Naruto: I, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan Princess

Chapter 162 I don't know (5k)

Sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dappled shadows.

The spiky-haired boy and Ryoma, wearing sunglasses, squatted on the ground, digging through the soil together and pulling out the earthworms one by one.

Why do we need to dig for earthworms?

The boy helped Ryoma dig for a long time, until they dug a deep pit before he remembered to ask him something.

"They always burrow into the soil, trying to help them get some sun."

This is how Ryoma answered.

The possessed Ryoma Aburame watched as his former self stretched each earthworm flat into a single strip and laid it out to dry in the sun, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his usually indifferent lips.

"Earthworms will die if exposed to sunlight."

The boy smiled and warned him, then dug up a mound of soil to cover the tormented earthworm.

"Isn't it tragic to not even see the sunlight?"

Ryoma let Danzo bury the earthworms he had painstakingly dug out, his head bowed, an indescribable loneliness on his face.

"Is the fate of insects to live in dark, damp darkness, never able to see the light?"

"Do you think so?"

The boy dug up the buried earthworms and placed them on a soft mound of soil.

When the bright red earthworms come into contact with the scorching sun, they twist and curl up, frantically plunging their heads into the soil and their bodies undulating as they surge deeper into the earth.

"Isn't that right?" Ryoma looked at the earthworm that was avoiding the sunlight, its arms tightly wrapped around itself, as if it were feeling the same way.

"of course not."

The spiky-haired boy smiled and gently scooped up the mound of soil, placing it under Longma's lowered head. He rubbed the soil between his hands, and it instantly became loose, with bright red earthworms burrowing downwards from the cracks.

"Look, isn't it also searching for its own sun?"

"sun?"

The two dragon-horses, one large and one small, raised their heads in unison, and time and space reached a unity at this moment.

"Insects also have their own sun. However, their sun is not in the vast sky, but in the damp and cold underground."

The boy smiled and pointed to the earthworms that were constantly sinking:

"Ryoma, darkness is the sunlight for insects!"

Darkness is the only light. Aburame Ryoma repeatedly pondered the boy's words, his violet eyes growing brighter and brighter, just like his childhood self.

Before he could even think about it.

wow...

Fragments of memory shattered, and countless lights and shadows flashed by.

The scene freezes the moment the naive Ryoma Aburame stands up and grows taller.

Boom!
Aburame Ryoma stared blankly ahead.

A dark and quiet basement.

The flickering candlelight cast shadows on the man's hardened face, and the orange glow in his eyes flickered uncertainly, as if he were making a difficult decision.

"what happened to you?"

Uncontrollable sounds escaped his mouth, and he knew he had entered another memory.

Upon seeing Ryoma Aburame arrive, the man's expression softened: "Hiruzen wants me to establish another organization to help him manage Konoha."

"Isn't one secret service unit enough?"

Ryoma really couldn't understand the Third Hokage's thoughts.

"You do not understand."

The man shook his head, his eyes fixed on the darkness before him.

"The Anbu are all former subordinates of the teacher and people from various families. Hiruzen has no power of his own, and his strength and achievements are not convincing to the public."

In the current situation, only the two of us joining forces can subdue all the major families.

"So he wants me to form a secret branch within the secret branch, working in the open and in the shadows to eliminate all factors that threaten the stability of Konoha."

"I don't understand politics."

He removed the mask belonging to the Dark Division from his face, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it in front of the man. Ryoma's purple eyes also flickered with fire.

"Just tell me if you need anything."

"happy."

The man's smile was radiant, a smile that couldn't be hidden even in the dark, quiet room. Ryoma, in his realistic state, looked at Danzo and felt that face was both familiar and strange.

"I've made up my mind! The organization will be called Root, the Root of Konoha!"

Young Danzo felt that his talent for naming things was very strong, and looked at Ryoma with great pride.

"Ah."

The dismissive tone abruptly stopped Danzo's laughter, and he suppressed his mirth: "If Ryoma joins, how about I make you the captain of Root?"

"it's up to you."

He remained as indifferent as ever, which made Danzo shake his head helplessly.

"Then let's have our root commander give ourselves a new code name!"

Codename?

Ryoma Aburame frowned. He remembered that he had never had a code name in Root. If he needed to hide his identity, he would usually wear a mask when going on a mission, and then everyone would call him Captain.

"earthworm."

Without a second thought, the young Ryoma revealed his code name.

"You should just give up!"

Danzo quickly waved his hand, not wanting to listen to him speak.

"The head of the root unit is called an earthworm! What were you thinking? How am I supposed to recruit people now? Your real name sounds impressive, so from now on your code name in the root unit will be 'Dragon Horse'!"

"Same."

"How exactly are they the same?!"

Looking at Danzo in front of him, whose spiky hair was standing on end in a frenzy, the future Ryoma Aburame scratched his head, still not understanding why the other was so angry.

They are clearly the same.

Kaka!

The scene before my eyes gradually froze, covered with serpentine cracks. Old memories shattered, and new scenes began to emerge anew.

Having already gained experience, Ryoma Aburame remained calm and stood quietly in place, waiting.

Light and shadow change.

Soon the light became bright.

The rows of incandescent lights overhead were a bit glaring, a cold wind was blowing, and the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant.

"Lord Ryoma, excuse me."

Aburame Ryoma snapped out of his daze and quickly stepped aside.

The medicine bottles clinked together, making a crisp sound. A nurse pushing a medical cart passed by, nodded to him, and then hurriedly ran towards the ward.

His body naturally followed, and he walked behind the nurse toward the ward.

Click.

The door opened, and the two entered the ward one after the other.

A shirtless man lay on the hospital bed, his bloodied chest heaving, his breathing growing weaker and weaker. Chihaya Toru, who was as thin as a monkey, was covered in sweat, his hands covering his wounds, and emerald green Yang Release power was constantly pouring into him.

next to.

Danzo sat in his seat with a gloomy face, looking at his close friend who had fallen into a coma without saying a word.

"he is?"

The dragon horse from countless years ago asked on his behalf.

"He is Uchiha Kagami, my dearest friend!" Danzo said, resting his chin on his hands, his eyes dark.

Is it the disciple of the second generation?
The ethereal Aburame Ryoma looked at Uchiha Kagami lying on the bed with his face covered in blood and was astonished. Who could have beaten him up like this?

soon.

He answered the question for him.

Ryoma pulled out a piece of intelligence:
"Uchiha Yue, male, elite Jonin, skilled in swordsmanship. His father was Uchiha Setsuna, the former leader of the Uchiha Hawk Faction."

Because his father's organization of the Uchiha clan's rebellion was discovered in advance by the Second Hokage, he was imprisoned. From then on, Uchiha Yutaka harbored hatred for Konoha and frequently made statements that sowed discord between the Uchiha and Konoha.

He has been frequently seen near Konoha Prison recently, his intentions are unclear.

Upon hearing the information about the enemy, Danzo's eyes flashed with murderous intent and ferocity:

"These ungrateful puppies."

When Uchiha Setsuna rebelled, it was because Kagami had discovered it beforehand. The teacher, being merciful, let him go, but instead of being grateful, he dared to attack Kagami!

“We have no evidence, and the other party is also from the Uchiha clan, so strictly speaking, it is a family matter of the Uchiha, and it is not easy to arrest them.”

"They are not entitled to use the same surname as Jing."

Roots don't need evidence.

Danzo slowly stood up, his bloodshot eyes looking at Uchiha Kagami, who was lying on the hospital bed, barely alive.

His breath grew weaker and weaker, and Chihaya was sweating profusely with anxiety, but in the end, she was unable to heal the pierced heart.

Blood flowed along the edge of the bed, and the green light grew dimmer and dimmer.

"Gather your men, I want him dead!"

The deep voice carried a terrifying hatred, and the young Longma lowered his head, saying nothing more.

night.

Boom!

Thunder roared in the darkness, and large raindrops poured down like a torrential downpour.

Ryoma Aburame and a dozen or so ninjas wearing elaborately patterned masks formed a semicircle, and the illusory and real Ryoma gradually overlapped.

Danzo stood in the center of the crowd, repeatedly slamming Uchiha Takuro's head against the ground until it was a bloody mess. A woman, holding two crying children, knelt on the ground, shivering from the rain.

"Didn't you say you had nothing to do with this? Tell me! Where were you that day?"

boom!
The thunder and rain could not mask Danzo's anger.

Uchiha Yu's handsome face was completely smashed, and his bloody face mixed with mud made him look like a hideous faceless man.

"Uchiha Kagami... a traitor to his clan, a lackey of Konoha... he deserves to die!"

Despite having lost his teeth and speaking with a lisp, Uchiha Yue stubbornly refused to back down even after being beaten to his knees.

"Good! It's good that you admit it!"

Danzo nodded, his eyes blazing with even more murderous intent.
"You have committed murder of your comrade! I sentence you to death!"

"You're not qualified... Ah!!!"

With two fingers poking through the Sharingan like eagle claws, Danzo gripped Uchiha Yue's skull tightly and lifted him off the ground.

He screamed madly, his body trembling with pain.

"I deal with people like you, understand?"

thump!
Danzo threw Uchiha Yutaka into a puddle, where muddy water and blood mixed and flowed in all directions.

"Kill them."

The cold command echoed in the rainy night as a kunai pierced Uchiha Yue's chest with pinpoint accuracy, silencing his screams abruptly.

"Wow wow wow!"

The baby's cries intensified, and the woman holding the child turned blue with fright, trembling all over but not daring to beg for mercy, only lowering her head and weeping.

The Root members, forming a semi-circle, stared at each other, rubbing their hands together in their pockets for kunai, but none of them dared to make a move. Uchiha Yue had deserved to kill his comrade, but his wife and children were innocent, and they couldn't bring themselves to lay a hand on innocent women and children.

This is also against the rules of Konoha.

Whoosh!
Whizzing!

Three shuriken, arranged in a triangular formation, pierced the rain and precisely pierced the throats of the three men.

The child's cries stopped abruptly, and the blood spread outwards as the rain washed over it. The Root members who were watching were stunned.

Danzo withdrew his hand, placing it behind his back, his sharp, piercing eyes seeming to pierce the very souls of everyone present.
"It was because of a moment of compassion that the teacher spared Uchiha Setsuna's child, which led to the tragic death of Kagami."

I will never make that mistake again!
From the day the Root was founded, it has only one purpose: to ensure the harmony and stability of Konoha. I will spare no effort to achieve this.

I know you're in a difficult position, so I'll take care of it all!
From this day forward, you are merely blades under my command, Danzo Shimura. All sins will be borne by me, the one wielding the blade!

You are innocent. The only one who should go to hell in the future is me, Shimura Danzo!
Did you all understand?

With an imposing presence, Danzo's words resonated powerfully, and the eyes of the Root members gradually shifted from confusion to determination:
"Yes, leader!"

"Now! Raise your knives and obey my orders!"

"Yes!!!"

Boom!

Thunder roared across the sky.

In the rainy night, the Root ninja roared and raised his kunai, countless blades stabbing wildly at the motionless corpse on the ground, the thick blood instantly staining the entire puddle red.

Danzo turned and slowly left.

His hands, clenched into fists behind his back, trembled uncontrollably.

Ignoring the mangled corpse, Ryoma Aburame broke away from the crowd and went behind Danzo, using his body to firmly shield Danzo's trembling hands.

Neither of them spoke, and they continued walking in the heavy rain, one after the other.

"Ryoma."

"I'm here."

"You are the only person I trust the most."

"My pleasure."

Two equally deep voices echoed one after the other in the rainy night.

"if……"

"If what?"

"If one day... I become hopelessly mired in darkness." Danzo slowly stopped, turned to look at Ryuma, his eyes filled with an indescribable determination:
"You must kill me!"

Boom!

A terrifying flash of lightning illuminated their faces for a moment, but this time, Ryoma Aburame did not respond to the sun that belonged to him.

"This is my order!"

Danzo emphasized it again.

"……Yes."

The extremely hoarse voice was barely audible. Ryoma Aburame, who came from the future, gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Boom!

Lightning flashed across the sky, and the rain curtain seemed to hang like pearls in mid-air.

The scene began to rotate again, and endless darkness enveloped Aburame Ryoma's body.

Wow!

The icy water crashing down on his head jolted him awake.

The whip tip shrieked as it struck him hard, the sharp barbs piercing his chest flesh like needles.

One pull!
Blood gushed from his chest, the skin and flesh torn off by the barbs, causing a burning, stinging pain.

"hiss!"

Ryoma Aburame gasped in pain, and before he could react, a large, strong hand grabbed his wet hair and forced him to lift his head.

What came into view was a cold, dark room.

His hands and feet were tied to a stone pillar, surrounded by a dense array of knives, needles, branding irons, and other instruments of torture.

The Iwagakure ninja, dressed in a red ninja outfit, stared at him menacingly, one hand gripping his hair, the other holding a dagger, its sharp, cold blade pressed tightly against his right cheek.

"I'll ask, you answer, it'll save everyone a lot of trouble, understand?"

"I don't know anything, ahhh!"

The blade was deeply embedded in Aburame Ryoma's right cheek. The man gritted his teeth and twisted the dagger, gouging out his bright red gums.

"What organization are you from? Who is your leader? What's the name of that Wind Release ninja who blew up the armory? Which way did he run off to?"

Whoosh!

Ryoma Aburame gasped for breath, trying to ease the pain in his face:
"Huff... I... I don't remember!"

A dagger was stuck in his cheek, and every word he spoke was accompanied by excruciating pain.

rub!
The dagger was pulled from his face, blood mixed with milky white insect eggs stuck to the blade.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember, we have plenty of time to play around.” The Iwagakure ninja threw the blade into the basin of water, picked up a steel needle, and pressed the sharp tip against his fingernail.

Aburame Ryoma trembled all over.

"You can call me anytime you remember," the Cloud Ninja said with a cruel smile, twisting his fingers hard.

Creak! ! !

The long, slender fingers were snapped off instantly, and then the steel needle pierced deep into the nail bed!
As if electrocuted, Aburame Ryoma screamed and struggled frantically, but he could not escape the shackles of his body. Even his chakra, which he used to control with ease, was sealed and could not be mobilized at all.

Longma chewed his teeth so hard they clattered, shaking his head frantically without uttering a word.

Then came the real nightmare.

Waterboarding, whipping, cutting flesh, electric chair...

I was plunged into boundless darkness, and all I could feel was the pain that went deep into my soul. Under this endless torment, time, space, and even life itself lost their meaning.

He had lost track of how long it had lasted, and only one belief remained in his mind: he must not reveal Danzo's information!
until……

Boom!

The blood-stained door shattered with a crash, and long-lost white light shone in from the outside, while countless dust particles swirled in the air.

Locked in an iron cage, the tattered dragon horse squinted as it looked ahead.

Bathed in blinding white light, a man with one arm charred and carbonized, and a terrifying bloody hole in his right eye, stumbled in from outside the door, his black cloak seemingly soaked in blood.

"Ryoma, I'm here."

"I...I don't know."

As the man slowly approached, Aburame Ryoma's eyes widened in terror, and his body trembled violently: "I don't know... I really don't know anything..."

"You...you don't recognize me?"

The man stared intently at the mangled, bloody human figure, with only a thin, damp line visible below his left eye, the only intact eye.

"I do not know."

As if he had gone mad, Ryoma Aburame repeated this phrase over and over again, having forgotten even the only belief that had sustained him.

"It's ok."

The winds of freedom shatter the cage.

With his charred right hand gently stroking Ryoma's blood-scabbed hair, the man's blood-stained face revealed a sunny and gentle smile, just like their first encounter.

"Let's get to know each other again. My name is Shimura Danzo. What's yours?"

"I have no idea……"

"I know, you are Aburame Ryoma!"

“…Aburame…Aburame…Ryoma…” Ryoma murmured his name, raising his head and gazing at the figure illuminated by the dim light ahead.

The humble insect, unable to approach the sunlight, found its own sun at this moment.

The figure gradually disappeared.

The mottled bloodstains on the ground turned into a pitch-black reflection, the scarlet moon climbed into the sky, and Longma's eyes were filled with tears. Before him was only darkness and nothingness.

I remembered!
I remember everything!

Danzo!

(End of this chapter)