SWNOVELXO Chapter 20: Rooted Vengeance.(EDITED)
Hiruzen's office emptied out as the elders stepped out one by one. Danzo was the last to leave, his expression unreadable behind those tired, sunken eyes. But I could tell he was furious inside. Being forced to recall his Root agents from the Senju compound must've bruised his pride.
I watched everything unfold through my wood clone still hidden within the walls of the Hokage building. Once the meeting ended, I dispersed the clone and regained the chakra back in my body—back in the Academy classroom.
On the surface, I sat calmly, nodding along as the instructor droned on about tactical formations.
But inside?
I was seething.
Danzo had threatened to kill Tsunade.
That alone sealed his fate.
He had no Hashirama cells yet. No Sharingan. No stolen abilities. Just a brittle old man sitting on borrowed power. This was the perfect time.
If I act before the Third Great Ninja War begins… I can eliminate him before he becomes a true threat.
But I had to be careful. Too early, and I'd attract attention. Too late, and he'd become nearly untouchable.
For now, I would observe and prepare.
(Danzo)
Back in Root headquarters, Danzo summoned the agents who had infiltrated the Senju compound.
They arrived swiftly, kneeling in front of him, still wearing those blank white masks.
"Did you gather any intel?" he asked in a clipped voice.
One agent responded, "No, Lord Danzo. We were unable to bypass the seal formations protecting the compound."
Danzo's brow twitched. He wasn't surprised—he had expected it to be difficult—but he was still disappointed.
"Did Tsunade detect you?"
The agents shook their heads. "We do not know. We were hidden to the best of our abilities… but she found us anyway."
Danzo dismissed them, reluctantly deciding not to punish them. They were some of his best operatives, and he couldn't afford to waste them—yet.
Still, Danzo wasn't ready to give up.
"Send a high-level Root Jōnin," he ordered. "Tail the boy. The Senju child. Only observe. Do not approach the compound. Watch him at the Academy and outside the walls."
The operative bowed and vanished into the shadows.
I was already expecting it.
The moment I stepped out of the Academy gates that afternoon, I sensed him.
His chakra was too calm—too precise. High Jōnin level. Probably one of Danzo's elite. And he was good. A civilian or low-level shinobi wouldn't have noticed him at all.
But I'm not some rookie genin. Not anymore.
You made a mistake, Danzo… you sent a spy after the wrong person.
I smiled casually, waved to a few classmates, then strolled toward the forest outskirts—an area with no patrols or civilians.
I felt his chakra tail me through the treetops.
He thought I was headed off for solo training.
Good. Let him think that.
I walked deeper into the woods until I found the perfect spot—quiet, dense, and far from any possible witness.
Then I stopped.
He did too, keeping his distance.
I brought my hands together and formed a single hand seal.
Wood Clone Technique.
A second me stepped out, identical in every way.
Even a Sharingan would've struggled to tell us apart.
The spy's heartbeat spiked slightly—his chakra flared, even if just for a second. He'd seen us. Good. I wanted him to.
The clone sank into the ground.
A second later, a hand touched the spy's shoulder.
He froze—instinctively flaring chakra and leaping back, tossing a kunai with a paper bomb.
Boom!
The explosion echoed through the trees… or rather, it should have.
Instead, the sound was muffled—contained. A wooden dome had materialized just before the impact, absorbing the blast.
He landed on the ground, wide-eyed and cautious.
Too late.
Vines shot out of the ground, wrapping around his legs. He tried to break free, forming seals for a Wind Release: Bullet Jutsu—but the wood suppressed his chakra flow. He couldn't mold it properly.
His arms were bound next.
His panic was almost sad.
He then saw the real me,Standing at the same place from the beginning of the fight to the end.Not moving even a inch far away from that position.
From the ground, stepped out The clone slowly—Next to his bound position.
The clone rose, brushing dirt from its shirt.
"A Jōnin," the clone said mockingly. "And yet… disappointing."
The spy glared at us, helpless.
"I could've killed you back there on the tree branch," clone said. "But I wanted to see what you'd do."
Clone raised its hand. The roots around him sharpened instantly—like spears.
"I won't interrogate you. You'd die before answering."
Without hesitation, the sharpened roots pierced through his heart and skull—right through the white mask.
Thud.
His body slumped.
Then the roots pulled him underground, completely devouring the corpse. The forest floor restored itself—no blood, no trace, no chakra leak. Like he was never there.
Danzo will think Tsunade caught and removed him.
Perfect.
I dispersed the clone and returned to the compound like it was just another peaceful day.
No guilt.
No hesitation.
I didn't kill an innocent.
I eliminated a threat—a killer who served a monster.
And I had made up my mind: Danzo Shimura would not live to see the next war.
This was just the beginning.
Author's Note:
Ren has drawn first blood, executing a silent and clean assassination using his Wood Release mastery. With his identity still hidden and Danzo clueless, the tides are shifting. Ren's path is turning darker—but with it, his power, strategy, and resolve grow even stronger. The hunt has begun.