Naruto: I, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan Princess

Chapter 149 Thunder Drum Mountain

The quiet room had no windows and was dark and dust-free.

The one-eyed old man with a bandage around his right eye leaned against the back of a wooden chair. The wrinkles at the corner of his eye resembled a fan, and his once fierce face showed signs of fatigue.

The red candle on the table flickered.

The faint firelight illuminated his profile, only making his face appear even more gloomy and obscure.

"Southwestern border of the Land of Thunder...Mount Raigu..."

Ryoma Aburame repeated the tasks assigned by Danzo, his voice as cold as ever, as if he were a machine that only knew how to carry out tasks.

Danzo, his right hand resting on his scepter, silently watched Aburame Ryoma, who was bowing his head and waiting, his left eye narrowed to a slit.
"This mission is very important, and I can only feel at ease if I entrust it to you."

"..."

Ryoma Aburame remained as cold as ever, his head bowed, but Danzo keenly sensed that he was somewhat distracted.

Has anything happened recently?

He showed a rare hint of concern for his capable subordinate.

From the very beginning of the Root organization, Ryoma Aburame has been his right-hand man for over twenty years, and has gone through countless life-and-death trials. He is considered one of the people he trusts the most.

If he had to choose one person who would never betray him, it would undoubtedly be Ryoma Aburame; there would be no other candidate in the entire Root organization.

As Ryoma Aburame looked at the flickering firelight on Danzo's face, a hint of confusion shone through his cold, empty eyes behind his sunglasses:
"I... there are some things I can't remember."

"what's up?"

"do not know."

Ryoma Aburame slowly shook his head. "There is someone I know very well. I can't remember his name or his appearance, but I know that person must be very important to me."

Danzo's forehead wrinkles became increasingly deep.

The members of the Root have long severed their ties with the outside world. They have neither a past nor a future, and they exist solely to complete their missions, erasing their personal will and emotions.

Ryoma Aburame's current state is completely contrary to Root's ideals and his expectations. If Ryoma continues like this, in order not to affect Root's mission, he will have no choice but to find that person and—kill him.

Suppressing his displeasure, Danzo lowered his chin and stared intently at Ryoma Aburame, probing:
Where did you see it?

"A very familiar place, a dark room with hardly any light, it seems to be an underground base."

Dark areas or roots?
Danzo had some guesses in his mind.

What are its specific characteristics?

Unable to detect the murderous intent hidden in Danzo's words, Aburame Ryoma stared blankly at the flickering firelight on the table, muttering to himself:
"He seems to love to laugh; his smile is bright, sunny, and gentle..."

Not from the root.

Danzo's murderous intent intensified.

Chihaya Tohru is probably the one who laughs the most in the Root group, but no matter what, he can't associate that guy with a crazy smile with a sunny and gentle personality.

Ryoma Aburame was his most capable subordinate in Root, his only elite Jonin, and knew all of Root's secrets.

He absolutely cannot allow the other party to have any weaknesses, especially since these weaknesses exist in the outside world and could trigger a crisis at any time.

"Ah."

A fake smile appeared on Danzo's face, and he patted Aburame Ryoma on the shoulder:

"You've probably been too tired lately. Once you get back from this mission, I'll give you a break so I can help you find that familiar person."

"..."

Aburame Ryoma's body stiffened. Having followed Danzo for over twenty years, he knew Danzo's nature all too well. Seeing the barely concealed killing intent in Danzo's eyes, he remained silent for a moment before resolutely shaking his head.

"No need, they're probably not that important to me."

Danzo gave Aburame Ryoma a deep look, and the smile on his lips slowly faded.

This was the first time the other party had refused his orders, so it seemed necessary to investigate this person's identity thoroughly.

"We'll talk about these things when we get back. Let's go!"

"Yes!"

Ryoma Aburame nodded emphatically, turned around, and quickly left the quiet room.

call!
The cloak stirred a breeze, instantly extinguishing the already flickering flames on the table.

In the dark room, Danzo held his scepter and sat alone in a chair, like a black sculpture.

Equipment Department.

Having finished organizing their ninja tools, the group stood quietly at the door, waiting for Aburame Ryoma's arrival.

The uniform black attire and the equally indifferent eyes behind the various masks created a sense of oppression in the room simply by standing there.

The atmosphere was somewhat tense for some reason.

"May I have your name."

The girl's clear voice sounded slightly muffled beneath the mask, but it broke the silence of the room.

The woman, who was as indifferent as a puppet, opened her lifeless eyes, revealing two large dark circles under her eyes, and stared at the eerie black eyes on the owl mask in front of her.

"If you're applying for ninja tools, come back here and count them after you've collected them."

Without directly answering Hui Li's question, the woman swept her hair over her shoulders, picked up a pen and paper, and adopted a businesslike attitude.

A tool that has been completely brainwashed?
Withdrawing his gaze from the woman's dazzling chakra core, Hui Li looked up at the top of her head, where there was still no emotional light, like a lonely walking corpse.

"I'd like to ask if you have any blank sealing scrolls, and how many I can get?"

Hui Li rubbed her hands together; she had forgotten about it the last time she came to the equipment department.

Ordinary ninja tools are not very useful to her, but scrolls that can seal items are quite important. It would be a pity if she encountered some valuable items on a mission but did not prepare any extra sealing scrolls.

The intelligence report said that the mine in the Land of Lightning is very important. Danzo even sent Ryuma Aburame out, so the ore produced must be extraordinary. It's a good opportunity to make a fortune.

"The third row on the far right of the shelf, a maximum of three sheets."

"I didn't bring any ninja tools when I registered last time, and now, both of my quotas have been converted into scrolls."

The woman's breath hitched for a moment as she looked up and scrutinized the girl in front of her.
"The scrolls are precious; there are at most five."

"Thank you."

Having achieved her goal, Gray Glass quickly went to the shelf and found five scrolls.

The sealing scroll is made of wood that can conduct chakra. Not only is it expensive, but it is also often out of stock in Konoha's ninja tool shops and is difficult to buy. The scroll she had was obtained from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Now it's perfect to make up for it all at once.

Wow…

The scrolls were unrolled one by one.

The valuable chakra paper is engraved with a series of sealing incantations. The incantations are dense, but the very center circle is blank, indicating that no item is sealed inside.

The scroll was inspected to confirm that it was not damaged.

Hui Li obtained two scrolls that had been sealed multiple times and three scrolls that had been sealed once.

The ninjutsu inscribed on the sealing scroll is a typical Yin Release ninjutsu, which essentially transforms objects into virtual, intangible projections in some unknown way.

This thing is very rigid when storing items. The amount you seal at once is the same amount you must retrieve at once if you want to take them out later.

Therefore, they should be categorized according to their flexibility.

The scroll can seal large items instantly, but it can only seal once, regardless of whether the space limit has been reached.

Scrolls with multiple seals are formed by multiple smaller seals, and are usually narrower and longer than those with single seals. The scroll in Gray Glass's hand is probably capable of being sealed ten times, with ten blank circles that can be used multiple times in different categories. Satisfied, she put the scroll into her possession. The value of these five scrolls alone is equivalent to completing a top-level B-grade mission.

He returned to the group and waited with everyone.

Just a moment.

Bang!

Without hearing a sound of footsteps, Ryoma Aburame pushed open the door and walked straight into the equipment department.

"Lord Ryoma!"

Swish!
The subservience of the Roots runs deep; everyone except Hairi bowed instantly, showing respect for Danzo's capable lieutenant.

Aburame Ryoma checked the headcount to make sure everyone was accounted for, his gaze lingered slightly on Hairi, and then he gave a friendly nod.

"Come."

Seeing Ryoma Aburame beckoning to her, Kairi raised an eyebrow and quickly stepped forward.

"look up."

Swish!
More than a dozen masks were immediately pointed at Hui Li and his companion.

Ryoma Aburame calmly surveyed the crowd.

"The target of this operation is Mount Raigu in the Land of Thunder. I am the captain, and Yoru is the vice-captain. When I am not here, you must strictly follow her orders."

"Yes."
Hui Li, who had been promoted to vice captain, looked at the emotions above everyone's heads.

There was no dissatisfaction, and there were no strange incidents.

What makes the roots so reassuring is their absolute obedience, which is even somewhat terrifying.

For tools devoid of personal will, the orders from superiors to subordinates are absolute. Let alone assigning them a child as a leader, even if Aburame Ryoma ordered them to commit suicide right now, these people probably wouldn't even bat an eye.

Aburame Ryoma removed his sunglasses and put on a purplish-black mask. Kairi noticed that the pupils of his eyes hidden beneath the mask were a pale purple, almost identical to the color of her chakra.

"set off!"

A dull sound echoed in the room, and the seventeen chakra cores instantly shone brightly.

……

Deep in the forest.

A purplish-red, humid miasma filled the air, and lush green vines stretched across the bushes, resembling venomous snakes coiled in the clouds.

"Hs...hs..."

The unusually rapid breathing broke the silence of the humid rainforest.

A thin man dressed in ordinary coarse linen clothes was panting heavily as he wielded a steel knife, cutting down all the branches and vines blocking his path.

Guji!

Pulling his boots out of the muddy, rotten leaves, the man staggered and ran wildly deeper into the jungle.

Click!

His clothes were caught on plant branches, the sharp ends tearing them and leaving scarlet scratches on his brownish-red skin.

He seemed to have lost his sense of pain, frantically swinging his knife, cutting down all the vines and branches blocking his path, glancing back quickly every now and then, his eyes bloodshot as if he were trapped in an endless abyss of fear.

"Hiss..."

The stench of humus licked the back of the man's neck like a wet, slippery tongue. Ignoring the potential toxicity of the miasma, his chest heaved as he gasped for oxygen, each breath like a heavy bellows.

The chakra core within his body flickered with a faint light.

His chakra was completely depleted; if those two monsters caught up with him...

Intense fear awakens the will to survive, and the exhausted body is revitalized in the face of death.

puff!

His legs buckled and one of the man's thighs suddenly sank into a mud pit.

This is……

The man stared in horror at the pile of rotting leaves that had swallowed his legs. Foul-smelling mud oozed from the leaves, cold and viscous, as if countless invisible hands were pulling at him.

A hidden swamp.

He squeezed power out of his stiff, rock-like muscles, channeling chakra into his muscle fibers. Grabbing a vine, the man instantly used the leverage to climb out of the swamp.

woohoo...

The man's already scarce chakra became even weaker. He looked back at the direction he had come from, then looked down at the hidden swamp on the ground.

call!
The steel blade severed the vines on the right, and the man sprinted to the other side after making a turn.

Click, click, click!
A large number of branches were cut off by the steel knife, leaving conspicuous cuts. He then quickly returned the way he came, took a deep breath, pinched his nose, and jumped into the swamp.

puff!

The sludge, mixed with rotting plant remains, emitted a nauseating stench that assaulted his nostrils and made his stomach churn.

The forest suddenly became quiet after he stepped into the swamp.

This silence was more chilling than the pursuit of an enemy.

He endured the discomfort, slowly squatted down, trying to sink his body into the mud, and moved carefully, afraid of making the slightest sound.

With each step, the mud emitted a "bubbling" sound, which was particularly clear in the dead silence of the forest.

Finally, it shrank underground, hiding beneath the dead leaves.

He only dared to show his bright, sparkling eyes, cautiously observing the movements around him.

The space beneath the withered leaves was extremely cramped, and his body was huddled tightly, his knees almost touching his chin. His coarse linen clothes were soaked with mud, clinging heavily to his body and causing him great discomfort.

Breathing in the foul-smelling marsh gas, the pungent smell burned his nasal cavity and throat like flames, each breath feeling like swallowing burning coals.

Click!

The sound of the vine snapping made the man's heart tighten, and he clenched his hands and feet tightly in the mud.

Those two monsters are chasing after us!

With his mouth buried in the mud, the man's eyes, like two pebbles in the mud, stared in fear at the purplish-red mist in the sky, only to discover that within the distorted miasma, three points of light seemed to be constantly rotating...

"Did you find out, Itachi?"

In the earthen-yellow mountain valley.

Kisame Hoshigaki, with his blue hair and skin resembling a humanoid shark, leaned against a tree trunk, carrying a large sword wrapped in bandages on his back, his golden eyes revealing a hint of boredom.

"Shut up."

Wearing a black robe with red clouds, and with deep nasolabial folds on both sides of his nose, Itachi Uchiha squatted on the ground, the three tomoe in his eyes constantly rotating.

The man, who should have been hiding in the swamp, was now sunk into the hard, dry earth, with only his head protruding. His face was blank, and his eyes were staring directly at Itachi, the three crimson tomoe in his pupils incredibly eerie.

"...Land of Thunder...Southwestern border...Mount Raigu..."

"The target was on Raigu Mountain? No wonder we couldn't find it anywhere." Kisame Hoshigaki shook his stiff neck, his sharp triangular teeth grinding together in his mouth.

Leigushan again?
With a slight glint in his eyes, Uchiha keenly sensed the problem: "Why is it there? What's so special about it?"

“Thunderstone…thunderstone ore…”

With drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, the man spoke blankly, repeating himself over and over again.

(End of this chapter)