Chapter 71: Root Member, Codename Jia
"What 'Root'? Speak plainly. Which nation sent you? If you don't start talking, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Trouble had just fallen from the sky and landed squarely in his lap. Danzo's knuckles were white where he gripped the arms of his chair, a murderous anxiety coiling in his gut.
The girl, however, looked even more bewildered than he felt. Her expression was one of complete incomprehension as her gaze darted to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was seated nearby.
"Sandaime-sama..."
"Pfft—cough, cough, cough!"
Hiruzen, who had been sipping water while enjoying the unfolding drama, was so startled he choked, spraying a fine mist across the floor. He was just watching the show; how had he suddenly been dragged into it?
At that moment, the girl's eyes locked onto Stelle, who was wearing the Hokage's ceremonial robes. Her expression twisted in an instant, and her chakra flared violently. Realizing she wasn't trapped in a genjutsu, she drew the sword at her waist and lunged.
"Who are you to dare wear the Sandaime-sama's robes? Die!"
She moved like a viper striking, a blur of motion aimed directly at the Hokage's seat. But for all her speed, another shadow was faster. With a faint shhh of displaced air, Sakumo Hatake materialized in the office. His short blade met her sword with a sharp clang, parrying the strike before he spun, thrusting the point of his own weapon toward her neck.
The girl executed a flawless backflip to evade the counterattack, flicking a shuriken at Sakumo as she repositioned herself before charging at Stelle once more.
Sakumo Hatake's face darkened. If he allowed the Hokage to be attacked right in front of him—inside the Hokage Building, the very heart of Konoha—he might as well resign as an Anbu captain and commit seppuku for the disgrace. It didn't matter how powerful the Hokage herself was; letting an assassin get this close was a catastrophic failure of his duty.
A dangerous white gleam coated Sakumo's blade as he channeled his chakra. His speed exploded, eclipsing his previous movements. The strike seemed to sever the very air, flashing forward in an instant.
'So fast!' The girl barely managed to twist her body out of the way, only for Sakumo to follow through with a powerful kick that sent her flying into the wall with a heavy thud.
She peeled herself from the plaster, whispering under her breath in a daze.
"What's going on? Why is some strange woman wearing the Hokage's robes, and why aren't Lord Sandaime and Lord Danzo surprised? Am I still in an illusion?"
The only answer she received was the glint of Sakumo Hatake's blade thrusting toward her again.
Stelle pressed her palm to her forehead, suppressing the urge to let out a long, weary sigh.
'I'm going to the Land of Lightning to see what it feels like to crack skulls with Inch Power,' the clone had declared so cheerfully before she'd left. And now, not even a few days later, here she was, back of her own accord.
Not only had she returned, but she was running around calling people 'Sandaime'and babbling about some'Root'organization. It didn't take a genius to figure it out: the clone had assigned herself the identity of a Root ninja from a parallel world.'What is she playing at?'Stelle wondered.'Surely she doesn't actually want to pick a fight with Hiruzen and Danzo.'
Whatever schemes those two might be nursing, they weren't foolish enough to start trouble when they knew her strength far surpassed their own.
Even though it was her own clone, its thought processes were so erratic and unconstrained that even Stelle herself couldn't predict its next move.
Then she glanced at the power level the clone had set for herself.
'The level of an ordinary jonin? Not even on par with an elite genius. Isn't that a bit... weak?'Just as the thought crossed her mind, she saw the girl's eyes flash crimson. Three tomoe spun rapidly into place within her irises.'Oh, for crying out loud. She's actually going with the Uchiha persona. Seriously?'
Stelle hadn't even used the Sharingan herself yet, and here her clone was, showing it off. Yes, she did possess it. The system had granted her the most improved body and brain imaginable; with a Sage Body, it was only natural she'd have Sage Eyes to match. She just hadn't adopted an Uchiha alias yet, so there had been no reason to use them.
The main body hadn't even gotten to test-drive the Gundam, and the clone was already taking it for a joyride. The sheer audacity was infuriating.
Stelle vanished from her seat, reappearing in the middle of the battlefield in the blink of an eye. She casually knocked Sakumo's blade aside with one hand, then drove a heavy punch squarely into her clone's gut.
'Set yourself at an ordinary jonin level, did you? Then you can lie there and take your beating.'
A few more swift, precise strikes, and the girl was smashed into the floorboards, unable to rise.
The moment an Uchiha was involved, Uchiha Kagami's main body rushed to the Hokage Building at top speed.
The matter now involved the four most powerful figures in Konoha. Not wanting to get caught in the muddy waters—or more accurately, the potential crossfire—Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu consciously excused themselves from the office.
After closing the door behind them, the two couldn't help but glance back.
"Homura, do you think Danzo is actually planning a rebellion?" Koharu whispered, her voice tight with disbelief. "He secretly trained his own private force, and it's connected to the Uchiha? Does he not remember that an Uchiha already tried to assassinate Stelle once?"
Homura Mitokado's expression was uncertain. "That man... Danzo has been secretive and fiercely competitive since we were children. If anyone is even a fraction better than him, he stews in anger for days. It's hard to say, truly. But Hiruzen's part in this is strange, too. Doesn't he support Stelle as Hokage? Why would he let someone call him 'Sandaime' in private?"
"It feels like they conspired to stir up trouble together," Koharu mused grimly. "Did they not get beaten enough during our academy days? Or do they think Stelle's ultimate techniques have lost their bite?"
"Hiss!"
At the mere thought of the years they'd spent being thrashed by Stelle, both of them felt a phantom ache spread through their bodies.
"This whole situation is bizarre," Homura decided. "How about we call a team of medical-nin to be on standby? Just in case they really do get beaten to a pulp, we can at least rescue them in time."
Inside the Hokage's Office, Kagami had already activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. As an elder to Shisui, his unique ocular power was one of the most effective interrogation tools in existence.
His expression was stone-cold serious. The Uchiha had already been purged once after the Grand Elder and Uchiha Setsuna had plotted against Stelle. He couldn't believe another incident was unfolding.
Throughout the interrogation, however, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura wore masks of pure, unadulterated shock. The things this girl was saying... while not identical to their own experiences, they felt chillingly plausible, as if they had genuinely happened in another life. The background, the characters—it all matched, but the course of history was completely different. It was like listening to an alternate telling of their own story.
"I am an operative of Lord Danzo's personal Root division," the girl stated, her voice devoid of emotion. "My codename is Jia. I fell from a cliff during a mission and awoke within the borders of the Land of Fire."
"The Sandaime-sama is the leaves that bathe in the sun's light. The Root, led by Lord Danzo, are the roots buried deep within the earth."
"As ninja who guard Konoha from the darkness, it is our duty to sacrifice everything for the village."
"The darkness of Root is but the other side of the coin to the Will of Fire."
"Everything Lord Danzo does is for the good of the village!"
What? He, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was the Third Hokage? The strongest Hokage in Konoha's history? What nonsense was this? Looking back at his predecessors, who among them could he possibly defeat?
And he, Danzo Shimura, was the Hokage's Assistant, having established Root with countless elite ninja under his command? This wasn't just a matter of dividing Hiruzen's power; Hiruzen genuinely felt like he was going to cry.
"Hiruzen!"
"Danzo!"
The two men stared at each other, a thousand unspoken questions passing between them, until Stelle's cold, sharp gaze swept over them. They both flinched as if struck.
"Have you two been colluding behind my back? Planning to usurp my authority?"
They shook their heads in perfect, terrified synchronization and hastily changed the subject. "Wait," Hiruzen blurted out, "if I'm the Third, then who were the first two Hokage?"
Sure enough, their history diverged at a critical point. In the girl's telling, after Konoha's founding, Uchiha Madara did not become the Second Hokage but instead defected from the village. The title went to Senju Tobirama, and a great war was triggered soon after—though it was initiated by the other Four Great Nations.
After that first war, the one who took up the mantle was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
If not for the sudden appearance of Stelle, Hiruzen realized with a jolt, he probably would have become the Hokage.
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