A heavy blow struck his waist. The Iwa-nin didn't even get a good look at who attacked him before his vision blurred, and a senbon embedded in his waist gleamed coldly with a deadly light.
Just as he pulled the senbon from his body and prepared to counterattack, a wave of dizziness washed over him.
"Damn it, poison!"
Realizing he'd been poisoned, the Iwa-nin gritted his teeth and scanned the area for Takeshi.
"Wind Style: Breakthrough!"
Not far away, another Iwa-nin targeted by Takeshi hurriedly unleashed a Wind Style jutsu to force him back.
The sudden gust forced Takeshi to shift his trajectory. While dodging the wind attack, he flung a handful of senbon to disrupt his enemy's vision.
The Iwa-nin knocked the senbon aside with his blade and was about to press the attack—until he caught sight of Takeshi's face and abruptly froze.
"Stop!"
Fixing his eyes tightly on Takeshi, the Iwa-nin suddenly raised his blade and shouted, halting the reinforcements who were about to rush in.
Just as Takeshi braced for some kind of large-scale attack, the Iwa-nin said something cryptic:
"Codename G."
Codename G—this was a Root passphrase used to confirm identity during infiltration missions behind enemy lines.
In other words, these Iwa-nin attacking the Amegakure shinobi were all actually Root operatives in disguise.
"Reinforcements are here, everyone hang in there!"
On the other side, the Amegakure shinobi, overjoyed at seeing Takeshi fight, assumed he was their ally and prepared to rally for a counterattack.
But in the next moment, Takeshi vanished from sight—and the Amegakure ninja at the front suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck before losing consciousness entirely.
After swiftly taking down the Amegakure shinobi in front of him, the Root team leader made a hand gesture, signaling Takeshi and the others to follow him. Then, dragging along the injured comrade from earlier, he leapt away.
...
The group stopped in a quiet location. As soon as they landed, Takeshi pulled a small medicine bottle from his cloak and tossed it to the Root operative who'd been stabbed in the waist.
"Much appreciated."
Recognizing Takeshi's identity, the ninja didn't say much. He respectfully thanked him and swallowed the viscous liquid inside.
"You…"
Watching the man gulp down the ointment, Takeshi hesitated for a moment.
Then he pulled out another bottle and tossed it over.
As the Root ninja looked on in confusion, Takeshi finally said what he hadn't gotten the chance to say before:
"That one's for external use."
"Young Master Takeshi."
Expressionless, the injured Root member opened his shirt and began applying the medicine to his wound. Another Root operative, now out of disguise, appeared before Takeshi and knelt respectfully on one knee.
"Who's your team leader?"
Looking at the vaguely familiar ninja, Takeshi tried to recall—wasn't his codename Raku?
Just as he was guessing at the purpose of their infiltration, the man's next answer completely disrupted his thoughts.
"Danzo-sama."
...
If one were to rank the most notorious deeds of Danzo's life, conspiring with Hanzō to drive Yahiko to suicide would easily make the top three.
That single act allowed Danzo to manipulate Nagato via Obito and lay the groundwork for Konoha's future troubles.
Even Uchiha Madara would've praised him as a "comrade worth admiring."
The moment Takeshi realized his own father was the one leading this mission, he immediately understood what Danzo was planning.
Danzo and Hanzō were joining forces again.
Following Raku ahead, Takeshi racked his brain for an excuse to talk his father out of targeting Yahiko. Before long, they arrived at the mouth of a cave.
"Danzo-sama is waiting for you inside."
With that, Raku turned and stood guard at the entrance, clearly not intending to go in with him.
"Alright. Thanks."
Steeling himself, Takeshi took a deep breath and entered the cave. Not far in, he saw the faint flicker of light up ahead.
A single candle on a crude stone table cast the only illumination in the dim cave.
Danzo, clad in the uniform of a Konoha ninja, sat behind the table with a stony face. In the candlelight, his expression looked especially grim.
"Dad, what are you doing here?"
Seeing his father's stern face, Takeshi felt a shiver and tried to speak casually.
Danzo merely looked up at him and nodded slightly before asking:
"What are your thoughts on the Land of Rain?"
That's his opening line?
Caught off guard by the question, Takeshi paused and recalled what he'd witnessed in the Land of Rain. His face turned serious.
"People there live in misery."
Danzo closed his lone eye, tapping his fingers lightly against the stone table.
After a long silence, he opened his eye again.
"You view things a lot like your teacher. But what I see is the people's deep-seated hatred for the great nations."
"So?"
Takeshi swallowed hard. He already had a bad feeling about where this was going.
"So, I intend to keep this country in chaos. You should already be familiar with the current situation in Amegakure."
Danzo beckoned him forward.
As Takeshi approached, he saw a map of the Land of Rain spread out before Danzo. It not only clearly marked Hanzō's territory, but also had the areas controlled by the Akatsuki circled in red.
One glance at the map, and Takeshi immediately noticed something—those Iwa-nin had been gathering in territory marked as Akatsuki-controlled.
"Hanzō is using others to do his dirty work?"
Staring at the two forces' close proximity, Takeshi instantly understood Hanzō's plan.
"Exactly. But unfortunately, the Akatsuki have not responded to the presence of the Iwa-nin. That's why I had people impersonate Iwa-nin to provoke them. I didn't expect you to stumble upon it."
Danzo shook his head, sounding slightly disappointed.
"But even without your interference, I doubt they would've made a move."
"Ever since those Iwa-nin entered Akatsuki territory, none of their members have shown up. Even the Amegakure shinobi you just encountered belonged to some minor local factions."
From Danzo's map, the current political situation in the Land of Rain was clear—it was one strong power surrounded by many weaker ones.
The official Amegakure, under Hanzō's command, controlled the central tower and a vast area around it. Beyond that, various minor factions held smaller territories, and the outermost regions were under the Akatsuki's control.
"This so-called Akatsuki is a newly risen faction that's only appeared in recent years. In just a few years, they've unified most of the scattered territories and built a reputation rivaling Hanzō's. There are even rumors of a potential alliance between the two. If this power continues to grow, it won't be long before Amegakure is completely unified—and we'll have a powerful enemy right on Konoha's doorstep."
Danzo pointed to Akatsuki's territory on the map, his voice laced with killing intent.