The summons came at night.
No knock. No messenger. Just a shadow moving across his window, and when he slid it open, a mask stared back at him. Blank. Expressionless. Root.
No words were exchanged. A gesture. A flick of fingers. Come.
He obeyed.
Into the Dark
They moved through the village without a sound, slipping across rooftops, ducking through alleys. It was strange—traveling through the same streets he'd walked in daylight, now drained of warmth, claimed by silence.
At the edge of the village, the mask finally spoke.
"Target: former Konoha operative. Branded traitor. Current location: abandoned outpost near the border."
The voice was flat. No anger. No contempt. Just fact.
"Objective: eliminate."
The MC's breath steadied. His hand curled around his pouch.
The system pulsed.
[Mission Received.]
[Root Assignment: Eliminate traitor.]
[Parameters: Success rate required – 100%.]
No margin for error.
The Hunt
They moved quickly, three Root operatives plus him. The MC noticed the rhythm immediately: one scouted ahead, one shadowed the flanks, the other covered the rear. Precision drilled into bone.
No chatter. No wasted motion.
By the time they reached the abandoned outpost, the night was absolute. Broken walls rose from the earth like jagged teeth. Inside, a faint flicker of firelight.
One of the operatives gestured. The MC moved forward, crouching at the edge of the ruins. Through the cracks, he saw the man.
The "traitor."
Clothes ragged, headband missing, but the way he sharpened a kunai by the fire showed he was still a shinobi. His eyes darted at every creak of the old wood. A hunted man.
The system ticked.
[Target confirmed.]
[Threat assessment: C-rank combatant.]
[Probability of escape if alerted: 42%.]
The Root leader gave a simple signal.
Advance.
Silent Strike
The approach was swift. A shadow across the wall, a muffled step, the scrape of steel. The Root operatives slipped in like wraiths. The traitor spun, kunai raised—
—but his arm was pinned instantly, his legs swept, his back slammed against the floor.
No wasted words. No demand for surrender. Root didn't negotiate.
The traitor thrashed, panic flooding his eyes. "Wait—wait, please! I can explain! I—"
A hand clamped over his mouth.
The leader turned to the MC. Slowly. Deliberately. And pointed.
The message was clear. Your turn.
The system pulsed.
[Root Test Triggered.]
[Requirement: Deliver final strike.]
[Warning: Hesitation will be recorded.]
The MC's chest tightened.
The Plea
The hand was removed from the traitor's mouth. Immediately, words spilled out.
"I didn't betray Konoha! I was framed—do you hear me? Framed! If you kill me, the truth dies with me!"
His voice cracked with desperation. He tried to twist toward the MC, eyes locking, clinging. "You—please—you look young. You know this isn't right! I can help you. I still have information. Just—don't do this!"
The Root operative restraining him didn't even blink. The leader didn't move. They were waiting.
The system offered no mercy.
[Recommendation: Eliminate.]
[Alternative actions probability of success: 0%.]
The MC's hand tightened around his kunai.
If I hesitate, they'll mark me. If I refuse, they'll end me. This is the box they've built for me.
The traitor's voice broke. "Please—"
The Kill
Steel slid through the air.
The kunai struck true, clean into the man's throat. A wet gasp. A spray of red. His eyes widened, then dulled.
Silence reclaimed the outpost.
The Root operatives released the body, letting it slump against the cracked stone floor. No acknowledgement. No thanks. No condemnation.
The leader simply turned, mask glinting faintly in the firelight.
And nodded once.
The system pulsed coldly.
[Target eliminated.]
[Mission Success: 100%.]
[Evaluation: Efficient.]
Return
They left as silently as they came. No one spoke. The night swallowed the evidence, leaving only blood soaking into old wood.
By the time they reached the village again, the Root operatives were already dispersing into alleys and shadows. Not even a farewell.
The MC stood alone beneath the quiet stars, hand still trembling around his kunai hilt.
The system pulsed one last time.
[Root Observation Complete.]
[Status: Candidate viable.]
He exhaled. Slowly. Forced the tremor to fade.
Then he walked back to the training grounds.
Normal Faces
Morning came.
Obito was late again, stumbling in with excuses about oversleeping. Rin laughed, shaking her head as she organized medical supplies. Kakashi stood off to the side, arms crossed, silent as ever.
Minato arrived soon after, his warm smile unchanged. "Good to see everyone back in one piece."
The MC smiled faintly, as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't killed a man in silence hours ago.
No one suspected. No one knew.
But deep inside, something cracked.
Author's Note
Chapter 20 marked the first true Root mission for the MC. Unlike sabotage or whispers, this was cold execution—a Konoha traitor silenced without trial.
Root didn't care about truth, only about obedience. And by delivering the killing blow, the MC passed their test… at the cost of a piece of himself.
The system logged it as "efficient." But efficiency and humanity don't always align.
👉 For Chapter 21, should Root escalate further by forcing the MC into another mission, or should we shift back to Team Minato, showing how he masks the aftermath while Root lingers in the background?