The night was silent. Too silent.
Naruto was snoring softly in his futon, clutching his blanket like it was a bowl of ramen. I almost laughed—until I felt it.
The air shifted. Shadows moved.
They came in through the walls, masked figures slipping soundlessly into the room. Root. Danzo's dogs. Five of them. Their movements were too smooth, too precise, like puppets with strings.
And their eyes… were on me and Naruto both.
My smile dropped.
They lunged. Blades flashed. But before the first steel could come near, I moved.
One fell instantly, swept aside like a doll. The second tried to counter—only to find his strike redirected. The others hesitated, but that single hesitation was fatal.
This time, I stopped hiding.
My skin rippled, my eyes lit crimson, and the mask of humanity I wore every day slipped away. The monster inside me stepped into the light, the one even Shisui had only caught glimpses of.
Their discipline faltered. For a heartbeat, they froze.
I was already among them. Their formation broke like paper in a storm.
When the dust settled, only one remained. His weapon shook in his hand as he backed away, mask cracked, breathing sharp.
I leaned close, letting him see the red in my eyes, and whispered:
"Run. Tell your master the monster's awake."
He fled, stumbling into the night. Exactly as I intended.
Naruto shifted in his sleep but didn't wake, still buried in his blanket. I sighed softly in relief, brushing his messy blond hair back from his forehead.
"Sleep well, little one," I murmured. "Auntie Akari's got work to do."
The Root agent ran fast, but his fear was louder than his footsteps. I trailed him easily, letting him lead me straight into the dark veins beneath Konoha.
The Root base.
The air inside was stale, heavy with silence. I moved through the tunnels unseen, my senses wide open. What I found tightened my fists.
Children—too young, too hollow—practiced drills in perfect silence, their faces stripped of emotion. Scrolls lined the walls, marked with forbidden symbols. Shelves of carefully hoarded weapons and secrets. And deeper still, chambers with notes, missions, and records—Danzo's hidden heart.
I almost laughed. "So this is your nest."
At last, the surviving Root agent stumbled into a chamber and dropped to one knee before his master.
Danzo Shimura.
His single eye studied the trembling subordinate coldly as the man stammered out what he had seen.
"She… she isn't… human…"
The words hung in the air like smoke.
I stepped from the shadows of the doorway, calm, collected, my eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
"Not human? Now that's a little rude." I tilted my head, smiling thinly. "I prefer… upgraded."
Danzo's gaze met mine without a flicker of surprise.
"I see," he murmured. "So you've chosen to reveal yourself."
I stepped closer, brushing invisible dust from my sleeve as if I hadn't just torn through his men.
"Reveal? Oh no, Danzo." My voice was low, steady, carrying just enough venom. "I came here to collect."