Inside the Hokage's office, Zoro stood calmly before Hiruzen Sarutobi. A cat-faced Anbu mask with a faint crack over the right eye concealed his expression beneath its cold surface.
"I wonder, Lord Hokage, if you summoned because there's a new mission?"
Over the past two years, every ti Hiruzen called for him, it was always related to missions.
Either directly or indirectly.
"The mission has already been assigned. These are the specific arrangents. Take a look."
Hiruzen spoke with a faint smile as he casually tossed a scroll toward him.
Zoro raised a hand and caught it effortlessly before opening it in silence.
After reading through the contents, a trace of confusion flickered briefly within his eyes beneath the mask.
"Lord Hokage, this operation targets Kirigakure?"
Hiruzen nodded slowly. "According to our intelligence network, Kirigakure has recently been making unusual movents. Your mission is to eliminate the Mist ninja preparing to infiltrate Konoha."
"Understood, Lord Hokage."
Zoro did not ask further questions.
Ever since becoming an Anbu captain, he had long since grown accustod to missions involving assassination, infiltration, and pursuit.
To Anbu, killing enemies in the shadows was simply routine.
After leaving the Hokage building, Zoro quickly arrived at the designated eting location.
As expected, it was once again deep within a forest overflowing with dense greenery.
The personnel assigned to Anbu operations changed almost every mission.
Nearly all assignnts were randomized.
The purpose behind that arrangent was simple—
To prevent Anbu mbers from forming excessive emotional bonds with their teammates.
After all, shinobi who spent too much ti together would eventually develop trust, habits, and attachnts.
Those things were dangerous for tools ant to obey orders absolutely.
And clearly—
Zoro was the commander for this operation.
Swish! Swish! Swish!!
Sharp rustling sounds echoed continuously through the forest.
Several dark figures flickered down from the surrounding trees and landed silently beside him.
"You're the commander for this mission?"
One of the masked shinobi spoke coldly after seeing Zoro's back.
"Eh…"
The ninja standing beside him imdiately nudged his shoulder before quietly pointing toward the three swords hanging at Zoro's waist.
The mont he noticed those unmistakable blades, the shinobi who had spoken earlier suddenly froze.
A trace of panic surfaced beneath his mask.
Three-Sword Death God.
That title was infamous not only among enemy villages.
Even within Konoha's Anbu itself, it carried imnse pressure.
Countless enemy shinobi had died beneath those three swords over the past two years.
And nearly everyone who had survived encounters with him ended up permanently crippled.
"Mm? Are you all ready?"
Zoro casually turned around and swept his gaze across the animal-masked shinobi before him.
His tone remained indifferent.
Whether they were new recruits or experienced Anbu veterans did not matter.
One thing was certain—
He had never encountered these people during the past two years.
Root?
A cold glint flashed briefly through Zoro's eyes beneath the mask.
Looks like this mission was most likely another "gift" from Danzō.
Root, officially known as the Anbu Training Division, was technically a branch under Anbu.
But everyone who truly understood Konoha's darkness knew the truth.
It was a secret organization created and personally controlled by Shimura Danzō himself.
The four shinobi responded briefly before falling silent once more.
Seeing this, Zoro's expression did not change in the slightest.
He genuinely wanted to see what kind of sche that old bastard Danzō was plotting this ti.
"Follow ."
The instant his voice fell—
Zoro vanished.
The four shinobi's expressions changed instantly.
That terrifying Body Flicker speed had completely exceeded their expectations.
As expected of the legendary Three-Sword Death God.
Just his movent speed alone was already enough to leave ordinary jōnin behind.
The two Root mbers secretly assigned by Danzō exchanged glances briefly before imdiately moving after him.
The journey remained uneventful.
After leaving the forest behind, the group gradually approached the borderlands near the Land of Fire's coastline.
There was an important reason why Zoro had rarely encountered Kirigakure assassins during the past two years.
Kirigakure existed within the Land of Water—
A nation completely isolated by the sea.
The Hidden Mist Village itself was built deep within mountainous terrain, perpetually surrounded by thick fog year-round. Its location made infiltration extrely difficult, while information from the outside world rarely flowed in easily.
And the destination for this mission—
Was a small island closest to Konoha's territory.
According to the intelligence report, the Mist ninja attempting to infiltrate the Land of Fire were supposed to pass through this location.
Dense mist drifted across the island endlessly.
Visibility was extrely poor.
The cold sea breeze carried moisture through the air while the forest remained deathly silent.
"Begin."
Hidden within the thick fog, Zoro spoke coldly.
As for whether enemy shinobi would actually appear—
That had nothing to do with him.
If the intelligence proved false, responsibility would never fall onto the mission commander.
The mont they heard the order, the four Root mbers imdiately began moving.
Their plan was to spread nearly invisible steel wires throughout the surrounding forest.
That way, the mont enemies touched the wires, they could instantly detect movent and launch ambushes.
Two of the Root shinobi secretly glanced toward the other two teammates who knew absolutely nothing about the true nature of this mission.
Pity briefly flashed through their eyes.
Unfortunately—
Before the trap network could even be fully established—
"Pfft!!"
One of the Root mbers suddenly froze.
Countless blue chakra needles violently pierced through the mist and tore through his body in an instant.
Blood sprayed across the fog-covered ground.
"Hirakarei: Release!!"
A sinister voice echoed through the forest.
The sudden attack instantly drew everyone's attention.
A figure slowly erged from the dense mist while carrying a bizarre blade shaped like a giant flatfish.
"The Seven Ninja Swordsn?"
Zoro narrowed his eyes slightly beneath the cat mask the mont he saw the weapon.
Truthfully, he had already sensed the hostility surrounding this island long before arriving.
And there was definitely more than one enemy hidden here.
Even so—
He still chose to proceed normally.
Because he did not want anyone discovering too easily that he possessed the ability to sense killing intent and malice.
That was one of his hidden trump cards.
And a trump card was sothing only he himself was allowed to know.
His gaze swept calmly across the surrounding mist.
Shadows flickered continuously among the trees.
Ten people.
Including the wielder of Hirakarei, there were ten Mist shinobi surrounding them.
Watching his teammate die before he could even react, the Root mber who knew nothing about the plan instantly beca tense.
They had been ambushed.
No—
This entire mission was a trap from the very beginning.
Almost instinctively, he glanced toward Zoro and assud a combat stance.
Unlike the nervousness displayed by the others, Zoro remained completely calm.
Because he had anticipated this outco from the start.
His hands slowly rested upon the hilts of Wado Ichimonji and Shusui.
Two-Sword Style: Hawk Wave!!
"BOOM—!!"
The instant both blades were drawn at high speed, a massive cross-shaped pressure wave erupted violently outward.
The surrounding mist was instantly blown apart.
For a brief mont, visibility across the battlefield beca completely clear.
Mist shinobi hidden throughout the surrounding trees were imdiately exposed before the eyes of the Konoha squad.
And when the four Konoha ninja saw the bizarre blades held in the enemies' hands—
Their expressions changed drastically.
Zoro's gaze swept across them calmly.
One.
Two.
Three…
Seven.
Aside from the remaining three ordinary Mist Anbu mbers—
The entire first generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsn of the Mist had gathered here.
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