Chapter 85: Intense Battle
Sasuke sneered. "Afraid that your dirty secrets will come to light?"
He no longer bothered to hide the fact that he knew about Danzo's human experiments.
If they were going to fight, then he would use everything at his disposal.
After all, battles weren't just about chakra and flashy jutsu—there was also strategy, and ways to disrupt your opponent's mental state.
"I've said it before—the Uchiha are beyond saving. There should have been no survivors from the start!"
Danzo's face contorted with hatred at Sasuke's thinly veiled threat.
He glared at those scarlet Sharingan, the spinning tomoe seeming to radiate a power capable of shaking the soul.
Danzo furrowed his brows and muttered, "Such an evil power… and already a three-tomoe Sharingan?"
Ordinary shinobi would never dare make direct eye contact with the Sharingan.
But Danzo was unafraid.
Beneath the bandages covering his right eye was the Mangekyō Sharingan of Uchiha Shisui—an eye that held absolute dominance over genjutsu.
A continuous stream of mental energy surged through his optic nerve. Any illusion would be broken instantly.
But still, something about Sasuke made him deeply uneasy.
Especially now that he knew Sasuke had discovered the lab. This fight had to end quickly.
"For Itachi's sake, I once thought to spare you—maybe even make you a Root operative to help protect Konoha. But it seems I overestimated you."
As he finished speaking, Danzo attacked.
He formed hand seals with incredible speed and unleashed his signature jutsu.
Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!
Blades of wind burst from his mouth, screeching as they ripped through the air.
Thick tree trunks in their path were sliced cleanly in two.
"Come on—fight me!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth, containing the storm of emotions threatening to explode. He charged up toward Danzo's elevated position.
He leapt through the Vacuum Wave's edge, black flame armor shielding him just enough to pass through. Shards of his burning armor scattered into embers as he surged forward.
While Cursed Swordmasters could use ranged black flame attacks, their true power lay in melee combat.
The fusion of fire and sword techniques unleashed tremendous destructive force.
Danzo's expression turned mocking.
He had faced countless enemies and was never afraid of close combat—except perhaps against freaks like Hiruzen, with his monkey summon and enchanted weapons.
He tilted his head—
The Vacuum Wave shifted trajectory, cleaving through trees before surging toward Sasuke midair.
Sasuke's armor was split apart by the blade of wind, and his sleeve shredded as blood streamed from his arm.
It hadn't reached the bone—just pain.
But it was the cost of getting close.
He closed the distance in an instant.
[Sword: Flame Dance (Purple) Lv.15]: A blazing sword technique that causes random fire explosions, dealing 200 fire damage per hit.
Sasuke's blade erupted in flame as he slashed at Danzo, who had just finished his technique.
The sword's fire roared like it would burn the entire forest down.
"What an arrogant brat!"
Despite his words, Danzo retreated quickly, his hand pulling out a kunai. Wind chakra surged over its surface, turning it into a blade.
Wind Style: Vacuum Blade.
With his level of mastery, this chakra-enhanced kunai could slice through even the hardest metal.
Clang!
Sasuke's fire-wreathed blade clashed with the kunai.
Black butterflies of flame burst from the impact, flitting onto Danzo's robes.
"No!"
Danzo's eyes widened. He tried to retreat, but Sasuke pressed in, giving him no time to catch his breath.
The black butterflies burned with an ominous aura—Danzo's instincts screamed danger.
Relying on his superior taijutsu, Danzo endured a slash to the arm and kicked Sasuke away.
One butterfly. Then two. Then three…
As the butterflies landed, they transformed into strange black markings that spread over Danzo's body.
Sensing imminent danger, he swung his kunai, trying to cut away the infected flesh.
But it was too late.
The markings flared with a violent light—and then came the explosions.
BOOM!
Black fire surged across the area, leveling the surrounding forest. Trees and boulders were blasted to ash, consumed by flame.
Even the Root operatives lying outside the lab entrance were caught in the blast.
The sheer range and power of it rivaled an S-rank Fire Release forbidden jutsu.
Even the Barrier Corps was alerted.
At Konoha's Hokage Tower, Hiruzen Sarutobi lifted his head sharply and turned toward the Forest of Death.
He leapt onto a high building for a better view.
In the northeastern corner of the forest, a vast area had been turned into a black sea of flame. Dense smoke coiled into the sky.
"What happened?"
His first assumption: enemy ninja.
With the Chunin Exams about to begin, foreign shinobi already occupied every inn. If chaos broke out now, suspicion would fall on them.
But then he paused.
If it were enemy shinobi trying to stir trouble, wouldn't they strike a busier, more public area?
Why target the Forest of Death?
Something didn't add up.
Lowering his hat, Hiruzen dashed toward the blaze.
Figures flickered into view—all ANBU members assigned to protect the Hokage.
They followed closely behind, heading for the source of the black flames.
…
"Is he dead?"
Staring at the scorched spot where Danzo had stood, Sasuke exhaled deeply.
Something felt off.
Danzo, a senior advisor of the village, couldn't possibly die that easily.
Suddenly—
A blast of wind from behind.
Sasuke rolled forward just in time as a Vacuum Wave ripped through where he'd just been standing.
The ground erupted, throwing up clouds of dust.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two wind-infused shuriken sliced through the air.
Sasuke dodged swiftly, but one cut his right leg—blood flowing freely. He parried the other with his sword, knocking it off course.
"Got you!"
Before he could react, Danzo emerged from the smoke, his arm smashing down like a hammer. The heavy sealing device on his right arm slammed into Sasuke's chest.
Thud.
Sasuke coughed up blood. He tried to retreat with the momentum—but Danzo grabbed him by the throat.
"You made me waste a Sharingan… it's been too long since I last fought."
Danzo's voice was low, his expression dark.
He now had the upper hand. He could kill Sasuke at any moment. His tone held no hint of hesitation.
His robes were in tatters, scorched by black flame—especially his right arm.
There, fully visible to Sasuke, were the spinning crimson Sharingan implanted into his flesh.
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