'Astral projection.'
Souji's soul also left his body.
"..."
Using his soul sense, he approached the Anbu who were watching them.
"..."
'I don't know who he is.' Souji thought.
He thought the Anbu watching them was Kakashi, but it wasn't.
Also, Souji didn't remember when Kakashi left the Anbu.
'Maybe he's already out?'
"..."
Souji wanted to return to his body before he felt people approaching, keeping their distance.
'There are a total of nine people.'
"..."
Souji decided to approach them.
"..."
He approached one of them and saw a ninja wearing a mask. The mask was different from those worn by the Konoha Anbu he knew.
'ROOT, huh?' Souji thought.
If he didn't have his cheat ability and hadn't been trained by Hiruzen, he might have been scared. But now?
Heh! Even if Danzo intervened, he wasn't afraid.
He hoped that Danzo would come down and fight him. Unfortunately, that was impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
"..."
Danzo wasn't a coward, he was just too cautious. What good are subordinates if you don't use them? That was Danzo's reasoning.
"..."
'So, what should I do? Should I attack them first? Or...' Souji looked at them all.
'Maybe, I'll just wait for them.'
"..."
'Well, I'm lacking experience in real ninja battles, and now Danzo is giving me the opportunity to gain some. Of course, I must utilize it well.' Souji thought.
'All right, I'll wait for them, but first I have to warn Naruto.'
Souji knew how they would act. If they couldn't defeat him directly, then Naruto would be an easy target.
'Heh, you underestimate me. But it's okay, I won't be offended by such a minor issue.' He thought and smiling.
It seems this is the right time for him to level up his Rasengan.
Souji returned to his original body.
"..."
'Hm... Can I create ten small Rasengans with my fingers?' Souji thought. If he could use that tactic, he could easily level up.
'Let's try it.'
Souji tried to make a small Rasengan on his finger.
Swirl Swish
He succeeded, but didn't receive a notification.
"..."
'Looks like something's wrong...' Souji thought.
If his action wasn't included in the Extra Skill Rasengan, then he should have received the Extra Skill Mini Rasengan, right?
But he didn't, so he didn't know what was going on.
'What if I condense the Rasengan to the size of a marble?' Souji thought.
Swirl Swish
A normal Rasengan appeared in Souji's hand. Then, he tried to compress it.
"..."
His forehead furrowed. 'This isn't easy, but it's not impossible.'
He kept trying and tried various ways to find the fastest way to compress his Rasengan.
Swirl Swish Swish Swirl
'Oh, it worked.'
The rasengan in his hand was now shrinking slowly, but its power hadn't decreased at all.
'One was made successfully, but it took quite a long time.'
"..."
'Let's just call it the Marble Rasengan.'
Souji wanted to try making a Marble Rasengan immediately, without having to make a normal Rasengan first and compress it. It took much longer than making two Rasengans at once on each hand.
Swirl Swish
"..."
'Oh, it worked.'
[+1]
'I thought so.' Souji thought to himself.
Then, he made two marble Rasengans at once.
[+2]
"..."
[+10]
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
"..."
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
[Rasengan LV10 (MAX)]
"..."
'Finally...'
'It's already afternoon, but they still haven't moved.' Souji thought to himself.
'Don't tell me they're going to attack at night?' Souji thought.
"..."
Souji considered staying at the training ground until nightfall. But first, he told Naruto and the three shadow clones he had created to go home.
Was Souji that confident in his shadow clones?
Yes, especially with his Body Flicker jutsu, which was already at its MAX level.
Of course, though, he didn't want to underestimate them. Who knew if they would use forbidden jutsu or something like that?
For that reason, he intended to finish it quickly.
He didn't attack first because they could accuse him of attacking ROOT members for no reason. If the situation worsened and his head was examined by a Yamanaka, they could see in his memory that he was the one who attacked them first.
He just didn't want to attack first. Who knows? Maybe he misunderstood their intentions, Right?
"..."
It was night, and Souji had just upgraded his clone jutsu to the MAX level.
[Clone Jutsu LV10 (MAX)]
His shadow clones increased to level five. If they didn't move, Souji could possibly maximize their level tonight as well.
"..."
'They are really patient. Should I provoke them? I don't want to stay out late, and I haven't cooked dinner for Naruto yet.' Souji thought.
"..."
'I've decided. I'll go to them and ask why they're watching me.' He might be mistaken. What if it turned out that Danzo had sent many ROOT ninjas not only to watch him, but also to protect him?
Right?
"..."
'Oh? They're moving.'
"..."
Souji waited for them to get closer.
Souji heard something being thrown. Sure enough, several kunai were thrown at him, some of which had something attached to them.
'Ah? Explosive tags.'
BOOM! BOOM!
"..."
"He's still alive." One of the ROOT ninjas said.
Before they could react, Souji suddenly appeared behind the ninja who said, "He's still alive."
Without waiting for a response, he hit the back of the ninja's head with a burst of chakra wave.
Bang!
The ninja's head burst like a balloon.
"Yikes!" Souji was disgusted by the destroyed brain splattered on the ground.
"Scatter!" One of the ROOT ninjas ordered. They scattered and looked for the right position.
Some of them quickly performed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet!"
"Lightning Release: Electro Shock!"
These three jutsu were quickly headed towards Souji.
'Body Flicker Jutsu.'
Swish BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Stay alert!" One of the ninjas shouted.
"..."
They were still waiting to see, if Souji was still alive.
Suddenly, they saw many Soujis appear among them.
'Clone jutsu?' One of them thought, and tried to destroy the clone near him.
Swish!
The ninja hit Souji's clone, but it didn't disappear. The kunai and shuriken attacks only penetrated the clone.
'Genjutsu?' They thought again.
"Genjutsu: Release!" They said together.
"..."
What they saw was still there.
"Thank you for waiting." Souji said, whose voice was heard from all directions. It was as if Souji were everywhere.
"Bombard with jutsu in all directions!" The ROOT ninja said.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Lightning Release: Wide Array Shock!"
Once again, three jutsu were combined and bombarded in all directions.
Woosh! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"..."
Trees and the ground burned and were destroyed. Yet not a single one of Souji's clones disappeared.
Now, the forest had become an open area with no trees blocking the view.
'This is the time.' Souji thought.
Then, he asked, "Have you ever played pinball before?" He asked while creating a Rasengan in his hand.
"Forget it." Souji said quickly.
'Ninja arts: Pinball Rasengan.'
Before they could move, the Rasengan quickly moved from one clone to another. Its movement was fast and random.
"Disperse—" Before the ninja could finish his words, Souji's Rasengan ended his life.
Bang!
"AGH!"
Bam!
"Akh!"
Boom!
"MY LEG!"
The Rasengan hit them and bounced off to Souji's clones. They threw it again, hitting the ROOT ninjas repeatedly.
This continued for the next few minutes.
"..."
The surviving ROOT ninjas had holes in various parts of their bodies. Of course, they were still alive because Souji intentionally avoided their vital parts.
"..."
"AKH!"
Even the ROOT ninjas, who had been trained to endure pain, realized they were still human because of the pain they felt.
"Goodbye." This time, Souji threw the Rasengan in his hand towards them.
'Ninja Arts: Multiple Scattering Blitz.' The Rasengan turned into marbles and rained down on their bodies.
Da da da da da da
"..."
After that, not a single ROOT ninja was alive, their bodies were riddled with bullet holes.
The ground turned red from the blood.
"..."
Unfortunately, he didn't have the jutsu for Earth or Water Release to clean it up, so he left their bodies behind.
'Hiruzen will turn a blind eye to this because his true love, Danzo, is also involved.'
"..."
'In the end, I am also human.' Souji thought, looking at his trembling hands.
"..."
'Wait, do they have money?'
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
"I'm home."
Naruto ran out from the living room and said, "Dad, you're so late."
"Sorry, sorry. I got carried away." Souji added, "Could you please prepare the ingredients and equipment in the kitchen? I'll cook immediately after taking a shower."
"Leave it to me!" Naruto said as he ran to the kitchen.
Souji just smiled, seeing that.
"..."
Remembering what had just happened, Souji felt envious of Danzo, who had subordinates ready to die for him.
And let's not forget Uncle Orochimaru, who also has loyal subordinates, except for Sasuke.
Sasuke is not Orochimaru's subordinate.
If He had subordinates like Haku, Kabuto, and Kimimaro, not to mention Kisame.
Souji sighed. "Unfortunately, it's all just wishful thinking."
The people he wanted were probably already on their own paths.
He had to admit that their faith and loyalty were extraordinary.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
Bang!
Danzo slammed his desk. This time, he didn't slam the door.
"Useless bastards!"
"How could they not kill him?"
Danzo was really annoyed now. He had sabotaged Kakashi's mission so that Kakashi wouldn't become the Anbu supervisor for Naruto and Souji.
Instead, he got their lifeless bodies.
'What I want is the lifeless body of that boy, not a bunch of useless trash.' Danzo thought.
'Tch. In that case, I just need to wait for the Uchiha Clan and that boy to destroy each other.'
"Leave the boy. You watch the movements of the Uchiha Clan." Danzo said.
"Yes." His subordinates responded.
"..."
'Patience is the key.'
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
The next day.
Souji went through his morning routine as usual, showering, waking up Naruto, cooking, and getting ready for school. They walked together, having light conversations along the way.
"Oi, Naruto!" Choji called from a distance. Naruto, who had heard him, looked for the source of the voice and finally found it.
"Hey! Choji!"
Soon, Choji joined them.
They walked together. Choji and Naruto were engrossed in their conversation, and Souji occasionally joined in. The three of them arrived at the academy and entered their class. Only a few students had arrived inside the class just now.
"Choji, you're usually with Shikamaru. Where is he?" Naruto asked.
Choji shook his head. "I don't know. Shikamaru always tells me not to wait for him if he's late."
"I see." Naruto nodded.
Not long after, the classroom door opened and Ino came in with Sakura.
"Good morning." They said to the other students, who greeted back to them.
Ino saw that Souji was already in his seat and quickly approached him.
"Souji-kun." Ino immediately forgot about Sakura.
"Oh, good morning, Ino. You look very cheerful today." Souji asked.
"Eh? Really? I think I'm just the same as usual." Ino said, flustered.
"Hey, Ino. We're here too, ttebayo." Naruto said, and Choji agreed.
"Oh, good morning, you two." Ino said.
"Good morning." Choji and Naruto replied.
They went back to chatting.
"But Ino, I agree with Souji that you look more cheerful today." Choji said and Naruto nodding in agreement.
Ino, who had overheard them, laughed softly and said, "It's nothing."
Seeing that Ino didn't want to talk about it, they didn't ask anymore questions.
How could Ino tell everyone, especially with Souji there?
She couldn't possibly say that she had given up on chasing Sasuke and decided to chase Souji, could she?
"..."
"..."