Kinoshita Jiro was dead—dead in Naruto's arms.
Blood soaked half of Naruto's body. He stared blankly at the man lying against his chest.
"Mission accomplished."
One Root operative lifted the scroll in his hand and spoke in a low voice to the one blocking Kakashi.
Kakashi's face looked awful. Kinoshita Jiro was extremely important to the Hidden Mist. Someone like that dying at Konoha's hands would spark serious trouble.
"You two—stop right there!!"
Naruto gently laid Jiro's body on the ground, then raised his head and roared at the two Root operatives.
At the same time, a savage surge of chakra erupted out of him.
The two were about to turn away when one of them suddenly froze.
The other spun back toward Naruto, whose body had begun to spill fiery red chakra.
Kakashi didn't catch their subtle exchange, because the instant that Kyūbi (Nine-Tails) chakra leaked out, he was already at Naruto's side.
One hand pressed Naruto's head, the other his shoulder, holding him down.
"Naruto, calm down!"
Kakashi's voice sounded at his ear. Hearing it, the violent aura around Naruto slowly ebbed.
"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto's face was still twisted with anger. He clenched his fists; his chakra wavered as he spoke.
Seeing he hadn't entered Bijū Transformation (Tailed-Beast Transformation), Kakashi exhaled in relief.
Root was not like other Konoha shinobi. If they clashed with Root, even for the Third, it would be a headache.
But still—
Kakashi lifted his head, eyes cold. His voice dropped as he addressed the two:
"I'll report everything that happened today to the Hokage—exactly as it happened."
They didn't bat an eye. They simply turned and left.
In the span of a few blinks, they were gone.
"Jiro-san…"
Sakura walked over and covered her mouth at the sight of the lifeless body on the ground.
Sasuke stood silent for a beat, then looked up and asked Kakashi, "Those two Leaf shinobi—are they really ANBU?"
Kakashi's expression didn't change. Root's existence was a secret to ordinary shinobi—he wouldn't tell them.
It wasn't just to protect Konoha's secrets; it was for the three of them. The less they knew, the safer they were.
Sakura aside, both Sasuke and Naruto had identities that were far too sensitive. They absolutely could not come into contact with Root.
On the other side—
The two "Root" operatives didn't stop until they were a ways off from Kakashi and the others.
One of them rolled his shoulders lazily, peeled off his mask, tossed it to the ground, and crushed it underfoot.
"Man, that was close. Never thought that brat was Konoha's jinchūriki. If we'd actually fought, I might've blown my cover."
Suigetsu rubbed his neck and muttered.
Poof!
With a soft pop and a curl of white smoke, he dispelled his Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique).
"Still… Kinoshita Jiro was impressive. Using his own death to erase every loose end."
Suigetsu sighed, pulling out the scroll Jiro had handed him and unfurling it.
Blank—nothing on it.
He tucked it back into his clothes, then glanced at the "Root" operative standing motionless beside him.
His Root identity was fake. The one next to him was real—just under Genjutsu (Illusion Technique) control.
Good thing both wore Root masks. And thanks to last night's setup, this Root operative had even shown himself to Kakashi. Otherwise, a cautious guy like that would've smelled something.
"Your mission is over."
Suigetsu grinned at the man—and a kunai jutted clean through the operative's heart.
He tweaked the surroundings to look like a scuffle, cleaned up the corpse, and in the next instant, his figure was gone.
——
"Kakashi-sensei, what about Jiro-san's body?"
Sakura spoke up at last, looking at the three silent figures—Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi.
Sasuke was one thing, but these two—why were they spacing out?!
She griped inwardly, though her face didn't show it.
Kakashi's eye flickered at her voice, pulling him from his thoughts.
He couldn't shake the feeling something was off, yet he couldn't place what.
Kinoshita Jiro had been odd, but he was dead now.
Root was odd too, but they always operated that way.
Kakashi sighed. Better to leave this for the Third to handle.
"Bury him here," he said after a moment's thought.
Jiro's body had research value, sure. But aside from the fact that he was from the Mist—someone like a clan head would almost certainly have memory seals set before death. Even if they took the body back, they probably wouldn't get anything useful.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all looked dim. They'd only known him a few days, but the three of them had taken a real liking to Jiro.
Especially Naruto. From Jiro, he'd felt a faint warmth—like a father's.
Tap—tap—
Two sets of footsteps approached from afar.
Kakashi and the others snapped their heads up toward the sound.
Two very young figures appeared before them.
One was a girl of seventeen or eighteen with reddish-brown hair and a cold face, twin blades strapped across her back.
The other wore blue-black layers over a long fall of black hair, a gentle smile on his lips.
They were none other than Ameyuri and Haku.
Ameyuri's gaze slid over Kakashi; excitement glinted in her eyes.
The man who had defeated Zabuza—Kakashi—had her full attention.
Across from them, Kakashi narrowed his eye at the emblems on their forehead protectors.
Mist-nin—Kirigakure shinobi.
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