It was noon.
Kai stood atop the tallest building in Konoha, gazing at the Hokage Rock across the way.
Konoha had signed a ceasefire treaty with Iwagakure, bringing the Third Shinobi World War to an end.
The Third Hokage had stepped down, taking responsibility for the war, and Minato Namikaze had become the Fourth Hokage.
The stone face of the Fourth Hokage had only recently been completed.
Because Kai now occupied Obito’s body, he felt a faint sense of belonging toward Konoha.
If he had come here without any ulterior motives, he probably would have spent the day sightseeing around the village.
Unfortunately, things rarely went according to plan.
Deep beneath Konoha was the headquarters of Root.
Unlike the village above, which basked in sunlight, this place was shrouded in darkness and oppression regardless of whether it was day or night.
Just like the organization itself.
It existed where the light couldn’t reach.
Two Root guards stood before Kai.
They wore ANBU-style armor and masks.
“Who are you?!”
They stared at the unfamiliar man who had suddenly appeared before them.
Although there was caution in their eyes, there was no fear.
After all, this was Konoha.
This was Root’s headquarters.
Who would be foolish enough to come here looking for trouble?
Seeing that Kai was wearing a mask, they assumed he was probably one of the Fourth Hokage’s ANBU, sent to deliver an order from Minato.
However, Danzō was openly hostile toward Minato, so Root naturally wouldn’t show much courtesy to the Fourth Hokage’s ANBU.
Kai hadn’t come here to make small talk.
He raised his head.
Beneath his mask, his three-tomoe Sharingan gleamed.
Genjutsu.
The two guards’ eyes widened.
Their pupils immediately lost focus as they fell under the Sharingan’s hypnotic genjutsu.
“Tell me.”
“Where is Kinoe?”
“The second underground level… Training room…”
The guard answered mechanically.
Kai thought to himself.
Oh?
He hasn’t gone out on a mission.
I came at just the right time.
“Where is Danzō?”
“Lord Danzō… is away.”
The guard answered without hesitation.
At this point in time, Danzō was secretly in close contact with Orochimaru.
His current absence was because he had gone to investigate the new hideout Orochimaru had revealed to him through a secret message.
But that had nothing to do with Kai.
He had only come here for Yamato.
Thud!
The two guards collapsed to the ground.
Kai walked straight through them.
The scene was immediately noticed by the shinobi in Root’s surveillance room.
“This is…”
“Quick! We have an intruder!”
Rumble!
Root members quickly gathered around the enormous cross-shaped bridge.
Some stood on the walls.
Others hung upside down from the ceiling.
All of them stared coldly at Kai.
Kai ignored them and continued walking.
He stepped onto the bridge.
“Anyone who trespasses into Root territory will be executed!”
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Kunai and shuriken flew toward Kai from every direction.
Yet without exception, they passed straight through his body and embedded themselves into the bridge.
The unbelievable sight stunned the Root shinobi.
“Impossible!”
“They went right through him!”
“What kind of technique is this?!”
“His physical body can be penetrated, yet I can clearly sense his chakra.”
“How…?”
A brown-haired shinobi on the ceiling calmly analyzed the situation.
He formed a strange hand seal and aimed it at Kai’s back.
Buzz!
Kai’s footsteps suddenly slowed.
Within his consciousness, another figure appeared.
The Yamanaka clan’s Mind Body Switch Technique…
Kai immediately recognized it.
“Fu’s technique worked!”
“Now! Attack!”
The Root members rushed forward.
But unfortunately for them, every attack once again passed straight through Kai.
“Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song!”
Kai formed hand seals.
Four fire dragons erupted from his mouth and swept across the entire area.
“AAAH!”
“AAAH!”
Under the omnidirectional Fire Release attack, no one could completely escape.
If not for the Root shinobi skilled in Water Release arriving in time to put out the flames, the casualties would have been devastating.
“Fu! What happened?!”
“His mental strength is incredibly powerful!”
“My Mind Body Switch Technique was broken within seconds!”
Yamanaka Fu spoke with lingering fear.
“How troublesome…”
“He chose to attack while Lord Danzō is away. What exactly is he after?”
“Fu, use the Mind Body Switch Technique again…”
A black-haired boy standing beside Fu spoke.
“But…”
“A few seconds is enough.”
“With my technique, I can kill him instantly!”
The black-haired boy removed his shirt.
His entire body became covered in black.
“Torune…”
Torune Aburame.
He was the son of Shibi Aburame and possessed a special physique within the Aburame clan.
Both he and Fu would eventually become part of Danzō’s personal guard.
But at this point, they were still young.
Fu gathered his chakra and formed the hand seals for the Mind Body Switch Technique, targeting Kai from a distance.
At the same time, Torune charged toward Kai.
But would the same strategy work twice?
Buzz!
Kai’s left eye transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
His gaze locked onto Fu’s head.
Kamui!
Crack!
In an instant, Fu’s body was severed at the neck.
His head was swallowed by the Kamui vortex.
Blood sprayed several meters into the air as his headless body collapsed heavily to the ground.
As for Torune—
Because Fu’s Mind Body Switch Technique had failed, Torune passed straight through Kai’s body.
At the instant their bodies crossed, Kai’s right hand grabbed Torune by the shoulder.
His right eye released a Kamui vortex.
Torune was pulled into the Kamui dimension.
“Ow, ow, ow…”
Spiral Zetsu, wrapped around Kai’s body, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right hand.
Of course.
Those nano-scale poisonous insects were no joke.
Even Spiral Zetsu would have a hard time dealing with them.
Kai muttered to himself,
“Kamui can ignore all physical attacks and ninjutsu.”
“But it seems to have weaknesses.”
“If the Mind Body Switch Technique can work, then genjutsu should work too.”
“I need to be especially careful around shinobi with powerful abilities of this kind.”
“Oh, right…”
“When I eventually create the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, I might as well use that guy’s eyes.”
The surrounding Root shinobi were completely frozen.
Their two elite comrades had been killed in an instant.
“What kind of monster is he…?”
“He killed Fu in an instant.”
“He could kill any of us just as easily.”
“How are we supposed to fight an enemy like this?”
Kai remained indifferent.
He had only come for Yamato.
He had no intention of slaughtering everyone in Root.
But the rules of the shinobi world were cruel.
And when dealing with Root in particular, a certain amount of bloodshed and intimidation was necessary.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Kai’s gaze locked onto a short figure behind the crowd.
“There you are…”
That was the person Kai had come looking for.
His Root codename was Kinoe.
After transferring to Konoha’s ANBU, he would later be known as Tenzō.
And eventually, he would become known as Yamato.
In the original story, despite being manipulated and used by others, Yamato ultimately survived.
But Kai needed something from him.
And for that, Yamato would have to become his stepping stone.
“Your story ends here.”
“Kinoe, this is where your path ends.”
Kai began walking toward him.
“We absolutely cannot let him run wild in Root’s territory!”
The Root members launched another desperate counterattack.
But with Fu and Torune gone, none of their attacks could do anything to Kai.
He walked through a storm of blades, fire, wind, and ninjutsu.
Everything simply passed through his body.
He steadily approached Kinoe.
“Come with me quietly.”
“Maybe you’ll suffer a little less.”
“Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!”
Kinoe formed the hand seals for Wood Release.
He thrust his arm forward.
Four wooden pillars emerged from his sleeve and extended toward Kai, twisting around him.
“His target is Kinoe!”
“Although he has no physical form while defending, he’ll have to become tangible when he attacks!”
The Root members behind Kai unleashed a barrage of powerful combination techniques.
“Hmph.”
The corners of Kai’s mouth lifted beneath his mask.
Both of his eyes transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Susanoo!
Brilliant blue chakra erupted around his body.
Bones formed around him, creating the skeletal frame of Susanoo.
Every attack coming from behind was blocked.
The skeletal hand of Susanoo grabbed the wooden pillars in front of Kai and tore them apart.
“What?!”
Everyone was stunned.
Crack!
Kai dismissed Susanoo.
He reached out with his right hand.
Wooden branches erupted and wrapped tightly around Yamato.
“This…”
“This is the same Wood Release I possess…”
“But his is so much stronger…”
Yamato struggled in pain as Kai’s Wood Release tightened around his body.
Eventually, he lost consciousness.
The wooden branches withdrew.
Kai hoisted the unconscious Yamato over his shoulder.
He looked back at the ruined Root headquarters and the Root shinobi who stood there helplessly.
“Farewell.”
Whoosh!
His low voice echoed through the ruined headquarters.
Kai disappeared into a Kamui vortex.
That day, Kai left Konoha’s Root with a nightmare they would never forget.
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