He was in Konoha, and his domineering aura was overflowing.

He should have used illusion magic to control the enemy and then used swordsmanship to finish them off.

Who would have thought that this brat was so fast that he didn't give anyone a chance to use illusions.

That's not how ninja duels are!

You should first try to gather information by exchanging words with us, then assess our abilities through repeated battles, and finally use a few ninja tools and ninjutsu to torture each other.

Who comes up here and kicks someone in the chin without even saying a word?!

The headbands we're wearing are from Konoha!

Dogs don't need hands.

Whoosh!

Fifty Strings appeared before them in a flash, looking down at them from above.

Chance!

The geisha-masked ninja felt a chill run down his spine. His hands flew wildly, wildly... Where are my hands?!

His gaze was blank.

The once nimble hands had vanished, replaced by two beautiful cross-sections, reddish-white.

If the medical ninjas from Konoha Hospital were to see this, they would definitely give it high praise.

The person who performs the surgery must have extraordinary expertise in orthopedics, something that a rigid, methodical person couldn't achieve.

Isogen smiled slightly, his right hand resting flat on his chest, his chakra scalpel seemingly glowing, his expression humble.

"The doctors at the hospital all praised me for being very talented in this area."

"Please rest assured, the pain management services you need will be provided to you without any shortage of care. You're welcome."

Thank you, Mom!

The two men's eyes were bloodshot, and the fox-masked ninja, whose limbs were still intact, pressed his hand against the forehead protector he was wearing.

"Look closely, we are Konoha ninjas!!"

Isogen raised an eyebrow slightly: "Sorry, I didn't notice."

next second.

puff.

"Now we have everything."

The fox-masked ninja's pupils trembled violently as he noticed a detail in a daze.

With his reflexes, he could have easily dodged that slow, deliberate strike.

Poison!

If you have the ability, why did you poison us?!

They have no sense of martial ethics!

"You should be glad there aren't any female dogs on the street today, hmm? Males aren't bad either."

"Waaaaah!"

The piercing whimpers rose and fell, like a joyful symphony playing under the night sky.

歘.

The Body Flicker Technique brought him to the scene. Sakumo Hatake, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, was stunned by the steaming scene before him.

The fresh organs, removed from the body, emitted an astonishing heat that clashed with the chill of the night sky, creating a wisp of white mist.

A child, less than half the height of the two people opposite him, was using a chakra scalpel in one hand and a palm technique in the other, groping the two objects in front of him that could no longer be called human.

Isogen glanced sideways, a slight smile curving her lips: "It's Lord White Fang. I just caught two scoundrels trying to infiltrate Konoha and molest minors, and we're interrogating them."

As for the cost of eliminating these two Root ninjas?

Let's scrap it first.

Sakumo Hatake remained silent, staring at the scene before him—a scene that even the harshest interrogation rooms in Konoha might not have. He hesitated, unsure whether to sheathe his short blade or draw it.

Then look at the two Root ninjas, who have been tortured beyond recognition.

With his strength and status, he could tell at a glance the difference between these two ninjas and the Anbu. Only the deepest darkness of Konoha could produce such ninjas.

"..."

To be honest, if he hadn't met Isogen a few times and been familiar with the Root ninjas, it would have been difficult for him to determine which side was the villain based solely on the scene before him.

Suddenly, Hatake Sakumo's ears twitched, and he flashed forward to stop the approaching ninja.

After he left, Wu Xian focused all his attention back on the two small, miscellaneous fish that had been delivered.

More ninjas arrived after hearing the commotion.

Sakumo Hatake was blocking them from the outside, while Yoka Igogaku was undergoing surgery inside.

After having someone stand guard outside, Hatake Sakumo rushed back to the scene.

What I saw was Wu Xuexian Youge, who had already put away his scalpel, and two unique works of art.

Under the mournful moonlight, a little boy wields a knife, and two bodies, their muscles throbbing and bloodshot.

This combination surprised even Sakumo Hatake, a seasoned ninja.

Root ninjas are selected only from the elite, and in some ways they are even stronger than the Anbu directly under the Hokage. After all, it is normal for ninjas who enter Root to lose themselves.

Wiping my blood-stained palms with a bath towel, the glaring red marks on the towel resembled blooming plum blossoms.

Wu Zixian turned around, revealing a smile, with red lips and white teeth.

"Lord White Fang, these two small fry are very loyal and we can't get any information out of them. Let's take them to the Hokage."

Bai Ya nodded slightly, remaining silent.

What's done is done, we've already come this far...

Taking two steps closer, his keen senses as a powerful ninja alerted him to notice that the two men appeared to have suffered injuries on their chins, the force and angle of which were just right to leave them speechless.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Chapter 26 Kicking the Door

The Naruto Building.

Even as the monkey flies and the sun rises, he continues to write furiously.

He was already very familiar with handling these government affairs, and the reason he was working overtime today was because the funds from Daming were about to be allocated.

You can't afford to mess with money.

The ninjas work so hard on missions just for this little bit of money.

"The medical department's funding cannot be reduced, the compensation for ninjas killed in the war needs to be approved more quickly, the police department... well, let's stick to the previous choice, the ANBU's operating funds and equipment upgrades must be put on the agenda as soon as possible."

After all that trouble, Hiruzen Sarutobi was increasingly troubled by the rapidly dwindling budget.

Money, oh money, money is a good thing, but good things are never easy to get.

"or."

The pen tip stopped at the mark at the base. Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

"No."

The Root and the Dark Bureau are intertwined, and if the funds for the Root are cut off, Danzo, given his personality, will definitely take them back from him. It's better to avoid trouble.

Thinking of his old friend, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but feel helpless.

He was appointed Hokage in a time of crisis, but Konoha was both powerful and weak at that time.

The barriers between the major ninja clans remain, and the power of the ninja clan's strongest members has visibly diminished. Let alone compared to their teacher, maintaining the position of Hokage is no easy feat. Helplessly, they can only rely on other members of the Shadow Guard and students of the Second Hokage to make the difference.

Danzo's free expression is the most striking.

But he was too free.

He assassinates nobles, important figures from other ninja villages, geniuses from ninja villages, and even wild geniuses—he doesn't even spare his own geniuses!

However, the last one was because he tacitly approved it behind the scenes.

The ninja clan is still too strong; they have to be weakened.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.

"This is all for Konoha."

Thinking of this, he picked up the pipe beside him and was about to take a puff when suddenly his mind went blank. He keenly sensed the murderous aura directed at tobacco outside the door, extinguished the tobacco, opened the hidden compartment, and put the pipe in. His movements were so practiced that it seemed he had rehearsed them countless times.

boom!

The doorbell elbows against the wall, and Wushu maintains a smile, carrying a human-shaped artwork in one hand.

"Lord Hokage, I've caught two scoundrels who were trying to infiltrate Konoha to commit lewd acts."

Hatake Sakumo followed closely behind.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's attention was first drawn to the unique posture of Igogaku Yuuka, who was draped in a white bath towel, before being shifted by the conversation to the unidentified humanoid object he was carrying.

His gaze fell on the Leaf Village headband worn by the Root ninja, and he could sense the Root ninja's aura almost hitting him.

'Danzo!'

Almost instantly, Hiruzen Sarutobi's anger surged.

"Hokage-sama." Sakumo Hatake spoke up in time, bringing Hiruzen Sarutobi back to his senses, who was staring at Danzo Shimura, who was at the Root base with one eye.

"Thank you for your hard work, Shuo Mao."

Suppressing his anger, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke to Sakumo Hatake.

Unexpectedly, Hatake Sakumo shook his head slightly, his gaze falling on Igogen Yogo, who had already casually tossed the pipe and tobacco from Sarutobi Hitzen's drawer out the window.

"He did it all by himself. By the time I arrived, he had already captured those two... suspected spy ninjas."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was slightly taken aback.

"But their wounds."

"It was left over from the subsequent interrogation."

"..."

With her delicate face raised, Yuge Wuxian smiled slightly: "Don't worry, Lord Hokage. Although their life force is a bit weak, speaking is not a problem. If it really doesn't work, I'll ask Uncle Yamanaka for help."

"...Ahem, Yu Ge. Could you please tell me what happened?" Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath and asked with a kind expression.

"Um……"

A concise and to-the-point statement.

Hiruzen Sarutobi has basically figured out what happened.

The problem lies entirely with those two Root ninjas and his old friend.

After all, he knew very well what Wuxian's activities had been like over the past year. Most of the Root ninjas who were injured were treated at the Root base, so it was unlikely that they would have interacted with Wuxian at the Konoha Hospital. In addition, with this commotion, the memory of Danzo asking him for people a year ago automatically surfaced.

The only thing that puzzled him was Isogen's inexplicably warm yet cold smile.

The small fry of the Root ninjas, the barking of puppies, and...

"These little fish look stupid and not smart at all. The big dog that's training them must be dumb too. It's so pitiful. Should we go to the Inuzuka family and ask which dog food is the most nutritious?"

"Ah……"

Hiruzen Sarutobi swore on his Hokage status that he was not laughing on purpose.

After laughing, a surge of anger immediately followed.

'Danzo!'

He was furious, but being a close friend he knew well, he had developed a resistance to Danzo's various actions and focused more of his attention on Igarashi.