Chapter 84: The Fish Took the Bait!

"Humming a tune~" Anko left the Hokage's office in high spirits, humming a cheerful tune to herself. The shock on the faces of the Hokage and the others had given her a taste of why some people loved to boast—it felt great!

After all, Mr. Lurigan was indeed wealthy, and she had merely exaggerated a bit. With that thought, she continued walking out of the Hokage Tower.

"Uh-oh! I got so carried away boasting that I forgot to tell the Hokage that Mr. Lurigan can disguise himself." She stopped, realizing her mistake.

"Never mind, I'll find a time to ask Mr. Lurigan about his connection with Orochimaru and report to the Hokage then." With a plan in mind, Anko turned and left.

Due to her pleasant interaction with Mr. Lurigan, she felt he was quite approachable and decided to ask him directly. If he didn't cooperate, she could always threaten to reveal his interest in pin-up books.

Enjoying her mischievous thoughts, Anko made her way out of Konoha Village.

Meanwhile, back in the Hokage Tower, the senior leaders of Konoha were also departing.

"Where's Danzo?" The Third Hokage looked around but didn't see Danzo.

"He said he had some business to attend to," Mitokado Homura yawned and replied casually.

"I see..."

Fire Country

On the road from Konoha to Fire Source City.

Due to purchasing many items in Konoha, Shishou chose to return by carriage this time. He had bought many specialty items from Konoha as gifts for Mikoto, as well as Izumi and Pakura in the Land of Iron.

Though the carriage wasn't as fast as a ninja, it was not slow either. By noon the next day, they would reach Fire Source City.

Takeko, wearing a mask, silently drove the carriage. Inside, Shishou lay in the carriage, resting with his eyes closed.

As dawn approached, the carriage came to a halt.

Opening his eyes, Shishou's lips curled into a slight smile: "The fish took the bait!"

After obtaining Wood Release, Shishou still occasionally visited Danzo's cloning laboratory and learned from the personnel there that Danzo had slowed down his experiments due to a lack of funds.

Having exposed his wealth after humiliating Danzo, Shishou knew that the power-hungry elder wouldn't be able to resist.

"Heh, they even dressed up as bandits. Root really is resourceful," Shishou mocked, signaling Takeko to stay inside the carriage while he stepped out. Facing the dozen black-clad Root members, he taunted them, "Hand yourselves over quietly."

Trained to be emotionless tools by Danzo, the Root members showed no reaction to being discovered and coldly replied, "Surrender yourself."

Shishou wasted no time with words and quickly formed hand seals. A massive centipede, Aka, appeared beside him.

"A summoning beast, huh?" Danzo, seeing the giant centipede, stepped out from the shadows. "I won’t kill you. I just want you to submit to me and use your wealth to support my cause!"

Imagining himself leading a Wood Release army to become Hokage, Danzo couldn’t help but smile—a rare and unsettling sight on his usually grim face.

"You're so ugly you shouldn’t smile," Shishou taunted, directing Aka to attack.

Danzo's face darkened at the insult. "Just a summoning beast!" he scoffed.

Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!

Danzo exhaled, forming a massive wind blade that slashed at Aka. However, the centipede’s tough shell only showed a scratch, surprising Danzo.

Under Shishou's control, Aka charged at Danzo. Shishou himself stayed back, wary of Danzo's Sharingan.

Returning to the carriage, Shishou knocked out the anxious Takeko and teleported her back to the Grand Gambler's Den, laying her on the sofa before teleporting to Mikoto's room.

"Why is Pakura here again?" he muttered, spotting Pakura asleep beside Mikoto. Grabbing Mikoto’s shoulder, he teleported them to his own room.

"What’s going on?" Mikoto asked sleepily.

"Get dressed, we’re going to kill Danzo!" Shishou said.

"Danzo?" Mikoto's expression hardened, and her Sharingan activated. She quickly changed into training gear, taking the contact lenses and mask Shishou handed her.

In a flash, Shishou teleported back to the carriage with Mikoto. Only two minutes had passed since he left.

Danzo and his men were still attacking Aka. The centipede’s large size and hard shell made it impervious to their regular attacks, making it an excellent opponent for dealing with weaker enemies.

Seeing Danzo, Mikoto's eyes flared with hatred. She lunged but was stopped by Shishou.

"Go deal with..." Shishou started but was interrupted as Mikoto rushed toward the Root members, her vision clouded by vengeance.

Shishou sighed at her impulsiveness. Fortunately, her combat experience, honed through sparring with Pakura, had improved significantly. Her Three-Tomoe Sharingan allowed her to barely keep up with the Root members.

Danzo, not recognizing Mikoto through her disguise, assumed she was Takeko.

Shishou effortlessly knocked out the Root members charging at him.

Danzo, concerned the ambush might be discovered by the Third Hokage, had left his more capable men in Konoha to maintain the facade.

Seeing three more Root members fall without revealing Shishou's abilities, Danzo wasn’t surprised. With enough men, the enemy would eventually show their hand.

"All of you, attack together," Danzo ordered.

The remaining Root members, taking note, charged at Shishou. Avoiding close combat, they unleashed an array of ninjutsu to overwhelm him.

Shuriken, fire, and wind techniques flew at Shishou. A Root member, acting as squad leader, pulled out a scroll.

Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll – Hawk Hunt!