Deep into the forest...

"Chakra is still recovering, damn it." The jonin scowled, his face distorted with anger, yet his steps didn't stop, leaping from tree to tree with lightning speed, hoping to escape deeper into the safety of the forest.

He had only thought it was a normal assassination mission. How hard could it be to deal with a genin brat?

Little did he know, the mission he had accepted was anything but ordinary.

Cough- "Who could have thought I would encounter a troublesome monster..."

Really terrible. He was a jonin, yet the young brat was seemingly unkillable by his current means! No matter how hard he searched, he couldn't locate the genin's true body! How could he win when he's just wasting time on a clone?!

If he had not learned to be cautious from his decades of experience, he would have capsized in the gutter in the face of that monstrous being's repulsive and treacherous tactics.

Cough, cough- "Yes, the problem is with that brat! It's definitely not because of my lack of skill! Fortunately, I got my hands on the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Best decision yet- Cough-"

It had been hard won, but its power had saved his life on numerous occasions, and once again, it had proven to be his salvation.

But as he moved deeper into the foliage, a terrible sensation gripped his throat, causing him to come to an abrupt halt on a branch.

Cough- Cough- Hak- Cough- Violent coughs wracked his body, his hand coming to his mouth to stifle the sound. But the coughs continued, growing more violent with each passing moment, until...

The jonin's eyes widened in horror when he saw the blood stains on his palm. He was coughing up blood!

He stumbled backwards, leaning against the tree trunk, struggling to maintain his balance on the branch. "W-what is going- cough- on?"

Fear gripped his heart as he realized that something was horribly wrong. "W-When was I affected?! No- Cough- I need to go!"

Just when he was about continue to make his escape, a sudden wave of paralysis seized his body, rendering him completely immobile!

His eyes bulged in terror when he realized that he was no longer in control of his own body. His muscles stiffened, and he tumbled off the tree like a ragdoll, crashing to the forest floor below!

His dilating eyes strayed around erratically, eventually locking onto a batch of tiny mosquito-like insects that gradually floated away...

Tap. Tap. Tap. The eerie silence of the forest was broken by the faint sound of footsteps, slowly growing louder and more distinct with each passing moment. A figure emerged from the shadows of the forest, his form shrouded in darkness and mystery.

But the jonin recognized his opponent with a glance. After heaving a couple times, his raspy voice squeezed out a question, "K-Kochu, when?"

The opponent remained silent, unresponsive to his inquiry. Tap. Tap. Tap...

When the figure drew closer, the pale glow of the moon finally unveiled the identity of the mysterious stranger. It was none other than Shino himself.

The jonin's body twitched uncontrollably. Even his eyes became unresponsive, slacking and staring at the slowly approaching foot. He tried to speak, to beg for mercy, but his voice had begun to fail him...

His mind was in turmoil as he struggled to comprehend what was happening to him. For a brief moment, the jonin felt a sense of anger towards Shino, blaming him for his terrible fate.

But as his body continued to spasm uncontrollably, the anger gave way to a sense of despair. He knew that there was no escape from this fate, that he was doomed to suffer in agony until the very end...

When Shino arrived before his prey, the jonin's eyes had already glazed over.

Now, only a corpse laid silently on the cold hard ground.

Shino's gaze landed on the lifeless body's face, noting the man's expression clouded with a sense of remorse. "So expressive. Strange."

From the anime, Shino was well aware of the brainwashing techniques employed by Root. From a young age, Root personnel were conditioned to be ruthless killing machines, devoid of emotions. Fear, regret – they had none of these.

Then, this makes the current situation intriguing… this jonin doesn't seemed to be from Root? Could it be possible that this jonin was not a product of the infamous Root program?

But, this jonin had the Root's cursed seal. He also knew the Aburame clan well, and he seemed to know about Danzo as well, but…

This is a real world, and he can't draw conclusions based on the anime alone. Who knows if Root has some external members, ones brimming with emotions.

Then, again, maybe Root is not the only ones who use the Cursed Tongue Eradication seal. And it's not clear whether the other participants of the ambush were actually from Root or simply hired mercenaries.

After all, there's no way Danzo is so stupid to blatantly attack the heirs of three clans with the limited number of ninjas under his command...

Shino's eyes narrowed in deep thought. Then again, Danzo wasn't the only black hand behind the scenes of this world...

Arriving at this thought, a shiver ran down Shino's spine, and he couldn't shake off the gut feeling that there was a dark force pulling the strings from behind the scenes, orchestrating a test to gauge his true capabilities.

"It couldn't be… I'm probably overthinking..."

Shino forced himself to calm down, immediately considering his options.

He knew that facing the mysterious and powerful figure behind the scenes was not yet feasible for him.

However, he was confident that even if he was discovered, it would not thwart his plans entirely. In the worst case, he receives an invitation from the mastermind behind the scheme.

Perhaps... he may even receive a personal invitation from the number one actor himself, a man whose first name coincidentally shared the same pronunciation as the first actor who starred as a certain friendly neighborhood superhero.

Then, he could inherit the red-head boy's mantle and let the world know pain! Ahem-

Anyways, the truth, whether known or not, was inconsequential. What remained was that Danzo would have to shoulder the weight of this black pot, whether he wants to or not.

Shino had noticed that their enemy's movements had been too calculated, too precise. It was as if they had known exactly where and when to strike.

So, there must be an inner ghost orchestrating this mission from the shadows, as it is simply impossible for this ambush to occur otherwise.

Even though he had no memory of any cooperation between Danzo and that mysterious black hand in the anime, Shino knew Danzo's involvement in the sinister events this time was almost a guaranteed.

And if Danzo was involved... there must have been other shadowy figures pulling the strings behind the scenes. They let Danzo bear the pot, while they watched the play, hidden amongst the audience.

Who knows what level of game he got involved in, but regardless of their schemes...

Shino gazed at the precious corpse lying before him, "I won and that's all that matters."

As a bonus, he was rewarded a jonin corpse for his victory.

But securing this prize had been no easy feat.

His success hinged on a number of critical factors, one of which was keeping his main body hidden away, safe from harm, and mainly the fact that his cards were a mystery to the opponent.

Thus, he could be the Darth Vader behind the scenes, playing clone wars in a bid for his own Oscars. The jonin fell for his act, eventually leading to his spooky victory.

However, once his abilities were analyzed by those snooping around, it'll be hard to take down any chuunin that had his intel, let alone a jonin...

So, this corpse was definitely a rare and valuable acquisition, a prize he doesn't want to abandon, but...

He didn't bring a transport drone, nor was there really any way to bring this corpse back without leaving traces of evidence for that scheming old man, evidence that could be used against him if placed on the table.

Risk it and take it? Or destroy it?