17 chapter 17

====Rewritten====

Chapter 17 `~ captured

—-----------------------------------------

As Naruto emerged onto the empty street, he noticed that ten people were following him after he left the Ichiraku ramen shop. Initially, he didn't pay much attention, assuming they were the ANBU guards assigned by Tsunade.

However, after a while, he realized that they were not the ANBU he had in mind. They were getting closer to him, preparing to attack. He hadn't even been back in the village for a day, and already someone was attempting to attack him.

"Maybe my actions changed something," Naruto murmured to himself. He had returned to the village six months earlier, and his actions in the Hokage tower might have altered some things. He couldn't recall being attacked in his village. After surveying the surroundings.

"Come out," Naruto spoke in a cold voice. If someone was going to attack him, he would respond in kind. As expected, ten people wearing white masks encircled him from all directions. Naruto observed the individuals who had surrounded him, but he couldn't sense any emotions emanating from them.

"Root, so this is Danzo's doing," Naruto thought to himself. He assessed their chakra levels; they were all chunin-level shinobi. Naruto continued to look at them.

"These are all chunin level. Danzo thinks so low of me. If he wants to capture me, he should have at least sent some Jonin-level ninja," Naruto thought to himself while scrutinizing the figures around him.

"What should I do? Should I kill them, or should I let them capture me and then meet the boss? Hehe, let's do this. But first, let's play with these people," Naruto spoke to himself.

He was going to confront Danzo once and for all. He didn't know the location of Danzo's hideouts, and this was the best opportunity he had.

With a smile on his face, Naruto looked at the Root ninjas in front of him. Seeing his smile, the leader of the Root ninjas spoke, "Be a good boy and come with us. Danzo-sama demands your presence in front of him," the man spoke without any emotion in his voice.

"I'll have to politely decline your offer," Naruto responded. "And who allowed you to utter your leader's name in front of your prey? You seem quite confident about capturing me," Naruto said with a smile on his face, seemingly unfazed.

Seeing his attitude around them, the leader spoke, "Don't get cocky, brat."

"Enough of your chit-chat. Come at me and let me see what you've got," Naruto spoke to them. He was confident in his abilities, knowing that unless an S-rank ninja came, he didn't feel any sense of danger.

They didn't say anything. The ninja behind him launched a barrage of shurikens at him. He sensed it. Naruto took out his kunai and with a swift motion, he deflected all the shurikens directed at him.

As he stopped after deflecting the shurikens, a fireball about three meters in diameter came hurtling toward him at high speed. He dodged it by sliding to the side. Given his speed, it was no problem for him.

'Earth Style - Earth Spikes,' he heard a voice from his left side, and soon, the ground where he was standing changed. Spikes made of the earth rushed directly toward him.

He jumped, and then another spike came at his back. He ducked under it and leaped to the side. This was no problem for him; he was simply gaining battle experience.

'Water Style - Water Ball,' he heard another voice, and a ball of water crashed directly at him. The ninja who launched the attack on Naruto felt something wrapping around him.

The next moment, he saw a big water ball. Naruto didn't have time to react. The water ball crashed into him, breaking his bones, and he coughed out a mouthful of blood, collapsing onto the ground.

"One down," Naruto spoke. He was now standing among the Root ninjas where the water user had been standing before.

The Root ninja all turned their heads and saw Naruto standing amongst them. "What? He substituted with him, but how is this possible? Weren't we supposed to substitute with wooden logs?" the leader murmured to himself from a distance.

Naruto, who was now amidst five Root ninjas, smiled at them. They couldn't use their ninjutsu now, or they would hurt their comrades. They launched taijutsu attacks at him, but Naruto, who had trained with Jiraiya, saw their movements clearly.

He grinned and began their taijutsu battle. Soon, all five of them were covered in bruises, unable to land even a single punch on him. It was as if he was toying with them, which, in reality, he was.

Naruto increased his speed, punched the man in front of him in the gut, and sensed a kick coming toward his head. He raised his left hand to block the kick, but the force was not significant. The man who had been hit in the gut was lifted from the ground by the punch's force, shooting like a bullet and crashing into a wall, which he destroyed. "Two down," Naruto spoke.

The kick was still connected to his left hand. With a swift motion, he gripped the man's ankle with his right hand, lifting him into the air and then slamming him with his full force into the ground. As the man hit the ground, it cracked, and 20 to 30 of his bones broke with the impact.

"Three down," he spoke. It happened so fast that no one could keep up. After all, these were chunin cannon fodder.

Two Root ninjas were standing beside him. They didn't know what had hit them. Naruto grabbed both of their heads and slammed them into the ground. The Root ninjas saw the ground approaching them, and the next moment, everything went black. "That's five down," Naruto spoke, shaking his hands and wiping the blood off them.

The first group was done, and the five Root members were standing on the other side, looking at him. The leader raised his hand and commanded, "Attack." They all leaped toward him, moving like blurs to any observer. But for Naruto, they were moving at a snail's pace.

The first punch aimed for his head. Naruto tilted his head, and the man was still in mid-air. Naruto punched him in the gut, causing the man to bounce slightly before going limp. With a thud, he hit the ground. Next, a sword neared his head.

Naruto blocked it with his kunai and slightly changed the angle of his kunai, sliding it along the man's sword. He cut the man's chest diagonally, blood spraying from the wound. Unrelenting, he made another cut across the man's chest, causing another spray of blood before the man hit the ground.

Naruto kicked the man on his left side. With a single kick, the man crashed into a nearby wall, and with a thud, his face hit the ground.

Only two were left, and with his high speed, Naruto appeared between them with a roundhouse kick. He impaled the man's head into the ground, his foot still on the man's head.

"One left. How should I deal with you?" Naruto spoke to the remaining man. This man, who knew nothing about emotions, was now fearing the man in front of him. Naruto's smile didn't make it any easier. He was like a devil, playing with them for his own amusement.

Naruto approached the remaining man, but the man was frozen in place, not moving. Naruto grabbed his face, and the white mask cracked. He lifted the man into the air, leaped, and smashed the man's head against the wall. The wall was now stained red with the man's blood.

.

All of this happened in less than three minutes.

Naruto stood in the middle of the street and sensed a needle heading for his neck. "Should I dodge this, or let it hit me? Let's go with the second option. Or, how should I meet that Sharingan thief?" Naruto closed his eyes, and soon a needle struck his neck.

.

The sleeping poison began to enter his system, but as soon as the poison entered his body, his cells reacted to it. The healing chakra from his Uzumaki genes started to work, expelling the poison as quickly as it entered. A small drop of blue poison exited from his fingertip.

Naruto looked at it and muttered, "So weak." As he had planned, he collapsed onto the ground, pretending to be poisoned.

Soon, a Root ninja appeared beside him. "This little brat is powerful. Let Danzo-sama deal with him," the man said, then lifted Naruto onto his shoulder and used Shunshin to disappear.

After they left, three Root ninjas appeared on the scene, picking up all the unconscious Root ninjas. They quickly vanished as well.

AN: How do you like the chapter? Let me know in the comments!

He will meet Uncle Danzo in the next chapter, so be prepared.

Feel free to drop some power stones or else the Root ninjas might come after you... just kidding!

---------------Your dear author-san