Aoki and Yamakaze were in the midst of hunting down those two Root members.
Suddenly, from some distance away at the entrance to the Root base, there came an enraged roar.
"Stop!"
This voice was brimming with authority and presence; under its wrathful tone, it compelled shock and awe.
Yet…
Aoki and Yamakaze exchanged glances. From each other's eyes, they saw only resolve.
Kill!
Bang!
Bang!!
Neither man hesitated in the slightest as they brought their blades down, mercilessly striking the two Root ninja dead on the spot!
Chiyu took note of this, nodding faintly.
It appeared that the two of them, having followed him all this time, had indeed been growing…
Chiyu was quite pleased.
However, the black-clad figure in the distance erupted with towering fury, as though about to burn the entire land to ashes!
"Bastards!"
That figure instantly drew near, arms raised; from his palms, arms, shoulders, and even his entire body sprang countless black shapes, all surging toward Aoki and Yamakaze, blanketing the sky as they closed in!
"That's…"
"The Parasitic Insects of the Aburame Clan?!"
Both men were startled, promptly activating their Sharingan to prepare defenses.
But in that very moment—
Chiyu's figure appeared in a flash before them, shielding them from harm. At once, his body erupted with crackling lightning, as though the Thunder God himself had descended—unleashing a vast eruption of electrical arcs!
Boom—!
With a mighty crash, the countless parasite insects coalesced into a black mist were swiftly annihilated, blown apart by sizzling, humming lightning!
"Uchiha Chiyu! So it really is you!"
At this point, that figure had also arrived up close. Behind him were no fewer than a dozen elite Root ninja.
The man at the front wore a black cloak, hood pulled low, eyes hidden behind inky black goggles, the entire person seemingly enveloped in darkness.
Across his face lay a marking like a curse-seal; his features were deathly pale, smoldering with rage.
Of course Chiyu recognized him:
Aburame Tatsuma.
Currently the second-in-command of Root.
Though in the original work his appearances were few, Chiyu harbored no slight regard for him.
To know that in the old days of Root, Aburame Tatsuma's partner had been Orochimaru himself: The two of them served as Danzo's left and right arms…
One could imagine Tatsuma's ability!
After Orochimaru fled the village, Tatsuma became Shimura Danzo's most formidable confidant.
Yet he wasn't the one Danzo valued most highly—that would have been…
"Kinoe," just executed by Chiyu a moment ago.
Possessing the Wood Release unique to the First Hokage, Kinoe received Danzo's personal tutelage and had been viewed as the most powerful trump card for the future…
But now, all of that had turned to nothing.
"Kinoe" had unexpectedly been slain in broad daylight by Uchiha Chiyu!
And even when Tatsuma arrived, these two subordinates of his wouldn't desist—killing two more Root ninja on top of that!
How could Aburame Tatsuma tolerate it?!
"Uchiha Chiyu! Even as the Police Force Captain, you lack the authority to meddle in Root's affairs!
Much less commit murder right here at the Root entrance!"
Chiyu spoke coolly:
"I've explained it once already and have no interest in repeating myself.
"All those the Police Force kills are those who deserve to die."
Aburame Tatsuma, incensed:
"Kinoe—what crimes did he commit?!"
Chiyu hadn't spoken when Aoki declared in a ringing voice:
"Digging up graves, stealing corpses, desecrating the dead and insulting the living."
Tatsuma's heart jolted!
They'd discovered so fast?
How could that be?
Danzo-sama had demanded absolute secrecy. Even the Hokage was not to be disturbed, let alone the Police Force.
Moreover, though Kinoe was young, he was highly capable, never one to leave traces behind. Yet…
Then again, if it's this man…
No, there was truly nothing impossible.
Despite his guilty conscience, Aburame Tatsuma refused to back down.
His stance utterly unyielding:
"Hmph, so what if Kinoe really did that?
It would still be no capital crime!"
Yamakaze retorted coldly:
"Then… what about his involvement in forbidden human experimentation?!"
"That," he declared, "is recognized across the entire shinobi world as depraved to the extreme—an unforgivable atrocity!"
Tatsuma's face changed once more!
"You… you have any evidence?"
Chiyu answered impassively:
"My Sharingan is the evidence."
"You—"
"Uchiha Chiyu! Aren't you going too far with this arrogance and bullying?!
"Just your one-sided claim, and you'd so casually condemn Root for crimes, murdering people at will?!"
Chiyu:
"I have a witness."
"A witness? Where is this witness?"
Tatsuma demanded angrily.
Chiyu raised a hand, pointing behind Tatsuma.
"Her."
All eyes followed his gesture, turning to the person behind Aburame Tatsuma.
That figure also wore a hooded black cloak, but from a faint glimpse of her partially-revealed face alone, Chiyu had already seen through her identity.
"The Dean of Konoha's orphanage…
Yakushi Nono."
Instantly, that person's body stiffened.
Aoki and Yamakaze were similarly taken aback.
The orphanage's Dean?
Why would she be mixed up with these Root members?
Of course, Chiyu knew that Yakushi Nono was originally from Root.
In the past, known as the "Wandering Miko," she was an elite intel operative in Root.
Yet she could never fully detach from emotion, a quality Danzo detested. Eventually, she left Root to become matron of the orphanage.
Danzo had at first refused to let her go.
But later realized that an insider was needed in the orphanage. Because…
Root also needed fresh blood.
Many of these orphans, who had lost home and identity on the battlefield—indeed, they were prime candidates for Danzo's psychological brainwashing from a tender age, forging them into obedient weapons…
Yakushi Nono naturally opposed it, but lacking the strength to defy him, she was eventually ensnared.
One only had to recall the example of Yakushi Kabuto.
Danzo threatened them to manipulate Kabuto, turning him into a spy traveling various nations.
And Nono herself, forced by Root to remain.
At this moment, the instant Chiyu recognized Nono's true identity, he swiftly deduced the entire truth:
Shimura Danzo and Root abducting orphans as test subjects for vile, inhumane human experimentation.
For Edo Tensei, not only do they need corpses of the dead, but also living sacrifices.
Danzo, wanting to keep matters hidden from even the Hokage, wouldn't dare use criminals in the Hokage's Anbu prison.
But he had his alternative supply: the orphanage.
These orphans, lacking family or identification, never recognized as truly "human" by Danzo—only as tools, weapons, puppets, or dolls.
Using them for sacrifices was foolproof, guaranteeing no leaks.
Chiyu took a deep breath.
Seizing orphans displaced by war—robbed of home and kin—and turning them into test subjects for secret experiments…
This was outright monstrous.
A truly inhuman evil.
From this moment onward, Shimura Danzo and the entirety of Root… had lost any right to continue existing.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!