99. Escape

Inside the secure room, Sora worked quickly. First, he modified the seal on the door, strengthening it further. 'This should keep even Danzo out for a while,' he thought with grim satisfaction. 'Of course, it means I can't get out either, but that's all part of the plan.'

With the room secured, Sora turned his attention to the real prize - the confidential documents stored within. Many of the files had clearly been burned or otherwise destroyed, likely as a precautionary measure. But what remained was more than enough to send shockwaves through Konoha.

As Sora rifled through the papers, his eyes widened with each new revelation. Assassinations, covert operations, political manipulations - all carried out in the name of protecting Konoha. But it was the section on human experimentation that truly chilled Sora to the bone.

'This... this is more than enough to put him away for life,' Sora thought, a mix of disgust and excitement coursing through him. 'If not execution. Oh, this is gonna cause so much chaos. I can't wait to release it!'

Meanwhile, outside the Root base, Danzo had finally managed to break free from Sora's initial sealing trap. Fury etched deep lines on his face as he made his way directly to the document storage room. On the way, he received reports of the havoc Sora had wreaked throughout the base.

Upon hearing that a mere six-year-old had managed to outmanoeuvre two of his top Jounin, Danzo's rage reached new heights. He spat on the ground in front of the ashamed ninja, his voice dripping with contempt as he mocked their incompetence.

Approaching the sealed door, Danzo quickly assessed the situation. The seal was intricate and powerful, but nothing he couldn't break given time. He estimated it would take about three hours to dismantle it safely.

'The brat must know this too,' Danzo mused, his tactical mind racing. 'So how does he plan to escape with the evidence?'

Suddenly, Danzo's eye widened as a possibility occurred to him. "Quickly!" he barked at his subordinates. "Look for Sora or his clones. He should be somewhere in the vicinity!"

But Sora was already one step ahead. Having gathered all the incriminating evidence he could find, he initiated the next phase of his plan. The storage seal on his shoulder, usually hidden beneath his shirt, was wirelessly connected to the seals in his bracers. This connection extended to the bracers of his Shadow Clones, albeit only over short distances.

Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have helped in his current predicament. But Sora had prepared for this, creating a chain of Shadow Clones to form a link to the outside.

With practised ease, Sora transferred the scroll containing the sensitive documents through this makeshift network. The clone stationed just outside the document room received the scroll, immediately using the Shape-shifting Jutsu in combination with the Body Flicker technique to make a rapid escape.

The sudden spike in chakra usage caught the attention of the Root ninja and Danzo. "After him!" Danzo commanded. "Half of you, pursue immediately!"

The Jounin-level ninja shot off in pursuit, quickly closing the gap between themselves and Sora's clone. But once again, Sora had anticipated this move. The fleeing clone created another Shadow Clone, which split off in a different direction.

This forced the pursuing ninja to split their forces as well, with each Jounin leading a group after one of the Soras. The division of their forces was exactly what Sora had been counting on.

With the pressure lessened, the clone carrying the scroll pushed its speed to the maximum. The gap between it and its pursuer began to widen. However, the Jounin wasn't concerned - they were approaching a dead end.

Just as it seemed the clone was cornered, it made its move. Using the wireless connection once more, it transferred the scroll to another clone waiting on the other side of the wall. Then, without hesitation, the cornered clone detonated a powerful explosive tag, forcing the pursuing Jounin to halt abruptly to avoid the blast.

In the confusion, the clone with the scroll easily reached its final destination, transferring the vital intelligence to Sora's main body waiting outside the Root base.

'Okay, time to leave,' Sora thought, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. He formed the hand seals for the Body Flicker technique, simultaneously activating his Shape-shifting Jutsu to decrease his weight and increase his mobility.

But Sora had one last surprise in store for Danzo and his Root operatives. Just before he departed, he activated a final seal. Deep within the Root base, Danzo suddenly tensed, sensing a surge of chakra. In the next instant, a torrent of white paint flooded through the complex.

The Root ninja, trained to react to any threat, instinctively channelled the chakra to repel the unknown substance. But as soon as they realized it was merely paint, they relaxed - including Danzo. This moment of lowered guard was all it took. The paint washed over them, covering the elite ninja and their leader in a layer of pristine white.

As Danzo stood there, his dignified appearance ruined by the childish prank, a scream of pure rage echoed through the halls of the Root base.

"SORA! YOU WILL REGRET THIS!"

Miles away, Sora raced towards Training Ground 7 at full speed. He had chosen this destination carefully, knowing that Danzo's forces would likely be monitoring the more obvious locations like the Hokage Tower.

Breathless and exhilarated, Sora arrived at the training ground. He quickly spotted a familiar figure lounging on a tree branch - Kakashi Hatake, his visible eye focused on one of his ever-present books. Below, the rest of Team 7 was engaged in physical conditioning exercises.

Sora leapt up to sit on a nearby branch, still panting from his mad dash across the village. Kakashi's eye crinkled in what might have been amusement as he regarded the young troublemaker.

"Maa, maa, Sora," Kakashi drawled, his tone casual but his posture subtly alert. "What trouble have you caused this time?"

Still catching his breath, Sora simply summoned a scroll from his bracer and handed it to the Jounin. "Stealing some information," he managed between gulps of air.

Kakashi's nonchalant demeanour vanished the moment he opened the scroll. His visible eye widened in shock, and he immediately unveiled his Sharingan, scanning the area for potential Root pursuers.

As Kakashi speed-read through the contents of the scroll, his expression grew increasingly grim. When he finished, he fixed Sora with a serious look. "I'll take care of this," he said, his voice low and intense. Then, after a moment's consideration, he added, "Actually, you know what? Instead of giving it directly to the Hokage, I think I'll present this at the Jounin meeting scheduled for today. Good work, Sora."

With a final pat on Sora's head, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving the young ninja to catch his breath and bask in the satisfaction of a successful mission.

Kakashi Hatake leapt from tree to tree, the scroll Sora had given him clutched tightly in his hand. His mind raced, processing the implications of what he'd just read. The Copy Ninja had seen his fair share of village secrets and dark operations, but this... this was beyond anything he'd imagined.

As he neared the village proper, Kakashi paused on a high branch, his lone visible eye scanning the horizon. The sun was setting, painting Konoha in hues of orange and red. It seemed almost poetic - the day ending just as a long-hidden truth of root was about to come to light.

"What would you do, Minato-sensei?" Kakashi murmured, thinking of the Fourth Hokage. His former teacher had always emphasized the importance of protecting the village, but also the need for transparency and trust among its people.

Kakashi's hand tightened on the scroll. The information it contained could tear Konoha apart from the inside. Danzo's actions, carried out in the name of protecting the village, were nothing short of monstrous. Human experimentation, political assassinations, manipulating foreign powers - the list went on and on.

For a brief moment, Kakashi considered destroying the scroll. It would be easy enough to incinerate it with a simple fire jutsu. He could tell Sora he'd passed the information to the Hokage, and things could continue as they always had. The village would be spared the turmoil that would inevitably follow if this information became public.

***

Thank you to Sam Becker and Danger321456 for joining my patreon.

Latest Chapter on Patreon: 118. Kage Level Before 20?

P@treon.com/Desire96

replace @ by a