The root shinobi who had previously raised his voice against Kazuki now had his eyes bathed in black blood, clearly at the edge of his limits.
"No one has any objection?" Kazuki asked softly: "If anyone has any objections, they can voice them. I am a person willing to listen."
Yashiro, seeing the change in Kazuki's presence, hurriedly put away his katana. He stood to the side, obedient, not daring to utter a sound.
Not to ntion the root shinobi: even the three-tomoe Uchihas present, while not directly under Kazuki's pressure, could feel the overwhelming weight of the environnt.
Kazuki slowly walked up to the table, withdrew his Sharingan and chakra, and smiled gently. "Raise your heads. Look at ."
At his words, the forr mbers of the root instinctively looked up, eting a warm smile.
At that mont, everyone was taken aback.
Were this kind man and the Uchiha Kazuki from just now the sa person?
"Root shinobi, in Danzo's words, have no nas, no emotions, no past, no future. Their only mission is to support the great structure of Konoha from the shadows, like the roots of a tree deep in the earth." Kazuki recited the definition Danzo had given for the root. Then, staring at a blonde-haired woman in front of him, he said in a low voice: "So, if you agree with Danzo, it ans you've forgotten your nas, right?"
The tomoe of his Sharingan spun, and his gaze fell on the woman. "Tell , what's your na?"
The woman, eting Kazuki's deep gaze, couldn't help but reply: "Kazuki-sama, my na is Yakushi Nono."
"Very good. You still rember your na."
Nono felt a chill run through her body. Facing Kazuki's fathomless eyes, she couldn't offer any resistance.
"Co here." Kazuki hooked his finger at her.
With resignation, Nono stood up and walked towards him with her head down.
"As a reward for rembering your na, I will remove the cursed mark from your body. I can't stand working with soone who can't even rember their own na."
Kazuki placed a hand on her shoulder, channeling his chakra and pupillary power into her body.
In an instant, the curse mark implanted by Danzo on Nono's body was easily dismantled. For Kazuki, this was even less complicated than the everyday training Uzumaki Mito had taught him.
Nono looked at Kazuki in astonishnt, expecting so punishnt, but only found a warm smile.
"Forgetting your na, your past, your future, and your emotions…" Kazuki said in a slow voice.
"That's not being a shinobi, that's being a soulless tool. But in my Root, I don't want those kinds of useless tools. I want you to get your emotions back."
"I want you to rember the love for our village, to long for your hos, to recognize your most human desires."
"You are Konoha shinobi. Even though you are buried in the shadows of the root, you should be given the shelter of the will of fire. Even if our actions are controversial, I as your leader will be the one to bear the consequences for you."
"I, Uchiha Kazuki, will not mistreat any shinobi who does their job seriously."
The forr mbers of the root looked at him in shock, they were expecting cruel treatnt, as was customary under Danzo's leadership.
In the past, Danzo had subjected them to similar tests: any mber who rembered his na was severely punished, training them to nullify their emotions and reinforce their role as tools.
However, Nono was not punished. Instead, the cursed mark had been removed.
"You, co here." Kazuki pointed at the ninja who had previously raised his voice at him. "What's your na?"
The man, his eyes still bleeding, struggled to his feet. Though paralyzed by fear of Kazuki, far greater than any he had ever felt for Danzo, he replied: "My na is Abura Shikuro."
Kazuki nodded and brought his hand closer to the wounds on Shikuro's eyes.
But Shikuro trembled and took a step back. He knew that Kazuki wanted to help him heal, but this was dangerous!
"Kazuki-sama, I..."
Shikuro looked at Kazuki's Sharingan, and the impression of Shimura Danzo in his mind beca increasingly blurred. Instead, it was replaced by Kazuki's gentle smile and the action of removing the cursed seal for Yakushi Nono.
Shikuro lowered his head. "My body is special. I am a carrier of extrely poisonous insects. Whoever touches could die."
Kazuki chuckled. "An extrely rare poisonous insect user from the Abura clan. I find it fascinating…"
Despite the warnings, Kazuki placed his hand over Shikuro's eyes. A bright green chakra erupted from his fingers, healing him instantly.
Shikuro felt a mixture of nervousness and bewildernt. Monts before he had defended Danzo, but now the figure of that man wrapped in bandages began to fade from his mind.
"A technique for extracting toxins… it is useful for both bacteria and small poisonous insects." Kazuki comnted, raising his hand, unscathed.
"Shikuro, even though others can't touch you, I am different." Kazuki also removed the cursed seal from his body. "I want you to believe in this: even though your body harbors insects that inspire fear, in the future you will be a hero of Konoha."
Kazuki continued: "I want your na to be known. All the mbers of the Root who have carried the darkness of Konoha deserve to be rembered, not just their leader. That's not fair."
Thus, one by one, Kazuki freed the Root mbers from their cursed seals.
"As a welco gift, I will grant each of you a reasonable wish." Kazuki raised a finger. "Who wants to be first?"
Nono looked at Kazuki nervously. The orphanage she supported independently has always been extrely short of funds, and Shimura Danzo has always used this as a threat to control her.
As one of Konoha's top intelligence kunoichi, Nono tried to analyze Kazuki's intentions.
Was this a trap? Or did he really want to change the Root?
Finally, inspired by the absence of the seal on her body and Kazuki's smile, she spoke: "Kazuki-sama, I need funds to support the Konoha orphanage. I am the director there."
The old mbers of the Root remained silent, thinking that Nono was a fool for daring to make such a request.
"That's reasonable. Approved." Kazuki replied without hesitation. He pulled out his wallet and tossed her a check. "A noble cause like this perfectly embodies the Will of Fire. It's sothing that Root mbers should do."
Seeing the amount of one million ryo on the check, Nono's eyes filled with tears.
"Thank you, Kazuki-sama. I swear…"
"You don't have to thank ." Kazuki interrupted calmly. "It's all for Konoha, so that each of our comrades can live better. Do you have any other wishes?"
Shikuro looked at Nono, whose face was flushed and raised his hand. "Kazuki-sama, I would like to go ho."
"Of course. Once you complete your missions, you can return ho every day."
Kazuki shook his head and said helplessly: "Let make this clear. The New Root is an elite force to protect Konoha and eliminate any enemies. It is not a tool to fuel my fa. Each of you has a na and rights like any other shinobi in the village."
"To make it even clearer, just learn from the ANBU. Once you take off the mask, you can be yourself."
The old Root mbers remained silent. For the first ti, they no longer looked away from Kazuki, but instead stared at him in bewildernt, as if trying to understand why soone would want to turn tools into people.
"Go ahead, do whatever you want, but don't forget to keep training..."
Kazuki locked gazes with each of the mbers, subtly implanting a genjutsu in their minds. Without them realizing it, he began to fade away the images of Danzo and plant human emotions in their minds.
From Kazuki's perspective, Danzo's control over the Root shinobi was based on two pillars, neither of which was particularly sophisticated.
On the one hand, there was the cursed seal that restricted their physical freedom, nullified their ability to resist and punished them physically. On the other hand, a form of brainwashing, similar to Stockholm syndro, was used.
Danzo made them emotionally dependent on him through his power, ninjutsu, and verbal manipulations. As the absolute controller of their lives, he granted them the privilege of staying alive, and they were grateful for it.
Furthermore, the supposed Will of the Root gave them a grandiloquent pretext to justify the immoralities they committed under Danzo's orders, linking their destinies to his and seeing his future as their own.
For Kazuki, dismantling these chains was not difficult.
The cursed seals were relatively easy to break, and to counter Danzo's brainwashing, one only needed to show understanding towards their past selves, respect towards them, and use the Sharingan to eradicate the residual fear they harbored towards Danzo.
But not everything was so simple. Kazuki also had to prove his strength. The pressure he exerted on them, infinitely greater than that of Danzo, beca the new emotional barrier that prevented them from betraying him.
A little reward, a little punishnt... Once soone has regained their humanity, no one wants to be a dog again.
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I will post so extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon/TitoVillar
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