Year 62 of the Hidden Leaf Village.
In the dense forest east of the Hidden Leaf Village, Rorin was training a new ninjutsu alone when a kunai suddenly shot toward him. Alert, he sidestepped to dodge it. Moments later, a ninja wearing a fox mask emerged from behind the trees.
"You're Kaguya Rorin, right? Our leader wants to see you. Come with me," the fox-masked ninja said coldly, his voice devoid of emotion.
Hearing the commanding tone, Rorin frowned slightly before replying in an equally cold voice,
"No time."
"That's not up to you!"
Without another word, the fox-masked ninja charged at Rorin with a kunai in hand. Rorin's brows furrowed. The opponent's unreasonable use of force after being refused made him suspect their identity—could they be from the Root organization controlled by the so-called "Shadow of Konoha"?
Clang!
Just as the kunai was about to stab into Rorin's abdomen, a bone spike protruded from his right hand, blocking the attack. With a slight exertion of force, he knocked the attacker back five meters. Given Rorin's strength, he could have easily killed him just now, but considering this was the Hidden Leaf Village and he hadn't confirmed whether the opponent truly belonged to Root, he held back.
Pointing at the fox-masked ninja, Rorin shouted coldly, "Get lost!"
But the ninja showed no intention of retreating. Instead, he secretly signaled his hidden companions. He had thought he could capture Rorin alone, but instead suffered a setback.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In no time, three more masked ninjas burst out from the forest, surrounding Rorin tightly.
"Kaguya Rorin, come with us," the fox-masked ninja spoke again.
"Who exactly are you?" Rorin asked warily.
"We belong to Konoha's Root organization. Our leader wants to see you."
As expected. Rorin's suspicions were confirmed. Although Danzo had been stripped of his position as Hokage advisor and Root disbanded after the Uchiha massacre, it seemed that with the death of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo had begun making moves again. Likely with the help of Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, he had rebuilt Root.
But why did he want to see him? Rorin was deeply puzzled.
Now that he knew they were Root members, Rorin no longer held back. He activated the power of his Shikotsumyaku.
"Perfect. Let me test my newly developed ninjutsu," Rorin said with a cold smile.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Brambles!
Numerous bones sprouted from Rorin's body, extending outward and spreading across the battlefield. The long bone vines were covered in sharp barbs, which bound the four Root members. Once the barbs pierced their flesh, they rapidly extended, impaling their bodies and causing blood to gush out.
This sudden technique shocked the four Root members. They hadn't expected Rorin to be so powerful. Due to their carelessness, three of them were already severely injured. The last one—the fox-masked ninja—barely escaped by using a Substitution Technique, though he still suffered light injuries.
Rorin clicked his tongue, rubbing his chin as he muttered to himself,
"Seems it still needs further refinement, but the results are decent for now."
With a swift movement, Rorin quickly ended the lives of the three heavily injured Root members, granting them a quicker death.
Then he quietly looked at the last remaining Root ninja and asked,
"Why does Danzo want me? Tell me, and I might spare your life."
The fox-masked ninja showed no reaction and charged at Rorin again. In his mind, there was only one goal: complete the mission and bring Rorin before Danzo.
Seeing that the man wouldn't budge, Rorin sighed. He had intended to extract some information before killing him, but it seemed that wouldn't be possible.
Rorin rushed forward. His strength had already surpassed elite jonin and was approaching Kage level. Facing a Root member who was merely jonin level, victory was effortless. A combination of Dance of the Camellia and Dance of the Larch ended the fight instantly.
After the battle, Rorin didn't relax. He pondered why Danzo had set his sights on him. Logically, he hadn't displayed much of his strength before. He hadn't completed many high-level missions either—just a number of low-tier B-rank and C-rank missions to accumulate enough to exchange for the Flying Thunder God training scroll.
As for why he didn't take A-rank or S-rank missions, it was because they required too much time and energy. At the moment, Rorin preferred to focus on improving himself—maximizing the potential of his Byakugan and Shikotsumyaku.
Another reason was that he was waiting for the system to return.
As for meeting Danzo, Rorin was resistant. His main concern was being targeted by Kotoamatsukami. He had no way of knowing whether it was currently on cooldown or ready to be used.
Better safe than sorry. After some thought, Rorin disposed of the four Root members' bodies and left coolly.
This training ground had already been discovered by Root. It was time to find a new place where he wouldn't be disturbed.
...
After returning to the village, as Rorin strolled home, he encountered Kakashi Hatake standing on his rooftop.
"Kakashi-sensei, long time no see!" Rorin leaped onto the roof.
Hearing him, Kakashi closed his book and looked up, his eye narrowing slightly.
"Long time no see, Rorin."
"Did you come to see me about something important today?" Rorin asked, tilting his head.
Kakashi's expression turned serious as he nodded.
"The Hokage asked me to find you. When I got to your house and you weren't there, I waited here."
Rorin's interest was piqued.
"Oh? Tsunade-sama is looking for me?" This was the first time she had sought him out since the Land of Mountain Streams mission.
"Mm. Come with me."
With that, Kakashi used Body Flicker and disappeared from the rooftop. Rorin followed immediately.
After traveling for a while, they arrived at the Hokage's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Tsunade's voice called from inside.
They entered together. Inside, Nara Shikaku was also present, seemingly in the middle of a discussion with Tsunade before their arrival.
"Tsunade-sama, I heard you were looking for me?" Rorin asked respectfully.
"Mm." Tsunade nodded and handed him a scroll.
"Open it and take a look."
With a puzzled expression, Rorin opened the scroll. His brows immediately furrowed. Beside him, Kakashi leaned in to read as well, his expression growing equally serious.
After finishing, Rorin rolled up the scroll and looked up at Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama… when did this happen?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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