How did this turn into killing Uchiha again?
Do you have the same obsession with the Uchiha as Lord Danzo or something?
The Root ninja was full of question marks. Was this guy's hostility toward the Uchiha really that intense?
…Though, to be fair, that was very Root-like.
"Ahem." The Root ninja cleared his throat lightly. "You should read the mission properly. Don't keep staring at the Uchiha."
Although Lord Danzo had always targeted the Uchiha—occasionally pruning a genius or digging out a few three-tomoe Sharingan—they couldn't move too frequently. Otherwise, the Uchiha clan would become wary.
Hyuga Arin curled his lips. He was still short on Sharingan anyway—one-tomoe just wasn't enough to use.
He unrolled the scroll in his hand.
Eliminate ninja with intent to defect.
The scroll listed the targets in detail, including their backgrounds and their usual areas of activity.
"So you want me to make a move inside the village?" Arin frowned slightly. These people only had the intention to defect—they hadn't taken concrete action yet.
"That's right." The Root member replied flatly. "Because they fear the war, they plan to leave Konoha. Root needs all of them erased."
With that, he turned to leave.
"Wait." Arin suddenly called out.
The Root ninja turned back, silently waiting for his question.
"You still haven't paid me for my last two missions. Where am I supposed to collect my reward?"
…Reward?
The Root ninja's expression turned strange—fortunately, hidden behind his mask.
Reward? What reward?
Since when did Root missions come with pay? He'd been in Root for so long and had never heard of such a thing.
"Don't tell me Root missions come with no pay?" Arin stared at him wide-eyed.
The Root ninja nodded. "That's correct. However, you might be an exception. You can inquire directly with Lord Danzo."
After all, once you've erased human emotions, what use is money?
Arin was different. He didn't have the Tongue Curse Seal, and he hadn't even stepped foot inside the Root base.
Calling him a true Root member—very few would believe it.
At that moment, Arin had only one feeling.
What absolute workhorses.
Doing the most dangerous, most hated jobs—and not even taking a single coin.
Office workers would cry seeing this. Capitalists would be overjoyed. This was exactly the kind of talent they needed.
But put that on him?
No way.
He hadn't joined Root to be a workhorse. He joined to replace Dan—cough—to carry out missions for the sake of a friendly and harmonious Konoha.
But!!
"Just a few chūnin and genin, and you want me to risk my life for Root without paying me? I'm not doing it."
…So if it were jōnin, you would do it? The Root ninja was completely confused.
"If you have any objections, you may report them to your superior, or to Lord Danzo directly," the Root member said in an official tone.
"I don't have the authority to decide."
Arin clenched his fist. They really were treating him like a workhorse—and not even paying him.
This kind of evil capitalist absolutely deserved to be hung from a streetlamp.
No money, yet they still wanted him to work?
"Once this mission is done, I'm definitely going to have a good talk with Danzo."
Please address him as Lord Danzo, the Root ninja complained internally.
So… you are still going to do the mission, right?
Then what was all that arguing for?
After all, it was still experience points. Arin would never give that up. But being a free workhorse was out of the question—after this mission, he was definitely going to demand his pay.
"Any other questions?" the Root ninja asked.
Arin actually did have one. "Why won't you take me to the Root base?"
"Please raise that question with your superior, or ask Lord Danzo."
Useless!!
Arin shot him an annoyed glare. Was that the only line he knew?
"Any other questions?"
"No."
"Then I'll be leaving."
The Root ninja vanished from the room, leaving Arin cursing under his breath.
"This Root really is a black-hearted company. There's no way Danzo is swallowing my wages."
Unlike Sarutobi Hiruzen—he never delayed paychecks. On the battlefield, he'd even handed out plenty of benefits.
No wonder Hiruzen was Hokage. With Danzo's attitude, who'd want to work for him?
And he still dreamed of becoming Hokage—keep dreaming.
Arin looked back down at the scroll.
"Five chūnin, three genin?" He scanned the eight profiles.
None of them were from ninja clans—just civilian ninja.
That made sense. Clan ninja had their roots in Konoha and couldn't easily leave. As for jōnin, anyone who reached that level was practically guaranteed to be loyal to the village.
"Feels like it's going to be hard for me to ever become a jōnin," Arin rubbed his chin.
He had no real loyalty to Konoha. If anything, he sometimes felt like farming Konoha itself.
With that level of loyalty, passing a jōnin evaluation seemed… unlikely.
Fujiwara Senju sat in a corner, drinking alone.
As a Konoha chūnin, his life had actually been pretty decent. Ninja fought and died, sure—but the pay was good.
He'd thought he could just muddle through life as a chūnin.
Then the war broke out.
His friends died. His classmates died. He barely escaped with his life, returning to the village to recuperate—only to be sent back to the front lines again soon.
He didn't want to go.
He was scared. Truly scared.
He didn't want to die on the battlefield.
So he wanted to escape—escape Konoha, escape the war.
Plenty of others felt the same. War was the easiest way to breed fear, even if one didn't truly want to betray Konoha.
But you only had one life.
"Is this seat taken?"
A voice interrupted his thoughts. A long-haired, expressionless man sat down beside him without waiting for an answer.
"Hey, I didn't give you permission to sit here," Fujiwara Senju said coldly.
"Sorry, sorry." The man stood up apologetically—then stepped just a little closer.
That distance crossed Fujiwara's alert line, a habit formed on the battlefield.
It's fine. This is Konoha, he told himself, relaxing slightly.
"Snake Life · Whiplash."
The man's arm lashed out like a living snake, striking Fujiwara's neck and instantly shattering his windpipe and cervical spine.
His eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to scream—
No sound came out.
"Ah, looks like he drank too much," Hyuga Arin said in mock surprise, still disguised by a Transformation Technique.
I DIDN'T DRINK!!
Fujiwara Senju sank into darkness.
Arin walked out of the restaurant as if nothing had happened. No one noticed a thing.
[Experience +1354]
[Genjutsu · Hell Viewing Technique]
[Konoha Armor: +100 Defense]
Armor could be refined into essence, and the genjutsu had some use.
Stepping outside, Arin glanced at the scroll and drew a line through one name.
"First one down."
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◇ You can read 90+ chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/CanonBreaker