…"
"We never used violence —you're the one who unleashed a large-scale jutsu!"
the tanuki-masked Ninja blurted, voice thick with grievance.
Shinichi ignored him and fired the question every Ninja who knew of Root had been dying to ask:
"Hokage-sama, are this 'Lord Danzo' and 'Root' Ninja of this Village? If not, why can they run rampant inside Konoha, assaulting and threatening our own? If they are…"
He paused deliberately, eyes blazing:
"then who gave them the power to override the Hokage, ignore Village law, and publicly abduct and threaten fellow Ninja?"
"Today they came for me —tomorrow they could come for any Konoha shinobi! Such conduct is no different from enemy spies! What does the existence of such an organization inside Konoha signify?!"
Every word struck home, deepening the room's loathing for Root.
If they could act so wantonly today, what of tomorrow —what if it were your child?
No one could accept that.
The three Root Ninja opened their mouths to protest their innocence —but after their reputation, who would believe them, perhaps even the Hokage?
Only the ones who knew they were wronged could feel how wronged they truly were.
Hiruzen's fingers tightened around his pipe for an instant.
He studied Shinichi, a complicated flicker in his eyes—
The office was so quiet a needle could be heard, everyone awaiting the Hokage's verdict.
At length Hiruzen lowered the pipe from his lips —just as a cold snort rang from beyond the door:
"Hmph!"