"The Ninja World consists of five major nations and countless small ones, most of which have their own large or small Hidden Villages…"
Walking along the uneven forest path, Kakashi was explaining the basic geopolitical structure of the Ninja World to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.
This was knowledge not recorded in the Ninja Academy textbooks—things that could only be passed down by team leaders during actual missions.
As the group talked and gradually approached a small puddle ahead, everyone except the still-excited Naruto and the absent-minded Tazuna noticed something was wrong.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura all cast subtle glances toward the puddle.
Sakura was about to grab Naruto and pull him back when Sasuke stopped her with a look, signaling her to move closer to Tazuna instead and stay on guard.
At the same time, Sasuke's hand quietly slid to the kunai pouch at his waist.
Kakashi glanced once more at the woods beside the road, then calmly closed the book in his hand.
As the group passed the puddle, two heads wearing rebreather masks slowly emerged from the water.
However, before they could act—
Sasuke, who had been walking at the front, suddenly stopped and spun around.
His hands were already locked into a completed hand seal, cheeks puffed out.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball roared forward, slamming straight into the puddle.
"We've been spotted?!"
"Move!"
The two ninjas leapt out in alarm, but the sudden attack was too fast. Though they escaped the direct hit, the flames scorched their legs badly.
Before they could even cry out, a violent gust of wind followed the fire.
A whip-like kick filled their vision.
In the next instant, both were struck in the head and sent flying backward, stars dancing in their eyes as they slammed into the ground unconscious.
"Hmph. Pathetic."
Sasuke stood straight, face full of cold disdain.
The sun was blazing, there had been no rain at all—yet a puddle had appeared on the road.
This was a trick Kakashi had used on them countless times during training over the past month.
It could only fool an idiot like Naruto when he got excited.
"It's an enemy attack!"
Naruto finally reacted, spinning around.
Seeing the puddle he had completely ignored, his cheerful expression collapsed instantly, and he ran toward Sasuke in frustration.
"These kids are surprisingly reliable…"
Seeing the two enemies already incapacitated, Tazuna let out a long breath, his heart finally settling.
Kakashi, who had been walking at the very front, frowned briefly before smoothing his expression again.
After glancing at Sakura and Tazuna, he also began moving toward Sasuke.
Suddenly, a cold, familiar voice echoed inside Naruto's mind.
"Naruto, prepare the hand seals for Multi-Shadow Clone. There's danger on Sakura and Tazuna's side."
Naruto's steps faltered.
"What?!"
"Sakura's in danger?!"
Sensing the killing intent gathering in the woods behind them, Lock spoke with irritation.
"Idiot. Keep your expression normal. Don't expose anything."
"People are hiding in the forest behind Sakura and Tazuna. They've been following us since we left the Village."
"They're closing in now. If you react too obviously, they'll retreat again."
Feeling the sharp, malicious intent directed at Team 7, Lock immediately recognized it.
Root.
After being scolded, Naruto forced himself to calm down and continued walking as if nothing was wrong.
In his mind, he asked urgently, Then what do we do?
They won't hurt Sakura or Uncle Tazuna, right?
So now you remember Tazuna exists?
Lock felt a flicker of irritation but answered calmly.
"There are six of them. Chūnin level, but well-trained."
"Kakashi has already noticed."
"If you're worried, I can come out."
If Sakura weren't still useful later, Lock wouldn't have bothered asking.
"No, no need!" Naruto replied quickly. "If they're just Chūnin, I can handle them myself!"
With his current strength, Naruto was confident.
Ten Chūnin like Mizuki? He could deal with that easily.
"I hope so," Lock replied flatly.
Mizuki was a teaching Chūnin. Any one of these Root operatives could kill him twenty times over.
Just as Kakashi and Naruto moved farther away from Sakura and Tazuna, the six masked ninjas finally abandoned concealment.
They burst from the woods in six blurs, charging straight toward Sakura.
"So you finally decided to show yourselves."
Kakashi instantly turned and flung the shuriken he had already prepared.
"Sakura—get back!"
Naruto moved at the same time, slamming his hands together.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Nearly a hundred shadow clones exploded into existence, completely crowding the space in front of Sakura and Tazuna.
Sasuke, who was farthest away, reacted a split second slower before rushing in as well.
"Damn it, we've been exposed!"
"Forget capture—kill them!"
The Root operatives hadn't expected to be discovered the instant they attacked.
The hands reaching for Sakura were forced back to block Kakashi's shuriken.
Five of them rushed to engage Kakashi and Naruto, while the sixth continued charging Sakura and Tazuna.
Their original mission had been to capture Sakura—Naruto's emotional weak point—and use her to lure him to Root.
Since that failed, they switched to elimination.
If Sakura died, Naruto would lose control.
If the Nine-Tails went berserk, Danzo would gain leverage—enough to publicly accuse Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Unfortunately for them, their intelligence was outdated.
They had no idea how much Team 7 had changed over the past month.
They still thought Sakura was a weak Genin.
The Root ninja threw shuriken to seal Sakura's escape routes, then lunged forward, kunai flashing toward her throat.
Sakura reacted instantly.
She leaned back, dodging the blade, and kicked upward at his chin.
At the same time, she shoved Tazuna backward.
"Uncle Tazuna, run!"
Tazuna didn't hesitate and turned to flee.
The five Root operatives trying to stall were immediately swallowed by Naruto's shadow clones, unable to break through.
Seeing the situation collapse, the Root ninja, facing Sakur,a hardened his expression.
He pulled out a bundle of paper bombs.
Nearly ten.
After activating them, he ignored all incoming attacks and lunged straight at Sakura.
"For my lord—let's die together!"
"Sakura!"
Naruto's eyes went bloodshot.
His clones abandoned their enemies instantly and surged toward her.
Inside his consciousness, a system prompt appeared before Lock.
[The primary personality's emotions have reached the critical threshold. Switching is possible.]
At the same time, Kakashi's expression turned icy.
He dropped all restraint, Sharingan exposed, Lightning Blade forming in his hand.
But it was too late.
The Root operative had no intention of surviving.
The paper bombs detonated instantly.
Boom!
The explosion tore open the earth, blasting a massive crater and filling the area with smoke and debris.
When the dust finally settled—
Kakashi and Sasuke's pupils shrank.
Sakura, who should have died in the blast, was alive.
She was held firmly in Naruto's arms.
His body was wrapped in a faint, golden chakra.
"Naruto…?!"
Kakashi's voice was low.
"No—"
"You are Lock."
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