"There's no need to hold back your emotions just because of me. If crying would make you feel better, then let it out."
Perhaps Furina's words had an effect, because Uzuki Yūgao's pent-up emotions could no longer be contained. Two clear streams of tears slowly slid down her cheeks. It was a pitiful sight.
"Sorry, I lost composure." After a while, Uzuki Yūgao wiped the tears from her face and softly offered her apology.
"It's fine. As long as you feel better now."
Seeing Yūgao clearly in a much improved state after releasing her emotions, Furina nodded silently to herself. The dead were gone, and any psychological wounds could only be healed by the person themselves over time.
"I will always remember the kindness you showed me. If there's anything I can help you with, come find me. I won't disturb you any longer."
After watching Yūgao leave, Furina suddenly found herself with nothing to do. After all, aside from her parents, there was no one here she was familiar with.
"Might as well check the system." Ever since the Gekkō Hayate incident, Furina had developed the habit of checking the playback content from time to time. Because she had been transmigrated for so long, she had forgotten many things. This helped her recall them.
"When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames."
"When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames."
...
...
Watching the barrage flood the screen during the Third Hokage's battle against Orochimaru, Furina was not surprised.
After all, the Third had mostly shown a positive image in the early stages, and sacrificing his life to protect Konoha truly reflected the words he himself had said. Naturally, many people were deeply moved by it.
Dying as a hero who protected the village was far more dignified than other ways.
"Hm?"
After a while of showing the funeral scenes, the livestream suddenly switched. For some reason, it went to Karin. Since Karin had only recently arrived in Konoha, she did not attend the funeral and was resting in the place the village had arranged for her.
But if it was just resting there, they would not have given it a dedicated shot. Under normal circumstances, something was probably about to go wrong with her.
And the person who would cause trouble at a time like this... A figure with bandages wrapped around his face immediately came to Furina's mind. In the current Konoha, the only one who would still be eyeing Karin was Shimura Danzō.
Although the opponent's strength was formidable, Furina had no intention of backing down. Not only was Jiraiya in the village to keep him in check, but she herself...
[Affection Value: 93044]
Glancing at the affection value she had gained these past few days, Furina felt a bit more at ease. She only needed to raise her chakra one more level to Kage tier, and she would have the capital to fight Danzō.
Add to that her complete knowledge of the opponent's abilities and the buffs from her three "seafood" companions, and the outcome of a real fight was anyone's guess. The only thing she needed to worry about was Kotoamatsukami.
Thinking of Kotoamatsukami, Furina could not help but sigh at how naive Shisui had been. Now look what happened Kotoamatsukami ended up in Danzō's hands, and she had to stay on guard against it forever.
"You're here at just the right time."
After rushing to where Karin was staying, Furina arrived just in time to see two masked figures standing outside the door, about to knock. With that attire, there was no need to guess they were definitely from Root.
"Hey hey, what are you two doing? The person inside is very important to the village. Suspicious individuals aren't allowed to make contact, you know."
Furina had no intention of hiding. After all, she was a legitimate Konoha ninja with the Hokage's flag all over her, while the other side was the one that could not see the light rats in the gutter.
"Please do not misunderstand. We are ANBU, currently on a mission. If you have nothing else, you may leave."
After seeing Furina appear, the two Root members quickly offered an explanation. Although she was young, she had proven her strength by killing Baki a few days ago. If she decided to interfere, they really would have trouble completing Lord Danzō's mission.
"ANBU? Really? Just because you dress a little like them doesn't mean you can pretend to be ANBU. You should know my teacher Kakashi was the former ANBU captain. He told me all about how to identify real ANBU~"
Facing their gazes, Furina spoke with a completely serious expression while blatantly lying. Kakashi had never told her any special way to identify ANBU members, but it did not matter. As the student of the former ANBU captain, that identity alone was enough for her to pull the tiger's skin.
And the effect was indeed very good. The two on the opposite side were genuinely intimidated by her. Although ANBU and Root were similar in nature, they truly did not know if ANBU had any specific method for confirming identity.
Mainly because Root itself actually did have methods to confirm identity, which made them even less certain. Moreover, Furina was the student of the former ANBU captain Kakashi.
"What do we do?" After realizing they had most likely been exposed, the two quickly communicated through eye contact. Without a solution, this mission was really going to fail.
"Alright, we admit we're not ANBU. But we are still ninja of Konoha. We are from Root, under the Hokage's advisor Danzō.
Our function is similar to ANBU. We only used the ANBU name earlier to avoid misunderstandings. We hope you can understand."
After a round of eye contact, one of them stepped forward and took the initiative to explain. While speaking, he did not forget to observe Furina's reactions so he could respond immediately.
"Oh my, your explanation doesn't convince me at all. Whether it's Hokage advisor Shimura Danzō or your Root organization, we've never heard of them. How can we believe you?"
After Furina expressed denial and realized it was hopeless, the Root member closest to the room immediately turned around, intending to strike first and abduct Karin directly.
The one who had been explaining earlier assumed a defensive stance, staring intently at Furina and watching her every move. From how practiced they looked, this situation had clearly happened many times before.
But the instant they made their move, Furina reacted as well. Her figure turned into an afterimage and vanished, reappearing the next moment beside the Root ninja who was blocking her.
No fancy techniques were needed. With Hard Vortex Water Blade in front, the blocking Root ninja had no choice but to retreat and dodge. And by dodging, he lost his chance to keep blocking.
"Hm?"
Because everything happened too quickly, the other Root ninja had only just broken open the door when Furina arrived in front of him. Before he could react, she kicked him flying right next to the intercepting Root ninja.