Shimura Danzo ignited the emergency signal flare attached to his robes without hesitation—its blinding red glow streaking into the sky like a burning comet.
The warning signal instantly alerted the entire Root network.
At that moment, Root ninjas who had already surrounded Tian Yu's location reacted swiftly and aggressively.
Only then did the Root unit commander recall—
The unease he'd felt earlier about this "Danzo-sama" had indeed been justified!
"Lord Danzo, please wait a moment," the commander said coldly.
"Why was the emergency flare just now launched from a different location? Can you explain this inconsistency?"
"Or—please take out the flare you're carrying so we can verify it."
His tone had lost all reverence, replaced by sharp suspicion.
He stared at Tian Yu's every move with a hawk-like gaze.
Tian Yu instantly knew the ruse could no longer hold.
Without hesitation—
Retreat now!
His eyes widened, and he focused chakra to instantly activate the Stealth Mask's transformation—switching its function from disguise to concealment.
In the blink of an eye, his entire figure vanished!
"L-Lord Danzo… just vanished?!"
All of the Root ninjas stood frozen for a heartbeat, their minds racing to process what had just happened.
But the experienced commander—trusted as Danzo's right-hand man—was the first to react.
Someone who truly knew Shimura Danzo—
Would never vanish like that.
He shouted a firm order, his voice full of alarm:
"Don't drop your guard! That wasn't the real Danzo-sama!"
"He must've used some secret technique to conceal himself—he's still nearby!"
"He hasn't escaped yet! Everyone, spread out and begin a full search of the area!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Without delay, the Root ninja stopped what they were doing and began expanding their search.
They surged into the surrounding forest beyond the Uchiha clan compound.
Nearly a hundred elite-level Root operatives—most at least elite Chunin—formed a tight, coordinated net that swept the forest in all directions, searching for the intruder.
"I've detected his chakra! Southwest quadrant!" one of the sensory ninja suddenly called out.
Three minutes had passed.
The Stealth Mask's active duration ended—
Tian Yu's real body was exposed, and the mask entered its one-minute cooldown phase.
The sensory-type ninja immediately locked onto the chakra signature radiating from Tian Yu's direction.
"After him!"
Root operatives roared in unison and surged forward.
The calm forest was suddenly filled with the chaos of pursuit—
Leaves rustled, branches snapped, and footsteps pounded across bark.
Dozens of black-clad figures wearing animal-themed masks bounded across tree branches like a swarm of shadows, closing in on Tian Yu's last known location.
Their coordination was surgical, their pursuit relentless.
But as they chased—
The sensory ninja's expression grew increasingly tense.
"Captain," one Root member asked, "you said earlier he was only 500 meters ahead. So why haven't we caught up? Why can't we even see his silhouette?"
The sensory ninja's face twisted with embarrassment and disbelief.
Gritting his teeth, he hesitated before replying:
"Captain… that person is now… already over 1,000 meters away from us!"
Chapter 36: Depressed Danzo
"What did you say?!" the Root unit commander froze on the spot.
The sensory ninja repeated, sweat rolling down his temple beneath the mask:
"Captain… his chakra is pulling farther and farther away. That person's speed—it far surpasses ours. We… we can't catch up."
A chill ran down the commander's spine.
He muttered under his breath:
"To perfectly mimic Danzo-sama, escape detection from dozens of elite operatives… and move at a speed faster than even elite jonin…"
"Could it be… that this person has already surpassed the elite jonin level… and reached the level of a Kage?"
Shaking off the chill, he quickly gave his next order:
"I'll report to Lord Danzo in person."
"The rest of you, keep pursuing and sweep the area for any clues!"
"Yes, Captain!"
…
In the black of night,
From the instant his identity was compromised,
Tian Yu had burst forth like a shadow and sprinted into the darkness at full speed.
He knew that with his current strength—
He couldn't face the entire Root faction head-on.
Once exposed, even if he escaped Konoha—
Danzo would hunt him to the ends of the earth.
That was a risk Tian Yu could not afford.
In the midst of flight,
He began removing the weighted sandbags strapped to his body—
200 catties… 150… 100… 50…
With each discarded weight, his body grew lighter.
His movements became faster and faster, his speed climbing like wind under his feet.
The night wind howled past his ears like a sharpened blade.
Tian Yu's lean figure—
Became a streak of lightning, streaking across the night like a phantom.
He kept his breathing even, his mind focused on the sounds behind him.
Though he had not yet learned to open the Eight Gates, after shedding all his weights—
Tian Yu's full-speed movement had already surpassed standard jonin-level speed.
Those Root operatives would need far more time to catch up.
The mask's cooldown? Only one minute.
After that—
Once the concealment mask was reactivated, erasing his chakra and presence—
Even Root's most elite trackers would lose his trail entirely.
"Huh? They haven't caught up?" Tian Yu glanced back while leaping from tree to tree.
He was stunned to see the Root pursuers falling farther behind.
A grin formed on his lips.
"I overestimated them…"
In hindsight, he realized the mistake.
The only jonin he had directly encountered was Might Guy—
An elite jonin with monstrous taijutsu speed.
So he had subconsciously assumed all Root jonin would be that fast.
But in reality—
There was only one Might Guy in all of Konoha!
With Tian Yu's current physical strength—
He could already exchange hundreds of blows with Might Guy.
For average elite jonin, catching up with him was a fantasy.
Ding! Stealth Mask Cooldown Complete!
The system's voice chimed in his mind.
Tian Yu let out a breath.
Relief flooded him. The tension in his heart finally evaporated.
A grin curved his lips.
He glanced at the direction the Root pursuers had gone and thought smugly:
Hahaha… bunch of fools.
Young Master isn't playing with you anymore!
He instantly activated the concealment mask again.
With a shimmer—
Tian Yu's figure vanished completely, along with his chakra signature.
…
"What's the situation?" Shimura Danzo's voice was icy cold.
His expression darkened like storm clouds as he questioned the Root ninja kneeling before him.
Sweat poured from under the subordinate's mask.
Suppressing the fear trembling in his chest, he quickly reported:
"Lord Danzo… all the Sharingan we had gathered were stolen by the infiltrator."
"What?!"
Danzo's roar shook the entire room.
His chakra spiked in fury, his face twisted with rage.
"You're telling me—with so many of you present—he still got away with the loot?!"
"I accept full responsibility, sir," the commander said stiffly. "We didn't expect him to impersonate you so perfectly. None of our ninja noticed anything."
Danzo's voice was ice and fire as he snarled:
"Excuses! All I hear are excuses for failure!"
"Do you even understand what the consequences of this mistake are?!"
The Root commander's face turned ashen beneath his mask.
Without hesitation—
He drew the short sword from his waist and brought it down in a clean arc.
Slice—
His left arm fell to the ground.
Blood gushed freely.
This was the price of failure in Root.
Even the commander was not exempt.