Chapter 33: The Owl of the Root

The next day.

"The offensive part of this technique is now complete... Yuto."

In the spacious training ground, Nagato Uzumaki massaged his sore arms as he emerged from the pile of rubble, slowly standing up straight.

In front of him were two deep trenches, each nearly a hundred meters long. These were the marks left by his feet after being forced back by a tremendous force.

Even though he used the special Rinnegan technique "Shinra Tensei" to block the attack, he couldn't dissipate the immense impact force.

—Lion's Fang Bite, a technique powerful enough to make its user famous in the shinobi world!

Yuto panted heavily, his hands once again covered in blood.

"Thank you..."

"Are your hands okay?"

"Every bone in my hands is nearly broken. Fortunately, I know medical ninjutsu." Yuto was relieved. After completing Lion's Fang Bite, the burden on his body had increased several times. Although the power was immense, it had shattered his bones.

"I'm leaving today. I've been away from the village for too long. If I stay any longer, it won't be justifiable." While using the Palm Healing Technique to heal his body, Yuto spoke to Nagato, "Until my sensei finds a way to reduce the backlash of this technique, I must limit its use. With the current version of Lion's Fang, using it three times in a row will tear my own arms apart."

"Great power comes at a great cost." Nagato sighed, "We shinobi are, after all, just a bunch of unfortunate people, strong because of chakra, and dead because of it."

Yuto laughed, "Overthinking is not a good thing... Nagato, I'm leaving."

"Alright... hopefully, the next time we meet, we won't be enemies."

"If it happens, so be it. Shinobi can never choose their fate."

The branch family youth returned to his house, tidied up the room, and packed his belongings.

However, he did not leave immediately but continued to use medical ninjutsu to heal his body inside the house.

While traveling outside, his physical state had to be adjusted to at least the level where he could fight against shinobi of the same rank.

...

As night fell, the land continued to be covered in incessant rain.

Outside the base, Kaoru Asano was grinding seeds.

The oil for feeding the blade was time-consuming to make, with many steps that couldn't be replaced by ninjutsu, only by ancient craftsmanship.

To make the blade oil for Takeda Takeshi's "Flying Wing," Kaoru had been secretly working hard for two months. Before leaving, she wanted to finish this task.

Black palm flowers might not exist in the Land of Sea.

As a spy for Konoha, Kaoru, who was about to escape from the Land of Rain, couldn't pack her luggage openly like Yuto.

Yahiko had let Takeda handle Kaoru himself, as long as it didn't endanger the organization, he wouldn't interfere.

"Running away with a female spy" wouldn't severely harm Akatsuki, and could be seen as a somewhat acceptable way to handle things.

But sneaking away was one thing; making it widely known was another.

Takeda and Kaoru couldn't overdo it and embarrass Yahiko and the others. Helping others is helping oneself.

More importantly, Kaoru knew she had to be in this house at this hour today. Not being there or being at the wrong time could lead to severe consequences.

Because today was the day she had agreed to meet her superior.

Squeak—

After a while, the door opened.

The footsteps were rhythmic, signaling a secret code.

"Yami." The man who entered closed the door and spoke Kaoru's code name in the Root.

"Owl-sama." The female shinobi put down the pestle, turned, and knelt on one knee, head bowed low.

"The incessant rain of Amegakure is always so disturbing." Owl, wearing a bird-faced mask, covered his face tightly. His black robe wrapped him securely, revealing only his muscular outline.

"Yami, do you have anything to say about Takeda Takeshi?"

Kaoru's heart felt like it was gripped by a hand, making her almost unable to breathe due to the tension.

Fortunately, after her parents' deaths and being sent into the Root, Kaoru had overcome countless crises and wasn't about to break under a casual probe.

With a momentary closing of her eyes, the female shinobi suppressed her tension and fear, and calmly said, "The assassination plan against Takeda Takeshi will take place five days later. At that time, he will be escorting a wealthy merchant from the Land of Rain out of Amegakure, far from Akatsuki's base. It's the best time for us to act."

"I've heard that your relationship with Takeda Takeshi is good, Yami. Are you wavering now?"

Kaoru sighed inwardly. She knew very well what "heard" meant. Apart from her, there were obviously other Konoha spies in Akatsuki.

The female shinobi raised her head, her beautiful eyes cold and indifferent.

Owl reached out, pinched Kaoru's chin, forcing her to look at him. His fingers dug into her fair skin without mercy. After a moment, he released her, satisfied.

Root needed and favored subordinates without excessive emotions, focused solely on their missions.

"Tell me, Yami, what level of power is needed to assassinate Takeda Takeshi."

"He's proficient in Water Release, and the most noteworthy are the two chakra blades 'Flying Wing.' Apart from that, he's just an ordinary special Jonin."

"Then I'll give you four teammates. With you, that makes five. It should be enough... if necessary, I will also take action."

Kaoru replied calmly, "No need, Owl-sama. If it's a sneak attack, I can do it alone. Takeda Takeshi trusts me very much."

"Good, you are fully responsible for this assassination. I will temporarily leave the Land of Rain to handle other matters."

Kaoru felt a weight lifted off her chest. She instinctively wanted to keep Owl away from her, knowing he was a dangerous man.

"Decoy, post-operation explanations, your promotion... heh, forget it, there's no need to say more, Yami. You are already an excellent shinobi."

Owl glanced around the room. The discarded boxes were filled with seeds of the black palm flower, squeezed dry of oil.

"Very good. A spy must fully integrate into their role... once the matter with Akatsuki is wrapped up, Danzo-sama will assign you more important tasks."

As his words fell, he disappeared.

One minute, two minutes, five minutes...

Kaoru remained kneeling on one knee, unmoving.

After an indeterminate amount of time, she suddenly collapsed to the ground.

'Finally... the last hurdle is over... Owl... a terrifying man, you surely don't know that this was our last meeting in this life.'

Kaoru sat on the floor for a long while. After her tense nerves fully relaxed, she stood up and opened the window.

Outside, it was still raining. The towering steel buildings pierced the night sky like deep wells rising from the ground.

Oppressive, gloomy, and chaotic, such was always the nature of Amegakure, unchanged.

However, at this moment, the female shinobi breathed in the air desperately, greedily swallowing the rainwater that drifted into her mouth.

This was the taste of freedom.

(End of Chapter)