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Shikotsumyaku!?
Almost the instant he saw the bone sword, Shimura Danzo realized that today's events had gone beyond his expectations.
What's more, following him were a group of idiots clearly hypnotized by genjutsu.
"Bang—"
Without hesitation, an arm suddenly extended from the seemingly severed sleeve.
Shimura Danzo's figure, like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, suddenly lunged out from the seemingly sturdy prison, the iron bars and the Sealing Technique talismans attached to them feeling weightless, flying in all directions under the violent impact.
The Kunai in his hand pointed directly at the man in front of him.
Clang.
The Kunai and the bone blade clashed, emitting a strained metallic deformation sound at inches between the two, under the struggle of immense force.
The azure gaze hidden beneath the hood met Danzo's eyes, his tone slightly surprised:
"Oh dear."
"So, the news of your severed arm was false?"
Danzo's single eye met his gaze, his voice cold: "How did a Hidden Mist Ninja manage to infiltrate a place like this?!"
Hearing his questioning, a gentle smile slowly appeared on the young man's face beneath the dark cloth:
"Under such heavy encirclement, do you still have time for idle chatter?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than three Ninja blades simultaneously stabbed down from behind Danzo.
"Whoosh!"
But they struck nothing.
Danzo's figure leaped backward onto the ceiling, evading several Shuriken blockades, and spun to land at the far end of the hallway.
However, facing this heavy encirclement, he showed no fear.
He cast a disdainful glance at the people surrounding Sawara Kiri, finally looking at his opponent within the crowd, and chuckled softly:
"Didn't anyone tell you?"
"About not easily manipulating enemy Ninja."
"Hmph—"
Shimura Danzo formed hand signs and grunted:
"Puppet Control!"
In an instant, all the Root Ninja present who were controlled by genjutsu jolted, freezing in place like true puppets.
This Kaguya Clan Ninja truly underestimated Danzo.
With his cautious nature, how could he not have anticipated the possibility of those around him being manipulated by genjutsu or other secret techniques?
All Root Ninja capable of serving as his personal guards had already been marked with corresponding Sealing Technique formulas after passing loyalty assessments.
And these people following Sawara Kiri?
Coincidentally.
They were precisely the most loyal group of Root members to him.
Just a moment of pause, and the Kaguya Clan Ninja opposite also seemed to notice something amiss, suddenly flashing back.
However, the several manipulated Root Ninja were a step faster.
The three closest to him, without a hint of hesitation, abruptly turned their heads and shot towards Sawara Kiri.
At the same time, faint sizzling sounds of gunpowder emanated from their bodies.
"Boom, boom, boom—"
The sudden explosion pierced their ears, shaking the ground.
The others also seemed to awaken abruptly from the vibrations, their somewhat bewildered eyes opening, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings with confusion.
"Lord Danzo!"
Only when they saw the familiar figure did everyone finally seem to react, shouting out in surprise.
"Be careful."
Shimura Danzo, however, kept his gaze fixed on the smoke and dust before him, reminding them: "The enemy is a Kaguya Ninja, and there might also be a powerful genjutsu Ninja hidden nearby; don't let a single one escape."
From the very beginning, he had maintained a high level of vigilance, not even looking into the eyes of those around him.
Who knew if it wasn't the inherently evil Uchiha conspiring with the damned Hidden Mist Ninja to rebel.
"Yes!"
However, perhaps because he was possessing his subordinates' bodies in a spiritual state, Shimura Danzo always felt a strange sense of incongruity when looking around.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Before he could think further, the sudden whooshing sounds immediately drew all his attention.
Finger bones, shot out like bullets, pierced the air at supersonic speed, targeting Shimura Danzo's figure.
He merely tilted his head slightly, and three parallel bone bullets grazed past his ear.
However, almost as he made these slight dodging movements, the figure shrouded in smoke and dust had already leaped onto the ceiling, streaking across in a bone-white blur at extreme speed.
At the same time, he shouted sharply:
"Aren't you going to make your move?!"
Shimura Danzo leaned back, his heart jolting—he indeed had an accomplice!
The bone blade, swinging down from above, tore through the air, narrowly grazing his nose, while his peripheral vision had already caught sight of a figure in the crowd, ruthlessly stabbing Kunai into the hearts of two Root Ninja.
Was it him!?
"Disperse!"
While avoiding the bone blade, Shimura Danzo quickly formed hand signs and shouted:
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
The moment the Root members dispersed, a searing air bullet shot towards the 'Hidden Mist' Ninja.
"Bang!"
Ishii Masane's figure suddenly exploded, turning into a fine, pulpy mess spread flat on the hallway floor.
Just that momentary pause.
The sharp bone spike had already approached within half a foot of Danzo's back.
"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"
However, dark Kikaichu suddenly rose from behind him, forming a wall that perfectly shielded Shimura Danzo's back.
The bone blade struck the insect wall, sinking in only half a foot before it could advance no further.
"Ryoma!"
Shimura Danzo slightly relaxed, leaping to his side.
"Be careful, Lord Danzo." Aburame Ryoma quickly reminded him, back-to-back with Shimura Danzo, "I always feel something is off."
This sentence immediately hit upon that subtle sense of incongruity in Shimura Danzo's heart, and he nodded: "It's fine, let's get out of here first. My Sealing Technique has been broken; the people outside should have noticed by now—"
However, he had only managed to speak half of his sentence.
"Puff."
Suddenly, a pale bone blade pierced through his back and out his chest, bringing forth dripping blood.
Shimura Danzo's entire body trembled.
He struggled to turn his head backward.
Those azure eyes, as if containing brilliant stars, were suddenly reflected in his pupils.
Sawara Kiri's slightly flippant voice sounded:
"Lord Danzo."
"I told you to be careful, didn't I?"
Shimura Danzo stared at him blankly, as if stunned, blood continuously gushing out, held in his mouth, before he finally murmured after a long while:
"Gen—genjutsu?"
"When exactly..."
His gaze continued past Sawara Kiri, looking at the silent group of people standing behind him.
Explosions, smoke, craters, traces of battle...
Everything appearing before his eyes was so real, there was even a corpse he had blown apart still on the ground.
But everyone present was like actors called 'Cut' by a director, all turning their heads in unison, quietly looking at him with cold eyes.
"When?"
Sawara Kiri's voice seemed to carry a faint, almost imperceptible hint of a smile, as he calmly retorted:
"When did you get the illusion that I wasn't using genjutsu?"
"You! This! Guy!"
A surge of furious indignation at being played suddenly rose in Shimura Danzo's heart, anger rushing to his head, making him disregard the pain from this body. He suddenly reached out and gripped the bone blade piercing his heart, preventing him from pulling it out.
The intricate patterns of the Sealing Technique extended continuously along the bone blade towards Sawara Kiri's figure.
"Self-Cursing Seal!"
At the same time, he formed hand signs with his other hand, looking at the people before him with a fierce gaze.
"Explode—!"
With just that one shout, among the remaining seven people present, six of them simultaneously emitted faint sounds of burning flames.
"Die with me, Hidden Mist Ninja!"
"..."
However, in his vision, he saw that figure, along with Aburame Ryoma, slowly pacing to the other end of the hallway.
The surging explosion flames instantly engulfed the other six people along with Shimura Danzo himself. The violent blast wave enveloped his entire body, slamming him hard against the solid wall with a dull thud.
Sawara Kiri, his back to the explosion, slowly walked towards the room from which wailing sounds came.
Completely ignoring the several figures that had turned into dust.
One-time tools like Root Ninja, having one relatively sharp spare was enough.
Bringing too many just made things cumbersome.
"Thump."
The bone blade fell out of his heart, bringing with it a gush of blood.
Shimura Danzo's body tumbled to the ground with a dull thud.
In the weakness of his possessed body dying and his soul about to leave, Shimura Danzo vaguely heard Sawara Kiri's instructions to the person behind him, slightly blurred:
"Let's go."
"Mr. Hiruko has been imprisoned for so long, he must be getting impatient, right?"
"How unlucky, to be caught right before the operation started."
In these final moments, Danzo's lips slowly curved into a triumphant smile.
So the mole they were cooperating with was that idiot Hiruko?
No wonder... no wonder...
At that moment, in the ethereal realm, many things seemed to make sense.
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