"Leaf Whirlwind!"
"Great Leaf Whirlwind!"
"Strong Fist Leaf Whirlwind!"
The body in the green spandex suit agilely dodged a wooden spike, kicked two enemies flying with his feet, then spun in the air to kick another person away, and with a consecutive spinning kick, sent the last one flying!
"Not the ghost of Uchiha..."
The heart of this muscular man was still beating rapidly; when he was forced to counterattack and kick his enemies, he realized all of them were alive: "They can still use Wood Release..."
"..."
The group of enemies wearing masks then looked at each other again, whispering among themselves: "This guy's taijutsu is really tricky..."
"Use genjutsu..."
"Can we not defeat even a Jonin?"
After they finished their conversation, every one of them stared straight at Might Guy, the four pairs of Sharingan eyes enough to ensure that any enemy would fall for at least one person's genjutsu!
However, the man in the green spandex suit suddenly bowed his head, refusing to look into anyone's eyes, just staring at the feet of his enemies!
Seeing that this guy dared not meet their gaze, the four masked enemies decided to rush him at once, hoping to take the opportunity to finish him off!
Yet, the man in the green spandex suit leaped up, performing a powerful spinning kick, sending the attacking enemies flying once again!
The four were swept away in an instant, showing a hint of astonishment before suddenly realizing why Shisui had warned them to be wary of the target's combat ability!
"I've had experience dealing with the Sharingan before..."
The corner of the man in the green spandex suit's mouth flashed a smug smile: "Without overcoming the Sharingan, one cannot defeat that guy Kakashi. Just by focusing on the enemy's foot movements, you can predict their entire body's movements..."
However...
These enemies possessed more than just the Sharingan!
As the four simultaneously extended their palms, a vine and tree roots emerged from their bodies, reaching for the man in the green spandex suit!
"It really is the Wood Release..."
The battle scene immediately intensified!
Even with the green spandex suit man's rich combat experience and astonishing taijutsu, he inevitably fell into a hard fight at this moment!
The Konoha Village BBQ Shop.
Akihara Kagura and Hatake Kakashi had just left.
Suddenly, a commotion arose from the edge of the Konoha Village, clearly indicating a battle was underway. Hatake Kakashi and Akihara Kagura exchanged glances in an instant.
"Anko, take the two kids back!"
Akihara Kagura ordered, then leaped toward the direction of the battle, with Hatake Kakashi following close behind!
When they arrived, they saw four masked ninjas with red eyes and a man in a green spandex suit engaged in an intense fight. Other Konoha ninjas attracted by the noise also gathered around the battlefield, discussing fervently.
"Guy!"
Hatake Kakashi looked at the man in the green spandex suit with some surprise, as this man was the taijutsu expert he had planned to introduce to Akihara Kagura.
Might Guy.
The most diligent ninja in Konoha's training, Might Guy, even though he had been promoted to a jōnin of the village, still continued his physical training regardless of winter or summer.
When Hatake Kakashi saw Might Guy's enemies, his eyes involuntarily widened: "How could they possibly have the Sharingan… How is this possible? Wasn't the Uchiha clan… exterminated by Itachi a few months ago?"
"They also have Wood Release…"
Hatake Kakashi also saw the vines growing out of the masked ninjas' sleeves, and he involuntarily turned his head towards the direction of Akihara Kagura.
No need for further speculation.
Hatake Kakashi immediately understood what was going on with these people, he touched the corners of his eyes and said softly, "Are these the products of human experiments?"
"Let's capture them first."
Akihara Kagura raised his palm, and thicker vines sprouted from the ground, directly capturing these masked enemies!
After Akihara Kagura dealt with the enemies, he turned back to look at Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy, and a group of Konoha ninjas, seemingly with a reluctant intention to bring his palms together.
"Kagura."
Hatake Kakashi knew Akihara Kagura very well and broke out in a cold sweat, "You wouldn't extremely… intend to kill everyone to silence them, would you?"
"…"
All the ninjas present were startled.
Although they were unclear about the dark secrets involved, it definitely wasn't something minor. These people possessed the Uchiha clan's Sharingan and the First Hokage's Wood Release, clearly, they harbored a huge secret!
"It's you, my old superior, who understands me."
Akihara Kagura sighed deeply and said to Hatake Kakashi, "Captain Kakashi, if I kill everyone present, can you keep this secret?"
"Don't say such frightening things…"
Cold sweat ran down Hatake Kakashi's face.
"I am the leader of the Root."
Akihara Kagura looked at Hatake Kakashi and said softly, "The will of the Root is to protect Konoha in the shadows, we all guessed why this happened, you also know this matter absolutely must not be leaked…"
While Akihara Kagura was speaking, trying to bring his palms together, Hatake Kakashi suddenly grabbed his wrist!
"Everyone, tonight's matter must not be leaked!"
Hatake Kakashi looked at the people present and immediately issued the order with his identity as the captain of the Anbu, fearing Akihara Kagura might impulsively want to kill directly.
"Kakashi!"
Akihara Kagura stared intently at Hatake Kakashi, solemnly warning, "We all know who did this, do you realize the severe consequences if this gets out?"
"I know!"
Hatake Kakashi stared back at Akihara Kagura, earnestly suggesting, "It's best to report this to the Third Hokage first, and ask the Hokage to make a decision…"
Hatake Kakashi continued looking into Akihara Kagura's eyes, "Kagura, you should know, some truths can't be hidden forever, do you acknowledge this?"
"…"
Akihara Kagura fell silent.
However, Akihara Kagura did not admit it but instead turned to Hatake Kakashi, "I need to take these people to the Root for detention..."
"This matter should be handled by the Anbu!"
"This can only be taken care of by the Root!"
"Is there anyone left in the Root?"
"As long as I am here, the Root exists!"
"I'm worried you might do something wrong."
Hatake Kakashi looked into Akihara Kagura's eyes, sighed, and said, "Kagura, let's leave this matter to the Third Hokage to handle."
"But I need to take these people back to the Root first!"
Akihara Kagura glanced at the few people wearing masks and whispered, "There might be more of them in the village; we must block the news as soon as possible..."
"Did you get involved?"
Hatake Kakashi stared intently at Akihara Kagura.
Why would Akihara Kagura know about this? Was he involved in this matter? Was he colluding with Shimura Danzo?
Without a doubt.
This was definitely done by Shimura Danzo.
Hatake Kakashi also knew that these people were surely Shimura Danzo's subordinates. They had transplanted the Uchiha clan's Sharingan and also the cells of the First Hokage.
Inside Konoha...
Only Shimura Danzo would do such a thing.
What worried Hatake Kakashi more was whether Akihara Kagura was involved because he had already considered Akihara Kagura a good friend!
"Let's detain these people for now."
Akihara Kagura did not answer Hatake Kakashi, softly saying, "Since you insist on involving the Anbu, then you guys detain the others. I'll take these masked guys to the Root, as they were originally supposed to belong to the Root..."
"But..."
Hatake Kakashi was still worried.
"Let's deal with this matter quickly!"
Akihara Kagura, controlling the vines, tied up several masked people and flew towards the Root's base: "I'll come to find you later. Tonight's matter won't be so easily resolved, and there are probably still many such people hiding in the village!"
"Wait..."
Hatake Kakashi wanted to stop Akihara Kagura.
However, a single sentence from Akihara Kagura made Hatake Kakashi stop in his tracks: "Kakashi, you should know, regardless of how the Third Hokage decides whether these masked guys live or die, it should be the Root's responsibility, right?"
"..."
Hatake Kakashi immediately paused and started calling out to everyone: "Everyone present, follow me to the Anbu for a moment. Don't worry, it's just for a confidentiality registration."
Akihara Kagura was right.
These masked people, possessing the Sharingan and able to use Wood Release, were all products of human experimentation and could not possibly stand in the light.
Whether the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, decides to kill these products of human experimentation or keep them to serve the Konoha, it would definitely be most appropriate for the Root to handle this matter.
"Hey, Kakashi, what's going on?"
Might Guy was still nervous and cautiously asked, "Who exactly are those guys? Did I cause trouble?"
"Don't worry, it's nothing."
Hatake Kakashi quickly spoke up to calm Might Guy and took the opportunity to ask what had happened tonight, learning the events of the evening from Might Guy's account.
This was a coincidence.
After finally finishing his training, Might Guy encountered several individuals attempting to sneak into the village. Thinking they were enemies, he intended to confront them, but they irrationally sought to silence him.
Such a style...
Indeed, it seemed characteristic of Shimura Danzo's followers.
When Hatake Kakashi brought these onlooking innocent Konoha ninjas to the ANBU to be temporarily detained, Akihara Kagura came to the ANBU and found Hatake Kakashi.
A scroll was tossed into Hatake Kakashi's hands.
As Hatake Kakashi opened the scroll, his expression turned grim upon seeing the transfer order written on it.
"I wasn't involved in this, but I know it was Lord Danzo's doing."
Akihara Kagura shook his head, no longer hiding from Hatake Kakashi why he had guessed this: "On the night of the clan's annihilation, I became the head of the Root, and Lord Danzo came to the Root base. The ANBU should know about this, right?"
Hatake Kakashi nodded.
"Before I took office, Lord Danzo led Root members to the Konoha Police Force building and collected over a hundred Sharingan eyes. They chose not to destroy them..."
"I dislike Uchiha Itachi and the Uchiha clan, and causally ordered them to destroy these Sharingan eyes. Lord Danzo might not have realized I would succeed as the head of the Root and directly wrote an order to transfer those Sharingan eyes out of the Root..."
Akihara Kagura glanced at Hatake Kakashi, continuing: "After I took office, I intended to destroy them while Lord Danzo was away, but realizing I might not follow the order, he rushed to the Root base and personally took away those Sharingan eyes..."
Hatake Kakashi was silent, at a loss for words.
"Captain Kakashi, just like I was once under your command, besides the matters with Orochimaru, Lord Danzo was actually not bad to me. Besides, the Uchiha clan has already been annihilated. It's just a minor matter, and I didn't stop him..."
Akihara Kagura spoke as if it were indeed a trivial matter, which was very much in his style: "Lord Danzo said, everything is for the sake of Konoha, and when the time is right, he will report to the Third Hokage..."
Hatake Kakashi immediately knew that Akihara Kagura had been deceived by Danzo.
Because Shimura Danzo liked to act covertly and never thought about reporting to the Third Hokage.
Hatake Kakashi sighed softly, advising: "You really didn't need to hide this for Shimura Danzo. This is not a minor issue..."
"Shimura Danzo used those Sharingan eyes for unauthorized human experiments, even creating ninjas with both Wood Release and Sharingan, dual Kekkei Genkai."
"Perhaps..."
Hatake Kakashi had more to say but didn't.
These experiments, if continued, actually held more potential than Akihara Kagura.
Akihara Kagura only had the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, while those experimental subjects possessed the top ninja world's Kekkei Genkai of both Sharingan and Wood Release.
Shimura Danzo conducting unauthorized human experiments, even using the Sharingan eyes that must be destroyed as materials to covertly cultivate these ninjas, definitely had his schemes.
Hatake Kakashi did not hesitate to suspect Shimura Danzo with the worst intentions.
If these experimental products produced someone stronger than Akihara Kagura, Shimura Danzo would surely use them to eliminate Akihara Kagura, a candidate for Hokage...
Fortunately.
Tonight, Might Guy coincidentally discovered all this.
If this matter had remained hidden, Shimura Danzo's plot would have eventually succeeded. Even if no one as powerful as Akihara Kagura appeared, those laboratory-produced dual Kekkei Genkai monsters, with just a bit of training, would be a force capable of overturning Konoha...
"Let's go, start with searching the village."
Akihara Kagura sighed, not wanting to continue this topic, and said: "There must be others hiding... Lord Danzo initially transferred 143 Sharingan eyes from the Root, there must be other successful experiments."