In a yes-or-no question-and-answer session,
Shinji Hyugainstinctively chose the "or" path.
This was precisely the answer Root needed.
For ninjas who dedicated themselves to the darkness,keeping secrets was far more important than the secrets themselves.
Then,
"You passed the assessment."
The hooded ninja in the trench coat and sunglasses spoke calmly:
"Shinji Hyuga,you will serve as a member of Root's Side Stories."
"Remember—"
"We are the'roots' embedded deep in the earth, supporting the giant tree of Konoha from the shadows."
"So-called'Root' members have no names, no emotions; no past, no future—only the mission in their hearts."
"Root... Side Stories?"
Shinji Hyugalooked up in surprise, glancing at the Root officer with a hint of confusion, and immediately asked:
"So,what is my mission?"
Shinji Hyuga certainly hadn't joined Root to play house. At his age, he had already missed the best window to be brainwashed into a proper Root ninja.
Now,he was more like a mercenary, cooperating with Root for mutual benefit.
There were quite a few ninjas maintaining this kind of relationship with Root at the moment,such as the Root chief 'Aburame Ryōma' in front of him, Orochimaru, and the wandering shrine maiden 'Yakushi Nonou'.
He believed Aburame Ryōma was aware of this and understood whatShinji Hyuga was seeking at this moment.
Therefore,some polite formalities could be omitted.
Soon, Aburame Ryōma took out a blue scroll from his trench coat and casually tossed it to Shinji Hyuga.
"Next,you will assist your superior—with whom you have one-way communication—in carrying out an important S-rank mission."
"The mission departure time is flexible,but no later than the day after tomorrow. Mission details will be provided later. The location is on the west side of the [Kusanami Coast], at the Konoha Medical Team camp."
"The contact person is Shigaraki Tanuki,squad leader of Konoha's 8th Medical Team."
"Failure to report within a week will be considered treason."
"That is all."
Having said this, Aburame Ryōma's figure suddenly disappeared into the darkness.
The incandescent light bulb on the ceiling hissed a few times.
Immediately after,
Click!
The power returned.The lights in the apartment came back on, and the small refrigerator in the corner began to hum.
It was as if everything that had just happened wasShinji Hyuga's imagination.
However,
He lowered his head and looked at the extra blue scroll in his hand,lost in thought.
Unfurling the scroll,
a line of handwritten cursive script immediately came into view.
Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!
It was that Wind Release ninjutsu,the one that could initially complete the final link in Shinji Hyuga's combat system!
Yet, Shinji Hyuga did not immediately unroll the ninjutsu scroll to learn it. Instead, he sat down and began to ponder.
Shinji Hyuga's demands from Root were twofold:
First,the Wind Release ninjutsu mastered by Shimura Danzo.
Second,a transfer order allowing him to bypass the Hyuga main family's arrangements and choose his own time to go to the battlefield.
Root's response perfectly addressed these two points.
However,it happened in a way completely unexpected by Shinji Hyuga—
Root Side Stories.
This could be seen from the mission notice issued by Aburame Ryōma.
No formal documents,mission scrolls, or tokens; all instructions given verbally, leaving no traces or records that could be used against them.
Shinji Hyugahad seemingly spent a million ryo to use 'connections' to join Root, yet he remained perpetually outside of it.
This was quite dangerous.
However,
Root's attitude was quite interesting.
On one hand,they didn't treat Shinji Hyuga as a true member at all. Even though Shinji had very "sincerely" taken the initiative to approach them, their arrangements for him were entirely based on treating him as disposable cannon fodder.
On the other hand,the Root chief "Aburame Ryōma," who had come for the interview, had subtly hinted at something to him through this "assessment"—
Since you,Shinji Hyuga, have already been drawn into this incident and are in a dangerous situation from which you cannot extricate yourself,
the only way to change this situation is to do the opposite:delve deeper, keep moving closer to Root.
This suggested there might be "factions" within Root as well?
Thinking this,Shinji Hyuga smiled slightly, feeling that his past life as a corporate drone wasn't entirely useless.
But,
Shinji Hyugaquickly put such petty thoughts out of his mind.
If there truly was a"faction" within Root, it certainly wasn't Shimura Danzo's faction. After all, Root was now more accurately described as Shimura Danzo's private army than as the original Root.
Given that Danzo's will was equivalent to Root's will,if this weak "faction" wanted to change the status quo, it would inevitably continue to secretly contact and even absorb ninjas like himself who possessed certain value.
Shinji Hyuga was not complacent about having this small amount of value.
He knew perfectly well that his"value" was bestowed by the eyes he was born with. If he lost these eyes, he would be utterly worthless. And what would happen the day the weight on the other side of the scale surpassed the value of his eyes?
That would be the day of his death.
In the ninja world, ultimately, everything came down to power!
With such a clear and strong thought,
Shinji Hyugaunfurled the blue scroll in his hand and began to read it with great eagerness.
During the war, Konoha under the cover of night was like a silent behemoth, and the spies and ninjas hiding within Konoha were like lice crawling on this giant, constantly sucking its blood.
Taking advantage of the night,spies and ninjas roamed the streets and alleys, exchanging the latest intelligence in every possible form—in trash cans, on billboards, under bridges.
In the shadows,pairs of eyes, awakened from the darkness, silently watched their movements.
It was like the mantis stalking the cicada.
Behind the stalkers,pairs of eyes, full of mockery, opened once more, unaware that a faint smile was quietly curling at the corners of their mouths.
A silent, invisible espionage war raged in the stillness.
Explosion, evolution, advancement!
Finally,after countless intelligence reports were compiled, they were placed on the decision-maker's desk.
Then,
as dawn was about to break,
one ninja squad after another shot out like arrows tearing through the night!
The Root base was pitch black.
Shimura Danzo,staff in hand, stepped out of the tower. His icy gaze swept over the rows of Root ninja kneeling before him like a hawk's.
He spoke coldly,his face expressionless:
"The prey has been caught!"
"Then,let the operation begin!"
Shimura Danzo narrowed his single eye, a glint of greed flashing within.
"Teach them a lesson!""This time, Kirigakure must pay in blood!"
And just on the other side,
the faint light of dawn pierced through the window,falling on the still-lit lamp.
Inside the small apartment,
after studying diligently all night and memorizing all the ninjutsu training instructions in the scroll,Shinji Hyuga stretched and yawned, having thoroughly grasped them.
Then,he pulled a kunai from the table and held it in his hand.
He stared intently at the kunai.
Strands of wind-natured chakra,sharp as blades, appeared in his palm.
Gathering at his core,they quietly flowed into the kunai.
Buzzzz!
The kunai trembled violently,almost leaping from his palm.
Just as it was about to fly out,
Boom! Boom! Boom!
There was a rapid knocking at the door,and a slightly hurried voice called out:
"Shinji Hyuga,the clan has issued your transfer order!"