"Old friend, what is the meaning of this?"
Hanzo's brow furrowed slightly, his expression one of utter confusion. "We used to work together like two peas in a pod, and now you pull this stunt on me?"
"Silence!" Danzo's face twitched as he took a sharp breath. "A stagnant mediocrity like you is no friend of mine! Now—tell me your choice!"
"Can't we just… talk this out?" Hanzo grimaced, visibly torn.
"It seems a life of comfort has made you forget the true nature of this world, Hanzo!" Danzo sneered coldly. "The strong devour the weak—that is the ninja world's anthem. The weak have no right to negotiate!"
*Rip.*
The bandages covering his face and arms split apart, revealing skin now sheathed in a grotesque white bone-like substance.
Hanzo's eyes widened in shock. "You—"
"Surprised?" Danzo smirked, tilting his head arrogantly. "This is the difference between us, Hanzo! I dare to embrace the new, while you—the pioneer of the Super Shinobi Project—remain shackled by your own caution!"
"Danzo, the experiments are still unstable," Hanzo said after a tense pause, his tone grave. "Using it recklessly on yourself will have consequences!"
"Heh. Still peddling fear, are we?" Danzo shook his head dismissively. "How tedious, Hanzo. Did you really think I, a seasoned shinobi, would be swayed by such cheap theatrics?"
Before the last word even left his lips, Danzo lunged forward—
*THUD.*
His fist slammed into Hanzo's gut with terrifying force, sending the man flying backward like a ragdoll.
CRASH—BOOM—CRACK!
A series of deafening impacts followed as Hanzo's body plowed through several towering trees, splintering wood and kicking up a storm of dust.
"Feel that, Hanzo?" Danzo calmly retracted his fist, his voice icy. "This is the Super Shinobi you sought to create. Do you regret it now?:
"...I do regret one thing."
From within the wreckage, Hanzo's voice rang out—unnervingly composed. "Seems my formulas were still flawed. A true Super Shinobi should be far stronger than this."
*Tap. Tap. Tap.*
With measured steps, Hanzo emerged from the dust, his pristine white coat barely ruffled—save for a single, barely noticeable tear at the collar.
"Or perhaps… you, Danzo, simply weren't worthy of such precious medicine to begin with?"
Danzo's eyes flickered with disbelief.
"How are you still standing"
That punch had been meant to shatter mountains—yet Hanzo, a mere mortal, stood unharmed?
'Impossible.'
"You dismissed my warnings as fearmongering," Hanzo mused, dusting off his sleeves. "But haven't you noticed? Your temper grows wilder by the day. Keep this up, old friend… and you'll soon be little more than a mindless beast."
'Outrageous!'
"Who do you think you are, speaking to Lord Danzo like that?!"
Yuto and "Tatsu" leapt forward, shielding Danzo with glares sharp enough to kill.
"Stand down. This is my fight." Danzo waved them off, his composure returning. "Fool. Did you truly believe such petty mind games would unsettle me?"
"Still as stubborn as ever, I see." Hanzo sighed.
"We'll see how glib you remain once I've broken you." Danzo's foot lashed out—
—And in the next instant, he was gone.
"Huh?"
Hanzo's pupils contracted as a kunai materialized at his throat.
"You're unaware, aren't you, Hanzo?" Danzo's smirk was glacial. "The very serum you created grants more than strength. In the hands of a true shinobi, it unlocks unparalleled speed—what I call Lightning Step! "
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"
Hanzo suddenly threw his head back and laughed.
"What's so amusing?" Danzo scowled.
"Oh, my old friend…" Hanzo wiped an imaginary tear. "You always did lack talent for naming things. 'Lightning Step'? You just rebranded the Body Flicker Technique. Its real name… is Shumpo (Flash Step) "
"What—?"
Before Danzo could process this, the kunai in his hand vanished—only to reappear in Hanzo's grip, its edge now kissing his throat.
"The art of moving faster than the eye can follow," Hanzo explained calmly. "Clearly, you haven't mastered it."
*THUD. THUD.*
Two bodies hit the ground. Danzo's eyes widened in horror as his two subordinates collapsed, unconscious—no, defeated—in the span of a single breath.
Hanzo had disarmed him. Neutralized two elite shinobi. And Danzo hadn't even seen it happen.
"This…"
'This was a true Super Shinobi.'
"You—!" Danzo's voice trembled with outrage. "You said you never took the serum yourself!"
The absolute audacity of this man! Playing the harmless merchant, deceiving him—a respectable elder!
"And I didn't." Hanzo pulled back his hood, revealing the same bone-like plating along his jawline. "Because the serum you've been buying? It was extracted from me."
"Wha—?!" Danzo's face twisted in revulsion.
So that was the secret? Hanzo was the source?
Damn it all! Had he known, he'd never have—
Wait.
If Hanzo was the source… then every dose Danzo had swallowed was essentially…
'Oh god.'
His stomach churned. He was going to be sick.
"The side effects I mentioned are real, by the way," Hanzo added cheerfully. "Keep overdosing, and you will lose your mind. Was it worth it?"
"I need no lectures from you!" Danzo spat. "What I want to know is—how did you gain this power?!"
"Shhh." Hanzo pressed a finger to his lips. "Trade secrets, old friend. Pry too deep… and you might not leave here alive."
"You—"
*WHAM.*
Danzo's vision went black as Hanzo's fist connected with his face.
Thud.
Out cold.
"Leader," Hanzo bowed slightly toward a nearby figure. "What shall we do with him?"
"Well, he is still a former elder," Yuto mused, grinning. "And with Lady Grey Feather and myself as 'witnesses'… demanding a few million ransom from Konoha seems fair, no?"
"A few million?"
Hanzo stared at Yuto in awe.
'Brilliant.'
Turning themselves into the kidnappers and extorting Konoha?
'Now that's thinking outside the box.'
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