Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 90: The Root and Self-Immolation

In the dark chamber, a man named Danzo Shimura leaned on his cane, his uncovered left eye glinting coldly as he stared at Feizhu Xingtie. He asked icily, "Who is Souke really?"

Feeling as if he were being watched by a terrifying beast, the just-awakened Feizhu Xingtie trembled. Seeing who it was, he knew things had taken a bad turn. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down and said, "I don't know what you're talking about. I want to see the Hokage! Even if I'm to be interrogated, it should be by the Torture and Interrogation Force."

"The Root has the authority to arrest and interrogate any ninja who poses a threat to Konoha," said a masked Root ninja standing next to Danzo Shimura. Approaching Feizhu Xingtie, his voice devoid of any inflection, he explained, "We've been observing you for some time. For over twenty years, you had no contact with Souke. But now, you've been going to Konoha Hospital multiple times without reason, secretly watching Souke, and just an hour ago, you met him at the Memorial Stone."

"What is your purpose? Who exactly is Souke?"

After all, this was Konoha. With the Root's capabilities, they could fully understand everything happening in the village every day. Initially, their main target of investigation was Souke, who had recently gained fame in the medical field. To outsiders, Souke's success seemed like a natural progression of his abilities. However, to the Root, which operated in the shadows, everything was evaluated from an extreme perspective.

At first, the Root conducted a standard investigation into Souke, as they would with anyone. If there were no problems, they would let it be. If there were minor issues, they could use them as leverage to covertly recruit the person into the Root, having them secretly contribute to Konoha's prosperity.

During their investigation, they unexpectedly discovered that Feizhu Xingtie was also observing Souke. Two unrelated people suddenly interacting raised suspicions in the experienced Root members. Due to Feizhu Xingtie's position in a confidential role, the Root began investigating him first, leading to the current situation.

As a member of Konoha's Intelligence Division, Feizhu Xingtie knew well the methods and conduct of the Root. Realizing he had no chance of escaping, he said, "I don't know anyone named Souke."

While saying this, he secretly activated a unique mark of the Hagoromo Clan within him, thinking to himself, 'Sorry, clan leader. I've implicated you.'

'And sorry, my son.'

"Yamanaka, read his mind," Danzo Shimura ordered. Noticing the seemingly frightened but actually resolute look in Feizhu Xingtie's eyes, Danzo knew they had caught a big fish this time. Regular torture wouldn't work on this man; they needed to extract the information from his brain directly. Leaning on his cane, Danzo tapped the armrest gently. He was eager to see what kind of rat they had caught this time. A spy from one of the other great ninja villages? Or perhaps an operative of Orochimaru?

"Hmph! Whoever it is, without my permission, they will not infiltrate Konoha!" Thinking this, Danzo Shimura looked coldly at the scene. Yamanaka Fū, standing beside Feizhu Xingtie and having removed his mask, reached out to extract information from his brain using the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique.

At that moment, Feizhu Xingtie suddenly lifted his head, his gaze piercing through the thick walls, seemingly extending to his distant home. He smiled. Then—

Boom!

Feizhu Xingtie activated the unique mark of the Hagoromo Clan. Instantly, his body was engulfed in bright red flames fueled by chakra. 'Clan leader, escape!' With this final mental shout, Feizhu Xingtie's vision was completely covered by flames.

No one could intervene in time. In an instant, the man known as Feizhu Xingtie vanished from the world without leaving a trace.

"Hmph!" Danzo Shimura struck his cane heavily on the ground, coldly saying, "Self-immolation by chakra, similar to the suicide methods of the Anbu. It really was a big fish!"

"Arrest Souke immediately! And capture everyone closely associated with Feizhu Xingtie," he ordered.

"Yes!" All the Root ninjas, including Yamanaka Fū, knelt down to receive the order and then swiftly moved into action. Alone in the chamber, Danzo Shimura anticipated the results of this operation.

But soon after—

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed from above. Danzo Shimura frowned, "What's going on?"

The unique mark of the Hagoromo Clan, initially created by Hagoromo Gengetsu for clan intelligence agents, served as a final self-termination method to avoid torture and information leaks. Additionally, the mark had a warning function. Once fully activated, it alerted all marked individuals within a five-kilometer radius. This was to prevent the entire intelligence network from being uprooted due to one individual's exposure.

During the clan's great split, the elders modified the technique to be applicable to all clan members, ensuring they could recognize each other, passing it down through generations. Like Samui, Feizhu Xingtie also bore the Hagoromo mark.

At the moment of its full activation, signaling Feizhu Xingtie's death, Hagoromo Gengetsu, the creator of the mark, paused and looked towards the remote western forest of Konoha. That area was not residential. Even if Feizhu Xingtie wanted to commit immediate suicide for his son's future, he wouldn't choose such an obviously espionage-related method. Thus, there was only one explanation: something went wrong, forcing him to activate the mark to protect the secrets in his mind and warn others to escape.

For over twenty years, Feizhu Xingtie had remained undetected. The timing of his exposure clearly linked back to recent events involving Gengetsu himself.

"Escape? Haha," Gengetsu shook his head. The swift and extreme methods that forced Feizhu Xingtie into self-immolation indicated only one possible entity in Konoha.

"At least you called me clan leader. Though you were a 'wayward son,' you upheld our principles in the end."

"A clan leader who ignores the death of his own under his watch is no leader," Gengetsu murmured, vanishing towards the direction of Feizhu Xingtie's last location.

"Rest in peace. The clan leader will handle everything for you."