Root

Root	
Root
	
Debut	
Debut
Manga	Volume #32, Naruto Chapter #281
Anime	Naruto Shippūden Episode #32
Appears in	Anime, Manga
	
Team Info	
Team Info
Leader	Danzō Shimura Riku Shimura
Affiliations	Konohagakure
Root (根, Ne, English TV: Foundation) was a branch of Konohagakure's Anbu training subdivision. It was disbanded after the death of its founder, Danzō Shimura.
== Overview ==
Root carried out missions that Danzō believed would benefit Konoha. Because of its core views as "the unseen ones who support the great tree of Konoha from the depths of the earth", some of these missions were less than respectable, such as eliminating individuals that were considered potential threats simply for expressing their detestation for Konoha, despite not actually having done anything against the village. The organisation's top priority was its secrecy, and most of its missions were carried out in the dark - autonomous of Konoha's authority. Root was officially disbanded after the Uchiha Clan Downfall due to Danzō spearheading the tragedy, but remained active as an underground organisation until Danzō's death. Despite Hiruzen's orders to disband the group, the members remained loyal to Danzō, his orders being the highest priority over even the Hokage's. It was unknown what would become of Root, but Sai suggested its members look to Kakashi Hatake for guidance since Kakashi, at the time, was slated to become Hokage.
Root was an extremely strict, and secretive group and as such each member of the organisation had a cursed seal imprinted on the back of their tongues by Danzō, which when activated, would paralyse their entire body if they tried to speak anything about Danzō or the organisation, rendering them unable to speak or move. Sai noted that this was done in an effort to prevent information leak should any of them be captured and interrogated by enemy forces. The seal disappeared after Danzō's death.