Night.
Konoha.
Root Base.
The guards at the root base were diligently guarding the base.
Suddenly, a dark object was thrown into the well at the entrance of the base, startling the two guards who hurried over to check.
"This is..."
"Aburame Tatsuma?"
The eyes of the two guards suddenly changed.
The object that fell at the entrance of the base was indeed the body of Aburame Tatsuma.
Aburame Tatsuma's body and even his head were pierced by sharp wooden spikes, with dozens of wounds each showing a piece of wood, looking as if a bush had grown inside his body.
"This is..."
"Wood Release Ninjutsu?"
The two guards immediately went to report to Shimura Danzo.
Aburame Tatsuma was once Shimura Danzo's personal guard. Not only was he killed, but his body was thrown into the root base, clearly a provocation against the root.
The most troublesome thing is...
The murderer is very likely to be Akihara Kagura!
After all, the root base guards had just driven Akihara Kagura away. Aburame Tatsuma was killed by Wood Release, and his body was thrown in, most likely as the kid's revenge.
Shimura Danzo, upon seeing Aburame Tatsuma's body, immediately determined that it was done by Akihara Kagura, as he had personally seen Akihara Kagura use this kind of Wood Release Ninjutsu!
Moreover...
Akihara Kagura is an extreme child!
The two guards of the root were ordered to expel Akihara Kagura, who happened to meet Aburame Tatsuma returning from a mission in Mist Village. He simply killed Aburame Tatsuma to vent his anger against the root, which is very much in line with Akihara Kagura's style!
"Bring him back!"
A flash of rage crossed Shimura Danzo's face.
Akihara Kagura killing Aburame Tatsuma was tantamount to challenging his authority. That kid must not think he could tolerate his insolence!
"..."
The members of the root looked at each other.
Although they dared not disobey Danzo's orders, they couldn't help but wonder if Danzo really wanted them to survive!
Shimura Danzo also realized this situation, leaning on his cane, he coldly ordered: "Does anyone know where that kid is!"
"..."
A group of root ninjas dared not speak.
They didn't know where Akihara Kagura was.
Shimura Danzo once again realized there was a problem with his question, because Akihara Kagura was not a local from Konoha, but an outsider he had brought into Konoha...
It's really troublesome...
Where could that kid be in the middle of the night?
Apart from the Root base, where else could that kid stay?
"Everyone, split up and search for him!"
Shimura Danzo's face turned exceptionally ugly as he said in a deep voice, "Whichever team finds him, just need to hold him off. I will arrive immediately. Before dawn, I want to see that kid!"
In the early hours of the morning.
Akihara Kagura couldn't sleep.
While the Root ninjas were searching for him on a large scale, Akihara Kagura realized that something might have happened in the village and used the [Ninja in the Shadow] to investigate the situation at the Root base.
Akihara Kagura saw in his mind the corpse of Aburame Tatsuma, which could only have been caused by the "Wooden Release: Piercing Jutsu."
In an instant...
As an expert in framing others, Akihara Kagura immediately knew the reason for the sudden large-scale movement of the Root ninjas.
Someone was framing him using Wooden Release!
There are only a few Wooden Release ninjas in the entire Ninja World, and Shimura Danzo would definitely only know of Akihara Kagura himself who can use the "Wooden Release: Piercing Jutsu."
It was a setup falling squarely on Akihara Kagura!
Akihara Kagura immediately thought about why he was being framed, as every frame-up in the Ninja World does not come out of nowhere.
This Ninja World...
Is there someone actually trying to frame him?
All he needs to do is to find out the other users of the Piercing Jutsu.
The information brought by memories of his past life is extremely important. Akihara Kagura knows that there are others who can use this jutsu, a hidden mastermind in the Ninja World.
A man always wearing a mysterious mask.
Officially called, the Mysterious Masked Man.
"This guy..."
"Is actually in Konoha?"
While Akihara Kagura secretly used the [Ninja in the Shadows] to gather information about the Mysterious Masked Man, he suddenly discovered that this guy was hiding in Konoha, even near himself!
Perhaps the struggle in Konoha was too peaceful, making people subconsciously forget the dangers lurking in the Ninja World. Akihara Kagura was still planning to continue being a double agent between Shimura Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen, but had already forgotten that someone was always watching everything happening in Konoha.
Moreover, the last stop of Aburame Tatsuma's life was the Mist Village, which happened to be a major ninja village under the long-term control of the Mysterious Masked Man.
"Has this guy always been in Konoha?"
Akihara Kagura's eyes narrowed slightly as he pondered everything that happened tonight: "Using the Piercing Jutsu to kill Aburame Tatsuma to frame me, instead of thinking about killing me... is he trying to force me to defect? To become his pawn?"
Such a good thing...
Why not say it directly?
The mysterious masked man could have just said it to my face, why would an employee like me refuse the temptation to work for a new boss?
How despicable to use such means!
It's impossible to logically shake off this blame!
Akihara Kagura suddenly sat up straight, the small blanket covering his body flung back like a cape the moment he tossed it behind him!
Since he can't clear his name, he might as well accept this blame for now and find a way to get rid of it later!
Anyway...
This debt will be noted down!
No matter what, he can't delay his journey to report to the Anbu today, because for Akihara Kagura, joining the Anbu means new superiors and a new employee welcome package.
Conveniently, there is a man in Konoha's Anbu who can be used to cause trouble for the mysterious masked man.
"Hey."
Akihara Kagura approached a team of root ninjas.
"Keep him busy!"
As soon as this team of root ninjas saw Akihara Kagura, they didn't wait for him to speak and immediately drew their ninja swords, surrounding him!
Akihara Kagura's fingers suddenly came together!
Accompanied by the activation of Wood Release chakra, huge vines rapidly emerged from the ground, entwining the surrounding root ninjas!
One root ninja dodged the vines, swinging his ninja sword at Akihara Kagura, who kicked him in the face and sent him flying. A vine quickly tied up the ninja, and the other root ninjas were also quickly subdued by the vines!
The team leader of these root ninjas, very stern, asked with a stiff neck: "Lord Kagura, you killed Aburame Tatsuma, do you now want to kill us too? We are here under Lord Danzo's orders, and he will be here soon!"
"Take me to Lord Danzo."
Akihara Kagura controlled the vines to let down this well-performing root team leader and whispered, "I won't kill you guys, to avoid angering Lord Danzo again."
"If Aburame Tatsuma hadn't just returned to Konoha and started mocking me for being kicked out of the root by Lord Danzo, I wouldn't have accidentally killed him."
"Yes."
The root team leader slowly nodded, agreeing with Akihara Kagura's words: "Aburame Tatsuma spoke wrongly, he indeed brought death upon himself…"
After the team of root ninjas and Akihara Kagura left, the mysterious masked man appeared under a large tree, his voice seemingly confused.
"Could it be... I'm under a genjutsu?"
The mysterious masked man sounded bewildered: "Why didn't that kid argue? Why did he admit to killing Aburame Tatsuma?"
The mysterious masked man felt his brain couldn't keep up: "I remember, it should be me who killed Aburame Tatsuma, right?"