The ground heaved as thick wooden trunks burst upward, splitting stone and soil, spreading into a dense sea of trees.
The screeching groan of twisting bark made one's scalp crawl.
Danzo's face finally cracked—his mask of calm broken.
He knew Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had an unusual bond, but why… why would Madara possess the First Hokage's Wood Release?
The trunks crashed forward, battering toward him.
Danzo swung his Vacuum Blade desperately, cleaving through the oncoming forest.
Meanwhile, Yako had already retreated to the outskirts of the jutsu, rolling and leaping backward to stay clear of the expanding Deep Forest Emergence.
The thick trunks blotted out vision, leaving neither Danzo nor Madara sparing a glance for the small pawn on the edges.
One Root operative stood too close in his eagerness to protect Danzo. A warped trunk crushed into him, caving in his abdomen.
Pinned and dying, the Root shinobi forced out a final Mind Body Switch Technique.
Madara didn't even blink. An attack of that level was no more than a gust of wind against him.
Another Root ninja, farther back like Yako, escaped beyond the forest's grasp.
He raised his hands and released a writhing swarm, black as a spreading treetop canopy—Aburame insects devouring the Wood Release branches.
Madara cocked his head slightly, one eye narrowing as if mildly impressed by this Aburame's strength.
Then, amidst the trees, a flower bloomed. Its petals unfurled—releasing clouds of poisonous pollen.
The insects died instantly, dropping in clumps across the bark.
The Aburame cycled through three different breeds of kikaichū, but not one could withstand the pollen. They perished miserably.
As for Yako, he struck again and again with Earth Longspear, the jutsu more bluster than bite—yet it let him push further from danger, each strike a noisy excuse to retreat.
Madara's body might have looked aged and brittle, but his chakra swelled vast and bottomless.
Standing upon an arched bridge of wood, he gazed down at Danzo.
Danzo's hands flew through seals."Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
A high-pressure orb blasted from his mouth, tearing apart the trunks around him.
Wood splinters whirled through the rainy night.
Madara's eyes lit with faint amusement—his interest in Danzo deepening.
"Your Wind Release isn't completely worthless," he murmured. "But let's see… how will your wind answer this?"
The ground erupted.
A giant wooden humanoid rose, its fist crashing down.
Danzo countered with another Vacuum Great Sphere—but the wooden titan's body was far sturdier than expected.
Its knuckles cracked faintly under the wind jutsu, then shattered through it and smashed toward him.
Danzo barely slipped aside at the last second.
He changed tactics—darting through the forest, leaping from branch to branch, straight toward Madara.
In his mind, Madara was old, broken, perhaps forcing himself onward like Uzumaki Mito once did—a bowstring frayed and useless.
Now wasn't the time to puzzle over why Madara wielded Wood Release. Now was the time to kill him.
If Madara died, everything ended.
Danzo had long coveted Wood Release. Perhaps Madara carried the secret within him.
If Madara could master it, why couldn't he?
His Sharingan spun wildly, tracking every twisting root and vine, weaving through them without pause.
More trees erupted, faster and faster. Danzo unleashed his Mangekyō.
"Susanoo!"
A verdant skeleton of chakra encased him.
Madara's voice rumbled, sharp with disdain:
"Tobirama's foolish line breeds only failures. You dare show Susanoo before me?
Uchiha, played like toys by Konoha, unable even to protect their own eyes."
For the first time, Madara lifted his hand.
Until now he hadn't moved at all—his jutsu had been effortless, like idle breathing.
This time, he formed seals. A faint seriousness touched him.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
From the depths of the forest, a colossal dragon of wood surged skyward. With a shriek, it coiled toward Susanoo.
It wound around the Susanoo, draining its power. The muscles forming across Susanoo's bones withered instantly, leaving only bare green skeleton.
Blood trickled beneath Danzo's right eye.
The Mangekyō's strain was brutal. With the dragon siphoning chakra, the pain behind his eye grew sharp and searing.
His vision blurred. Two uses… and already my body falters?
Susanoo collapsed, the dragon loosening its grip as its prey dissolved. Nothing remained within its coils.
Danzo rode a gust of Wind Release to escape the dragon's grasp.
In midair, his hands flashed through seals."Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!"
Chakra bullets spat like gunfire from his mouth, rapid and relentless, each blast sharp as a storm of steel.
Madara raised his hand once more.
"Wood Release: Advent of Piercing Spears!"
Dozens of wooden lances shot out from the bridge beneath him.
One after another, they intercepted the wind bullets. Then, faster than sight, several spears impaled Danzo.
They tore into his abdomen, bursting out his back.
Danzo became a living pincushion, his innards surely ruined.
Yako's eyes locked on him—then blinked in shock.
Danzo vanished. Gone as if erased.
The broken spears clattered to the ground, blood and bile staining their tips—the only proof he had been there.
Down the slope, Danzo emerged from behind a trunk, sprinting away.
Yako cursed under his breath. Running without a word? Bastard.
From the side, he caught sight of Danzo's right eye—his Mangekyō glazed over, dead-white like a fish's.
Uchiha Kagami's treasured eye… reduced to a disposable tool due to Izanagi.
Yako and the surviving Aburame gave chase.
Madara stood atop the ridge, watching with nothing but contempt. He didn't pursue—only turned back toward his cavern.
No doubt the Rinnegan transplant in Nagato still required finishing touches. Nagato mattered more than a handful of Konoha strays.
Even after escaping far, Yako felt no relief—only dread.
This is bad. Very bad.
He trailed the Aburame, who trailed Danzo, daring not to make a sound. He didn't step in puddles, didn't brush leaves—terrified Danzo might whirl and vent his fury with murder.
His heart was a storm of mixed feelings: thirty percent glee, seventy percent regret.
Glee that the old thief had finally been disgraced, losing a fresh Mangekyō almost the instant he'd claimed it.
Regret that Madara had been so utterly disappointing.
The man strutted with arrogance, sneers flowing as naturally as breath—and yet, he couldn't even kill Danzo.
Why keep only the basic Sharingan, when you're this useless?
You couldn't finish Danzo. You're a loser. A big loser. No wonder you'll never accomplish anything.
And Yako wasn't alone in his fear. Even the Aburame ahead, so calm before, crept along now with the same hunted caution.