"Quite a lively night."
"Guests are guests. Since you have come, you can all stay."
A cold voice sounded behind them the next instant.
Faces in Root turned ashen.
Someone had slipped this close without a sound.
The captain reacted first, flicking a storm of shuriken while springing back to open distance.
This was the Uchiha heartland. If the clan's elites sensed trouble, they would arrive at once.
If that happened he would lose his life and fail the mission.
The killing rain aimed for vital points looked harmless in Uchiha Senya's eyes. He blurred and slipped through them.
Only then did Root see his face clearly.
It was the same as the Uchiha they had just knocked out.
POOF!
Smoke burst.
The "unconscious" Senya vanished into thin mist.
"Damn. A shadow clone."
The white-cat mask ninja's pupils tightened.
He had mocked Senya's lack of vigilance, only to learn who the clown really was.
The captain did not underestimate him.
Anyone who could approach them unheard was no weakling.
Facing them alone meant he had real confidence.
At minimum, he was not the useless guard in their dossier.
Worse, he might have warned the clan already.
If so, tonight's plan would almost certainly fail.
"All together. Take him down as fast as possible."
There was no hesitation. The captain gave the kill order.
After that, he would force the shrine.
Success or death.
From the moment he accepted the mission, he had put his life aside.
Everything for the objective.
The only hope was that the boy had not alerted his kin.
That made a forced entry more feasible.
At the command, blades flashed out as Root formed up.
These were butchers, hands soaked in blood.
Killing intent surged like a storm. Cold auras locked onto Senya.
"Oh, so eager to die."
"In that case, I will oblige."
He had no patience to dally with uninvited guests. He still had a shift to cover.
Who would pay for repairs if things got smashed?
His eyes narrowed. Ocular power flared.
Mangekyo Sharingan, open.
That dreadful gaze pinned every throat in the room.
Blue lightning lit in his hand, and his figure vanished.
Summon Flash - kill.
SWISH SWISH SWISH!
In the next heartbeat, Senya stood behind them.
Blood painted the floor red.
Save for the captain, who clung to a thread of breath, the rest lay dead from a single stroke.
"Th-this... Flying Thunder God?"
"And those eyes..."
Hands clamped to his torn neck, the captain stared in horrified disbelief.
That was Senju Tobirama's signature art.
How could an Uchiha wield it with this power?
And those eyes were not three tomoe.
They were something stronger.
When had such a monster appeared among the Uchiha?
"Talk. Why are you here? What is your target? Who commands you?"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen or Shimura Danzo?"
He did not bother correcting the misunderstanding. Let them think what they liked.
In a flicker he was in front of the captain.
Before the man could react, chakra carved through limbs and jaw to stop suicide.
From their movements he already knew the shrine was their goal.
He did not know exactly what they wanted, only that he was not the target.
His identity should be safe.
"I know nothing. Kill me."
With suicide spoiled, the captain shut his eyes and fell silent.
He was bleeding out. Even if Senya spared him, he had little time left.
His failed self-killing had been to salvage a final shred of dignity.
When his squad died in one stroke, he knew the mission was lost.
His only regret was failing Lord Danzo.
"I see."
"Then die."
Lightning flashed in Senya's right hand. Chakra punched cleanly through the throat.
The breath left before the captain understood.
"Even if you will not speak, I can still look."
He glanced over the bodies and remembered a ninjutsu he had checked in for years ago.
It could read the short-term memories of the recently dead.
In war, comrades often destroyed a fallen ally's brain to prevent leaks.
Root shinobi were trained to burn intel with a sealing mark the moment death neared.
Too bad for them, Senya had been too fast.
They died in a single exchange, with no time to trigger failsafes.
The gap between peak Kage and jonin was vast.
So vast they could not even erase their memories.
Senya stepped up, set his right hand to the captain's brow, and cast the searching jutsu.
...