Jōnin Shimura died without ever understanding how he died. Naturally, he had no idea that Hidan, a fanatical follower of Jashin, was still lurking at the base's entrance.
"Whoosh! Another one!"
Hidan was covered in blood, wearing an ecstatic grin that looked like pure madness. He stood amidst his blood ritual, grabbing the kunai that kept appearing from nowhere and licking the blood off them.
"Come on! This time, straight through the temple and into the brain!"
His entire body was a mess of black and white stripes. He aimed the massive steel needle at his own temple and drove it in hard.
Thud!
The needle pierced his skull. The immense pain made his body shudder violently.
"After surpassing the ultimate pain... this pleasure is a million times better than a good lay!"
Hidan spun the needle in his temple, his crazed expression reaching its peak.
"Saikou ni hiki iron duck da! (This is giving me an incredible high!)"
Kushina: "..."
Kurama: "..."
Hidan's perverted self-torture successfully kept Kushina and Kurama away from him.
"No, I have to keep Menma away from this pervert from now on!" Kushina hissed, shuddering. "Even contact with that lecherous old man Jiraiya is better than this!"
She couldn't help but rub her arms, goosebumps rising all over her body. It felt like her precious son could be fooled by some eccentric girl riding a ghost firecracker and calling him "Old Man Deng" in the future.
Kurama smacked his lips. "I take back what I just said about liking him. This masochist is too much."
As they spoke, a ninja clutching his bleeding throat rushed toward them at lightning speed. Even with his windpipe severed, the Root ninja still had the strength to run.
"Hmph, finally it's my turn, Madara!" Kurama sneered, his arm transforming into a giant fox claw.
But before he could strike, Kushina was faster.
"Damn maggots, die, die, die!!!"
Eight Adamantine Sealing Chains shot out instantly. The Root ninja, caught off guard, was pinned to the wall. Originally used for sealing and restraint, the chains transformed into sharp spikes that killed instantly.
All for the sake of justice for that dark, painful memory.
"Uh..." Kurama awkwardly clenched his claw in the air, then feigned nonchalance as he withdrew his chakra, crossing his arms to watch.
As the kunai stopped appearing, Hidan grew bored and prepared to leave the ritual.
Minato emerged from the depths of the passage, his divine robes still pristine. "So? Did you find the intelligence and evidence?"
Kushina leaned forward, staring expectantly at his empty hands.
Minato shook his head, his expression grim. "Everything here has been moved. Only some abandoned equipment remains."
"It must be that Danzo moved everything for some unknown reason."
This unknown reason, of course, stemmed from Hiruzen Sarutobi revealing the locations of these bases two months ago. That led Danzo to move all the important items, leaving only a few ninjas to guard them. The base became a temporary foothold.
But Danzo's actions weren't without merit. After revealing the information, Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped concealing it. He immediately gave it to Menma, hoping to rebuild their broken relationship.
Unfortunately, Menma completely ignored the Third Hokage. He was too lazy to continue destroying the bases, causing Naruto to perceive him as indiscriminately killing innocents and lowering his trust level.
Only now were these two bases used to test Minato and Kushina. They needed to see if they had truly severed ties with Konoha and were capable of carrying out an attack, rather than using the guise of revenge to secretly protect the village.
"Then the next base won't be..." Kushina had a premonition that the Root base in the Konoha Forest might also be empty.
"Whether it's there or not doesn't matter," Minato said. "We just need to kill everyone and complete the test Menma gave us. This is essentially a pledge of allegiance. Only by completing it will we have a chance to gain trust and forgiveness."
Hearing about trust and forgiveness, Kushina couldn't sit still. She took the lead, running as she shouted, "Let's go! Let's hurry to the base in the Konoha Forest!"
...
The next morning.
Danzo stood at the entrance of the base beneath the Ancestral Shrine, his face ashen. After a long while, Yamanaka Kaze emerged from the base, his expression grim.
"Lord Danzo, just like the base in the Konoha Forest... they're all dead. Not a single survivor."
Danzo, who had been hiding in other bases, sensed the disappearance of a large number of Tongue Calamity Seals yesterday. He led his men on a night-long journey, only returning now.
"Any discoveries?" Danzo's tone was cold, sending a chill down Yamanaka Kaze's spine.
"I've had my men check it out. We didn't sense any remnants of Tailed Beast chakra. It shouldn't have been that person. If it were, they certainly wouldn't have left the base..."
Kaze spoke of Menma, who had destroyed a base previously.
Hmm? Danzo glanced at Yamanaka Kaze. The displeasure and coldness in his eyes made Kaze quickly lower his head, unable to meet his gaze.
After a long pause, Danzo let out a cold snort. Leaning on his wooden cane, he walked toward the Hokage's Office.
...
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the intelligence report in his hand, his brows furrowed. Suddenly, the door was pushed open with a bang. Danzo strode in, furious.
Before Danzo could speak, Hiruzen Sarutobi tossed out an intelligence scroll.
"Orochimaru and a mysterious powerful figure from a Hidden Void Village infiltrated the village yesterday. The only casualties are your two bases. See the details yourself."
"It's highly likely you've offended some powerful figure outside, and they've come for revenge. You should know what kind of mess you've made out there."
If it were truly Menma's doing, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't be having this headache. Anyway, Danzo was becoming increasingly cunning and unruly. Taking this opportunity to suppress and weaken him was a good thing.
But the fact that it was done by an unknown, powerful figure lurking in the shadows was terrifying. To silently eliminate so many chunin, Elite Jōnin, and high-ranking ninja all in one night—they were only discovered afterward because of the overwhelming smell of blood.
With that kind of strength, they could easily wipe out some small villages and destabilize a large one like theirs.
Danzo glanced coldly at Hiruzen Sarutobi without replying. He casually flipped through the intelligence report a few times, then turned and left with the report and his men.
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