Chapter 25
An explosion rang through the village, shocking the residents. But since there were already shinobi nearby, it was quickly contained. The blast didn't even harm anyone outside the apartment complex and only left a destroyed building.
Since the ROOT shinobi were already outside, they did a quick search, finding no one inside, and only one of their shinobi unconscious nearby. There was no sign of their target, so they retreated. Danzo only glanced at it from a distance.
"Report."
"Torune Aburame, who tried to apprehend the target, is unconscious, and we could only find the remains of Fu Yamanaka. No sign of the target. It is unlikely that he survived, since he wouldn't have been able to escape our encirclement. The explosion was most likely his last effort to defend himself and take down Torune Aburame with him."
Danzo didn't like the answer he received. His plans were falling one by one. And he couldn't act himself if he didn't want to catch Hiruzen's attention. And all of it was because one girl decided to look into something she shouldn't have.
"What about Anko Mitarashi?"
"She still has not regained consciousness. The intelligence division is overseeing her and wouldn't let anyone else near her."
"Continue the observation and report to me once there are any changes," Danzo ordered. "Continue to look for Iruka Umino. I won't be satisfied until his remains are found."
"Yes, sir."
A ghost, huh? Danzo would have to see it himself to believe it. But he didn't have any time to waste on ghosts. He wouldn't be able to hide for long, and if he came to him, Danzo would be waiting, making his job far easier.
…
"Still nothing?"
"Not even a sign."
"Then we have no choice but to widen our search."
A squad of shinobi exchanged information on top of the nearby building from Iruka Umino's apartment. They were waiting for others to arrive, but no one was coming. And just as they were about to wonder what happened to them, a blade pierced one's neck from within the dark of the night.
As fast as their reaction was, they couldn't do anything when they didn't even see what happened. Another one found himself suddenly dragged down, hanging over the ledge of the building, with a wire around his neck.
The last one was barely able to draw his weapon before the third fell to the ground with a twisted neck. They were trained to be calm and calculated in any situation, yet when the shinobi faced someone wearing a completely pure white mask, he couldn't move.
His opponent's movements weren't fast. They were painfully slow, but he still couldn't react to them properly. Even when a hand wrapped around his neck, he couldn't do anything but just stare at the white mask. Frozen, only now realizing he was under genjutsu this whole time.
"You are the last one," the masked man said. "I will be taking you with me."
The ROOT shinobi, who was trained for any situation, couldn't even let out a sound as he slowly went limp from the lack of oxygen. He didn't even think of fighting back.
…
A lone shinobi walked upon a building. It was a discreet building like any other in the village. It was out of anyone's way. No one would just come stumbling into it. Hidden in plain sight but still staying within the shadows.
"Tenjo, report." A supervisor at the entrance to the building saw the shinobi and quickly recognized him. "Where are the others? Two more minutes, and I would have to assume that you are compromised. Tenjo?"
"Run," Tenjo tried to yell, but his mouth didn't move as he wished it would.
But the supervisor still heard him, and under the light of the moon, he saw the strings attached to Tenjo's body. Someone was controlling him, and so there was no hesitation in the supervisor's next action as he leaped through the air and cut Tenjo's head off his shoulders before tracking down where those strings led to.
In front of him stood someone. His figure couldn't be determined as he seemingly blended in with the surroundings. Only his white, expressionless mask could be seen clearly. The supervisor wasn't going to take any chances and was about to call for backup when suddenly a blade fell through his back.
He could only look behind as the shinobi he had just beheaded had his arms twisted in unnatural ways with a kunai in his hand, before that shinobi crumbled to the ground like a broken puppet.
The supervisor tried to hold up his hand to use his chakra to activate the alarm, but before he could channel his chakra, he found himself looking back at his own headless body as he flew away. The last thing he saw was the white mask.
…
He didn't have much time left. Popping another pair of pills, Iruka suppressed the pain he felt in his chest and arm. He finally was able to get inside the headquarters, but from now on, it would only get worse.
He had no space to play with his opponents. It was unfamiliar ground, and he could barely hide and ambush them here. There was no way they didn't realize yet that they were compromised. The only reason they didn't rush out to look for him was that they were waiting for him and didn't know much about the situation outside.
He thought that at least he got most of them outside their base, so he wouldn't be pinched from both sides, but from the very start, there was no retreat for him. There were probably at least a few of them behind those doors, and it was just the entrance.
Cracking his neck, Iruka kicked the doors open since there was no other way to get inside. As expected, countless throwing weapons were aimed at him, but they only pierced through the dead body of their headless comrade before the body was thrown into the center of it.
The shock from the explosion knocked Iruka to the ground, as he expected it would. When he got up and walked back into the room, there was nothing left but pieces of human remains. Even if any of them survived the blast, there was no way they could survive the countless poisoned weapons hidden within the body.
Iruka walked through them, still checking for any sign of life, before he started to look for the hidden entrance that Fu Yamanaka had informed him of. As he expected, there would have been no way for him to find it without someone telling him of it.
Opening the hidden doors in the wall, Iruka carefully walked in. His blades were drawn and ready. And the first step he took into the dark tunnel, he already felt the heat before he saw the fireball flying at him.
"Earth Release: Earth Dome."
Iruka quickly weaved hand signs and put his hands on the ground, only for nothing to happen. The structure around him didn't react to his chakra, so he was not able to manipulate it. But he didn't panic and quickly took off his jacket and threw it at the fireball.
He still received the brunt of the shockwave as the two collided, but he was able to manage it easily. The moment he recovered, he quickly raised his sword to block a blade slashing at him.
It was impossible to see his hand in front of his face in this darkness, so there was no way he would have been able to see his opponent. The only way to fight in complete darkness was to use his hearing and feeling.
Iruka didn't let his opponent retrieve his blade from his own and made sure it was stuck to it like glue. That way, he knew where his opponent was at all times. Using this method, he kicked at the approximate location of his opponent, slamming him into the wall before stabbing his blade at the place he felt the contact.
"Ugh." Iruka pulled out his blade only when he heard his opponent let out his last breath.
That was close. But it seemed that it was only this one that was stationed here. Still, Iruka had to hurry before more came his way. Even with the information he managed to get from Fu, he was walking in blindly here.
…
He had to inform Danzo of the intruder before it was too late. The intruder had already breached too deeply into the underground base. And he managed to escape their surveillance the moment he left the tunnel leading to the base.
"What's the situation?" A squad of shinobi appeared before him.
"The intruder is close behind. Buy me time while I inform Danzo."
The moment he finished his words, Iruka jumped into the air, avoiding the swords aimed at him. His disguise now disappeared as he landed back on his feet. He glanced at the squad ahead of him. They were different; Iruka could tell from feeling alone.
They were veterans who would never make the mistakes his previous opponents had made. And there he thought he could bypass them by pretending to be someone else, even thinking like their comrade. This fight alone would cost him too much energy and chakra, so he at least needed to finish this fast and not waste time.
He didn't think he would have to use it here, but he didn't have a choice. His earth style in this place was useless, and he was outnumbered four to one. First things first, he needed to cut down their number.
He didn't need to inflict fatal wounds; only one good cut was enough for the poison to work. And he had just the thing to work with it. He waited for them to move first as Iruka gathered his chakra into his legs.
Just as the two in front moved in on him and the two at the back jumped further away to provide support, Iruka disappeared. They didn't even have time to blink before Iruka appeared behind them all, with his blade dripping blood.
The two at the back collapsed, clutching their chests, before their veins bulged through their skin and turned purple as the poison quickly spread through the blood into their hearts and burst their blood vessels, painfully killing them.
He was never going to get used to the dizziness he felt from using the Body Flicker Jutsu to such an extent. It wasn't something he should even try to attempt, as without Sharingan, he didn't have the dynamic eye prowess to be able to see at such high speeds.
And his muscles weren't developed enough to use it just yet, either. Just using it once put intense strain on his legs, and even with the painkillers dulling his senses, he still felt the aftermath.
"Two down, two left." Iruka quickly gathered himself and looked at the last two.
He wondered if using this jutsu once again was doable, but quickly dismissed the idea, as he knew that the moment he used it, he wouldn't be able to even walk for at least a few days. And there were still more opponents for him to face.
Still, now it was only two of them. And from the way they were able to recognize him so quickly, he could conclude that Danzo was just behind them. Since he got rid of the two who were probably more confident in battle from a distance, those two would face him in close combat, something Iruka was most confident in.
They didn't wait even for a second before leaping at him. And since they knew that his blades were too deadly to even get nicked by them, they were most careful of them, blocking him and evading him expertly.
Iruka couldn't get injured more himself either; he was as careful as they were. The damage on his body was already stacked up too much, and the only thing keeping him together was the medicine he had taken beforehand.
Sparks flew as Iruka's sword glided against his opponent's. When his second opponent tried to get him, Iruka kicked his wrist rather than block with his other sword, leaving a wide opening for Iruka to use.
There was recognition in Iruka's opponent. He was just a second too slow to evade the tip of Iruka's blade slashing through his belly. Only a moment had gone by between him knowing he was going to die and him accepting it, and with his limited time, he prepared to use it to hold Iruka down.
Iruka was a second too slow to jump back, as his legs were grabbed and he was brought down to the ground. Iruka abandoned his blade as he caught the sword thrust at his heart from above. He had to use both his hands to hold the sword as it cut through his palms to just stop it.
Iruka kicked the one holding his legs, trying to free himself, but even while dying, he continued to hold them tight, and the sword continued to descend slowly to his chest. Just as the sword pierced Iruka's chest, he was finally able to kick his opponent away from his legs.
Spinning his lower body around, he swept the last one of his opponent's legs and managed to bring him to the ground. Quickly grabbing his blade from the ground, Iruka got to his feet and threw the blade at his opponent, only for it to be deflected as his opponent got up at the same time as Iruka.
"Ugh." Yet, while focusing on Iruka's sword, he missed Iruka's kunai that was now stuck in his throat.
Iruka walked past him to pick up his blade as he watched his opponent bleed out and choke on his own blood. Feeling pity, Iruka stabbed him in the heart, finishing him as quickly and painlessly as possible.
His white mask was now covered in blood as he looked at the last doors toward Danzo. But before he could reach them, he fell to his knees, catching his breath. His body was completely spent. The pain in his muscles made it impossible to move.
No painkillers would help him now, so he took out a syringe of adrenaline and injected it into himself. Only then was he able to move once again, recovering a bit of his energy at the cost of what it would do to him later, that was if he survived until morning.
Opening the doors, he was met with a wide area that looked like the training facility of the base. And in the middle of it stood Danzo, looking a bit surprised but calm as he noticed Iruka enter.
Iruka would have leaped into battle the second he saw Danzo, but the dozen shinobi surrounding their leader made him pause.
A.N. As always. Thanks for reading and supporting me. If you want 7 more chapters of this story and 42 chapters in total with all my current stories, please consider supporting me on pa treon ironworlf852. Thanks in advance.