Corpses, blood, and the stench.
The air was cold.
The Root Division Commander stood there blankly, only short streams of blood flowing from the wounds on his arms. The massive blood loss gradually made his whole body weak, but this physical feeling was no match for the emptiness that came from the deepest part of his heart.
It only lasted for a moment.
Or rather, he simply didn't realize how much time had passed.
The dense forest completely transformed the four small teams that surrounded the man in the middle into scattered fragments scattered all over the ground.
Only the figure completely shrouded in a black cloak remained standing quietly in place.
The unsheathed ninja sword was stained with blood, which dripped onto the ground.
How is that possible?
Although he wasn't particularly gifted, he, along with all the other ninjas present, were elite ninjas who had survived the brutal training and elimination process of the Root organization, all of whom came from the Yamanaka clan.
Even when facing the Third Hokage's offensive, they were confident they could hold out for a while, at least buying Danzo time to leave.
At the same time, they all knew they were fighting a powerful member of the Uchiha clan, and from the very beginning they were deliberately avoiding his eyes.
However, despite having done all that, he still didn't understand how his teammates died.
'If such a powerful individual truly existed within the Uchiha clan, how could he have endured until now?'
Somber, confused, incredulous.
The Root Division Commander kept his head raised, staring intently at the figure gradually approaching him, as if trying to memorize everything about him.
Finally, the sticky blade, carrying a slight chill, gently lifted his chin, causing his gaze to meet that of the eyes beneath the hood.
In the commander's vision, a pure crimson was suddenly reflected.
"Who...who are you?"
Aizen looked at the heavy expression beneath his shattered mask and couldn't help but smile faintly, but his answer was irrelevant.
In fact, it didn't seem like he was talking to the person in front of him at all; rather, it was more like he was communicating through his mind to someone behind him, with a hint of unintentional mockery.
"Even when facing the Uchiha, are you only willing to use petty tricks that cost your subordinates their lives?"
"Lord Danzo."
"As expected, you are indeed as cowardly as Tobirama-sama thought back then."
This blatant provocation caused the Roots commander, whose arms had been severed, to widen his eyes in surprise.
Almost instantly, the troop leader's wide black robe was lifted up, revealing a large number of explosive tags wrapped around his chest and abdomen. He suddenly exerted force with his feet and fearlessly charged towards the person in front of him.
However, this pounce completely missed its target.
The moment their figures crossed, the Root Division Commander's gaze suddenly reversed, spinning as it landed on the ground.
The headless corpse moved forward a few steps due to inertia before falling heavily to the ground.
The explosive tags wrapped around the flames stopped burning before they could explode.
Aizen Sousuke turned around, looked at the corpses scattered throughout the dense forest, flicked his blade to wipe away the bloodstains, and slowly walked into the shadows.
That's about right.
...
Although the battle took place in the forest surrounding the Uchiha clan, the first to arrive at the scene were still members of Root.
After realizing that the mission team had not returned on time, the Root reconnaissance personnel quickly arrived at the battlefield according to the search route. After quickly recording the details of the battle, they transported the large number of corpses back to the Root base.
Then Danzo saw the limbs and severed bodies that filled the entire morgue.
However, compared to the first time he witnessed the Root Guard being attacked, Danzo's expression did not change much this time.
Since the target was a powerful enemy who had a high probability of possessing the Mangekyou Sharingan, heavy losses were naturally within his expectations.
The only thing he cared about was the intelligence gained from these people's sacrifices.
"Retrieve their memories."
After only a brief pause, Shimura Danzo coldly gave an order to the person next to him.
"yes."
Several mountain ninjas immediately responded, striding to the remaining corpses and beginning to read their memories.
This is a specialty of the mountain tribe.
However, the search had not been going on for long when one of the mountain ninjas suddenly stopped.
Immediately afterwards, a terrifying scream suddenly burst from his mouth, and he collapsed to the ground, his body going limp and convulsing continuously.
The medical ninjas who had been waiting nearby immediately stepped forward and tried to calm the man down according to the original plan. However, the symptoms persisted for quite some time before the mountain ninja gradually calmed down.
Danzo Shimura's expression remained unchanged throughout; he simply watched quietly.
Only at the very end did they hear the other party reporting in low, panting breaths:
"Lord Danzo."
"It's... the feeling of the Sharingan."
"But I couldn't see clearly, I could only sense a large area of red light—it must have been before I died that my mind was completely destroyed by the illusion."
After listening to his report, Shimura Danzo's single eye flashed with a cold light, and he gave a low hum.
However, it doesn't matter if there are few clues. From the beginning, he did not place all his hopes on these useless people.
He bent down and rummaged through the body of a headless corpse for a while, then took out a metal object about half the size of a palm that looked extremely exquisite, and opened it.
Modern ninjas are vastly different from those of the Warring States period, and for intelligence operatives like them, this progress is especially important.
Even before the mission began, he had distributed small video cameras to the decoys.
Although the memory is small and the image is relatively blurry, it is more than enough to store some information.
This small trick, however, gave them a head start over everyone else and played a significant role.
"Retrieve the video inside and reprocess it—remember to use sealing techniques to block the chakra reaction in the video."
"I need to see a sufficiently clear picture."
Shimura Danzo gave the order, and several researchers immediately sprang into action.
In no time, the small screen displayed the scene that the Root Division Commander had seen before he died.
In the center of the scene, a figure in a black robe stands facing him, while the Root ninjas around him are like puppets, mindlessly swinging their swords at each other, using all their killing skills on their comrades.
They themselves did not realize this until their deaths. In this brutal battle, there were only the sounds of blades and ninjutsu hitting human bodies, and not even the most basic cries of pain or screams.
Then, he died silently.
This brief scene sent chills down the spines of all the Root ninjas present.
These Root members, who have undergone countless brutal training sessions, possess a resistance to genjutsu far exceeding that of ordinary ninjas.
But in front of this man, they were like ants, utterly powerless to resist.
In no time, only two people remained standing in the middle of the dense forest.
Through the screen, although the face of the person in the center of the image was covered by a black cloth, those scarlet Mangekyou Sharingan eyes were so conspicuous in the night.
The four windmill-shaped magatama are connected at one point, turning slightly, quietly gazing at each other.
Even when they got within three steps, the Root Division commander, who was being used as bait, didn't react at all.
Many people present immediately recognized the pattern on those Mangekyou Sharingan eyes—a four-cornered windmill pattern, which was Uchiha Shisui's unique Mangekyou Sharingan design.
He stood in front of the troop leader and whispered something to him.
Before anyone else could hear him clearly, Shimura Danzo, the only one wearing headphones, clenched his fist the instant the sound faded.
The veins on his withered palms bulged, the pupil in the center of his single eye was shriveled into a single point, his masseter muscles were taut, and blood rushed to his head.
Only the last half-sentence became increasingly clear in his mind.
"...Still, so cowardly."
In that instant, the moment that determined his fate flashed into Shimura Danzo's mind.
On the battlefield of World War I, and in front of his teacher Tobirama Senju, he hesitated cowardly at the last moment.
"Bang!"
With a loud bang, the screen in front of me, along with the wall behind me, suddenly collapsed.
Danzo Shimura, his face ashen, withdrew his fist, gritting his teeth as he spoke, each word distinct and deliberate:
"Uchiha Shisui".
"You are very good."