Naruto: The Uchiha They Should Have Killed

"The first of Root's special training programs is called 'Vital Points and Blood Exposure.'"

"Root shinobi teach those children the locations of the human body's vital points and instruct them on how to kill a target in a single strike—the fastest and most efficient way to eliminate someone."

"If that alone were the extent of it, it might still be considered normal."

"But Root goes further. At regular intervals they conduct live combat training, forcing those children to see blood."

"And their idea of live training isn't simply handing the children weapons and telling them to kill someone."

"They make the children fight against adults."

"If they don't want to be killed, the only option is to kill first."

"In such an environment, it's easy to imagine how badly those children's minds would become twisted."

As Uchiha Ren continued speaking, the expressions of everyone present gradually grew heavier.

Ren went on.

"Additionally, Root's training employs a squad cooperation system and a last-place elimination system."

"The squad cooperation system is straightforward—it forces the children to form teams and rely on each other."

"But the last-place elimination system regularly removes the teams ranked at the bottom in overall ability."

"And the fate of those eliminated… is death."

"These two systems undoubtedly train teamwork, while also placing enormous pressure on the children to improve."

"If that were the end of it, it might still be tolerable."

"But Root also implements a final special exercise."

"At the appropriate moment, they force the squads—who have already formed deep emotional bonds—to kill one another."

"Only one person from each squad is allowed to survive."

"The purpose is to completely destroy their emotions and humanity."

"In short, Root's training methods are designed to create emotionless killing machines that exist only to carry out missions."

Ren's description visibly moved those present.

Although shinobi often claimed that ninja were tools meant to complete missions, very few people truly believed in that idea completely.

Even if every ninja textbook suggested that Danzō's methods might be "correct," most people harbored deep doubts.

They might not say it out loud—but in their hearts they knew the truth.

They were shinobi.

But they were also human.

And humans valued the bonds between comrades.

Tsunade frowned deeply.

"To what extent have those children already been trained?" she asked.

As the greatest medical ninja in the shinobi world, Tsunade immediately asked the most critical question.

Ren replied,

"For certain reasons, Root suffered heavy personnel losses recently. As a result, the training schedule for these children was accelerated."

"Roughly thirty percent of the children have already completed the 'mutual slaughter' stage—where their emotions are deliberately erased."

"The remaining seventy percent have all killed before."

The crowd reacted immediately, murmuring among themselves.

"They've already seen blood… That definitely complicates things."

"People trained like that will have weakened emotional attachments. It's not suitable to place them together with the children from the orphanage."

"It might still be possible, but they would need constant supervision."

"The caretakers would need patience, courage, and specialized knowledge—and preferably some ability to defend themselves."

"The best candidates would be medical ninja."

"But does the village even have enough medical ninja for something like this?"

"We probably do, but this won't be resolved quickly. If too many medical ninja are reassigned, it could disrupt the hospital's operations."

…

From the discussion, it was clear that Konoha did have the ability to resolve the situation.

However, solving it would require significant time, manpower, and risk.

It simply wasn't an easy task.

At that moment, Ren added another piece of information.

"Oh, there's one more thing you should know."

"Among those children… many of them are actually from your clans."

"They are your own relatives."

The entire gathering fell silent.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock.

Only then did they remember that Shimura Danzō had frequently taken talented children from various clans in the name of the Hokage.

In fact, it had happened not long ago.

"Damn it! Shimura Danzō has gone too far!"

"That bastard promised me he would properly train Masao and the others! Is this what he calls proper training?!"

"Naive! Danzō has taken people from our clans for years. Have you ever seen any of them return?"

"This won't stand! I'm bringing our clan's children back!"

…

Most of the clan leaders erupted in anger, condemning Danzō.

But a small number remained silent with grim expressions.

For example, Aburame Shibi, the head of the Aburame clan.

His normally calm face had turned as dark as iron.

Among all Konoha clans, the Aburame clan had suffered some of the heaviest recruitment by Danzō.

Many elite Aburame shinobi had been taken into Root.

The Aburame clan specialized in insect-based techniques, using different insects for reconnaissance, combat, defense, tracking, and even medical support.

Because of their versatility, they were extremely valuable to Danzō.

As a result, he frequently demanded Aburame clan members.

Even worse, several Aburame shinobi who had joined Root had been completely brainwashed.

They became Danzō's most loyal subordinates—and even helped him recruit more Aburame from their own clan.

Although Shibi's face remained composed, the rage in his heart was enough to make him want to cut Danzō into a thousand pieces.

"Quiet."

Shikaku Nara , though equally angry, maintained his composure.

"Everyone, we're here to discuss how to handle these children. Let's calm down."

Since everyone present held positions of authority, their anger subsided quickly.

Shikaku then turned back to Ren.

"Clan Head Uchiha, you were the first to discover this situation. Do you have any ideas on how to resolve it?"

Ren shook his head—then nodded.

"I don't have a complete solution yet."

"This isn't something the Uchiha clan can solve alone. We'll need everyone's cooperation."

"So for now, my suggestion is this."

"The village should temporarily assign personnel from Konoha Hospital to assist the Konoha Military Police Force."

"We'll house the children near the Konoha Orphanage and conduct an assessment of their individual conditions."

"After that, we can discuss a long-term solution during the Jōnin Council meeting."

Shikaku thought for a moment before nodding.

"For now, that seems like the best approach."

"Does anyone object?"

Since it was already late at night, the immediate priority was simply finding a place to house the children.

Shikaku had no issue with Ren's proposal.

"I, the Hyūga clan, have no objection."

"The Yamanaka clan has no objection."

"The Akimichi clan has no objection."

…

One clan leader after another voiced their agreement.

However, Shikaku did not finalize the decision immediately.

Instead, he looked toward Minato Namikaze, seeking his approval.

After all, Minato was now the nominal Fourth Hokage.

Decisions like this ultimately required his authority.

Minato smiled slightly.

"I have no objections either."

"Let's proceed according to Clan Head Uchiha's suggestion."

Ren nodded and continued.

"Now, onto the second urgent matter."

"According to intelligence gathered by the Konoha Military Police Force, Shimura Danzō didn't just establish Root bases around Konoha."

"He also built numerous secret bases throughout the Land of Fire and even in other countries."

"As the saying goes—speed is everything in warfare."

"The news of Danzō's arrest hasn't spread yet. This is the best opportunity to eliminate those Root bases in one sweep."

"However, the Military Police alone don't have enough manpower."

"So we need the village to send reinforcements."

"We should eliminate Danzō's remaining forces as quickly as possible."

He paused before adding another warning.

"Also, many of the Root shinobi in those bases have been heavily indoctrinated by Danzō."

"If they learn about his arrest, there's a possibility some of them might betray the village."

"To prevent irreparable losses, I hope everyone treats this matter seriously."

Minato's expression turned serious.

"Ren, do you have specific intelligence on those bases?"

Ren nodded.

"According to the information currently in our possession, Danzō established nine secret bases within the Land of Fire outside Konoha."

"Additionally:"

Three in the Land of WindTwo in the Land of EarthTwo in the Land of LightningThree in the Land of WaterOne in the Land of Rain

"These bases are fully functional."

"They engage in activities such as kidnapping children, training operatives, intelligence gathering, resource acquisition, and human experimentation."

"Each base is essentially a self-sufficient operational facility."

"As for their defenses—"

"Danzō recently withdrew large numbers of personnel from them."

"So these bases are currently at their weakest point in history."

"This is the perfect opportunity to deal with them."

Shikaku frowned.

"The bases within the Land of Fire aren't a problem. Since it's our territory, it doesn't matter how much commotion we cause."

"But the bases located inside other countries are far more difficult."

"Especially those inside the territories of the Four Great Nations."

"We just finished a major war not long ago."

"Tensions between the nations are still extremely sensitive."

"If we act recklessly now, it could easily trigger misunderstandings and even restart the war."

"Even if misunderstandings don't occur, those nations will certainly try to interfere once they discover our movements."

Shikaku's concerns were completely valid.

If the other great nations learned of this operation, they would almost certainly intervene to disrupt Konoha's plans.

Therefore, the number of shinobi deployed would need to be carefully controlled.

Another issue also needed consideration:

If pressured too hard, the Root shinobi stationed in those bases might defect to other nations.

Ren nodded.

"Then we'll handle it differently depending on the situation."

"For bases located within the Land of Fire or smaller nations, we can simply sweep them out directly."

"But for those inside the territories of the Four Great Nations, we should attempt to persuade them to surrender first."

"Although those shinobi served Danzō, many of them did contribute to the village."

"If they haven't committed serious crimes and aren't blindly loyal to him, we can give them a chance to start over."

Minato nodded.

"I agree."

"We shouldn't condemn everyone blindly."

"There are shinobi in Root who truly believed they were serving the village."

"And that doesn't apply only to the bases outside the country."

"Even the Root shinobi inside the Land of Fire must be carefully evaluated."

Since Minato had spoken, Shikaku naturally didn't object.

"Very well."

"I'll select suitable shinobi from among the village's elite forces to assist the Konoha Military Police Force."

As the leader of the Konoha Jōnin Command, Shikaku was highly familiar with the abilities of the village's shinobi.

He also held considerable authority over Konoha's jōnin.

Once that matter was settled, Ren continued.

"Finally, there's the third issue."

"This one is much simpler."

"It concerns Root's intelligence network."

Ren summarized the information he had learned from Yakushi Nono.

"In short, Director Nono can take over this system."

"But she'll need the authority to act in the Hokage's name."

Shikaku nodded.

"A complete intelligence network is extremely important anywhere."

"It should indeed be secured as quickly as possible."

"However… can Yakushi Nono really handle it alone?"

Since Shikaku had only just learned about Nono's past, he still had some doubts about her abilities.

Minato waved his hand confidently.

"I've interacted with Director Nono before."

"Her abilities are beyond question."

"So we'll proceed according to her plan."

"I'll grant her the necessary authority in the name of the Hokage."

After a moment's hesitation, Shikaku finally nodded.

However, this discussion also made him realize something.

The relationship between Minato and Uchiha Ren seemed far closer than it appeared on the surface.

Minato then concluded the meeting.

"Then I'll leave the matters of the children and the Root bases to Clan Head Nara and Clan Head Uchiha."

"I'll depart shortly for the Fire Daimyō's residence to obtain the official appointment."

"If anything comes up, we'll stay in contact."

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