Facing Mizuki's questioning, the indifferent Terai calmly replied: "You don't need to know about our actions. The Root is only responsible to Danzo-sama. No one else has the right to govern us."

"The Hokage can't control you?"

"If Lady Tsunade were here, we would report the truth!"

"That means even the Hokage doesn't know what you are going to do?"

Terai really couldn't deny Mizuki's aggressive question and could only remain silent.

"It seems that you do not take orders from the Hokage, but merely follow the orders of Elder Danzo!"

The increasing questioning aroused the dissatisfaction of a group of "Root" ninjas.

"What? Did you get hit on the head? Are you angry out of shame?"

Terai waved his hand to stop his subordinates who were about to make a move.

"Superficial rhetoric will not interfere with our actions. The ones who walk in the darkness of Konoha and protect Konoha are the Roots led by Lord Danzo. You may be powerful, but please believe that you have not ignored our qualifications."

"Oh? Really? You're quite arrogant, but I wonder if your strength is as good as your words!" Mizuki looked at the several "Root" ninjas who were holding the hilts of their swords calmly, and changed the subject, "However, whether you are strong or not is not something I need to worry about. As long as you don't get in the way, I don't care what target you have set your sights on!"

As Shuimu's momentum was withdrawn, the tense atmosphere suddenly eased.

Terai didn't mean to get angry right away: "That's great, we will complete what we need to do!"

He expressed his attitude but didn't mention anything irrelevant. Shuimu also knew that he couldn't get any information out of him.

"That would be great. I hope I won't disappoint Lady Tsunade."

After saying that, Shuimu explained the tasks and turned around to leave.

"Oh, right." Shuimu seemed to suddenly remember something and turned around and said, "You may not understand the effect of the transformation of the barrier. If there are any inappropriate actions, you'd better consider whether you can hide it from me."

Watching Mizuki leaving, Aburame Tone asked, "What should we do? Should we still carry out the mission of arresting him?"

Terai thought for a moment and then ordered: "This is his territory, we have no advantage. Don't alert him without orders. Other tasks proceed as planned."

Although Shuimu's last words were just a threat, even if it was just a bluff, people had to be on guard. No one knew whether Shuimu had done anything in the transformation of the Death Forest barrier.

…

Outside the Death Forest, Shuimu, who had just come out of the warm spring-like barrier into the chilly wilderness, couldn't help but tighten his collar which was leaking air.

"You didn't do anything bad to me right away, and your attitude wasn't tough either. Was it because you weren't sure, or were you trying to confuse me?"

Danzo and his subordinates, the "Root", who always show a tough attitude, prefer to use force to directly obtain the desired results. Of course, when it is difficult to do so, they don't mind using some tricks. The suicide of Konoha White Fang Hatake Sakumo and the defection of Orochimaru, one of the "Three Ninjas", may not be without the help of Danzo Shimura. Putting aside the strength, Mizuki, who is far less prestigious than Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru, did not even have a decent test of force, which made Mizuki have to pay attention.

There were quite a few ninjas from the "Root" this time, but it was basically impossible to abduct Mizuki silently. A few months ago, he used illusions on Xiaochun, and although it was kept secret, the two of them must have torn their faces apart. Showing weakness to the enemy and pretending to be nice were all useless. That meant that he really had no confidence.

If it is a bit difficult to take down Mizuki by ordinary force, there should be a great chance of success if Danzo is willing to do it himself.

"Could it be that something went wrong with Danzo himself? Or did Kotoamatsukami encounter an accident?"

This not-too-impossible guess immediately boosted Shuimu's spirits. If the most worried threat no longer existed, he would have the capital to fight back. Without cheating with the Sharingan pupil technique, Shuimu would not be afraid of a head-on battle of strength. Even if he was not strong enough, he could still find a few helpers.

"Looks like I need to check with Pharmacist Kabuto. Maybe there's some good news..."

Shuimu, who had made up his mind, suddenly felt a strong desire to leave the village. However, the last time he made a deal with Kabuto Yakushi, in order to reassure him, he did not leave any clues for Shuimu to contact him actively. It seems that this was a mistake.

…

In the next few days, Shuimu suddenly cleared up the melancholy in his heart. Since the imminent danger would not appear for the time being, Shuimu felt a lot more relaxed. Although there was still a possibility of miscalculation, Danzo did not show up in such a good opportunity, which meant that he was safe for the time being. With more time, Shuimu would be more confident to deal with the unknown cold guns and hidden arrows.

As the Chunin Exam approaches, Mizuki's mission gradually shifts to this side. As the leader of Team 8, Mizuki has to spend more time worrying about his three students. From Mizuki's point of view, Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata Hyuga are still a long way from being Chunin. But their combat effectiveness is not bad. The Chunin Exam is not only a test, but also an opportunity to hone and improve oneself. Just look at how much progress the child of destiny and his righteous companions made after the Chunin Exam last time.

"Mr. Mizuki, you haven't taken us out to do missions recently. You always ask us to do boring things like catching wild animals. I'm really tired of that."

During the break from training, Inuzuka Kiba complained as usual. Recently, Aburame Shino was the captain, leading Kiba and Hinata to complete some Genin missions. How many missions suitable for Genin can there be in this winter? Of course, most of them are to prepare for the Chunin Exam. But these Genin don't know that every time they complete a mission, it is equivalent to increasing the difficulty of their own exam.

Mizuki looked at Inuzuka Kiba who looked dissatisfied and said, "Is this kind of mission difficult?"

"It's not difficult." Inuzuka Kiba answered without hesitation.

"If it's not difficult, why don't you three finish it by yourselves? Do you really need me to watch you?"

"Huh?" Inuzuka Kiba was stunned by the question, then he reacted and said: "I mean, can Mr. Mizuki take us to complete some advanced tasks? It's boring to always compete with wild beasts."

There are many ferocious beasts in the ninja world, and it is not uncommon to see some that are stronger than ninjas. However, their IQ is too low, and they are too easily fooled by cunning humans. Many times, they are killed before they can even display their full strength.