C36 The Depressed Danzou!

"What did you say?" The Leader of the Root Force stood frozen for a moment, stunned.

With a rueful smile, the Perception Ninja repeated, "Captain, that man is really getting further away from us by the second. His speed far exceeds ours. We simply can't keep up with him!"

A look of shock crossed the Leader of the Root Force's face.

He thought, "He has a disguise that's beyond our ability to see through and a speed that even an Elite Jonin like me can't match. Could it be that his strength has actually surpassed that of an Elite Jonin and reached the Kage Level?"

The Leader of the Root Force quickly formulated a new strategy.

"I will go to Lord Danzou and brief him on the situation."

"The rest of you, continue to follow this trail and search for any other clues that might have been left behind."

The Shade operatives nodded in agreement, affirming, "Understood, Captain!"

From the instant Tenno's identity was compromised, he transformed into a shadow fleeing into the darkness.

His power was not yet enough to stand against the entire Root organization.

Therefore, he was well aware that once his identity was exposed to the members of Shade, even if he managed to escape Konoha, he would be pursued by Shade's ninjas.

He couldn't bear such consequences!

Beneath the dim glow of the night, Tenno methodically stowed the sandbags he had been bound with into his storage ring.

The sandbags on his person totaled fifty kilograms.

As the weight of the sandbags diminished, Tenno's body felt lighter and his speed increased dramatically.

The biting wind swept past his ears as he raced through the night, swift as lightning.

Tenno held his breath, constantly on alert for any Shade members catching up to him.

Once all the sandbags were removed, and even without having learned to use the Eight Directions Hidden Gates, his speed had reached that of a Jonin.

The Shade ninjas would need to put in a great deal of effort to keep pace with him.

His Concealment Mask required only a minute to reset. After that minute, he could wear it again to completely obscure his presence.

At that point, no matter what, the Shade ninjas would be unable to find him.

"These Shade ninjas actually didn't catch up? They're too slow."

Having covered a good distance, Tenno looked back to assess the ninjas' progress. He saw that they were increasingly lagging behind, their pace nowhere near his.

A sigh of relief escaped him.

He had indeed underestimated the speed of these Root ninjas.

Tenno quickly came to understand why he had overestimated the speed of these ninjas from the Root. His only point of reference had been Guy Might, an Elite Jonin with exceptional strength. Consequently, Tenno had subconsciously set his expectations for Jonin-level speed based on Guy Might's rapid pace. However, not all Jonin were masters of Body Technique like Guy Might. To put it plainly, Guy Might was the swiftest Jonin in Konoha Village. Tenno, skilled in Body Technique himself, could withstand Guy Might's rapid strikes, which explained why the Root ninjas found it difficult to catch him.

At that moment, a system notification sounded: "Concealment Mask cooldown complete." Any remaining anxiety in Tenno's heart dissipated. He smirked at the Root ninjas lagging far behind and thought, "Goodbye, you Root fools." With the Concealment Mask on, Tenno disappeared, his figure and aura completely erased from existence.

"How does it stand?"

Danzou Shimura's voice was stern as he questioned the ninja kneeling before him. The ninja's face, though hidden by a mask, betrayed his nervousness. Suppressing his fear, he quickly responded, "Lord Danzou, the Sharingan we collected has been stolen by the thief."

"What?" Danzou Shimura exclaimed, his anger flaring. "Are you all useless? To let a thief take the Sharingan!"

The Leader of the Root Force spoke solemnly, "The blame is mine, my lord. I never expected someone to boldly impersonate you and fool us. His art of disguise was so convincing that even our Perception Ninjas were deceived."

"Those are just pathetic excuses," Danzou Shimura retorted angrily. His eyes turned cold as he said, "Are you aware of the grave consequences for failing to perform your duties?"

The color drained from the Leader of the Root Force's face beneath his mask. Without hesitation, he drew his sword and slashed at his own left arm. His arm fell to the ground, blood spurting wildly.

This was the severe punishment for failing in the Root Force, a stark reminder that not even the Leader was spared from such brutal discipline. The loss of an arm was a dire consequence, and the Leader of the Root Force knew all too well the weight of his actions.

This was the punishment for a dereliction of duty by a ninja of the Root Force. Not even the leader of the Root could escape it.

The leader was acutely aware of what losing an arm meant for him.

It meant he would soon be ousted from his position as captain, relegated to being just another expendable member within the Root.

At that moment, Danzou had already moved on to another location.

Although he was fuming about the Sharingan theft, Danzou couldn't refuse a late-night summons from Hiruzen Sarutobi, given his role as the minister of the Root Force.

Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi drew on his tobacco pipe.

Narrowing his eyes at Danzou Shimura, he said slowly, "Danzou, I know that the Uchiha's Sharingan are now in your hands, but since they belong to the village, I think you should entrust them to me for safekeeping."

It was a blatant power grab.

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzou Shimura was so angry he nearly cursed out loud.

No wonder Hiruzen had previously taken a hands-off approach, leaving him to handle the situation entirely.

So this was Hiruzen's play all along.

Now, Sarutobi was even using his position as Hokage and the village's authority to pressure him.

He was nothing but a hypocrite.

Danzou was already livid about the Sharingan being stolen.

Now his face turned even more sullen.

With a troubled voice, he said, "Sarutobi, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. The Sharingan were stolen by a thief tonight, and my Root Force members have been searching for this person all night without a trace."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes squinted even more, his voice growing colder as he said, "Do you think I would believe such an excuse? Danzou, you think too little of me."

Danzou felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.

It wasn't an excuse. It was the truth.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't believe him, thinking he was making up reasons to embezzle the Sharingan for himself.

He felt deeply aggrieved.

Danzou had been increasingly insubordinate, blatantly disregarding orders. Now, he was under suspicion for coveting the Sharingan, a prized treasure of great significance.

Hiruzen knew it was time to reaffirm his authority as the Hokage.

"Your Root Force has proven completely ineffectual, incapable of handling even this straightforward mission. The organization can no longer justify its existence."

A palpable tension filled the space between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzou Shimura.