"Eh?"
The princess, Fūhime, who walked out from the white smoke, looked around the dim cell with a face full of disdain.
She then hopped onto Uchiha Shinji's body, clearly not wanting her pristine white fur to be soiled by the prison floor.
Uchiha Shinji stretched out his hands, revealing the chains: "Quick, use Wind Release to help me cut these chains!"
When it comes to cutting, Wind Release is the strongest.
High-level Wind Release can even cut through the defense of Susanoo.
Fūhime was a bit dissatisfied: "You summoned me just to do this menial labor?"
Knowing the prideful nature of the white cat, Shinji coaxed, "This is to save my life! You don't want me to die with such a short lifespan, do you?"
Fūhime lifted her head proudly, "Fine, I'll save you this once!"
She quickly formed hand signs and shouted at the chains binding Shinji's hands: "Wind Release, Gale Burst!"
Swoosh
In an instant, a wind blade shot out from Fūhime's mouth, aimed at the chains.
With a sharp clang, the wind blade collided with the chains, but after the sound faded, the chains remained intact.
Shinji didn't say anything but gave Fūhime a look that said, "Are you even capable?"
Fūhime immediately puffed up in anger!
She formed hand signs again, gathering chakra in her claws, and fiercely pounced at the chains:
"Wind Release, Cat's Slash!"
Clang!
A piercing screech echoed, and the chains snapped!
"So strong!"
Shinji muttered to himself.
After cutting the chains from his legs, Shinji had Fūhime cast another Wind Release on his prison door, making it look like they broke out from the inside. He then rushed to Sasuke's cell next door and opened the door.
Sasuke looked confused: "Shinji, you—"
Shinji didn't rush to explain to Sasuke but instead turned to Fūhime: "Quick, cut his chains too!"
"So troublesome!"
Fūhime complained, but her claws moved swiftly, and in just a few moments, Sasuke's chains were also cut.
Watching as the white cat easily cut through the chains he struggled with all his strength but couldn't break, Sasuke's eyes widened, and he quickly asked Shinji: "Is this cat your summoning beast? Were you talking to her earlier in the cell?"
"Yes, but let's not talk about it now; we need to escape!"
Shinji motioned for Sasuke to join him in escaping the detention area.
While running, Sasuke kept glancing at the white cat on Shinji's shoulder.
Clearly, he hadn't expected Shinji to be so well-rounded, excelling in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and ninja tool throwing. Despite not even graduating from the shinobi academy, Shinji already had a summoning beast.
A sense of urgency spread in Sasuke's heart.
In his eyes, his only advantage now was the Sharingan. If Shinji caught up in that aspect too, Sasuke would lose entirely.
Shinji, of course, didn't know what Sasuke was thinking. At this moment, he was calculating the timing.
In the original timeline, the Third Hokage personally led an assault on Danzo's base to reclaim Yamato, who had mastered Wood Release, from Danzo's hands.
So, with the possibility that the Third Hokage could break in at any moment, Shinji needed to stir up chaos quickly, giving his shadow clone and Coalball an opportunity on the other side.
He deliberately led Sasuke past an alarm he had discovered earlier.
Beep beep beep!
In an instant, the alarm blared throughout the Root base.
Hearing the sharp alarm next to him, Sasuke became flustered: "This is bad!"
Shinji remained calm: "If we run into enemies later, I'll hold them off. You find a way to escape and bring the Hokage to save me!"
Sasuke didn't argue and nodded reluctantly, knowing that Shinji's plan was correct. If he were to hold off the enemies, both of them might not escape.
Soon, a few Root shinobi blocked their path.
"Brats, how did you escape?"
"Was it that ninja cat?"
"We underestimated them. We should've used a sealing jutsu on them!"
Seeing Fūhime on Shinji's shoulder, the Root shinobi immediately realized how Shinji had broken free, their faces turning grim.
Danzo's rule was strict, and such a blunder would result in punishment for all of them.
As the Root shinobi approached, Shinji stepped forward and told Sasuke, "You go first. I'll hold them off!"
Sasuke's eyes filled with emotion: "Don't worry, I will come back to save you!"
Shinji felt a bit guilty and didn't dare to look back at Sasuke.
Because the path Shinji had subtly directed Sasuke to escape through led directly to Danzo's secret vault.
As Sasuke ran toward Danzo's vault, he occasionally looked back at Shinji's determined figure, tears welling up in his eyes: Damn it! Why! Why can't I ever be of any help!
The Root shinobi were more concerned with Sasuke. Seeing him escape, they immediately gave chase.
At this moment, Shinji shouted to Fūhime: "You use Wind Release, and I'll use Fire Release!"
While forming hand signs, Fūhime warned, "You better be careful not to burn my fur, or I'll cancel our contract!"
Though it was their first time cooperating, their teamwork was seamless.
Shinji quickly finished forming hand signs: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Once the fireball shot out, Fūhime immediately unleashed her own jutsu: "Wind Release: Great Gale Burst!"
Boom!
The wind fueled the flames, and in an instant, Shinji's Great Fireball doubled in size, nearly filling the entire passageway!
"What—?"
"How is this possible?"
The Root shinobi's faces paled in unison.
It wasn't that they hadn't seen such powerful Fire Release jutsu before, but they never expected such a level of Fire Release from an eight-year-old shinobi academy student.
Realizing they couldn't withstand it head-on, the Root shinobi gave up chasing Sasuke and dodged aside.
However, Danzo's Root base was a circular pit descending into the ground, structured like a massive chimney.
So, with the "chimney effect" in play, Shinji's Great Fireball became even more intense, transforming into a massive fireball.
Boom boom boom!
Explosions echoed throughout the base.
Even the once-piercing alarm seemed insignificant amidst the chain of explosions.
No one had anticipated that a single jutsu could cause such a commotion. The Root shinobi, and even Shinji himself, the caster, were all taken aback, exchanging surprised glances.
Shhh shhh shhh
At that moment, in a flurry of wind, several figures landed on the spiral staircase.
Shinji looked up and saw the Third Hokage, draped in his Hokage robes, standing at the forefront, flanked by a large group of fully armed Anbu.
And standing beside the Third was a furious Danzo.
Danzo's eyes swept over Shinji with an unfriendly glare before asking his subordinates, "Where is Uchiha Sasuke?"
One of the Root shinobi hurried forward, pointing toward the vault: "Danzo-sama, Uchiha Sasuke fled in that direction—"
Boom!
An explosion interrupted the Root shinobi's report, and the sound came from the direction of the vault...