As noon approached, Konoha's streets were bustling with life. The sunlight was perfect, and pedestrians filled the sidewalks.
Kei Yamanaka munched on a red bean chestnut warabi-mochi he'd bought from Kanrikan, strolling leisurely toward the Jonin Dispatch Office.
His gaze occasionally swept across merchants, civilians, and ninja nearby.
Common villagers rarely had skill listings.
Even when they did, they were usually useless white- or green-tier skills.
In comparison, ninja had a higher chance of having skill listings, though not all of them did—blank, unlisted ninja were still more common.
*No matter the world, ordinary people always make up the majority.*
Kei sighed inwardly, casually tossing the candy wrapper into a trash bin as he was about to enter the Jonin Dispatch Office.
Just then, a three-seat solid wood sofa shot out of the entrance, howling through the air.
Before he could even figure out what was happening—
a powerful surge of chakra energy erupted from within the Jonin Dispatch Office.
Then—*boom!*
All the glass windows shattered at once. A crack nearly a meter wide tore upward from the ground to the front door, and even the walls tilted or collapsed to varying degrees.
Just like that, a perfectly good Jonin Dispatch Office turned into a crumbling ruin in an instant!
Immediately afterward, a basic [Wind Release: Gust Blast] quickly dispersed the rising dust cloud.
This revealed two figures still facing off inside the Jonin Dispatch Office.
Kushina Uzumaki—and Danzo Shimura!
*Shshsh~*
A series of sharp shunshin sounds followed as three Root ninja wearing Anbu uniforms and animal masks appeared behind Danzo, taking defensive stances against Kushina.
Kei narrowed his eyes and immediately took position directly behind Kushina.
Alongside him arrived Choza Akimichi and Akimichi Tohito of the Akimichi clan, Nara Suzaku of the Nara clan, Gaku Inuzuka of the Inuzuka clan, and Murakumo Kurama of the Kurama clan.
As for the other Jonin who had originally been inside the Jonin Dispatch Office—
either intimidated by Danzo's authority as the Hokage's advisor, or unwilling to be caught in high-level internal conflicts,
they had already vanished without a trace.
"Shimura Danzo! I've already made myself clear—I will absolutely not hand over the Uzumaki sealing techniques to you!"
Seeing that she wasn't alone this time, Kushina's fierce aura surged again.
Upon hearing this, Kei immediately understood. No wonder not only the Ino–Shika–Cho trio loyal to the Hokage but even Kurama Murakumo, head of the Kurama clan, stood behind Kushina.
So… had Danzo finally crossed the line?
"A Jinchuriki unable to control her emotions will only bring disaster to the village. I'll request Hiruzen to place you under Root training."
Danzo's cold eyes held no trace of emotion.
He didn't even deign to glance at Kei, Choza, Murakumo, or the others.
After throwing those harsh words, he turned around and started walking away.
Kushina looked momentarily stunned at his words. Even Choza and the others, seeing him retreat so easily, couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised.
Not having witnessed the full conflict, Kei couldn't determine Danzo's exact motives this time.
But given the old bastard's current attitude of ready surrender, what he truly aims for is likely far from the so-called Uzumaki sealing techniques.
And it's definitely not really about wanting Kushina to train under Root.
After all, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi had been kicked in the head by a donkey, he would never allow Danzo to get anywhere near control of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Kei Yamanaka couldn't figure out Danzo's true intentions, but one thing was clear—he wasn't planning anything noble.
Previously, due to Danzo's status and influence, Kei had lacked the means to do anything about it.
But now...
"System, assign the [Wild Imagination] keyword to Danzo Shimura!"
A thin beam of black light, visible only to Kei Yamanaka, pierced Danzo Shimura's body in an instant.
As he walked, Danzo suddenly felt a chill at the back of his head.
He chalked it up to the intense hostility radiating from Kushina Uzumaki and the others, mistaking it for a minor physical reaction. He didn't detect any sign of danger at all.
[CRACK!]
A beam on the roof of the Jonin Dispatch Office snapped loudly before crashing down.
The entire building came crashing down with it.
Kei Yamanaka and others instinctively activated the Shifting Body Technique the moment the beam broke, vanishing to safety in flashes.
The three Root ninja tailing Danzo also reacted swiftly.
But once the rising dust settled,
the three Root ninja exchanged glances, realizing Danzo had vanished. They hurriedly began digging through the rubble.
"What the hell? Is this thing actually this strong?"
Kei Yamanaka felt both shocked and delighted, realizing how explosively effective the [Wild Imagination] keyword truly was.
He'd barely assigned it to Danzo when the guy got buried alive!
"Hahaha! People who do too many bad things never end well, huh?"
Kushina stood with her hands on her hips, laughing mockingly at the buried Danzo.
Her laughter rang out even louder when the three Root members finally managed, after great effort, to drag out Danzo's battered form from the rubble—bloodied and bruised, bleeding from the head.
Dazed and disoriented, Danzo rapidly circulated chakra to check his body.
Just moments ago, while using the Shifting Body Technique, his calf had inexplicably cramped.
That had caused the collapsing beam to slam directly onto his forehead.
If he hadn't used chakra to protect his vital areas in time, he probably would've died already.
"Could it be the side effects of transplanting the Sharingan causing insufficient chakra supply, leading to neural dysfunction?"
Feeling no abnormalities elsewhere in his body, Danzo could only attribute the issue to the aftereffects of receiving the Sharingan.
Ignoring Kushina, who deliberately approached to mock him, he managed to raise his arm weakly and signaled his subordinates with a few gestures.
After briefly dressing his wounds, the three Root ninja carried him on their backs as they quickly retreated toward Root headquarters.
Kei Yamanaka watched Danzo's retreating figure, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
Name: Danzo Shimura
Occupation: Konoha Ninja
Skill Traits: One Eye with Three Tomoe (blue), Wind Release Mastery (blue), Brainwashing Expertise (blue), Sealing Proficiency (green), Unscrupulous Methods (white), Ruthless Nature (white), Unconventional Thinking (black)
In terms of sheer number of skill traits, Danzo Shimura had the most among all the people Kei Yamanaka had encountered so far.
Especially those abilities unrelated to combat.
[Brainwashing Expertise] allows control over others' minds, [Sealing Proficiency] restricts the actions of targets, [Unscrupulous Methods] lowers popularity while increasing mission success rate, [Ruthless Nature] lowers one's moral limits to enhance intimidation.
With all these effects stacking together, it's no surprise that Root—the organization he founded—was able to maintain dominance within Konoha for decades without collapsing.
"What lovely weather today! Hmm~ Thanks, everyone~!"
Kushina Uzumaki cheerfully praised the weather and began thanking everyone who had stood behind her earlier.
Her radiant, charming smile showed no sign of the fiery "Red-Hot Habanero" from just moments ago.
"Senior Uzumaki, your hospitality is appreciated."
Murakumo Kurama nodded politely, upholding the decorum of a clan leader, before turning around and gracefully leaving.
He had simply stood behind Kushina Uzumaki earlier because Danzo's demand for the Uzumaki clan's secret techniques crossed a fundamental taboo among ninja clans.
Had Danzo used any other excuse to cause trouble, he would've left the Jonin Dispatch Office long before this.
Kushina didn't mind his distant attitude.
After turning around and exchanging a few words with Choza Akimichi and others, she suddenly slapped Kei Yamanaka hard on the shoulder and called out in a bold, carefree manner.
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