"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Shadow-clone Kakashi Hatake rapidly formed hand seals while Midori Inuzuka and kenshi guarded him from both sides.
Whenever a member of Kusagakagure's ANBU rushed forward, kenshi immediately trapped them with the Shadow Possession Jutsu.
Once immobilized, Midori closed in and finished them off with swift taijutsu strikes.
Meanwhile, Kakashi continuously unleashed large-scale ninjutsu to tear through the ANBU compound.
The squad captain could only watch helplessly as building after building collapsed under Kakashi's destructive techniques.
He couldn't intervene.
Because he was completely tied down by Aaron.
Having spent time among Kusagakure's ANBU ranks, Aaron already knew who the strongest fighter present was. Naturally, the squad captain became his target.
Aaron stomped the ground twice
And vanished instantly.
"Damn it… that speed again," the captain muttered, immediately spinning around in alarm.
What he feared most was Aaron's speed.
Truthfully, Aaron was the second-fastest ninja he had ever seen.
The fastest was the legendary "Yellow Flash," Minato Namikaze.
During the Third Great Ninja War, the captain had once witnessed Minato in battle. In mere seconds, Minato had eliminated several jonin-level shinobi.
Even now, the memory sent chills down his spine.
If I had been standing there instead… I wouldn't have lasted even a moment, he thought.
But today, facing Aaron brought back that same feeling of helplessness.
His eyes couldn't track Aaron's movements.
Forming hand seals was difficult under the constant pressure.
Every ninjutsu he launched missed.
All he could do was endure blow after blow.
Strangely, though, Aaron seemed determined not to take direct hits. He constantly dodged attacks from other Grass shinobi nearby.
Otherwise, the captain suspected he would have been killed already.
What he didn't realize was that this restraint was completely intentional.
For Aaron, the real mission was already complete.
Now his only goal was to create trouble for Danzō Shimura and the organization known as Root.
He had no interest in devastating Kusagakure itself.
If the losses stayed within a manageable range, the Grass leader would be furious but still rational. Under careful manipulation, he would direct his anger toward Root.
But if the damage became catastrophic, if high-ranking ANBU officers started dying the situation could spiral out of control.
The Grass leader might launch a deeper investigation.
And if the truth surfaced, Aaron might end up creating a brand-new enemy for himself.
Even though Kusagakure wasn't a serious threat compared to Konoha's strength, that outcome would still be annoying.
More importantly
If Danzo didn't end up taking the blame, Aaron would be extremely dissatisfied.
Danzo's recent betrayal still irritated him.
Publicly supporting Minato's diplomatic proposal, then secretly pulling a stunt like this?
Aaron found it incredibly frustrating.
This time, however, the squad captain made a mistake.
He assumed Aaron would appear behind him again.
Instead
Aaron appeared at his side.
BAM!
A powerful kick launched the captain across the courtyard.
He slammed into a wall hard enough to crack the stone.
"Move," Aaron said in a low voice.
"Don't waste time fighting them. Destroy their intelligence archive."
The others immediately understood his intent.
They were going to wreck the fake archive room Kusagakure had prepared then disappear.
"Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
Kakashi quickly raised a massive wall of earth, sealing off the pursuing ANBU forces.
With the entrance blocked, the four of them rushed toward the archive room.
The decoy archive had been set up in a shallow section of the base using an abandoned records room. The real archive lay deeper underground with far heavier security.
Aaron grabbed a random scroll, stuffed a few meaningless papers inside, and then launched a Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.
Flames roared through the room.
He followed up with a crushing punch that shattered the remaining structure.
Within moments, the archive room collapsed into rubble.
Mission accomplished.
The four of them then walked straight out of the compound.
No one dared to stop them.
or anyone who tried was already lying unconscious on the ground.
The squad captain had just been pulled out of the broken wall by his subordinates when he witnessed their departure.
His eyes nearly burst with rage.
But his injuries were too severe.
He could only watch helplessly as they disappeared.
The frustration was unbearable, like spending an entire day working hard, only to come home and find someone else enjoying the rewards.
After coughing up a mouthful of blood, he asked hoarsely,
"Did reinforcements arrive yet?"
"…No," one ANBU replied.
The captain stared silently at the ruined headquarters.
What he couldn't understand was this:
Why deploy three entire ANBU divisions just to hunt a single spy?
Was that infiltrator secretly one of the Five Kage or something?
"What did they destroy?" he asked grimly.
Even if the entire headquarters had been wrecked, he wouldn't have been surprised.
Although there were still hidden defenders deeper inside, none of them were stronger than he was.
If he couldn't stop the attackers, they wouldn't have stood a chance either.
But then
He heard unexpected good news.
"They destroyed the fake archive room we set up recently… and then left."
The reporting ANBU looked just as confused as he felt.
The squad captain let out a cold laugh.
"Iwagakure spies? Yeah… right."
At that moment, he finally realized something.
The false intelligence Morishita had leaked to Konoha had just proven incredibly useful.
Because now he knew exactly who had attacked them.
They were pretending to be Stone ninja but the disguise was sloppy.
Aside from a single Earth Wall Jutsu, they hadn't used any other Earth-style techniques.
One of the walls even had a ridiculous dog-face carving on it, like a mocking signature.
If those were truly Iwagakure shinobi, the captain joked bitterly to himself, he'd eat his noodles standing on his head.
And he definitely recognized the Shadow Possession Jutsu.
After fighting in two great ninja wars, he knew very well that technique belonged exclusively to the Nara Clan.
Add in the fact that their leader had recently rejected a proposal from Root…
The conclusion was obvious.
Without question
The attackers were Root operatives.
Their motive and capabilities fit perfectly.
Soon after, large groups of ANBU reinforcements finally flooded into the compound.
One voice shouted angrily:
"Who did this?! Whoever destroyed our headquarters, I swear I'll tear them apart!"
Hearing the furious declaration, the injured captain turned to look.
It was Captain Morishita, Aaron himself.
Aaron hurried over with a remorseful expression, even wiping away tears.
"This is all my fault," he said bitterly.
"If I hadn't rushed to capture the spy who attacked Lord Aonuma and taken so many ANBU out on patrol, this might never have happened…"
The squad captain didn't know what to say.
Blaming him felt wrong.
Morishita had already admitted responsibility.
Besides, his actions had been motivated by a desire to capture the enemy spy and his earlier false intelligence had actually helped mislead the attackers.
In the end, the damage was limited.
Only the fake archive room had been destroyed.
The captain sighed deeply.
"It's not your fault," he said.
"We simply weren't strong enough."
---
[Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
For early access to advanced chapters visit my P@treon:
P@treon/ Dexy3
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!