Bringing Konoha into a brand new era.
An era ruled by their Root.
"Hakushi-kun!?"
Seeing Hakushi collapse weakly, Ayane's face changed dramatically, and she ran towards Hakushi.
The captain ninja did not stop her.
Because with such injuries, nobody could survive.
Once hit by his blade of air current, his Chakra would linger inside the enemy's body for a period, then guided by the Jutsu, attack from within the enemy, utterly annihilating them.
However, this move consumes a large amount of Chakra, so it is only used as a trump card when facing strong enemies.
And, in his view, Hakushi was qualified to experience this move.
"Do not grieve over the loss of your friend, little girl from the Hyuga family. At least in the mission records this time, you will be heroes. Of course, in the form of dying from exhaustion after a valiant fight with the Hidden Sand Ninja."
This might be the greatest mercy.
It is also the darkness borne by their Root.
The captain ninja walked towards Ayane, with murderous intent in his eyes elevated to the extreme.
This time, he would not be careless again.
He just needs to retrieve the Uchiha's Sharingan and dispose of the three bodies secretly to complete this mission.
"Captain! Be careful!?"
The ninja from the Aburame Clan seemed to sense something, shouting anxiously at the captain ninja.
"Hmm?"
The captain ninja tilted his head slightly, looking at his subordinate in confusion.
Then he felt a chill at the base of his neck.
A black shadow appeared right in front of him, then quickly swept by.
It sliced open.
Blood splattered from it.
The captain ninja could not scream, only covering his deeply wounded, bleeding throat, convulsing and struggling on the ground.
Hakushi, panting heavily, came to the captain ninja's side, dragging his blood-covered body, looking at him with wary eyes.
When those strange airflows entered his body, Hakushi sensibly felt it with Natural Energy, so he used Natural Energy in advance to protect the vital parts inside his body. When the air current blade exploded, the injuries were far less severe than imagined.
Hakushi squatted down, pulling out a kunai from his Ninja Tool Bag, fiercely stabbing at the captain ninja's chest, mercilessly ending his life.
"I personally don't like being a hero. I'll let you have this title."
Then, Hakushi looked coldly at the last Root ninja.
The other was completely intimidated by Hakushi's presence, he even heard the sound of him swallowing saliva in fear, and the hand controlling the swarm was trembling.
Seeing that Hakushi was okay, Ayane breathed a sigh of relief.
Because Hakushi had not revealed in advance that he would play dead, Ayane thought Hakushi had really been killed.
Hakushi-kun is still so good at deception. Ayane internally scoffed.
The way the blood sprayed just now was genuinely frightening; generally, in such a situation, no one could still be alive.
Yet Hakushi still got up lively.
Now, there was only one enemy left.
Ayane also glared fiercely at this last Root ninja.
"You can go."
Hakushi suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, not only Ayane but even the Root ninja looked surprised at Hakushi.
"Let me... go?"
The other seemed a bit disbelieving that Hakushi would say such a thing.
"I'm injured now, and I'm not confident I can take you down. And you don't want to die here, do you? So why don't we both stand down? After all, don't you need to report the situation to your superiors?"
Hakushi began to coax softly.
Ayane hesitated, seeming to understand something, silently agreeing with Hakushi's idea.
The Root ninja was even more incredulous. At such times, if really very weak, Hakushi should adopt a tougher stance.
Instead, Hakushi frankly said he was seriously injured, causing the Root ninja to hesitate.
Honestly, although he wanted to avenge his dead comrades, the pressure Hakushi gave him was too overwhelming.
Indeed, pulling back now would be beneficial for both sides.
He wanted to confirm one more time: "Are you really willing to let me go?"
"Ah, as I said, I'm seriously injured now, at most a mutual defeat, perishing together. I still have decades of life to enjoy. I don't want to die so young. So, a peaceful resolution is the best ending for both parties."
The Root ninja's mood calmed down, and he took a deep breath.
He began to back away, seeing Hakushi not react, and Ayane also stood quietly on the side without any action.
After retreating a dozen meters, Hakushi and Ayane still did not react, the other finally believed Hakushi's words, and used the Instantaneous Body Jutsu to leave the place.
About three to five seconds after he left, Hakushi suddenly collapsed, gasping heavily, his face twisted in pain, his skin pale.
The captain ninja's Swordsmanship just now caused him too severe an injury.
If he didn't have something like Natural Energy, he would probably have been a corpse by now.
"Are you okay?"
Ayane hurried over to support Hakushi, asking with concern.
"I'm fine; the Chakra recovery still needs some time. I can't use Medical Ninjutsu during this time."
Hakushi gasped, forcing a smile.
Ayane nodded and was about to help Hakushi go back.
Footsteps came from behind.
It was the Root ninja returning.
Seeing Hakushi's extremely weak state, all the facts became clear to him.
"I see, the earlier one was also deceit? You little devil are truly insidious; I almost got fooled by you. If I hadn't come back, you might truly have escaped unscathed."