From the moment Shigure was delayed by those two enemies, to chasing them down and closing in through his Transparent Ninjutsu, everything had unfolded at breakneck speed.
Once outside the village, he activated Thinking Acceleration.
His enhanced perception allowed him to comb through every trace along the way. He didn't miss a single footprint, a single chakra remnant.
There had been no signs of anyone else—no evidence that another accomplice had contacted the enemy or retrieved anything.
With his mind fully accelerated, there was no chance he would have overlooked such a detail.
And yet...
How could someone as big and loud as Naruto just vanish?
After scouring the area, Shigure deployed more than twenty shadow clones, sweeping the entire forest like a coordinated assault.
Still nothing.
Did Naruto actually disappear into thin air?
Could it be Space–Time Ninjutsu?
But if the enemy had such a powerful technique, why bother running from Konoha at all?
Wouldn't it have been easier to teleport away the moment they caught Naruto?
Shigure clenched his fists.
And I don't even know any Space–Time Ninjutsu—I'd never be able to keep up!
But something about it didn't sit right.
He searched for another half hour, covering every corner from the forest to the outskirts of the village. His clones scoured the terrain with relentless precision.
Still—no sign of Naruto. And the enemy didn't carry any sealing scrolls or containment tools.
A living person doesn't just vanish.
If it wasn't Space–Time Ninjutsu… and there were no scrolls… then there was only one possibility left:
Naruto never left Konoha.
Shigure's eyes widened.
The only moment I might've missed something… was while still inside the village!
He immediately turned back, using Transparent Ninjutsu to slip past the ANBU patrolling the area.
As he crept through the village shadows, he spotted a team of ANBU on the roadside—just ahead.
"Why did that little fox demon suddenly faint here?"
"Orders from the Hokage—just bring him back and don't make a fuss."
Shigure stiffened behind a rooftop.
Naruto… is still here?
He gritted his teeth, confused and angry.
They caught him… and just threw him aside like garbage?
What kind of twisted plan is this?
If Naruto wasn't their real target… then those three masked attackers were after—
Him.
Meanwhile, deep underground in the Root Organization's hidden base, Danzo stood with his back to one of his operatives.
"Lord Danzo," the Root ninja reported, "The operation failed. All three agents were killed."
Danzo's one visible eye twitched.
"All three? Killed? They were Chūnin—elite ones, no less."
How can a brat who hasn't even graduated from the Academy kill them?
"Two of their bodies were discovered by the ANBU. The last one is missing, likely destroyed in combat. According to reports, both were taken out instantly."
Instant kill.
Throat slit.
Danzo's eyes snapped open.
No… that's impossible.
A kid with a bit of sword talent? Sure.
But this?
Even if he didn't trust ANBU because they served Hiruzen, their investigation couldn't be that far off.
"I underestimated that child…"
The Root operative continued.
"According to the ANBU witnesses, Gekkō Shigure transformed into a stream of light and fled the village at astonishing speed."
"The third Root agent was likely intercepted and eliminated outside the village."
That much was certain.
But turning into flowing streams in an instant…
Is that Body Flicker? Or some advanced transformation Ninjutsu?
Either way, it intrigued Danzo.
A child who hasn't even graduated… mastering high-speed movement and Transparent Ninjutsu?
It reminded him of an old acquaintance.
Hanzo the Salamander could use similar techniques…
To even begin learning such advanced escape arts, a ninja needed a rare, innate talent for Ninjutsu—especially ones that manipulated their very body.
So, Gekkō Shigure… you've got talent beyond swordsmanship. That changes things.
Danzo smirked beneath his bandages.
"Hiruzen… it seems your little sword prodigy is more than just steel and footwork."
"He's a genius of Ninjutsu."
Danzo's fascination grew.
A talent like that, unclaimed by Root… was unacceptable.
At that very moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the Hokage's office, a deep frown etched into his face as he scanned the latest report.
"Two men in black—killed instantly. Naruto unconscious. The enemy vanished."
He rubbed his forehead.
Eighty percent of the evidence pointed to the culprits being Root agents.
But they weren't in any official roster—they were black ops operatives trained and hidden by Danzo himself.
Why was Naruto knocked out?
And who used that strange movement technique to vanish?
What exactly is Danzo doing behind the scenes…?
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
Was Naruto the target? Or was someone else involved?
Even if he summoned Danzo, the man would never admit anything outright. This attack clearly bypassed Hokage authority altogether.
Worse yet, it endangered civilians and occurred right inside the village.
Danzo's gone too far this time.
If Naruto got caught in the crossfire—!
Hiruzen exhaled. He'd question Naruto himself when the boy woke up.
Elsewhere, the ANBU quietly returned Naruto to the village hospital, unaware they were being watched from the shadows.
Shigure, hidden behind a corner, slipped away silently and returned home.
The truth was obvious now.
Naruto wasn't the target.
He was.
The entire attack happened within Konoha—and at the time, ANBU patrols had been strangely absent in that area.
Shigure knew how the ANBU operated. Their presence was constant across the village. There shouldn't have been such a large, unmonitored blind spot.
There was only one conclusion.
Besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, the only person with the authority to pull off something like that… is Danzo.
And that meant—
Shigure had been marked.
By Root.
But why?
He wasn't special. He wasn't some prodigy who stood out in every mission.
The only time he'd drawn attention was when he demonstrated his breathing-style swordsmanship during that training session.
Is that what made me a target?
The reason they lured me out of Konoha…
It was to avoid drawing attention.
They didn't want a scene. They didn't want witnesses.
They wanted to capture me alive.
If it had been a simple assassination, they wouldn't have needed to lure me outside the village. A clean kill could've been done quietly, quickly—no fuss.
But to capture me?
That meant they needed me in one piece.
"Is this about my swordsmanship… the breathing style?"
That had to be it.
Danzo wanted to know how I trained—how I fought.
"Danzo… are you really that obsessed over a single sword technique?"
"You're giving me far too much credit!"
And yet... maybe he wasn't even taking me seriously.
If he had, he wouldn't have sent just three Root operatives, none of them even at Jōnin level.
No—it was clear.
Danzo underestimated me.
He thought those three would be more than enough.
He was wrong.
But that won't last.
Now that he's seen my strength firsthand, next time won't be the same.
Next time... he won't send Chūnin.
He'll send something much worse.
...
TN:
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