Chapter 954 Puppet

Just as the three were puzzled, there was a slight noise outside the window. Naruto took a fighting stance alertly, and Sakura clenched her fists. Only Tenzo's eyes changed slightly, as if he guessed who the person was. The window slowly opened, and Sai climbed into the house lightly.

"Sai, where have you been?" Naruto asked first. Sai glanced at everyone and said calmly, "There are some things to deal with." His eyes stayed on Tenzo for a moment, as if they had some kind of tacit understanding.

"Sai, we know you have a special identity, but now we are all companions, I hope you won't hide anything from us anymore." Sakura said seriously. Sai was silent for a while, then slowly said: "I did go to see Danzo just now, but I don't want to follow his orders anymore. I just want to protect Konoha and my companions now."

Tenzang walked up and patted Sai on the shoulder, "That's good, since you have chosen to stand on this side, don't waver." Sai nodded, and Naruto grinned, "That's right, no matter what happened in the past, now we just need to move forward together!" They smiled at each other, and the room was filled with a different kind of warm atmosphere.

However, this warmth did not last long. Suddenly, a group of Anbu members appeared outside the window. The leader said coldly: "Sai, Danzo ordered you to go back. You are guilty of disobeying orders privately." Sai's face changed, and he said firmly: "I will not go with you again. My will will not be controlled again." Naruto stepped forward and shouted: "If you want to take Sai away, you must get through us first!" Sakura also stood close to Naruto, saying that she would never back down. Tenzo said to the Anbu members: "Don't be stubborn. Danzo's actions are against the spirit of Konoha." The Anbu members were unmoved, and the two sides immediately became tense. Just when the atmosphere was extremely tense, a majestic voice came from a distance: "Stop it!" It turned out that Tsunade came over. She walked into the room, glanced around and said: "Since Sai is determined to leave the Root, it is his personal wish, and the Root should not interfere forcibly. As for Danzo, I will negotiate with him." After hearing this, the Anbu members looked at each other and finally retreated silently. The people in the room breathed a sigh of relief, and their friendship became stronger in this storm.

A few days later, some strange rumors suddenly spread in the village, saying that although Sai had left the roots on the surface, he was actually still secretly carrying out Danzo's secret missions, and some even suspected that he would harm Naruto and other partners. These rumors spread like the wind to every corner of Konoha Village.

Sai was filled with bitterness after hearing these rumors. He knew that these rumors must have been spread by Danzo in order to destroy the trust he had built with great difficulty. Naruto and the others saw Sai's depressed look and expressed their belief in him, and decided to find out the source of the rumors.

So, Naruto, Sakura and Tenzo began to investigate in the village. After some exploration, they found that several unfamiliar faces were spreading rumors everywhere. Just when they were about to catch these people, a group of Root ninjas suddenly appeared behind them and blocked their way. It turned out that Danzo did not intend to let Sai go easily, and wanted to use this method to force him to return to the Root. But Naruto was not afraid and shouted: "No matter who it is, don't think about destroying the bond between us!" At this time, the surrounding villagers were infected and stood up to support them. Seeing this, the Root ninjas could only leave in disgrace. Sai looked at the scene in front of him with tears in his eyes.

After this incident, Sai became more determined to protect Konoha and his friends. Danzo stopped his tricks temporarily after seeing the attitude of the villagers and the failure of the Root Ninja.

At a mission briefing not long after, Class 7 assembled again. This time the mission was to escort an important merchant across the border. On the way, they would inevitably pass through a forest where bandits often appeared.

After setting off, the journey was smooth until they entered the forest. Suddenly, a rain of arrows attacked and everyone quickly dodged. Naruto was about to fight back, but Sai held him back and told him to observe first. A group of ragged but fierce-looking bandits surrounded them.

"Hand over the money, or today will be your death!" the bandit leader shouted. Xiaoying couldn't help but snorted: "Just you?"

Tenzo made seals with his hands and prepared to perform ninjutsu. Sai whispered, "Try to capture them alive. Maybe we can get some information about whether Danzo has any more plots." Everyone understood. The battle broke out instantly, and Team 7 easily subdued the bandits. After interrogation, it was found that some of the bandits were hired by Danzo's men to attack them. After learning the truth, the companions became more cautious and continued their journey to escort the merchants.

They remained alert throughout the journey. When they were about to leave the forest, they were attacked by a mysterious ninja. This ninja was very powerful and fast, and he put Team 7 in a tough fight with just a few moves.

Sai carefully observed his moves and found that they were actually integrated with the Root's ninjutsu style. He realized that this might be the last trump card sent by Danzo. Naruto activated the Nine-Tails mode and fought back strongly; Sakura used a strange punch to fight against it; Tenzo used wood escape to create defense. Sai used his unique ink escape to find the opponent's flaws.

During the fierce battle, Sai discovered that his opponent's weakness was a cursed rune on his waist. He told his companions to cooperate in the attack. Naruto feinted to attack from the front, while Sakura and Tenzo attacked from both sides. Sai took the opportunity to destroy the cursed rune with Ink Release. The mysterious ninja's power was greatly reduced in an instant, and he was defeated by everyone.

After this battle, Team 7 successfully escorted the merchants to their destination. After returning to Konoha, they reported all the situations to Tsunade. Tsunade decided to thoroughly investigate Danzo's forces to prevent similar incidents from happening again. And Sai also truly integrated into Team 7, and their bond became indestructible.

The days passed peacefully, and Team 7 continued to accept various missions and continued to grow stronger. One day, the Hokage Building received a mysterious letter, saying that an endless source of chakra was hidden in an ancient ruin, but it also hid great dangers, and many explorers never returned. Tsunade thought for a long time and decided to send Team 7 to explore.

Arriving near the ruins, a depressing atmosphere hit them. Sai frowned and reminded everyone to be careful. Entering the ruins, there were strange runes and traps everywhere. Just as they cracked a trap, a group of puppets suddenly emerged. These puppets were agile and fierce in attack. Naruto summoned shadow clones to attract the attention of the puppets, Sai drew ink beasts to fight with the puppets, and Sakura and Tenzo looked for the center to control the puppets. In the fierce battle, Sai found that the marks on the puppets were similar to those of the mysterious ninjas he met before. He speculated that this was also something that Danzo had touched. Just when everyone was about to find the center, a strong suction came from the depths of the ruins, as if to swallow everything. Team 7 huddled together and encouraged each other. They were determined to uncover the secrets here. No matter what dangers they faced, their bonds would support them to move forward courageously.