I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 29 Root Base

Konoha Village.

In the woods near Naruto's house.

Wearing a mask and a gray-white cloak, Uzuki Yugao hid her body among the dead trees and snow, looking somewhat bored at the blond child staring blankly at the wall in the room.

Before we knew it, winter had arrived.

More than three months ago, as a new recruit in the Anbu, she was temporarily transferred to contact a mysterious Uchiha girl. She witnessed firsthand how the girl "persuaded" the Third Hokage and inexplicably became the acting guardian of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

However, just two weeks later, the Uchiha girl suddenly left the village and was assassinated by the Root organization outside the village.

then……

More than a dozen elite members of the Root were wiped out.

The girl's whereabouts are unknown.

At first, the Third Hokage was very nervous and convened several meetings with his advisors, forcefully halting all of Root's activities. It is said that Shimura Danzo was greatly dissatisfied with this and slammed his fist on the table on the spot; even the Anbu guards outside could hear the argument inside.

However, as time went by, the tense atmosphere gradually dissipated.

after all……

After being assassinated, she didn't show her face for several months. It's likely that the Uchiha girl is indeed dead.

Although the Third Generation Lord severely reprimanded the Root, he probably secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This can be seen from the fact that the level of surveillance around Naruto has returned to normal.

However, thanks to that Uchiha girl, Naruto's living conditions weren't reduced; he still got his apple and eggs every morning without fail, and his daily routine became much more regular. If you ignored the fact that he would stare at the wall for hours every day, he was almost no different from a normal child.

"Speaking of which, this seems to be a habit that girl taught us before she died, something about paying attention to a balanced diet..."

Uzuki Yugao yawned and couldn't help but start daydreaming.

"How boring. I heard that Captain Kakashi recently got a new recruit, a brat from the Uchiha clan named Itachi or something, I haven't met him yet..."

"That Uchiha Hikaru, could she really be dead... Well, it's normal for her to be targeted by that person."

Even members of the Anbu didn't have a good impression of Root and Danzo.

It was just a pity that a life that was about the same age as her, or even a little younger, had fallen like a comet.

suddenly.

A faint commotion could be heard not far away.

It seemed that several other members of the surveillance team were arguing about something; although their voices were not loud, they were quite obvious.

Uzuki Yugao's eyebrows twitched, and she finally couldn't help but turn around: "Hey, what are you doing? Making such a commotion, aren't you afraid the kids inside will hear..."

The words came to an abrupt halt.

Uzuki Yugao's eyes widened suddenly, her mouth agape beneath the mask, revealing a look of utter disbelief: "Y-you are...Hikaru..."

"Uchiha Hikaru".

"Miss Rabbit, it's been a long time. How have you been?"

Uchiha Hikaru smiled slightly.

Before she finished speaking, she had already leaped into the treetop like a ghost, and squatted side by side with Uzuki Yugao on the tree trunk.

As she approached, Uzuki Yugao instinctively reached behind her back as a defensive gesture, but before she could finish, her wrist was firmly grasped by the other woman. The touch was so gentle, like a lover's caress, devoid of any passion. Yet, Uzuki Yugao felt as if a boulder was pressing on her wrist, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free.

"take it easy."

Uchiha Hikaru exhaled softly, a cloud of white mist appearing in the cool air: "I am alive, not a ghost."

As they were talking.

Uchiha Hikaru casually glanced at Naruto inside the room before looking away, and said nonchalantly, "Although it's a little later than we agreed, I'm back safely at least... Were you guys keeping an eye on Naruto? Thanks for looking after him for so long."

"I……"

Uzuki Yugao opened her mouth, wanting to explain something, but didn't know where to begin.

She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that the girl in front of her... although she had a smiling face, was more dangerous than before.

"I have a question for you."

Uchiha Hikaru cut to the chase: "Where is Danzo?"

"?"

"I don't want to repeat myself. If you don't know, tell me where the person who knows is."

"Miss Hikari, you wouldn't be thinking of... seeking revenge against Lord Danzo, would you?"

Uzuki Yugao seemed to have guessed something: "I heard..."

"Shh-"

Uchiha Hikaru raised a finger to his lips, interrupting Uzuki Yugao: "Answer my question. Afterwards, you can report to whomever you like; I won't stop you."

"..."

Uzuki Yugao swallowed hard, her eyes darting around in a struggle before she slowly raised her hand and pointed in a direction under Uchiha Hikaru's watchful gaze: "Over there, about twelve kilometers from the residential area, there's a large cypress forest. In the northeast corner of the forest, there's an underground base..."

The voice just fell.

Uchiha Hikaru's figure darted out and disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Uzuki Yugao finally relax, lifting her mask with lingering fear to wipe the cold sweat from her temples: "This is bad, I have to inform the Third Hokage immediately... Something terrible has probably happened at Root!"

……

Uchiha Hikaru's speed is very fast.

The two months of training in the Dragon Ball world brought her significant improvement. Under the constant guidance of her two "teachers," Kokoro and Minato Namikaze, her chakra control improved at a rate that was almost visible to the naked eye.

Although I haven't mastered the "flying technique" yet.

But that's mainly because her balance hasn't developed yet, just like someone who's just started learning to roller skate and can't control their direction well.

If she simply attaches chakra to her feet to increase her travel speed, then her current level is already comparable to most Kage-level powerhouses in this world.

Just over ten minutes later.

Uchiha Hikaru passed through the residential area and sped along the suburban road for a while before arriving at the grove of trees that Uzuki Yugao had mentioned.

I looked around but didn't see anyone alive.

So, Uchiha Hikaru used the Flying Technique to lift his body into the air, soaring forward over the trees that were thirty or forty meters high, looking down at the ground below.

soon……

A roughly square-shaped concrete building, surrounded by layers of shrubs, caught her attention.

"If Uzuki Yugao wasn't lying, this should be the Root's base."

Uchiha Hikaru looked around a few more times, but still didn't see anyone nearby.

That's normal.

There weren't many people in the Root organization to begin with, and they had already exhausted their resources to assassinate her. Given Shimura Danzo's extremely cowardly nature, he would most likely adopt a strategy of shrinking and lying low when manpower was insufficient. If you want to see him, you'll have to crawl into this rat hole first.

or……

There is also an even simpler and more direct way to enter.

"Susanoo, Third Form... Activate!"

(End of this chapter)