Naruto: Chronicles of A Fire Ninja

Chapter 154: Danzo's Dilemma

"You have grown quite well, boy, fighting and even winning against so many Root ninjas at such a young age. Your future is limitless. I am sure Aiko would be very happy for you in heaven," Minoru said once again, focusing on Kaida since he can't do anything to those chunins.

"Thanks, Grandpa. I learned it from my big brother," Kaida said.

"Well, I was the one who taught him, so you indirectly learned from me," Minoru said.

"Please tell him the full detail, sir. I learned Taijutsu from Minoru Sama," Shisui said.

"But brother, you never use Taijutsu," Kaida asked, a little confused.

"Exactly," Shisui said, nodding his head.

Smack

"I only taught you that because your genius father had already taught you most things. Also, why would you focus on Taijutsu when Kenjutsu is superior?" Minoru said after giving Shisui a smack for his funny remark.

Hahahahaha (Kaida)

"Now tell me what you want me to do with these people," Minoru asked.

"Uncle, we will go back to Konoha and talk about how to proceed with the clan head. Until then, please keep them here," Shisui said.

"We? Am I also supposed to go back?" Kaida asked.

"Of course, or do you want to live with your grandpa now?" Shisui asked.

"I would love to, but I have some missions to complete before that," Kaida said.

"Are you out of your mind? One of the most deadly organizations in the world is after your life, and you want to go on some bandit extermination mission?" Shisui asked, and then continued, "I thought you were the intelligent one among us."

"Brother, Danzo sent a Jonin and six chunin after me. This team should be able to handle a Jonin, let alone me, so there is no chance that he would have sent a bigger team than this. Since they are dead, I should be safe for now. Also, if I go back to the village, doesn't it more or less inform them that the ninja they had sent after us are in trouble or dead?" Kaida asked.

"Well, I can now see why you think he is the smarter between you two," Minoru said with a smile.

"Kaida, Danzo is a grandmaster in Fuinjutsu, and from what we have deduced from such a long fight against him, he has developed some type of seal from which he can get informed if any of his subordinates die. As soon as we kill them, there is a search party sent to search for them. But if we just capture them alive, Danzo waits for some time before releasing a search party," Shisui said.

"That means when we capture them alive, Danzo doesn't know that his subordinate is missing until he doesn't report, even when his time limit for the mission is exceeded," Kaida said.

"Correct, so by now, Danzo should know that his subordinates are dead, and since they were sent after you, you would be their first suspect already. That's why you should come back to Konoha with me," Shisui said.

"Brother, I think you have given me more reason to remain out of the village. If they think I am after the death of their ninja and am still out of the village, they may think I may have killed most of them using some underhanded tactic, and that those three chunin who are alive must be chasing after me. So we will get more time to plot a good plan," Kaida said.

"Hahaha, are you really Aiko's child? If she was in your shoes, she wouldn't have been this cool-headed until now, but you are analyzing the situation quite skillfully. Good job," Minoru said, and then turned to Shisui and said, "Don't worry about the boy; his security will be my responsibility until you come back."

Shisui became visibly relaxed after hearing that. Since Minoru was an elite jonin himself and an Uchiha, there were very few people in Konoha who could go toe-to-toe against him in a fight.

"Then I will leave him in your care," Shisui said, and then turned to Kaida and said, "Don't get carried away and make things difficult for Minoru Sama."

Kaida nodded his head, and then Shisui went back the way he came.

"So you are planning to continue your mission, right?" Minoru asked.

"Yes, Grandpa. Since that was the main reason I came out of the village, I want to practice some of the things I learned in the last few months," Kaida said.

"As you wish. Just wait for some time; I will quickly lock these guys up," Minoru said and picked up two of the chunin, dragging them inside the hideout.

"Do you need any help, Grandpa?" Kaida asked, planning on carrying the last chunin inside.

"No, boy. I can do it myself. Also, nobody is allowed to come inside this base without the clan head's permission," Minoru said.

"Oh! Then I will wait here," Kaida said and sat back at his chair.

After locking the chunin and informing the ninjas in the base that he would be out of the base for some time, Minoru came out of the base and asked, "Do you want to take some more rest, or are you ready to leave?"

"I am very much ready to leave, Grandpa, but Grandpa, can you please don't help me during my mission and only interfere if Root makes a move?" Kaida asked.

"Don't worry; if you want that, you will be even unable to see me during your mission. Let's go," Minoru said, and then they both left the base and went on their way.

As soon as they started moving, Minoru silently vanished into the shadows, and even though Kaida could feel that someone was looking at him, he couldn't sense Minoru at all.

'I still have a long way to go,' Kaida thought.

...

(Root headquarters just after the Jonin died)

'What? How can even Hiro die? I refuse to believe that a nine-year-old child can fight and win against a Jonin who is personally trained by me,' Danzo thought, then it clicked to him.

There was a case in which this situation would make perfect sense. He quickly called his assistant ninja and asked, "Does Shisui also left the village with Kaida?"

"No sir, we have been keeping an eye on the Uchiha compound as you have ordered. Shisui is still in his house, most likely sleeping," the Root ninja replied.

Danzo dismissed the ninja.

"This doesn't make sense. How can a nine-year-old actually kill four Root ninja? Either they encountered someone else during their mission, or that boy used some sort of trap to kill my ninjas. But since three of them are alive, they must have avoided the trap. Should I send reinforcement?" Danzo said to himself, then shook his head.

"If they want any help, they could easily get it from any nearby base. Let's wait for some time before taking any action," Danzo thought, but his day was ruined.

Losing a Jonin was huge, even during wartime. No matter how many ninja Konoha had, Jonin were not in abundance; they were the peak of power among ninjas, just below Kage-level ninjas. And very few could reach that level in their lifetime.