Something about this mission felt wrong, and Kaede Kitahara had no intention of gambling his life on it. So what if the mission failed? That wasn't worth dying over.
He only cared about staying alive. Everything else came second.
Compared to his two earnest teammates, he was far more cautious.
"Keiko, check the area with your Byakugan."
He didn't want to take chances, so he had Hyuga Keiko activate her Byakugan and sweep the surroundings.
"Byakugan, open."
Keiko formed a few seals, and her eyes shifted into their dojutsu state.
That was one weakness the Byakugan had compared to the Sharingan. The Byakugan awakened more easily, but in combat it needed a brief activation window. The Sharingan was rare, but once awakened, it didn't need that delay.
"Someone's here!"
Keiko's voice snapped out sharply.
"A squad is moving toward us fast. Their target is our direction. Judging from their gear, it's the Anbu."
"If it's just the Anbu, then no big deal," Amakusa Ryuji said with a shrug. "Scared me for a second."
Kaede frowned. It was absolutely a big deal.
His gut told him those Anbu were coming for him. But that didn't make sense. The Anbu answered to Sarutobi Hiruzen. If the Third Hokage wanted him dealt with, he wouldn't go through this trouble.
Was this sudden mission just a way to lure him out of the village and take him down?
No. There was another possibility.
Root.
Was this because he interacted with Uzumaki Naruto yesterday?
If so, there was only one person who would make a move: Shimura Danzo.
But it was still just Kaede's suspicion.
"How far?" Kaede asked.
"About one kilometer," Keiko said.
Her Byakugan was a defective variant. At her current strength she could only see about a kilometer, and she had a few blind spots. That one-degree blind point wasn't a problem at long range, though. A slight shift of her head could compensate.
"We're changing direction. If they still keep on our trail, then they're definitely after us," Kaede said.
Ryuji finally realized how serious the situation was.
He also realized these approaching Anbu might be connected directly to Kaede. This was the moment that tested their loyalty to him.
Kaede had basically said outright that the Anbu were probably targeting him. Following him now meant risking getting dragged into trouble.
"You sure you're okay?" Ryuji asked, eyeing Kaede with suspicion.
"It's not me, and they're probably not Anbu. They're from Root," Kaede said bluntly.
"Root? What's that?" Ryuji asked, completely lost.
But Keiko understood immediately. Her face went pale.
She came from a major clan. Even as a branch member, her awareness was worlds beyond someone like Ryuji. She'd heard of Root. Every major clan had records of Root's brutality. Danzo had taken plenty of people from the clans to "train."
Living people went in. What came out were emotionless killers.
The clans all knew. They simply pretended not to. No one dared provoke Shimura Danzo or the political faction behind him, built around the Second Hokage's disciples.
The moment someone mentioned Root, everyone's expression changed.
"It's a hidden organization under Konoha. On the surface it's an Anbu training unit. In reality, it does unspeakable things," Keiko explained. "If you ever meet anyone from Root, stay as far away as you can. Not that it's easy. They might appear pretending to be Anbu."
Ryuji's expression tightened. Root clearly wasn't anything good.
Root reputation –1
"Let's go. We'll change direction. We'll find out soon enough if they're after us," Kaede said.
He looked at his teammates. If these were Root operatives, it meant someone high up in Konoha already had their eyes on him. Staying with him meant risking being silenced alongside him. This was a life-or-death choice.
Ryuji snorted. "Why're you staring at me? Of course I'm staying with you. We're teammates. If the higher-ups want you gone, with how close we are, you think I'd get away anyway?"
"Besides, if the Hokage thought you were a problem, the Anbu would've confronted you back in the village. Since that didn't happen, it means either the squad coming now isn't after you, or Root is acting behind the Hokage's back," Ryuji said.
"Behind the Hokage?" Ryuji's eyes widened. "Root has guts that big? I heard the Anbu answer directly to the Hokage, so if Root's a training unit under the Anbu, shouldn't they follow the same rules? How could they dare hide things from the Hokage and kill fellow Konoha shinobi?"
"That's nothing. Shimura Danzo used to be the head of the Anbu," Kaede said casually.
Shimura Danzo.
Ryuji etched the name into his mind.
"And he once tried to assassinate the Hokage. Killing someone like me? That's nothing to him," Kaede added, dropping a bombshell.
The forest seemed to fall silent around them.