Naruto: I Can Upgrade My Techniques Infinitely
Chapter 133: Emergency Mission

Chapter 133: Emergency Mission

Nara Kazuki had to admit—he never expected Shimura Danzō to personally extend him an invitation. He’d suspected for a while now that Danzō might try to lure Shisui and Itachi into Root, but he hadn’t imagined the man’s method would be so... poetic?

Still, if you were someone who truly believed in the Will of Fire, that kind of messaging might tug at your heartstrings. Young shinobi burning with idealism often wanted nothing more than to dedicate themselves to the village.

And Root was a shadowy, secretive division—its very name implying an unseen presence, buried deep beneath the surface. Almost no one talked about it in the open.

Kazuki couldn’t even remember exactly what Danzō’s original justification for founding Root had been. Something about protecting the village from within? Either way, it always circled back to his hunger for the Hokage’s seat.

But Kazuki had zero interest in joining Root and getting that cursed Seal of Tongue Paralysis. He was doing just fine in ANBU. And he knew what kind of place Root really was—where dirty work got done, where fall guys were made. In a way, it suited his needs—Root missions involved heavy combat, after all. And combat meant growth.

His chakra reserves had grown significantly, and they continued to climb with age. That was just biology. But battle? Battle was acceleration.

So he burned the invitation without hesitation and went back to honing his jutsu.

"Wait a second... if this is Danzō, then..." Kazuki suddenly had a thought. There was no way Danzō had only sent a letter to him. So—

"Huh? I didn’t get anything." Shisui looked at him, puzzled. He didn’t seem to be lying.

Kazuki studied his expression. It was genuine.

Even Itachi hadn’t received a letter.

"I see..." Kazuki scratched his head. So Danzō had only sent one to him? That didn’t make sense. There was no way Danzō wasn’t scheming something with the Uchiha. Kazuki knew Danzō’s nature—he was after the Uchiha Clan’s power. That wrapped-up right arm and the sharingan it hid... there was no question he had his sights set on them.

So why hadn’t he reached out to Shisui or Itachi?

"...Maybe he wants to use me as a bridge," Kazuki thought aloud. It was plausible. Root agents could easily sneak into his room to plant a letter, but breaking into Uchiha residences? That was another level of difficulty entirely—especially when Itachi was the clan head’s son. The security was tight.

Kazuki figured that must be it. But he’d already burned the letter. Whatever Danzō had in mind, Kazuki had no interest in playing his game. Root was a dead end. ANBU, at least, had Minato’s protection. Root was Danzō’s absolute dictatorship.

"That bastard... I’ll have to find a way to cause him some trouble," Kazuki thought, a cold light in his eyes.

Still, it wasn’t urgent. He’d get back to that later. For now, he brought Shisui and Itachi to the ANBU mission hall to pick up their next assignment.

Their previous task—guard duty—had been canceled after Kazuki exposed the spy. So now it was time to see what the new options looked like.

"Intel gathering... nah. Investigating missing villagers in a nearby town? Also no." Kazuki scanned the mission board. There were assassination and suppression missions listed, but those required a higher shinobi rank.

Minato had promised to support Kazuki’s promotion, but to actually reach jōnin, he’d have to go through a full evaluation—paper tests included. Which was just... ridiculous.

Back during the war, you could skip all that if you racked up enough merit. But now, in peacetime, bureaucracy ruled again.

"Captain, what about this one?" Shisui pointed to a mission. Kazuki leaned in for a look.

[Organize and catalog files in the Hokage’s office, and provide security for one day]

Kazuki gave him a deadpan look. "You trying to score face time with the Fourth or what?"

He was about to tell Shisui not to be so thirsty when a voice suddenly rang out.

"Akashika! Akaru!"

Kazuki turned just in time to see someone sprinting toward them, waving a sealed scroll. The man shoved it into Kazuki’s hands.

"Emergency mission. You’re to lead Shiroga and Rokurō. Uga has been assigned elsewhere!"

He spoke fast, clearly urgent. Kazuki frowned. This mission grouped him with Kakashi—but not Itachi? Only Shisui was coming along?

He opened the scroll and read.

[Rescue the captured kunoichi code-named ’Kitsune’ from the Land of Earth]

A name Kazuki hadn’t heard in a while.

Fox—once her codename in ANBU. Since she left, Kazuki had just called her by her real name: Yamanaka Mai.

"I understand. Shiroga, with me. Uga, head back," Kazuki said, glancing at Itachi. This was going to be a dangerous mission. Itachi was fine for polishing skills with safe assignments, but this wasn’t one of those.

Itachi hesitated, then nodded.

Shisui immediately fell in behind Kazuki as they moved out.

They arrived at a secondary rendezvous point—Kakashi was already there, leaning against a tree.

"Let’s go," Kakashi said, his voice calm, but Kazuki could hear the tension in it.

Which made sense. Both he and Kakashi had worked closely with Kitsune when they were fresh in ANBU. Now she was in trouble—of course they wouldn’t just sit around.

"Where’s Byakko?" Kazuki asked, not seeing their usual tagalong.

"This mission’s just for you three... and me." A raspy voice answered.

A man with a fox mask stepped into view, his golden hair visible even under the hood. He made no effort to conceal it. Kazuki guessed he was from the Yamanaka Clan as well—probably one of Mai’s older relatives. He didn’t know who exactly, but his chakra felt heavy. Definitely jōnin level.

So, even if the team was small, their combined strength was nothing to scoff at.

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