Barely managing to stop the Susanoo's advance with a Wood Dragon, Uchiha Jinsuke looked at the enraged Danzo and felt something was off.
Ninja, especially experienced ones, how could they expose their emotions without any concealment?
And in the fight just now, although Danzo handled himself well, his emotions fluctuated wildly, always giving the impression of overexertion, which was really unlike his usual demeanor.
Especially the expressions on his face, sometimes laughing wildly, sometimes gloomy…
"Hmph… it seems he's been swayed by the power of the Sharingan, something useless."
Uchiha Jinsuke sneered, and the Chakra within him surged, constantly repairing the Wood Dragon that had been damaged by the immense force.
"You bastard!"
Danzo struggled, seeing the emerald green branches gradually obscure his vision. He suddenly leaped out of the Susanoo, quickly formed hand seals, and shouted, "Wind Release: Great Breach of Wind!"
A fierce gust of wind condensed into a vortex, almost becoming tangible, and charged directly at Uchiha Jinsuke on the ground.
However, just then, a transparent crimson barrier suddenly rose, blocking Danzo's sudden attack.
Uchiha Fugaku shouted, "Barrier: Four Violet Flames Formation!"
Barriers rose from the other three directions almost simultaneously, enclosing the entire Susanoo within.
Seeing the clan leader, who had been seeking aid, return, Uchiha Jinsuke let out a sigh of relief, then immediately said, "Clan leader, be careful. The flames on his sword are strange; they can burn Chakra in Ninjutsu."
Fugaku's brow furrowed upon hearing this. If that were the case, this barrier would not serve to delay him for much longer.
And almost immediately after his warning, Danzo had returned to the Susanoo, forcefully enduring the restraint of the Wood Dragon, and swung his sword towards the barriers in all four directions.
After a roar, the barrier didn't even show a crack. The swirling black fire had already spread across the barrier formation.
If he hadn't stopped in time, he would have lost most of his Chakra in that one blow.
"Hahahaha… die, you bunch of ants!"
Amidst his wild laughter, the half of the Susanoo wielding a broad, giant blade severed the tree trunks within a radius of twenty to thirty meters. The black fire spread upwards before it even hit the ground.
Boom, boom, boom…
The Uchiha Jonin narrowly dodged, their movements somewhat clumsy. Looking at Danzo surrounded by raging flames, a flicker of astonishment flashed in their eyes.
"How is this possible?" Fugaku's brow furrowed deeply. "This isn't Amaterasu, is it?"
As the clan leader of the Uchiha Clan, he naturally knew more about some of the clan's secret intelligence than other Uchiha Jonin.
After hearing Jinsuke's description of the black fire's characteristics, he had tried to guess the opponent's Mangekyo Sharingan, and immediately confirmed one of them.
However, the Amaterasu described in the intelligence could not burn so rapidly.
Uchiha Jinsuke heard Fugaku's description and immediately said, "Perhaps the eye technique Danzo awakened isn't this black fire, but the sword held by the Susanoo."
If it were Amaterasu, there would be no need to swing his sword to break the Wood Dragon just now; he could have burned it directly with his eye technique.
"This… makes some sense." Fugaku's gaze fixed on the wildly laughing Danzo within the Susanoo, and he said in a deep voice, "Keep him at bay for a while longer. Shisui and Jiraiya will be here any moment."
"Yes!"
Responding in unison, the Uchiha Jonin who were still capable of fighting dispersed, no longer attacking aggressively but focusing on entanglement.
"Annoying blue flies…"
Danzo sneered. Just as he was about to kill them one by one, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his eye, and tears of blood streamed out. He couldn't help but exclaim, "What… is this?"
Uchiha Fugaku and the others also noticed the anomaly. Jinsuke scoffed, "Foolish guy, recklessly consuming your eye power… this is the price you have to pay!"
After transplanting the First Hokage's cells, Danzo shouldn't have deteriorated so quickly. However, he only had one Mangekyo Sharingan.
Even a genjutsu-type Uchiha like Shisui found it difficult to activate Susanoo with one eye, let alone Danzo, especially when he frequently used his eye techniques.
"Damn it, I can't continue like this."
The searing pain in his eyes extinguished Danzo's killing intent. The Susanoo stopped pursuing the Uchiha, and instead, it fled towards the east of the Land of Hot Water, in the direction of the sea.
The continent was now almost entirely ruled by Konoha and the Akatsuki organization. Only the Land of Water, isolated overseas, offered a sliver of hope.
At worst, he could divert trouble, drawing out Uchiha Madara and others hiding in the Land of Water to take the blame.
Seeing Danzo's intention to retreat, the Uchiha Jonin advanced, quickly forming hand seals one after another.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
"Uchiha Flame Formation!"
…
Fierce flames with intense heat crashed forward. Following that, a wide burning barrier suddenly rose, blocking the escape route.
Danzo could have chosen to evade or go around, but with this delay, Fugaku and the others behind him would surely catch up and entangle him again.
The situation was different now. Danzo would naturally not give them that chance. He roared, "Get out of my way!"
A tear of blood fell from his eye, and the black fire on his giant sword intensified. The approaching dragon-headed flames were almost instantly shattered upon contact, swallowed up in an instant.
With an unstoppable momentum, the giant sword directly slashed at the burning barrier.
Crack, crack, crack…
After a thunderous roar, there was a crisp shattering sound. Tiny fragments fell from the air, gradually dissipating with the breeze.
The Uchiha Jonin maintaining the barrier spat out a mouthful of blood, suffering severe backlash injuries. Another Jonin quickly took him and fled to the side.
Danzo had no interest in wasting his escape opportunity for the lives of such ants. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed out more eye power. The giant blade flipped and slashed backward.
Accompanied by the strike, the black fire instantly ignited the trees and forest within a range of several tens of meters.
Uchiha Fugaku and the others quickly stopped, looking at the wall of black fire in front of them, afraid to risk their bodies.
The flame, which was suspected to be 'Amaterasu,' had already proven its power. Even with Water Release for defense, there was a high chance it would be reduced to ruins along with the water wall.
Uchiha Fugaku glanced at the small team left around him and said in a deep voice, "Leave the wounded and continue the pursuit!"
The ninja present had all undergone physical reinforcement. These injuries posed no threat to their lives. Moreover, Shisui and the others had received the news and were rushing in this direction.
"Yes!"
Everyone responded in unison.
…
Leaping out of the forest, the sea breeze carrying a salty smell blew towards him. Danzo felt invigorated by the cool breeze, and even the swelling pain in his eyes slightly receded.
"If I run a few more miles and dive into the sea… no one will find me."
Danzo only intended to flee towards the Land of Water, not to actually go to the Land of Water.
With him leading the way, it would surely attract Orochimaru's attention in the future, making it a place of conflict and easily falling into danger.
Moreover, his own strength was top-tier in the ninja world. He could survive anywhere. He just needed to hide for a while…
As he was thinking about it, a slightly playful voice suddenly sounded in his ear, "Yo, Lord Danzo, long time no see."
The familiar voice, the familiar tone… Danzo froze. A bone-chilling coldness seeped into his marrow.
Orochimaru. Even without turning around, Danzo recognized the voice, but why… was he here?
Without any hesitation, Danzo immediately shouted, "You can't kill me, I'm still useful. I know where Uchiha Madara is, I…"
His voice abruptly stopped. All the words were stuck in his throat. Orochimaru floated in front of Danzo and reached down with one hand. A moment later, a completely white corpse floated up.
"Alas, what a shame."
Orochimaru glanced at the corpse on the ground, then turned his gaze to Danzo and smiled, "No matter what you know, it's useless, you see."
The information transmission capability between White Zetsu clones was among the best in the entire ninja world. After he appeared before Danzo, the information had probably already spread.
And no matter where Uchiha Madara was at that moment, he wouldn't stay put and wait for Orochimaru to find him.
In other words, the information in Danzo's mind had lost its effectiveness.
"…"
Danzo naturally understood this. His eyes widened, clearly wanting to say something more. His will to survive was quite strong.
But unfortunately, Orochimaru had no intention of letting him speak.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Amidst the sound of wind breaking, several figures leaped out of the forest and onto the coast.
Their gazes first fell on Danzo. After seeing him strangely remaining in place, they then noticed the man behind him.
Fugaku exclaimed in surprise, "Orochimaru-sama, what are you doing here?"
Although Danzo was a Hokage Elder, and his defection from Konoha was a serious matter, he didn't think such a thing could alarm Orochimaru.
"Just a chance encounter."
Orochimaru's gaze turned towards the direction of the sea.
Far in the distance, a small island about two to three hundred meters in diameter was moving in this direction. Above it, a large, thick cloud was chasing it.
The initially planned landing spot for the small White Snake was the Land of Earth. However, during the transfer, the White Snake Sage encountered a natural giant tornado. Although he himself was unharmed, the cloud it created was instantly swallowed into it.
And after the White Snake Sage regrouped, the direction had shifted slightly. It took several turns to end up in this location.
But, oh well.
Whether it was the Land of Hot Water or the adjacent Frost Country, they were just small nations with sparse populations concentrated in a few large villages, making them very convenient for relocation.
"You're here to capture Danzo, right?"
Orochimaru turned to Fugaku and smiled, "You take the person back, and please help me pass on a message. Say that there will be a massive tsunami and earthquake, and other natural disasters, erupting here soon. Tell them to evacuate inland."
"Yes, I will do as you say."
Fugaku responded, a hint of inquiry flashing in his eyes. He could naturally tell that this wouldn't be a simple natural disaster.
Orochimaru was unwilling to say, so he naturally couldn't force him to speak. However, his gaze fell on the frozen Danzo, and he seemed to hesitate.
The Third Hokage's order was to bring him back alive or dead. Fugaku naturally wanted Danzo to return to the village, lying down and no longer breathing, to understand how he and his Root division had targeted the Uchiha over the years.
But now that Orochimaru had given him a live one, he couldn't just kill him now and turn him into a dead one.
It would be difficult to explain.
Orochimaru's perceptive abilities were now incredibly sharp. He naturally noticed Fugaku's change in mood and smiled, "Is there anything else?"
"…" After a moment of hesitation, Fugaku hadn't spoken yet, but Uchiha Jinsuke behind him interjected.
"Orochimaru-sama, the Third Hokage's order is to bring him back alive or dead. If Uchiha Madara comes to rescue Danzo, we might not be able to stop him. It's better to execute him on the spot."
The latter half was naturally superfluous. If he were truly coming to rescue him, help from Obito and the others would have already arrived, and it wouldn't have reached this point.
However, whether the reason was sufficient or not, it never mattered. The important thing was whether he wanted to do it.
Hearing Uchiha Jinsuke say this, the frozen Danzo's eyes flickered intensely. He glared fiercely like a cornered wolf at this man who was pushing him into the abyss.
"Oh, I see."
Orochimaru immediately understood, and he smiled. His gaze turned to Danzo beside him, and he said playfully, "It seems there's no need to keep you around. Even the old man has given up on you."
Danzo, Root, as the dark side of Konoha… 'Shadow of Darkness' had an undeniable contribution.
In fact, it could be said that without Danzo back then, there wouldn't be the current Konoha, or rather… another Danzo would have appeared.
Orochimaru had thoroughly studied Konoha's history and even felt that the appearance of figures like Danzo was somewhat inevitable.
After the First Great Ninja War, Konoha was in a precarious state. Without a combination of offense and defense, soft and hard tactics, open and upright methods in the open, and swift and decisive actions in the dark… it would have been impossible to unite the village and save it from the brink of division.
After all, at that time, the distinguishing colors between various secret techniques and bloodline families were too distinct, making them difficult to integrate.
Having done so much dirty work, bearing half of the village's filth, a change in his disposition was almost a given.
Orochimaru knew very well that the old man had always felt some guilt towards Danzo, thinking he was the one who turned Danzo into what he became. That's why later, when his own power completely surpassed Orochimaru's, he still left some room for him.
But the Third still underestimated Danzo's craving. Even though Orochimaru had already displayed such power, he was still unwilling to let go of his past obsession, even to the point of cooperating with Uchiha Madara for it.
This had crossed the line the Third had drawn for Danzo.
Of course, Orochimaru didn't care about this. He even wanted to make use of Danzo, to be a bait to lure Obito or something… But since the old man had abandoned him, these things were no longer necessary.
"The old man can no longer tolerate you… there is no place for you on this ship called Konoha anymore."
Orochimaru opened his palm, and a black sphere gradually formed. He let out a sigh that sounded like emotion, "Your era has long since ended."