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Night deepened, and the streets were quiet.
Sawara Kiri strolled down the street, and without the awareness of the Anbu on the surrounding rooftops, he arrived at the Konoha Great Prison, located on the desolate outskirts of the Village.
The prison's exposed area above ground was not large, and within its limited confines, trees had been cleared, leaving no one in sight.
However, even with Miss Megumi's delicate feet, one could deduce that there must be numerous guards hidden nearby.
"A bit troublesome," Sawara Kiri muttered to himself, activating Six Eyes. His 360-degree vision swept like a Stereo radar, scanning every hidden Ninja in every nook and cranny.
If these people were gathered, it would be fine; a single use of Kyōka Suigetsu, with his two large eyes sweeping over them, would generally be enough to take care of them.
But with such dispersed positions, it was easier for some to slip through the net.
He only wanted to have a chat with Danzo today, and if possible, he still hoped to avoid any exposure risks.
However, just as he was silently scanning for a suitable infiltration angle, his gaze suddenly paused at a certain spot.
"Eh?"
A thicket on the other side of the prison.
Several dark-uniformed sentries were crouching at various points.
Deeper within the thicket, several figures dressed similarly to them were gathered in a clearing, illuminated by the moonlight.
Among them, Aburame Ryoma, standing in the center, wearing a hooded cloak, looked at the dozen or so former Root Ninja he had gathered with the residual prestige of Lord Danzo, and spoke sternly:
"...In this time of fallen heroes, when women and villains rise to fame! It is clear that Konoha's upper echelons have long been infested by vermin!"
"You are all followers of Lord Danzo, and you all understand what That Person has done."
"If there is anyone in this great Konoha who can turn the tide, who can stop the decline of our nation, it is Lord Danzo alone!"
"For Konoha," Aburame Ryoma's sharp gaze swept over everyone present, "We shall spare no effort!"
"Down with the traitors!"
Everyone's expressions were fervent as they chanted in unison:
"Down with the traitors!"
Seeing their spirit, Aburame Ryoma nodded in satisfaction.
Loyal Aburame Ryoma was, once again, giving his all for Lord Danzo today.
Of course, as one of the few Root members who hadn't been brainwashed, he initially didn't want to come.
However, this group of Root members, due to their untrustworthiness, had not been given important assignments by Hokage-sama recently.
A Jonin as powerful as Aburame Ryoma found his main job recently was sorting logistical documents in Advisor Mito Homura's finance department.
Lately, all he did was eat and sleep, and after eating, he would stare at the office door, occasionally pretending to be busy when someone passed by.
They were treating him like a pig.
He would rather be back in Root, gathering intelligence abroad.
It wasn't until yesterday, when someone suddenly contacted him through an old secret channel and invited him to host this operation, that Aburame Ryoma saw hope of restoring his former status.
"Things are looking up!"
However, just as he took a step, preparing to launch a surprise attack from deep within the thicket, someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind.
"Hey."
Aburame Ryoma turned his head cautiously.
Then, his eyes behind his sunglasses met a pair of eyes that seemed to contain countless brilliant stars, and a gentle voice spoke:
"Friend."
"Can I join your party?"
"Hmm?"
At that moment, Aburame Ryoma faintly seemed to hear a voice in his ear.
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu."
His steps froze.
Ishii Masane was an Anbu Ninja.
Born a commoner, with no special talents, he, like most children in Konoha, became a Ninja of Konoha.
Fortunately, due to his extraordinary talent in hearing from a young age, he was chosen by Lord Third as a sensory specialist, with the rank of Chunin, to become a member of the Hokage's direct Anbu.
To repay this kindness, Ishii Masane was diligently guarding the prison today.
However, the forest today seemed different from usual.
Ishii Masane turned his head, listening intently to the sounds from that direction.
Until he caught a clear set of footsteps.
"Who's there!"
At that single shout, the other Anbu hidden in various places immediately appeared, drawing their blades.
However, when the newcomer revealed himself, the Anbu froze.
"It's me."
The slightly short figure, draped in a Hokage cloak, stepped out from among the trees, his voice as deep and hoarse as ever.
Behind him followed an entire squad of other Anbu.
Seeing this, Ishii Masane immediately relaxed, kneeling on one knee:
"Lord Third."
"You're on duty today."
"Thank you for your hard work."
Lord Third's tone was as warm and kind as ever, but he seemed to have momentarily forgotten his name.
Ishii Masane didn't mind this small detail, and even felt a little excited, lowering his head and responding:
"This subordinate is truly grateful for Lord Third's concern!"
"Hmm."
'Lord Third's' voice remained gentle: "Go and open the barrier. There's something urgent tonight."
"Yes!"
Ishii Masane quickly agreed, turning to his teammate behind him: "Ota, go help Hokage-sama open the barrier!"
"Ota?"
He called twice, but his teammate did not respond.
Ishii Masane turned back, bewildered.
In just these few short exchanges.
The other three Anbu members behind him had already been chopped down by the group of former Root members following 'Lord Third,' their flesh and bone fragments scattered across the ground, long since dead.
However, the bewildered Ishii Masane seemed to have seen none of this, murmuring a reminder:
"Ota, I told you..."
His Ninja shoes stepped through sticky blood, treading on his comrade's hand. His nose caught the rank smell of blood, but he remained oblivious, bending down to grope in a mass of rotten flesh where the brain had been specifically destroyed, speaking with a hint of helplessness:
"Why are you so careless again? Lord Third is here today."
"Here, isn't it right here?"
As he spoke, his blood-stained hands retrieved a token from the corpse, and he walked towards the barrier gate, completely unaware.
With a mere wave of his hand, the barrier before him dissipated.
Without needing further orders from 'Lord Third,' the former Root Ninja had already swarmed in, striding rapidly towards the bottom of the spiral staircase.
The Ninja guarding the prison's interior discovered the rushing Root Ninja, and immediately, the clang of clashing blades and the screams of pain and dying roars erupted from ahead.
However, amidst the sounds of battle, there were occasionally discordant noises.
"Wait! Are you Aburame?"
"Damn it, I'm here to meet you!"
"What are you doing?"
"Bastard, have you betrayed Lord Danzo already!"
"Ugh—"
The sounds of various Ninjutsu and Ninja tools were incessant, and corpses lay strewn across the ground, but the last two people walked as if strolling through a park, at leisure.
Sawara Kiri watched all of this with cold eyes.
He was not inherently a bloodthirsty person, but this was his first time applying Kyōka Suigetsu to so many Ninja, including Jonin, at once. The mental load was not light, and the duration could not be maintained for long.
To minimize their awareness of the problem, keeping them continuously active naturally became the most practical option.
The effect of this measure was immediate.
By the time the group reached the sixth underground level, only seven Root Ninja remained around Sawara Kiri.
This greatly reduced the effort required.
Finally, in a cell at the very end of the sixth level, he saw Shimura Danzo sitting on a stone bed, as if waiting for him.
Clearly, he had long sensed the commotion above.
However, as Shimura Danzo looked at the figures following Sawara Kiri, his gaze involuntarily became more solemn.
"Hmm?"
"Who exactly are you?"
Sawara Kiri's face, hidden by black cloth, revealed a gentle smile. He spread the five fingers of his right hand, and a short bone spike, hardened into a sword, slowly extended from the skin of his palm, which he then gripped.
The Kekkei Genkai—Shikotsumyaku—originally deeply hidden within his body as this Hidden Mist spy's trump card, now appeared before everyone as a second ability distinct from his 'Sawara Kiri' identity.
The Mist Ninja, Kaguya Ren.
Making a grand entrance!
The young man's voice remained warm and gentle:
"Well."
"Who knows?"
...
"Kyōka Suigetsu (S)"
"Complete Hypnosis: Dominates the opponent's five senses, making them fully believe the appearance, form, quality, touch, and even smell of a specific object to be what the host desires."
"Activation Conditions: 1. Select three activation factors (hand seals, characteristics, word of power), 2. Chakra is higher than the enemy's, 3. Target is within the host's Chakra influence range, 4. Continuous Chakra consumption while the ability is active."
"Name: Sawara Kiri"
"Age: 15"
"Talent: Photographic Memory (B), Kekkei Genkai (A)"
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