Chapter 32 I Will Pass This Fire On To You First

Logan looked at the two people sitting across from him with skepticism. One man and one woman, both looking rather stern.

"Excuse me, what do you want to do?" Logan asked, trying to ascertain their purpose. These two people were not from the ANBU, at least he had never seen them before, and their aura also seemed to be businesslike.

"Hello, Jonin Hattori, we are the personnel sent by the Root to assist with your testing." The man said plainly.

Hearing the word 'Root', Logan furrowed his brows. In Konoha, the last thing he wanted to encounter was anything related to Root. It's not that Root was inherently bad, and Root even serve Konoha entirely. It's just that the atmosphere and the methods of its leader, Danzo, were enough to make Logan steer clear.

"What kind of test?" Logan was no longer as casual as he was when facing his fellow ANBU's members.

"It's just a simple psychological test." The other woman replied, opening a folder in her hands.

"Raiden Hattori, a Jonin of the ANBU of Konoha, taken in by the village in Year 42, participated in the Third Great Ninja War four years later..."

Logan listened to the recitation of his basic information with a calm information. This was some basic information about him. Since he's a member of ANBU, it should be quite confidential, but since the other party is Root, it wouldn't be difficult for them to obtain it.

"...Became an ANBU in Konoha's Year 54, assessed as an Elite Jonin, completed a total of 172 D-rank missions, 181 C-rank missions, 278 B-rank missions, A-rank missions..."

Logan's mission history was also recited, some of which even Logan himself couldn't recall, yet the Root's members seemed to have a very clear understanding.

The woman held the document and spoke for a long time. After she finished speaking, silence enveloped the room.

"Cough."

Afraid of a sudden stiffness in the atmosphere, Logan couldn't help but coughed lightly to express his appreciation for their professionalism.

"Raiden Hattori, what do you think of Konoha Village?" The woman asked, finally breaking the silence.

After hearing this, Logan felt refreshed. Finally, it was time for the real deal. At this time, he roughly understood the purpose of this test. They wanted to discuss his loyalty to the village.

'Um, well, the process wasn't exactly friendly.'

Logan wasn't afraid of being questioned, as they wouldn't find any dirt on him. He sat up straight, cooperatively answering: "Konoha Village is affiliated with The Land of Fire, a Ninja Village dedicated to peace... The Ninjas struggle hard for their ninja way. Since its establishment, the values of each generation have been passed down, from being entrusted to becoming the ones doing the entrusting... In short, I believe that where tree leaves dance... one shall find flames!"

'I will pass this fire on to you first.'

"..."

Logan's speech was so eloquent and well-founded that the two Root's members were dumbfounded. They originally stared at Logan like the FBI looking at spies, but now, they couldn't hold it anymore.

The impact of this speech with strong positive energy was so strong that took the two Root members a while to snap out of it, especially the last sentence. As Konoha's Ninjas, even though they were trained by Root to be strict and emotionless, they couldn't help but feel a surge of passion in their hearts.

"Wel, well said..." The woman stuttered a bit, perhaps the last classic line had left an impression on her mind, as her expression is a bit strange, "Um, the next question..."

Logan, who grew up in a socialist environment, perfectly answered the subsequent questions. However, the two Root's members had to think about it after listening to it, as these words were too positive. In some places, they were even obviously exaggerated. The problem is, the two of them still couldn't find any fault in them.

This made the two Root's members not dare to underestimate Logan, who is quite savvy.

What was supposed to be a serious and intimidating meeting completely fell apart.

When the woman declared the end of the test, Logan still felt somewhat unsatisfied.

"Already done? So soon?"

These words immediately made the two Root's members embarrassed.

'Does he have to act like this? Whenever others encountered our Root, they would usually be quite nervous, right?'

In fact, it wasn't that Logan meant to make fun of them, but he was really a little surprised. He thought that Root would test him more seriously, and Logan even prepared himself for the risk of resisting Genjutsu.

However, Logan was mistaken. No one would suspect him of being a transmigrator or harboring some secret. That would be ridiculous. Even this test is actually just a facade. Root is actually not interested in Logan's loyalty. The ANBU's members weren't worried either, so they let Root do whatever they wanted. Root didn't intend to uncover any big news, so the test questions seemed like child's play.

Root's purpose this time was more about recruitment.

"Jonin Hattori, are you interested in joining Root?"

Finally, the two Root's members looked at each other, and the man deliberately lowered his tone and said seriously.

"Hmm?" Logan didn't expect this turn of events.

"Root has always been interested in talented elite Ninja. Hattori, with your potential, joining Root might be a wise choice compared to the conservative atmosphere of ANBU... Danzo-sama has instructed me that if you're willing to join Root, you'll start as a Captain, with the freedom to recruit members and access to various Ninjutsu scrolls. We will immediately submit a formal application, and it will take less than a week..."

After hearing this, Logan secretly thought, 'It turns out that you have such a purpose. You should just have said it directly instead of beating around the bush.'

However, Logan didn't even consider it for long before preparing to decline the man's proposal.

"Forget it, I feel good staying in ANBU."

The goodwill the man had worked so hard to present instantly vanished, and his face returned to its stern expression, "Please reconsider."

"We are very sincere."

The man glanced at his companion, and the woman suddenly understood. She casually lifted the file in her hand, which showed that the results of this test hadn't been completed.

Logan was taken aback for a moment, then realized what they are doing, and his tone became colder, "Are you trying to threaten me with this?"

"Raiden Hattori, you are exaggerating." The man said lightly. Having been in Root for a long time, whether it is inside or outside of Konoha, there wasn't much they fear. This conversation pace was what he expected.

"Suit yourselves. I'm not interested in Root at all." Yu Logan wasn't someone to be trifled with either. He also didn't believe that ANBU would just stand idly by. With that, he got up and left without looking back.