Chapter 137 – Overwhelmed
Inside the barbecue restaurant, the two of them chatted casually about their recent lives, each marveling at the other's eventful missions.
After more than half an hour, once the food had settled and their stomachs felt lighter, they supported each other out of the restaurant.
They had barely stepped outside when quiet whispers from a nearby corner drifted into their ears.
"Have you heard? Advisor Danzo is collecting Uchiha Sharingan."
"That's nothing. I heard several Uchiha went missing after missions. Just vanished. You think—"
"It's tragic. The largest clan in Konoha, and yet—"
Taichi and Kakashi exchanged a glance.
Both smiled unconsciously.
Looks like the rumors were working.
Once a rumor spreads, it rarely stays the same. It grows exaggerated. It drifts further and further from reality.
And Taichi and Kakashi hadn't spread just one rumor—they had unleashed an entire storm of different narratives.
By the time these stories fully circulated, who would still care about the original rumors surrounding Sakumo?
Besides—
Only Taichi knew the truth.
Not all the rumors were fabricated.
Quite a few were disturbingly real.
Once Danzo learned what was spreading, he wouldn't have the leisure to target Sakumo anymore.
He'd be too busy putting out fires of his own.
The two swayed slightly as they walked toward the training grounds.
Their chakra reserves were nearly depleted today, but the rest of the evening couldn't be wasted. Perfect time to practice blade techniques.
---
That night.
Deep beneath Konoha, within a vast underground complex—
The shinobi stationed there had abandoned everything.
Names. Emotions. Even their lives.
Whether willingly or not, they had surrendered it all.
They nourished themselves on darkness, transforming into roots buried deep underground—supporting the flourishing tree above that basked in sunlight.
This was Root.
At least, that was its founding ideal.
Whether Root still adhered to that principle today…
That was open to interpretation.
At this moment, a shinobi knelt before Danzo, reporting the day's collected intelligence.
At first, Danzo listened with satisfaction.
Recently, Root's primary mission had been spreading and monitoring rumors about Hatake Sakumo.
The results were excellent.
Perhaps not every villager believed them—but the vast majority had heard them.
As expected, Sakumo's reputation had taken a serious hit.
There were no longer any voices in Konoha speaking of him as a candidate for Fourth Hokage.
Danzo allowed himself a trace of pride.
But the next part of the report froze him solid.
"Unknown rumors regarding you, sir, have begun circulating in the village. Based on investigation, they first appeared today."
"For example—human experimentation… abandoning comrades… harming fellow Konoha shinobi…"
"These are the documented reports we've gathered. Please review them."
Danzo snatched the scroll from the shinobi's hands.
His fingers trembled slightly as he broke the seal.
The first entry alone made his pupils contract violently.
Wood Release human experiments.
As he read through the list—
Cold sweat soaked the back of his robes.
These weren't random rumors.
They struck precisely at his vital points.
Nearly every accusation—
He had done.
Danzo suddenly hurled the scroll to the ground.
His aged face twisted with fury. Veins bulged along the hand gripping his cane. His voice emerged sharp and venomous.
"Investigate!"
"Dig three feet into the earth if you must!"
"Find those rats—and drag them out!"
The Root shinobi kneeling on the ground broke into a cold sweat.
"Lord Danzo, the matter erupted suddenly. By the time we learned of these rumors, it was already evening. The ones spreading them had already withdrawn."
"Useless!"
Danzo kicked the reporting shinobi to the ground. His single exposed eye glinted with chilling malice.
"Mobilize all hidden operatives immediately. Focus surveillance on taverns, hospitals, marketplaces—anywhere crowds gather."
He paused, striking his cane heavily against the floor.
"And especially Hatake Sakumo. Monitor his movements closely. I want to know what he's been doing."
Seeing no further instructions, the shinobi hurriedly bowed and withdrew to arrange the next day's operations.
Once he was gone, Danzo waved a hand.
Three masked figures, each wearing a beaked bird mask, emerged silently from the shadows behind him.
"Zing. Take men disguised as civilians. Infiltrate the marketplace and search for clues."
"Cog. Go to the archives. Copy the list of everyone who accessed classified documents in the past three months."
"Yen. Investigate whom the Hokage has met recently."
"Move. Report to me immediately."
The three figures came and went like ghosts, uttering not a single word. They were tools—nothing more.
When they disappeared, Danzo violently overturned his desk. Porcelain shattered against stone walls, fragments scattering like his fraying composure.
These rumors were too precise.
Some of the incidents mentioned—he himself had nearly forgotten.
(In truth, it was pure coincidence. Danzo had simply committed so many wrongs that even Taichi's fabricated rumors struck uncomfortably close to reality.)
After careful consideration, only one person could possibly know so much—
Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Most of these actions, aside from the most private ones, had been carried out under the Hokage's tacit approval.
"...Hiruzen."
Danzo stared in the direction of the Hokage Tower, as though he could see through its walls.
"You think such tricks can stop me? I am not Hatake Sakumo."
In Danzo's mind, the culprit was already decided.
Though investigations continued, motive mattered most—and only Hiruzen possessed both knowledge and reason.
---
The Next Day
Taichi and Kakashi did not meet. They followed their agreed plan separately.
Not long after Taichi dispatched his third batch of shadow clones, a memory suddenly flooded back.
An hour earlier—
Shadow Clone Taichi had been chatting with an uncle at the marketplace.
Their conversation flowed warmly, like old friends. Slowly, under Taichi's guidance, it drifted toward the village rumors.
"Lord Sakumo is truly unfortunate. What shinobi never fails? And he abandoned the mission to save a comrade—yet people say he's unfit to be a shinobi."
"Exactly! I burn my hands cooking every day. And I'm no shinobi. Sounds like someone's targeting him."
"I heard new gossip about Advisor Danzo…"
"Danzo? Never heard of him."
"Out of touch, huh? Let me tell you—human experimentation… abandoning comrades…"
The uncle's mouth widened with each revelation. Around them, curious listeners gathered.
Just as Taichi grew more animated, a subtle gaze from a distant corner snapped him back to awareness.
He'd been noticed.
Without betraying concern, he excused himself and left the crowd.
Activating chakra perception, he quickly detected someone tailing him.
With a faint smile, the shadow clone wound through alleys and turned into a secluded corner. Before the pursuer caught up—
He dispelled himself.
When the follower arrived, the alley stood empty.
Only then did the pursuer realize he'd been discovered long ago.
The fool had been himself.
---
Back in the present, Taichi processed the memory.
So Danzo had reacted faster than expected.
They would need to tread more carefully.
He created two more shadow clones and instructed them to inform Kakashi if they found him, then continued on his path.
---
Meanwhile — Kakashi
Kakashi's day was going worse.
The moment he stepped outside, he sensed faint surveillance.
"So soon?"
He slowed deliberately, stopping at a dango stall. Using the window reflection, he spotted a man in a straw hat pretending to browse vegetables—eyes flicking toward him.
Kakashi crushed a dango between his teeth. The sweetness did nothing to ease the chill rising inside.
He entered a narrow alley and quickly produced two shadow clones, transforming them.
When the follower arrived, Kakashi was passing two strangers. The pursuer ignored them and followed the "real" Kakashi.
Repeatedly, Kakashi created clones at turning points.
Once enough clones were deployed, he casually arrived at Training Ground Seven—
Where Taichi was "coincidentally" practicing.
At a glance, Taichi read the situation from Kakashi's posture.
"Root moves quickly," he murmured inwardly.
They exchanged polite greetings outwardly, while quietly sharing intelligence.
"One of my clones was discovered this morning. Surveillance has increased—especially in crowded areas."
"I was tailed from home," Kakashi said.
Mid-sentence, he paused.
"What?"
"One clone got dispelled."
"They know our method now."
Taichi nodded grimly.
"Then we stop tomorrow. The momentum's already there. Pushing further risks exposure."
"Agreed."
They then openly sparred with swords under surveillance—blade light flashing, wind pressure surging.
The watchers stared in stunned silence.
---
Meanwhile, the rumors regarding Danzo spread like wildfire.
Exaggeration grew with each retelling.
The most outrageous version now claimed—
Danzo intended to stage a coup to seize the position of Fourth Hokage.
By noon, all their shadow clones had been neutralized.
Root had paid a heavy price tracking them.
But the tide had already turned.
The villagers themselves now carried the rumors forward.
---
That Afternoon — Root Headquarters
Danzo exploded once more, sweeping everything from his desk.
"Useless! What are you worth if you cannot even suppress this?"
After venting, he fixed a freezing gaze on the reporting shinobi.
"Sakumo?"
"No unusual activity. He remained home all day. His son, Hatake Kakashi, moved around the village and sparred with Matsushita Taichi."
"And the rumor spreaders?"
"They used shadow clones exclusively. All dispelled themselves before capture."
Crack.
The teacup in Danzo's hand shattered.
"Get out."
The shinobi fled.
In the dim chamber, only Danzo's heavy breathing remained.
No classified archives had been accessed.
Hiruzen's meetings were ordinary.
Yet this operation was flawless.
Precise.
Controlled.
Only two people in Konoha had both motive and ability—
Hatake Sakumo.
Or Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sakumo lacked knowledge of the mastermind and would not have delayed this long.
Thus—
Eliminate the impossible.
What remains is the truth.
"Hiruzen," Danzo muttered darkly.
"If you resort to such methods, then don't blame me for abandoning restraint."
"Zing."
"I am here."
A figure emerged from shadow.
"Take men. Spread new information in the village immediately."
Even the ever-emotionless Zing's eyes flickered faintly at Danzo's orders.
And as Root moved once more—
The waves already forming in Konoha threatened to become a raging storm.
---