Chapter 44: Chapter 44
Late at night.
Leaf Village.
Root Base.
The guards of the Root Base were still vigilantly guarding the base.
Suddenly, a pitch-black object was thrown in from the well at the base's entrance, startling the two gatekeepers who hurried over to investigate the situation.
"This is..."
"Aburame Tatsuma?"
The expressions of the two gatekeepers changed drastically.
The object that had fallen at the entrance was indeed the body of Aburame Tatsuma.
Aburame Tatsuma's body, even his head, was penetrated by sharp wooden spikes. Dozens of wounds were protruding with wooden spikes, looking as if a shrub had grown from within his body.
"This is..."
"A Wood Release technique?"
The two gatekeepers immediately reported to Danzo Shimura.
Aburame Tatsuma was once one of Danzo's personal guards. Not only was the man killed, but his body was also thrown into the Root Base, which was clearly a provocation to Root.
The biggest problem was...
The killer was highly likely to be Akihara Kagura!
After all, the gatekeepers of the Root Base had just driven away Akihara Kagura. Aburame Tatsuma was killed by a Wood Release, and his body was thrown in, highly likely to be a retaliation from the boy!
Upon seeing Aburame Tatsuma's body, Danzo Shimura immediately determined that it was done by Akihara Kagura, as he had witnessed Akihara Kagura using this kind of Wood Release technique before!
Moreover...
Akihara Kagura was an extreme child himself!
The two gatekeepers of the Root Base had expelled Akihara Kagura. He happened to encounter Aburame Tatsuma, who had just returned from a mission in the Hidden Mist Village. He straightforwardly killed Aburame Tatsuma as a revenge on Root, which was very much in line with Akihara Kagura's character!
"Bring him back!"
A flash of fury crossed Danzo Shimura's face.
Akihara Kagura killing Aburame Tatsuma was tantamount to challenging his authority. The brat shouldn't think that he could tolerate his recklessness!
"..."
The members of Root looked at each other.
Although they dared not defy Danzo's orders, they couldn't help but wonder if Danzo wanted them all dead at this point!
Danzo Shimura also realized this situation. Leaning on his walking stick, he commanded coldly, "Does anyone know where that brat is!"
"..."
A group of Root ninjas dared not speak.
They didn't know where Akihara Kagura was either.
Danzo Shimura realized once again that there was a problem with his question, because Akihara Kagura was not a native of Konoha, but an outsider he had brought into Konoha...
This was troublesome...
Where could that brat be in the middle of the night?
Besides the Root base, where else could that brat stay?
"Everyone, split up and search for him!"
Danzo Shimura's face became extremely ugly as he said solemnly, "Whichever team finds him first, just keep him busy. I will arrive immediately. We must not let that brat escape!"
In the early hours of the morning.
Akihara Kagura couldn't sleep anymore.
While the Root ninjas were searching for him in large numbers, Akihara Kagura sensed that something might be happening in the village, so he used the "Shadow of the Shinobi World" to investigate the situation at Root.
Akihara Kagura saw Aburame Tatsuma's body in his mind, and only the "Wood Release: Cutting Technique" could cause such a brutal state of the corpse.
In an instant...
As an expert in framing others, Akihara Kagura immediately understood the reason for the sudden large-scale movement of Root ninjas.
Someone was framing him using Wood Release!
The number of Wood Release users in the whole shinobi world could be counted on one hand, and the people Danzo Shimura knew who could use the "Wood Release: Cutting Technique" must only be Akihara Kagura himself!
This was a blatant setup!
Akihara Kagura immediately started thinking about why this setup fell onto him, as every setup in the shinobi world didn't just emerge out of thin air.
In this shinobi world...
There were people trying to shift the blame onto him?
All he needed to do was find out who else possessed the Cutting Technique.
The information brought by his memories from his previous life was crucial. Akihara Kagura knew there were others who could use this technique, a hidden puppet master in the shinobi world.
A man who always wore a mysterious mask.
Officially referred to as the Mysterious Masked Man.
"This guy..."
"He's actually in Konoha?"
As Akihara Kagura was secretly using the "Shadow of the Shinobi World" to investigate information about the Mysterious Masked Man, he was shocked to find that this guy was hiding within Konoha, even close to him!
Perhaps the strife in Konoha was too comfortable, causing one to unconsciously forget about the dangers lurking in the shinobi world. While Akihara Kagura was still planning to continue being a double agent between Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi, he had already forgotten that someone had been observing everything happening in Konoha.
Furthermore, the last stop in Aburame Tatsuma's life was the Hidden Mist Village, which happened to be a major ninja village long controlled by the Mysterious Masked Man.
"Has this guy always been in Konoha?"
Akihara Kagura's eyes narrowed slightly, pondering about everything that happened tonight, "He used the Cutting Technique to kill Aburame Tatsuma and frame me, not intending to kill me... does he want to force me to defect and become his pawn?"
Such good intentions...
Why didn't he just say it?
The Mysterious Masked Man could have just said it upfront. Would he, a worker, refuse the temptation to work for a new boss?
He actually used such despicable means!
This set-up, it simply couldn't logically fall onto me!
Akihara Kagura abruptly sat upright. The small blanket covering his body, like a cloak, was thrown back behind him in a swift motion!
If he couldn't clear his name, then he might as well admit to this set-up for now, and find a way to throw this set-up off later!
Anyway...
He would note this debt down for now!
Under no circumstances could his journey to report to the Anbu today be delayed, because for Akihara Kagura, joining the Anbu meant a new boss and a new joining bonus.
Fortunately, in Konoha's Anbu, there was a man he could use. Akihara Kagura could absolutely use him to give the Mysterious Masked Man some trouble.
"Hey."
Akihara Kagura took the initiative to approach a team of Root ninjas.
"Keep him busy!"
The moment this team of Root ninjas saw Akihara Kagura, they didn't even wait for the kid to speak. They immediately drew their ninja swords and began to surround him!
Akihara Kagura's fingers suddenly came together!
With the activation of the Wood Release chakra, massive vines quickly sprouted from the ground, wrapping around the surrounding Root ninjas!
One Root ninja avoided the vines and swung his ninja sword towards Akihara Kagura, only to be kicked away by Akihara Kagura. A vine then wrapped up the ninja in mid-air, and the other Root ninjas were soon subdued by the vines as well!
The leader of this team of Root ninjas was quite defiant. He stiffly asked, "Kagura...sama, you've killed Aburame Tatsuma. Do you plan on killing us too? We were ordered by Lord Danzo to find you. Lord Danzo will be here soon!"
"Take me to Danzo."
Akihara Kagura controlled the vines to lower the commendable Root team leader, whispering, "I won't kill you guys anymore, to avoid angering Danzo further."
"If it weren't for Aburame Tatsuma returning to Konoha and mocking me for being kicked out of the Root by Danzo, I wouldn't have killed him."
"...Yes."
The Root team leader slowly nodded and said according to Akihara Kagura's indication, "Aburame Tatsuma spoke wrongly, indeed it was he who sought his own death..."
After this team of Root ninjas and Akihara Kagura left, the Mysterious Masked Man appeared quietly under a large tree. His voice seemed somewhat perplexed.
"Could it be... I'm under a genjutsu?"
The Mysterious Masked Man's voice was somewhat confused, "Why didn't that kid argue? Why did he admit to killing Aburame Tatsuma?"
The Mysterious Masked Man felt a little confused, "I remember, it was me who killed Aburame Tatsuma, right?"
--x--
if you want to read 20 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pátreon.com/onsenhub
Remember to spend your power stones below
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone