Naruto: I, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan Princess

Chapter 138 Root

The air was filled with a pungent morning mist.

Lan looked down at Hui Li's petite figure, her sharp features hidden behind the mask filled with displeasure.

He wasn't a cold-blooded machine trained by Root from a young age, but a ninja who voluntarily joined after accidentally learning about Root and its dark hero ideology within the Anbu.

Only after undergoing rigorous training and multiple rounds of selection can one become a member of the Glory Foundation.

But this girl, Ashite, who was personally recruited into the Root by Lord Danzo and accepted as his disciple to inherit his mantle, not only showed no gratitude for such kindness from the Lord, but also displayed no respect whatsoever.

"This lady is a disciple of the Second Hokage, an assistant to the Hokage, a ruthless hero who abandoned honor and emotion throughout her life and hid in the shadows. How dare she call her by her name!"

"You cannot call someone by their name so casually."

Lan's voice, filled with gritted teeth, was like the biting wind in the snow, chilling to the bone. Her purple-blue jealousy and red anger completely exposed her inner emotions.

"Oh, let's go, let's go to the roots first,"

Glancing at the emotional glow above the other person's head, Hui Li completely ignored them. She couldn't be bothered with these tools brainwashed by Danzo.

After all, who would bother arguing with a mentally ill person?
"you!"

"Lan!"

Panxiong's deep voice silenced Lan's rising anger.

Faced with the captain's warning gaze, Lan's lips trembled as she swallowed the rest of her words.

Back when he was training with Root, Iwakuma was his instructor. He knew his captain's ruthless methods better than anyone else.

He is usually mild-mannered and easy to talk to, but once he gets angry, it's like the sky is falling and the earth is cracking, which is terrifying.

"Feel sorry!"

Withdrawing his warning gaze, Pan Xiong turned to Hui Li and whispered an apology. His imposing body slightly shifted to make way for Hui Li, pointing deeper into the dense forest:

"That's Root's third base over there. The master has been waiting for you for a long time, so Lan is a little impatient."

"Are you the captain? What's your name?"

Dispelling the wind jutsu that had been wrapped around her fingers, Hui Li looked at the burly ninja in front of her with great interest.

Such a keen sense of combat. The moment her killing intent stirred, the man's muscles tensed instantly, and even his chakra underwent a nature change within his body, ready to burst forth and kill at any moment.

I only caught a glimpse of him yesterday and didn't get a good look, but now I realize that this Earth Release Jonin has a cold and stern face with high-bridged eyebrows. His chakra is brownish-yellow, and he looks like a large granite, cold, hard, and rough.

According to Hiruzen Sarutobi, chakra nature transformation can influence a person's personality to some extent. Those skilled in Fire Release and Lightning Release tend to be hot-tempered, while those skilled in Water Release and Earth Release are more gentle and stable, and those skilled in Wind Release can make them appear fickle and sharp.

The greater the degree of change in nature, the more obvious the effect. Sometimes, one can judge the approximate strength of an enemy simply by looking at a person's personality.

The person before him was clearly a master who had thoroughly mastered the Earth Release: Nature Transformation technique.

"Panxiong".

His deep, husky voice was devoid of any emotion, even the emotional glow above his head seemed almost imperceptible. Hui Li nodded; this person's demeanor best matched her expectations of a Root ninja.

He's much better than that idiot who doesn't even know his place.

Then she looked at the sensory ninja who had helped her so much.

"butterfly."

The perceptive butterfly answered quickly, appearing taciturn but actually barely managing to suppress the trembling in her body. Her mental energy had been suppressed by the gray chakra for a long time, and even her body was beginning to feel restless and agitated.

Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead.

Six years ago, when the Nine-Tails attacked the village, he only felt that the amount of chakra was as vast as an abyss, and he felt a sense of despair and powerlessness.

The girl in front of me has no chakra reserves compared to the Nine-Tails, but she exudes a chilling danger and greed, like a ferocious beast that grinds its teeth and sucks blood. If you're not careful, she'll drag you into her body and devour you.

The more sensitive a person is to the crisis, the more they feel tormented when they stand next to her.

He had just sensed Hui Li's killing intent. If the captain hadn't interrupted in time, that fool who was still arrogant even when the physical attack monster got close would probably have been beheaded.

Gli gave the butt a strange look, not knowing what it was that the other was afraid of, as it was covered in cold sweat. Ignoring the last person waiting for her to ask a question, she strode towards the Root base.

The other party just mentioned Base 3, which means there are at least Base 1 and Base 2 as well.

Its roots have penetrated very deep into the leaves!

Seeing that Hui Li ignored her and left first, Lan snorted and quickly followed.

Lord Danzo's mission was to bring Sunburst Gray to the Root base intact. No matter how dissatisfied he was, completing the mission was the most important thing.

The two left one after the other, and Pan Xiong and Die quickly followed.

Following the direction indicated by Pan Xiong, Hui Li quickly stopped after a short while.

Rolling your eyes will induce a reaction.

The surrounding environment was still an ordinary dense forest, but from Bai Yan's perspective, a light red sealing barrier adhered to the ground, like a bright red meadow, completely blocking her view.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this should be the base of the roots.

Whoosh whoosh!
Pan Xiong and the other two stopped in their tracks. Die stepped forward, her hand seals flashing. Lan looked at Hui Li, wanting to say something, but hesitated for a long time before remaining silent.

Normally, ninjas entering Root for the first time must be blindfolded until they have undergone long-term training and gained trust before they can learn the common hand seals. However, in Hairi's case, blindfolding might not be of much use.

"untie!"

hum!
A red glow emanated from the ground, and a maze-like zigzag pattern appeared on its surface before quickly fading away, revealing a deep, dark opening in the otherwise flat grass.

The cave is about four meters in diameter and is extremely dark inside. Only half of the stone steps can be vaguely seen, while the rest is completely hidden in the shadows.

Gray Glass held up his white eye and peered downwards.

They discovered that they could only see about three meters below the ground, and beyond that, their vision was blocked by layers of cubic-shaped sealing barriers, just like before the seal was broken.

"Fast forward, breaking the seal only lasts for five seconds," Butterfly urged, forming hand seals.

call!
Lan walked to the cave entrance, a lit tinderbox appearing in her hand. Hui Li didn't hesitate any longer, and together with Pan Xiong, they used the firelight to slip into the cave. Seeing that everyone had disappeared at the entrance, Die glanced around and clasped her hands together.

"seal up!"

The zigzag patterns on the sealing barrier quickly faded, emitting a red light that completely concealed the entrance to the cave.

The morning mist is thick, and the withered leaves remain deep and dark.

……

The deep cave was lit up one level at a time, and the orange flames spread inward along the hidden patterns on the stone walls, instantly reflecting four black shadows in the shape of human heads.

The heels of her ninja boots touched the edge of the steps as Hui Li followed Lan's retreating figure down the stairs.

The spiral staircase continued to extend, sometimes turning several corners and passing through several forks in the road. Bai Yan was suppressed in the underground base full of barriers, and she no longer knew how many meters she had gone underground.

Anyway, she had already walked about two hundred steps.

Upon entering the base, the three of them, including Pan Xiong, became extremely quiet. Even Lan, whose emotions had been the most volatile, appeared lifeless at this moment.

Soon.

Hui Li and the others passed through another fork in the road.

"Ughhhhhh~" "Waaaaah~"

The mournful wailing and screams came from the cave entrance on the right. After being weakened by the layers of walls, they were barely audible. If the four of them hadn't been walking very quietly, they probably wouldn't have heard these noises at all.

Hui Li glanced at the group of people at the root. Pan Xiong and the other two did not explain. Their expressions, hidden behind their masks, were completely calm, as if they had become accustomed to all of this.

"That's it."

Lan turned back and pointed to the cave entrance on the left, then quickly stepped inside. After taking a deep look at the mysterious cave entrance on the right, Hui Li quickly followed Lan's steps.

stomping on...

As soon as Hui Li entered the cave, a long corridor came into view.

The corridor was more than twice as wide as the previous staircase, and at the end was a dark wooden door. Intricate patterns, like tree roots, extended from the door and were carved into the stone walls on both sides of the corridor, making it look much more beautiful than the previous cramped staircase.

Near the ceiling hung an orange wall lamp. It wasn't very bright, but at least it wasn't as dark as before.

"call!"

Lan blew out the tinder in her hand and took the lead. Before she had taken two steps, two shadowy figures suddenly appeared in the dark corners on either side of the wooden door at the end of the corridor.

Hui Li's eyes narrowed; before the two appeared, even her glare hadn't detected their presence.

hum!
Shadows climbed the walls on either side of the wooden door, and two heads slowly peeked out from within the shadows.

The two figures materialized from the void, each wearing half a mask.

As Hui Li and the others approached, he slowly opened his eyes.

Black and red, red and black.

Two scarlet Sharingan eyes slowly opened, one on the left and one on the right. The two black tomoe rotated gently at a 180-degree angle, exuding a sinister aura.

"Chasing the Sun in Gray Glass".

Faced with the gaze of two Sharingan eyes, Lan's Adam's apple bobbed, and he quickly called out Hairi's name, stepping aside. Iwakuma and the other two also stopped and lowered their heads slightly, seemingly quite wary of the two ghostly figures on the wall.

The two Sharingan immediately focused on Hui Li.

The magatama swirls.

The shadows of the group reflected on the wall gradually distorted, and the invisible power of Yin Dun drove the shadows, surging towards Hui Li like a wave.

zizi...

Furious lightning crackled around his body, arcs of electricity spreading to form a blinding lightning armor. The shadowy figure extended to Gray Glass's feet, the scattered arcs of electricity crackling and sending white smoke billowing from it.

"What do you mean?"

Hui Li tilted her head and questioned him.

"To enter the meeting room, you must be searched; this is a rule of the Root." Butterfly whispered a reminder from behind.

The lightning-streaked soles of his shoes crushed the shadows that were spreading across the ground once again. Facing the two scarlet Sharingan eyes, Hui Li smiled and stretched out his arms:

"I'm someone who's very willing to follow the rules. If I can't get in without being searched, then I won't go in. I don't really care."

"How can I not go in? The master is waiting for you in the conference hall." As if afraid that her voice would disturb Danzo in the conference hall, Lan forcibly suppressed the volume of her voice.

"That's his business, it has nothing to do with me."

Hui Li's impolite voice echoed in the long corridor. She came to Root mainly to steal Hashirama's cells, not to be Danzo's slave and be at his beck and call. She wouldn't fall for this kind of show of force as a test of obedience.

In order to bring her into Root, Danzo killed several of his subordinates who were at the level of special Jonin, exposed the Mangekyou Sharingan, Chihaya Toru, and the Root base, and Kotoamatsukami also entered its cooldown period. The sunk cost was very high.

She has virtually no cost to her; the worst outcome is simply death, where she transforms into chakra and returns to her original body. She can then complain to Hiruzen Sarutobi and have his Mangekyou Sharingan confiscated.

"Since you won't let me in, then I'm leaving."

Seeing the two inhuman, ghostly monsters still blocking the door, Hui Li turned and left.

"It's enough!"

Lan let out a low shout, unable to tolerate Hui Li's arrogant attitude any longer, and pulled out the short knife stuck in her right thigh.

Four prints per second.

hum!
Wind Release chakra enveloped the blade, creating a piercing cutting sound like two chainsaws. Lan's eyes flashed with killing intent as she swung the wind blade swiftly towards Hai Li's heart.

With his still-developing Lightning Release chakra mode, it was impossible for Hui Li to defend against such a powerful Wind Release attack. This was why he dared to oppose Hui Li, who had killed an elite Jonin.

Buzz!
A chainsaw-like wind blade sliced ​​through the air, slashing towards Gray Glass, whose body was wreathed in lightning. In just an instant, the blade was already close to her clothes.

It was too late to dodge now. This blow would either kill him or cripple him. Lan grinned, having already sentenced Hui Li to death in his heart.

but.

What greeted him was not a raging thunderbolt, but rather—exploding fire!
call! ! !
A corner of the white cloak billowed out.

Brilliant sparks flew and turned into raging flames the moment they touched the wind blade. All the wind chakra on the blade was quickly ignited, rendering the superb nature transformation and form transformation meaningless.

The blazing flames traveled upwards along the blade, sweeping back towards Lan's hand.

Before the flames even touched his hand, the intense heat instantly scalded a large blister on the back of his hand, causing Lan to recoil in pain.

Bang!

The scalding hot dagger fell to the ground swiftly.

“Uh uh uh…”

Lan suddenly froze on the spot, enduring the sharp pain in his hand, and looked down to see a fair and delicate hand quietly inserted into his left rib.

"Ugh!"

The hand imbued with wind magic instantly sliced ​​through the skin between the ribs, and the snow-white fingers bent, gently caressing the fascia on the ribs.

Excruciating pain spread throughout his body, and the surge of adrenaline slightly numbed his nerves. Lan's eyes were bloodshot, and he dared not move an inch. His body was no harder than a sheet of paper to the wind-style attack that could tear everything apart.

"hardening!"

Seeing that Lan had been defeated in one move, Pan Xiong, who had just completed his hand seals and was covered in dense iron-gray rock, was about to go forward to help.

With one hand gripping Lan's ribs, Hui Li swiftly pointed her lightning-infused sword finger at Pan Xiong's lower abdomen.

click!
Like a spear piercing through armor, the high-energy chakra flow instantly penetrated the Earth Release technique.

A fierce glint flashed in Pan Xiong's eyes. Ignoring the sword finger that had already pierced his abdomen, he raised his knee and elbow, intending to break the hand bone.

Click!

The rock at his elbow cracked, and the Lightning Release Armor launched a fierce counterattack, shattering the Earth Release into pieces. The fingers, crackling with lightning, were as hard as if they were made of diamond! Not only were they unharmed, they also burrowed into his abdomen.

Zizizi!
The steel fingers rotated inside his body, and electric current invaded the abdominal nerve plexus, paralyzing the entire body of the bear, who was about to be attacked again, rendering him unable to move.

The Sharingan turned even more crimson.

Shadows swirled on the stone wall, and shadowy beasts climbed and paced cautiously across its surface.

sizzle!
With their tongues flicking, the water pythons, each as thick as a bowl, stretched their bodies, their scales rubbing against the wall, their watery vertical pupils coldly staring at the shadowy beasts on the wall.

(End of this chapter)