Chapter : 68

Three figures appeared outside a small village called Shizuru Village, located in the west of the Land of Fire. Each figure wore a high-necked trench coat, sunglasses, and carried a large jar on their back.

Their attire was identical, differing only in height, build, and size. These three were Aburame Shiwei and two other jonin from the Aburame clan.

With poker faces and expressionless gazes, the three of them walked steadily towards Shizuru Village.

In Shizuru Village, the most common surname was Shihe, from which the village derived its name.

Within the Land of Fire, aside from Konoha, there were various smaller ninja clans and groups. Some cooperated with Konoha, while others worked directly with the Daimyo's government to secure a place in the Land of Fire.

A ninja family from the Shihe clan lived in Shizuru Village.

"Who are you?" The approach of Aburame Shiwei and the others immediately raised alarm in the village. Three men and a woman quickly arrived, eyeing the intruders warily.

"Lord Danzo has ordered that the Shihe clan must send five young clan members to join the Root!" Aburame Shiwei announced coldly.

"Impossible! We will never send another clan member to join the Root!" one of the sturdy middle-aged men shouted in anger.

Some years ago, Danzo Shimura, one of Konoha's advisors, had sent agents to the Shihe clan, demanding they provide five young members to join the Root. Under pressure from Danzo's authority, the Shihe family reluctantly complied.

However, after the five clan members joined the Root, they lost all contact with their family, and no word came back. Recently, a Root agent arrived to inform the family that those five clan members were dead, and demanded that the Shihe family send five more members to the Root.

After what had happened to their previous kin, the Shihe family adamantly refused.

Yet here Danzo's representatives were again, returning after just a few days.

"Five of you must come with us today. If you resist, we'll simply choose and take you by force," Aburame Shiwei warned, his tone unyielding.

"Over my dead body! I won't let you take anyone!" another man shouted in rage, his face set with defiance.

"I'll fight you!" yelled a third, joining the others. Anger blazed in their eyes.

One of them brandished a kunai and lunged toward an Aburame jonin. Another hurled shuriken at a different jonin, while a third performed an earth-style jutsu, turning the mud into small rock balls, which he fired like bullets at Aburame Shiwei.

The fourth individual used earth-style jutsu to dig underground, intending to launch a surprise attack on Aburame Shiwei.

Facing this assault, Aburame Shiwei and his companions remained calm, their expressions impassive as only one of the jonin moved to counter.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

A swarm of black insects poured from the jar on the Aburame jonin's back.

Some formed a wall, intercepting the shuriken and rock bullets. Others swarmed over the attackers wielding kunai, while the jonin himself sidestepped and delivered a powerful kick, sending the ambusher from underground flying.

Finally, the insects split into four swarms, each one descending on a different Shihe clan member like a mass of hungry locusts.

"Ahhh—"

The insects moved with unnerving speed, overwhelming the four attackers, who screamed in pain as the swarm bit and burrowed into their skin. Moments later, the insects returned to their jars, leaving the four Shihe members lying on the ground, bloodied and unmoving, their condition unclear.

Unfazed, Aburame Shiwei and his team proceeded into the village.

Ding, ding, ding!

Alarm bells echoed across Shizuru Village. Villagers, alerted by the alarm, rushed to the entrance to find their comrades lying lifelessly on the ground, and surrounded Aburame Shiwei and his team with expressions of fury.

But for Aburame Shiwei, the resistance was futile. Among the three, the weakest held jonin-level strength, while the strongest was an elite jonin. Against such strength, the Shihe clan ninjas were hopelessly outmatched.

The Aburame clan's insects attacked mercilessly. One after another, Shihe ninjas fell, their screams filling the air as they collapsed, blood-stained and motionless.

"We're taking these five," Aburame Shiwei declared as they subdued the last of the rebels. Wrapping five unconscious boys from the Shihe clan in cocoons of insects, they secured them for transport.

The remaining villagers looked on, some with grief, others with rage, but none dared intervene. The power gap was simply too wide; attempting to resist would only result in more deaths among the Shihe clan.

Helplessly, they watched as Aburame Shiwei and his team left with the five youths in tow.

Once they were out of the village, the Aburame trio made their way back to Konoha with their captives.

For Aburame Shiwei and his team, this was nothing new.

Working under Shimura Danzo wasn't just about words. It meant offering up family members to join the Root, and it meant taking action, suppressing smaller ninja clans that dared resist.

Danzo's reputation had always been steeped in fear and ruthlessness. Many of the Root's recruits had been taken through force and intimidation.

"Who's there?" Aburame Shiwei halted abruptly, alert as he sensed something.

The three jonin stopped, gazing into the forest, their senses heightened. There, standing before them, was a lone figure.

It was only when the figure came into clear view that they truly realized someone was there. Until then, his presence had been practically invisible.

The man wore a black cloak with red clouds and a spiral mask covering his face, leaving only his right eye visible.

"You…you're a Wood Release Kekkei Genkai user?" Aburame Shiwei's voice was filled with alarm.

The Wood Release user standing before them was infamous in Konoha. This was a Kage-level ninja who had recently decimated a team of twelve elite jonin, leaving only one survivor. And now, here he stood in front of them. Aburame Shiwei's heart plummeted in fear.

"What…a Wood Release Kekkei Genkai ninja?" The other two Aburame jonin, normally stoic, showed clear signs of fear.

Even with their reputation for calm detachment, the Aburame clan members couldn't maintain their composure in the face of such a terrifying enemy.

"So, Konoha has fallen so low as to bully those under its protection," the man sneered.

"Uchiha Obito" spoke, his voice dripping with disdain.

Yet he was not the real Uchiha Obito. Beneath the mask and cloak was Uchiha Fugaku, disguised.

When Fugaku learned that Aburame Shiwei had left Konoha, he took the opportunity to follow him in secret. He'd witnessed the entire brutal scene in Shizuru Village as the Aburame team attacked and captured the five young Shihe clan members.

Before, he'd likened Aburame Shiwei to a termite gnawing away at the strength of Konoha. Now, he saw that his judgment had been spot-on.

A loyal hound to Shimura Danzo, Aburame Shiwei was willing to "tax" Konoha's allies, ruining the reputation and security that Konoha's founders had built.

Comparing Aburame Shiwei to a borer worm was, if anything, too generous.

(End of Chapter).

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