Chapter 162 - The Root of Akatsuki
Kitagawa Gen was still puzzled—what exactly just happened?
Meanwhile, deep in the forests at the edge of Konoha, the members of Akatsuki and Orochimaru stood around the lifeless corpse of Shimura Danzo. His eyes remained wide open in death, unwilling to close.
He was finally dead.
"That man was really a troublesome one," someone muttered.
Looking back at the battle, even though they held an overwhelming advantage in both numbers and intelligence, Danzo was still incredibly difficult to deal with—especially since they needed to avoid completely destroying him.
"But in the end, we still gained something."
Nagato and the others were satisfied with the outcome, but Uchiha Obito's expression was as dark as ever.
"That damn bastard... he actually... he really dared…"
Danzo's right arm had been covered in Sharingan. In order to preserve them, Obito had carefully waited for the right moment and sliced off Danzo's arm.
But Danzo seemed to have anticipated his own demise. He faked initiating the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique, threatening to drag them all down with him.
He had intended to go through with it, but Orochimaru saw through the bluff and countered it in time—Kakuzu even used Earth Grudge Fear to bind Danzo's heart.
Still, Danzo bought himself just enough time to do one last thing:
He destroyed Shisui Uchiha's eye.
He would never allow Obito to get his hands on it.
Obito trembled with rage, fists clenched so tight they cracked. But now, all he could do was swallow his fury. He loathed Danzo more than ever.
"Alright," Obito said through gritted teeth, "it's time to divide up the spoils."
While Obito seethed, Kakuzu and Sasori were in high spirits—they had gotten exactly what they wanted.
"But before that," Sasori said coolly, his eyes drifting toward Orochimaru, "we still have something else to take care of."
"This filthy snake has betrayed us, hasn't he?"
"Tsk, tsk. Are you sure you want to go down this road?" Orochimaru sneered, licking his lips with that signature rasp.
Nagato stepped in to intervene.
"For now, he's working with us. I don't believe he'll make a move."
"Of course," Orochimaru nodded. He had considered looking for allies earlier, but that no longer seemed necessary.
"I don't know your exact goals," he said, "but we share a common interest. Especially since I can help resolve some of your... current problems."
"Oh?" Kakuzu raised a brow. "And what kind of problems do you think we have?"
Orochimaru gave a casual shrug.
"You need Danzo's body for something. For example, I assume Sasori wants to make a puppet out of him?"
"You're asking to die, snake," Sasori hissed, but Orochimaru remained unfazed.
"I'm about to do something—don't be nervous. It benefits us all."
As he spoke, he walked up to a still-breathing Root operative, and quickly formed a hand seal.
In the next moment, the Root ninja let out a guttural scream as his body was instantly engulfed in swirling, filthy paper ash—Impure World Reincarnation!
While Akatsuki fought Danzo, Orochimaru had been gathering materials in secret and preparing in advance.
He didn't care if they saw him using hand signs—without understanding the core technique, they couldn't replicate Edo Tensei.
And what he summoned now... was merely a prototype.
"Aaahhh!"
The agonized scream faded as the Root ninja transformed—his appearance changing before everyone's eyes into Shimura Danzo.
"What the—?!"
Danzo stared at Orochimaru and the Akatsuki members in complete confusion.
Wasn't he already dead?
Could this be Izanagi?
"DIE!" he roared instinctively, trying to attack.
But in an instant, he realized something terrifying:
His body wouldn't move.
"What is this...?"
"This is your teacher's technique," Orochimaru chuckled, licking his lips again. "Second Hokage's legacy."
Danzo's face turned pale.
As Tobirama Senju's former student, of course he recognized it.
Orochimaru turned toward the Akatsuki members, who all wore grave expressions. But he merely smiled.
"Let me introduce you: Shimura Danzo, advisor to the Hokage. He once led a faction under Konoha's ANBU known as Root—a secret, autonomous black ops unit."
"Root?" someone echoed.
"Indeed. Danzo used Root to do all kinds of things. It's well-stocked with resources and highly secure."
He paused, then gave Danzo a meaningful look.
"And Danzo here surely knows all of Konoha's deployments. That could make our job much easier."
Orochimaru's words made the Akatsuki members visibly excited.
Danzo, on the other hand, looked utterly stunned and pale.
"Orochimaru... you damned—!"
Danzo finally burst out in anger, but Orochimaru immediately suppressed him.
"Quiet. This isn't your turn to speak."
"How strong is he now?" Obito asked softly.
Orochimaru tilted his head. "Not much. This was just a casual summon, so…"
"Then make him stronger," Obito ordered coldly, his gaze piercing through Danzo.
"I'm curious. As the Hokage's advisor... how would he fare against the actual Third Hokage?"
Orochimaru blinked in surprise.
Danzo was frozen in shock.
Him? Against Sarutobi Hiruzen?
"That's actually a good plan," Nagato mused. "It could also serve to distract Konoha, letting us move more freely."
"I'd love to see that," Sasori added with a smirk. He glanced at the corpses of the Root nin around them. "And we do need a secure location... plenty of materials here."
"Doesn't matter to me," Kakuzu grunted, having already claimed Danzo's heart. The rest was none of his concern.
Orochimaru finally nodded.
"No problem. Works for me."
Danzo couldn't speak anymore, but despair was written all over his face.
He'd watched Kakuzu steal his heart... Obito claim his arm... Sasori collect what remained of his body.
It was horrific—even he was terrified.
And now, they were going to use his soul, his body, and his base to wage war on Sarutobi Hiruzen?
What kind of monsters were these people?!
"You... you all..."
Danzo wanted to curse them, but he couldn't make a sound. He could only glare at Orochimaru and Akatsuki with endless hatred.
"I don't like that look in your eyes," Nagato said coldly.
"Compared to what you've done," he added, "what we're doing is nothing."
"Weren't you the one who forced him to die by my hand?"
"Now, we'll make you personally kill your old comrade, the Hokage... and destroy your own village."
"Isn't that only fair?"
---
The curtain had finally risen. The destruction had begun.
As the "Five-Piece Danzo Set" was being assembled...
Back in Konoha, the Chuunin Exams had officially begun.
In the waiting hall for the first test, the Nine Rookie Genin were stunned by the sight before them.
There were way too many people!
Different headbands, the same cold, menacing stares.
Even Naruto and Sasuke found this situation a bit overwhelming.
Fortunately, they encountered a relatively "friendly" upperclassman. Though he was somewhat weak—having failed the Chūnin Exams nine times—he seemed to possess unique intel-gathering skills, which made the group of genin quite excited.
"Um, Senior Kabuto…"
After getting a basic rundown of the situation from Yakushi Kabuto, Naruto couldn't help but speak up.
"Do you have any information on other participants?"
"Oh?"
Kabuto acted the part well, hesitating slightly before smiling.
"If it's someone from our own village, I might know a bit. As for other villages…"
"It's someone from our village," Sasuke interrupted.
The other genin clearly had an idea of who they were asking about, as Ino picked up the conversation.
"Kabuto-senpai, do you have any info on Senior Gen? I mean… Kitagawa Gen."
"…"
The moment the name "Kitagawa Gen" was mentioned, Kabuto visibly paused and instinctively pushed up his glasses.
For a brief moment, he seemed reluctant to say anything.
That name—he was far too familiar with it. And he knew just how terrifying the person behind it truly was.
"Huh? Kabuto-senpai, you don't know?"
Sakura asked curiously, snapping Kabuto back to reality.
"You guys don't know about his exploits? I thought you were pretty close to him."
"Tch. He's always so mysterious, never talks about himself," Naruto muttered.
Sasuke nodded.
"Senior Gen really doesn't like talking about his past. So, do you know?"
"Alright, stop asking already."
Shikamaru sighed, clearly finding it all a bit troublesome.
He actually knew a lot—but just didn't feel like explaining.
"You can just ask him after the exams. It's not that big a deal."
"…Actually, I do know a few things. But they sound so exaggerated that…"
Kabuto finally spoke, his tone a little more hesitant and grave.
"My ninja card doesn't have all the details, but I know that Kitagawa Gen is only two or three years older than you—and he's already a Konoha jōnin."
"We already know that," Naruto said.
"But… he's done barely any low-rank missions. Not a single D-rank, only five C-ranks. But S-ranks? He's completed eleven of them."
"Eleven?!"
All nine genin couldn't help but gasp.
Even Naruto, who was usually slow on the uptake, understood what S-rank missions meant!
"And according to reliable sources, he's defeated many powerful shinobi…"
Kabuto lowered his voice, half trying to make up for what he'd said, perhaps even for Orochimaru's sake.
"During his jōnin promotion exam, he defeated one of the Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya-sama. And even before becoming a jōnin, he'd already defeated the Fourth Raikage. In fact…"
"In fact?" Sasuke pressed.
"There are reports that when he defeated the Fourth Raikage, he even severed one of his arms."
The Raikage—an existence as formidable and revered as the Hokage.
Even Naruto, thanks to the school's thorough indoctrination, knew how unbelievable that was!
At that moment, the group exchanged looks—each one just as stunned as the next.
Even Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who had witnessed Gen in action back in the Land of Waves, were left speechless.
"He's already gotten that strong?"
Sasuke muttered under his breath, the fire of ambition in his eyes burning even brighter.
"Feels like… I was really lucky not to have been killed by him,"
Naruto murmured.
Ino, however, added with some doubt:
"Senior Gen cut off someone's hand? But he always seemed so gentle… so kind."
"???"
Her words left Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura staring at her in disbelief.
Back in the Land of Waves, this guy didn't just ruthlessly take out enemies—he also suggested letting the rogue ninja kill the entire family of the employer who deceived them!
And that's what you call gentle and kind?
Maybe Gen was right—maybe "true kindness" meant being so averse to seeing others suffer that you just… sent their whole family off with them?
"Hey, what are you all talking about?"
A familiar voice suddenly interrupted the awkward silence.
They turned around to find Kitagawa Gen had entered the room at some point—and he wasn't alone. A group of Konoha shinobi followed behind him.
"Wha—what are you doing here?!"
Naruto practically jumped in place, his voice rising in disbelief.
"Quiet down. You think this is some playground?"
Before Gen could answer, Morino Ibiki cut in with a stern glare.
"Jōnin Gen is here to assist with the exam. You all just focus on what you're supposed to be doing."
"Come on, Ibiki-senpai, just call me Gen,"
Gen said with a casual smile, waving off the formality.
"I'm not really here to assist—just dropping by to get a feel for the atmosphere… and maybe help out a bit."
He turned to Naruto, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Do your best, Naruto. I came here just to witness your hard work."
"…"
"Don't worry, I'll just be standing quietly behind you—I won't disturb you."
"…"
"You just focus on your test. I'm really looking forward to your performance!"
"…"
For a moment, Naruto seriously considered jumping out the window.
Meanwhile, Gen's eyes briefly swept over Kabuto, who instinctively took a step back upon making eye contact.
Gen didn't mind.
After all, he'd already decided—he was going to hit this guy with a spiritual baseball one of these days.
"Wonder if Orochimaru will still show up… though it doesn't really matter either way."
As that thought crossed his mind, a faint smile appeared on Kitagawa Gen's lips.
---
[Name: Kitagawa Gen]
[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (Development Level: 46%)]
[Dōjutsu: Tenseigan (Eye of the New Moon)]
[Special Ability: Source of the God Tree (Tier 3)]
[Special Techniques: Ice Release, Magnet Release, Dust Release, Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, Tenseigan Chakra Mode]
Seeing "Dust Release" added to his list of skills, Gen couldn't be more pleased.
But more importantly, this time, his gains weren't limited to just that…