Night Namikaze left the Senju compound feeling satisfied. Before leaving, he casually tossed a Fire Style jutsu, burning all of Nawaki's half-dried training clothes to ash.
Consider it a friendly reminder: Always bring in your laundry when it gets windy!
Leaving Nawaki bewildered, Konoha was now in chaos.
Although the process deviated slightly from Night's plan, the result was the same. The ANBU were out in full force, desperately searching for the audacious "Kaguya Clan" assassin.
Assassinations within the village were rare enough, but the target's identity made this impossible to sweep under the rug.
Nawaki was the last direct heir of the Senju clan.
Even though most of the Senju had integrated into the village, they were one of the two founding clans. If Nawaki were killed inside Konoha, the political earthquake would be catastrophic.
With the ANBU distracted, Night's opportunity had finally arrived.
He slipped past the commotion and stealthily approached the secret location he had scouted multiple times.
"The ROOT base should be right here."
Over the past few days, he had checked several suspicious spots. This one had the highest traffic of "ANBU" agents—all cold, emotionless, moving like machines.
Instead of using the known secret entrance, Night used Earth Style to tunnel in directly.
Once inside, he was stunned by the scale. It was like an inverted Hokage Tower buried underground—massive, complex, and labyrinthine.
Even though he expected it, seeing Danzo's ROOT base in person was chilling.
It wasn't far from the real Hokage Tower. In fact, they mirrored each other. No wonder Danzo always showed up so quickly to "discuss important matters" with Hiruzen whenever something happened.
In the center was a bottomless abyss of a courtyard, surrounded by honeycomb-like passages leading everywhere.
To build such a massive underground structure required resources rivaling the Hokage Tower itself. There was no way this was built without Hiruzen's tacit approval.
"Heh. Dreaming your Hokage dreams down here in the dark?"
Time was tight. Night picked a direction and started searching. With Mind's Eye of the Kagura, he sensed that the base was almost empty.
Danzo had taken a squad to the front lines, and the ANBU had pulled even more agents away for the manhunt. Only two or three ninjas remained to handle administrative tasks. Night tracked their movements perfectly.
He slipped into an empty room. He didn't touch anything recklessly, wary of hidden seals or traps.
"Scan."
[Scan Complete. Discovered ownerless pawnable items:]
[Ding! Intelligence Scroll x51 ... Valuation: 0]
[Ding! Blank Scroll x21 ... Valuation: 0]
"Crap. I found the bathroom..."
Night left everything untouched and moved to the next room.
[Ding! Personnel File Scroll x38 ... Valuation: 0]
[Ding! Blank Scroll rigged with Explosive Tags x20 ... Valuation: 0]
[Ding! Scroll rigged with Sealing Jutsu x10 ... Valuation: 0]
"Damn it! That old geezer Danzo is evil. Who puts traps on blank scrolls?"
Night cursed internally. He expected traps, but this level of paranoia was insane.
He couldn't waste time checking every room. The chaos outside wouldn't last forever. He decided to take a risk and head deeper.
At the very bottom level, two ROOT ninjas were guarding a door—one visible, one hidden in the shadows. Without Mind's Eye of the Kagura, the hidden one would have been impossible to spot. This had to be the core area—probably Danzo's office.
Their positioning made a frontal assault impossible. Night decided to get creative. He went to another room where a ROOT ninja was on duty.
He used the Transformation Jutsu to look like one of the agents he had seen earlier. Then, messing up his appearance to look battered, he burst into the room, panting.
"Bad news! Intruders in the base!"
The ROOT ninja, who was processing paperwork, reacted instantly, standing up to check the situation.
Night closed the distance. The ninja was about to scold him for breaking protocol.
Night clamped a hand over the ninja's mouth and drove a sharp bone spike through his heart. Blood sprayed, and the life drained from his eyes.
This guy seemed to be a mid-level administrator. Years of desk work had dulled his instincts.
"Scan."
[Ding! Dying Special Jonin ... Valuation: 20]
[Ding! Unrecorded Ninjutsu x32 ... Valuation: 5 Points/each]
[Ding! Unrecorded Advanced Ninjutsu x1 ... Valuation: 10 Points]
"Pawn ninjutsu."
[Current Pawn Points: 2060]
"Not bad. But the good stuff must be downstairs."
Night didn't pawn the dying ninja. Instead, he slung the unconscious man over his shoulder, changed his face again, and staggered toward the bottom level, supporting his "wounded comrade."
Before he got close, the guard spotted him.
"Halt! Identify yourself! Show your token!"
"It's me!"
Night didn't panic. He shouted back, "Enemy infiltration! The base has been breached! Saving lives comes first!"
The guard was unmoved. Coldly, he demanded the token again and ordered Night to stop. Typical ROOT behavior—emotionless machines.
Suddenly, Night shoved the wounded man forward with all his strength.
Even a ROOT ninja flinched at having a bloody body thrown at him. Instinctively, he caught his colleague.
Seizing the moment his vision was blocked, Night lunged. The distance closed instantly.
The hidden guard sensed the trap first. He leaped from the shadows, his short sword slashing down at the back of Night's neck with lethal precision.
Night didn't dodge. The blade struck true.
It sliced through Night's clothes and flesh... but something was wrong.
There was no resistance. No blood spray.
The "Night" that was struck collapsed into a puddle of water.
Water Clone!
The real Night rose silently from the damp ground behind them like a ghost. His hand seals were already complete. He whispered, his voice like a death knell:
"Lightning Style: Earth Flash."
Blinding electricity surged through the water covering the floor, instantly conducting into the bodies of all three ROOT ninjas.
Paralyzed by the shock, they couldn't even scream before they collapsed, unconscious and twitching.