Bathhouse street, lined with hot springs — behind an ordinary-looking general store.
No one knew it, but this was actually one of Root's hidden outposts.
The purpose of this outpost: monitoring public opinion among villagers and randomly snatching "specimens" for human experimentation.
In short — shinobi.
But this morning…
A group of ANBU surrounded the place. With a wave of Shisui's hand, one shinobi kicked the door open.
Yet—
Before the ANBU could rush inside, five Root operatives walked out.
The leader sneered coldly:
"ANBU? What are you doing here?"
"This is Root territory. We answer only to Lord Danzō."
"If you know what's good for you, turn around and leave!"
Yes.
After following Danzō for so long and undergoing countless brainwashings, they no longer placed any ANBU in their eyes.
It was just like—
In the previous dynasties, the West Factory scornfully dismissed the East Factory.
So, after stating their affiliation, they opened their mouths to tell ANBU to Scram.
But unfortunately—
This time, they were wrong.
Shisui's voice was ice-cold, his words detached:
"Scram? How amusing."
"But what is this 'Root'? I've never heard of such a department in Konoha."
"Sorry. I can't Scram."
"According to ANBU investigation, there's an enemy spy hidden here."
"We have full authority to search. You have three seconds to think it over."
"Three… two… one."
"Kill."
There was no hesitation.
No time for the Root operatives to even react.
After a simple count of three, Shisui's Sharingan snapped open. He drew the blade from his back, and in a single body-flicker he cut down the leader, then waved his hand as coldly as before.
The other Uchiha froze.
They were stunned.
So direct?
They knew full well what Root was — as Uchiha, how could they not?
But still—fine.
Since they were already following Shisui, and had the Hokage's backing, there was no reason to hesitate.
So the Uchiha ANBU moved in without another word, cutting down the Root operatives on sight.
In the blink of an eye—
The five Root shinobi were dead.
After a quick sweep of the building, collecting anything of value, Shisui spoke flatly:
"Enough. Don't waste time. Head to the next location. Move!"
And without hesitation, he led them to the next Root outpost.
Yes.
As ANBU vice-captain, his real power might not be much, but his access was enormous.
At the very least—
the ANBU archives were almost completely open to him.
That couldn't be helped.
Since Hiruzen wanted Shisui to clash head-on with Danzō, he couldn't deny him even basic intelligence. Not giving command authority was one thing; but withholding the archive access would've been too blatant.
So, even if Root's deepest secrets weren't on file, the locations of their outer posts were already in Shisui's mind.
Destroy one outpost, move on to the next.
The other Uchiha harbored doubts, but with Shisui leading the way, they dared not speak.
About three minutes later—
They arrived at the next location.
Same procedure as before. Within ten minutes, another outpost was wiped out. Then they moved to a third.
Their pace was astonishingly fast.
And indeed, there was little resistance.
After all—these outposts were only for monitoring public opinion, watching the clans, and providing support. They had no real strength stationed there.
As long as it wasn't Root's main base, ANBU elites like them faced no pressure at all.
Meanwhile, in the shadows—
Other ANBU squads noticed. But they were stuck in a dilemma.
First, these operatives were ANBU too. They couldn't just step in — what if they were under Hokage's direct orders?
But if they didn't stop them… this was getting out of hand!
"Captain, what do we do?" one whispered.
Their squad leader hesitated, then said grimly:
"You stay here and keep watch. I'll report to our division commander!"
Yes.
Within ANBU, unless ordered by the Hokage, you could not leapfrog the chain of command.
So even if something smelled wrong, they couldn't go directly to Hiruzen — they had to report first to Yamanaka Haichi.
—
Meanwhile,
In the Uchiha compound — the Police Force headquarters.
Men were gathering, groups leaving the compound and police department in waves, spreading like stars across the village.
Their mission:
Find members of the Ino–Shika–Chō clans on the road.
Once found, escort them directly to Uchiha territory.
If anyone stood in the way?
One word — kill!
And this order made every shinobi's blood boil, Uchiha or ally alike.
Yes.
Who in Konoha didn't know the weight of the Ino–Shika–Chō?
They were top-class clans, the kind even Sarutobi Hiruzen treated as honored guests!
And now?
They'd been persuaded — even chosen to join the Uchiha?
Unbelievable!
No one understood how the Uchiha had managed it.
But at the same time—
If even the Ino–Shika–Chō were willing to join Uchiha, then clearly everyone else had chosen correctly.
After all, who didn't know the Nara clan were unmatched in wisdom?
If even the Nara were siding with Uchiha — what more proof was needed?
So when they received this mission, morale soared.
They shouted oaths, swore to carry it out to the death.
Watching this, Fugaku, Aburame Shibi, Inuzuka Ichirō, Uchiha Kai and the others couldn't help but feel moved.
Even they hadn't expected it.
The Ino–Shika–Chō might not match the Hyuga or Uchiha in raw power, or the Sarutobi and Shimura in high-level authority — but their influence… was staggering.
—
On the Ino–Shika–Chō side.
Their clan members were now scattered in small groups, carrying bundles and bags, hurrying toward Uchiha territory.
But most of their eyes were filled with confusion.
Yes.
They couldn't make sense of it.
They hadn't wanted to betray their clans. They hadn't wanted to side with the Uchiha!
But now, here they were — forced.
If it had been outsiders forcing them, they might have resisted.
But the ones driving them to betray their own clans and join the Uchiha…
Were their very clan heads.
And that—was pure BBQ.
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