Kinoshita Yoshiro is dead, and he died in Naruto's arms.
A large amount of blood stained half of Naruto's body red. Naruto stared blankly at Kinoshita Yoshiro lying in his arms.
"Mission complete."
A Root Ninja held up the scroll in his hand and said in a low voice to the Root Ninja blocking Kakashi.
Kakashi's face was extremely grim. Kinoshita Yoshiro was a very important figure to the Mist Ninja Village. Such a person dying at Konoha's hands would definitely cause a big problem!
"You two, stop right there!!"
Naruto slowly placed Kinoshita Yoshiro's body on the ground, raised his head, and roared at the two Root Ninja.
At the same time, a violent Chakra began to surge from Naruto's body.
Of the two Root Ninja who were originally preparing to turn and leave, one figure suddenly stiffened.
The other Root Ninja quickly turned around and looked at Naruto, from whose body fiery red Chakra was beginning to emerge.
Kakashi did not notice the two Root Ninja's small movements, because the moment the Nine-Tailed Chakra leaked out, Kakashi had already appeared beside Naruto.
He pressed down on Naruto's head with one hand and held his shoulder with the other, telling Naruto to calm down.
"Naruto, calm down!"
Kakashi's voice rang in Naruto's ear. Hearing Kakashi's words, the violent aura that had been emanating from Naruto's body slowly began to subside.
"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto's face still held an angry expression. He clenched his fists, his Chakra somewhat unstable as he spoke.
Seeing that Naruto had not transformed into a Tailed Beast, Kakashi breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Root Ninja are different from other Konoha Ninja. Once a conflict arises with Root Ninja, it would likely be a headache for the Third Hokage as well.
However!
Kakashi raised his head, his face cold, and said in a low voice to the two Root Ninja:
"I will report what happened today to the Hokage exactly as it occurred!"
The two Root Ninja heard Kakashi's words but showed no sign of caring. They simply turned and left.
In just a few blinks, the two Root Ninja had disappeared from everyone's sight.
"Mr. Yoshiro..."
Sakura also walked over at this time. Looking at Kinoshita Yoshiro lying on the ground, completely silent, she slightly covered her mouth.
Sasuke, who was nearby, was somewhat silent. He suddenly raised his head, looked at Kakashi, and asked, "Were those two Konoha Ninja really Konoha Anbu?"
Kakashi's expression remained unchanged. The existence of Root is a secret to ordinary Ninja, so Kakashi naturally wouldn't tell them.
This was not only to protect Konoha's secrets but also for the good of Sasuke and the other two. The less they knew about some things, the safer they would be.
Sakura was one thing, but both Sasuke and Naruto's identities were too sensitive. They absolutely could not have contact with Root.
On the other side.
The two Root Ninja who had left didn't stop until they were some distance away from Kakashi and the others.
One of the Root Ninja lazily twisted his waist, casually threw the mask from his face onto the ground, and stomped on it.
"Oh dear, that was really exciting. I didn't expect that kid to be Konoha's Jinchuriki. If we had really fought, it probably would have been exposed."
Suigetsu Hozuki rubbed his neck and muttered softly.
Bang!
Accompanied by a light sound and white smoke, Suigetsu Hozuki dispelled his transformation jutsu.
"But speaking of which, Kinoshita Yoshiro is truly admirable. He actually eliminated all his weaknesses at the cost of his own death."
Suigetsu Hozuki's tone was full of emotion. From his embrace, he opened the scroll Kinoshita Yoshiro had given him.
He saw that the contents of the scroll were completely blank, containing nothing.
Suigetsu Hozuki put the scroll back into his embrace, then turned his head and looked at the Root Ninja standing motionless beside him.
His identity as a Root Ninja was fake, but the one beside him was real; he was just being controlled by Genjutsu.
Thanks to them both wearing Konoha Root masks, and having specifically arranged for this Root Ninja to meet Kakashi the previous night.
Otherwise, given Kakashi's caution, he might have been suspicious.
"Your mission is over."
Looking at this Root Ninja, Suigetsu Hozuki slightly grinned. The next moment, a kunai had pierced through the heart of this Root Ninja.
After slightly arranging the surrounding scene to look like a fight and destroying the Root Ninja's body to leave no trace, Suigetsu Hozuki turned and disappeared.
----
"Kakashi-sensei, what should we do with Mr. Yoshiro's body?"
Looking at the somewhat silent Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi, Sakura was stunned for a moment before speaking helplessly.
Sasuke was one thing, but what were these two guys spacing out about!!
Sakura couldn't help but complain inwardly, but her face showed no change in expression.
Hearing Sakura's voice, Kakashi's eyes couldn't help but flicker, and he snapped out of his earlier contemplation.
He didn't know why, but Kakashi always felt that there were some strange points, but he couldn't think of where exactly it was strange at the moment.
Kinoshita Yoshiro was somewhat strange, but he was dead now.
The Root people were also a bit strange, but Root people always did things like this.
Kakashi lightly sighed. It was better to leave this matter for the Third Hokage to handle.
"Let's bury Kinoshita Yoshiro's body here."
Kakashi thought for a moment before speaking.
Although Kinoshita Yoshiro was dead, his body actually still held considerable value. However, setting aside the fact that Kinoshita Yoshiro was a person from the Mist Ninja Village after all.
As the head of the Kinoshita Clan, he would likely have set up a seal regarding memories in his mind before his death. Even if they took the body back, they probably wouldn't get any important information.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's faces showed a somber expression. Although they had only spent a few days together, all three had developed a good impression of Kinoshita Yoshiro.
Especially Naruto. In Kinoshita Yoshiro, Naruto seemed to feel a trace of fatherly warmth.
Step—step—
Suddenly, two sets of footsteps slowly approached from a distance.
Kakashi and the others quickly raised their heads and looked towards the direction the sound was coming from.
They saw two extremely young figures appear before Kakashi and the others.
One of them was a girl of about seventeen or eighteen with reddish-brown hair, carrying two swords on her back, and a cold expression on her face.
The other person had long black hair, wore a blue and black outfit, and had a gentle smile on his face.
These two were none other than Ameyuri Ringo and Haku.
Ameyuri Ringo glanced at Kakashi, and a hint of excitement flickered in her eyes.
She was quite interested in Kakashi Hatake, who could defeat Zabuza Momochi.
On the other side, seeing the headbands on the foreheads of these two, Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly. People from the Mist Ninja Village!