Night gradually fell, and a murderous aura filled the forest.
Shimura Danzo drew his ninja sword, leading his remaining ninjas as they spread out to confront Team 7's Kakashi and Naruto.
Yamanaka Fu, after checking the fallen Root ninjas on the ground, leaped to Danzo's side. "Sir, our losses are heavy. One Jonin, three Special Jonin, and four Chunin… none of them were spared."
"Even though we were caught in a surprise attack, that brat killed so many people with just two ninjutsu…" Shimura Danzo's fingers trembled slightly, a feeling that the situation was slipping beyond his control. "Does Uzumaki Naruto already have this much strength, even without using the Tailed Beast's power?"
"The last time we fought, he only managed to escape by using the Nine-Tails' power…" Yamanaka Fu took half a step back, hiding his own emotions beneath his mask. "The Uzumaki Naruto of today is even stronger than he was then."
"To reach this level in just a few short months of training…" Shimura Danzo's single eye opened, gazing at the wary, yellow-haired boy. He spoke softly, "If Sarutobi had handed him over to me to train from childhood, he would have become a cornerstone of Konoha's power long ago."
"Sir, the Sealing Squad has arrived!" Yamanaka Fu announced as ninjas carrying scrolls joined their ranks. His heart eased slightly. At least now, they held a huge advantage against Team 7. With the Sealing Squad present, they might not be able to counter the full Nine-Tails, but they could still be a major threat to a jinchuriki who could only use a portion of its power.
The situation Team 7 faced was even more difficult than their last ambush. The only ninja left with full fighting capacity was Uzumaki Naruto.
Sasuke Uchiha glanced at his own wounds, especially the one on his shoulder that wouldn't stop bleeding. "Kakashi-sensei, you can't fight anymore. Let's switch. Let me fight…"
"Sasuke!" Kakashi Hatake quickly shook his head. He drew a shuriken and said in a low voice, "Your mission is more difficult. You have to protect Sakura."
In the battle to come, some ninjas would surely break through his and Naruto's defense. Sasuke would have to be the one to deal with those enemies. Kakashi's shoulder was severely injured; he would have a hard time facing even one opponent alone.
"Naruto, with such fighting power, don't you feel it's a waste?" Shimura Danzo walked forward step by step. He glanced coldly at the bodies of his subordinates before fixing his gaze on Naruto. "In Team 7, you can only be an ordinary genin, spending your days with these wastes... If you are willing to stand by my side, I will push you to higher positions, step by step."
"Whether it's Jonin, ANBU Captain, or even the seat of Hokage, it won't be difficult. Whether you want to read the Scroll of Seals or learn various ninjutsu—even forbidden jutsu—all of it can be realized with me!"
Kakashi Hatake spoke with a displeased look on his face. "Hey, Lord Danzo, before you try to recruit my subordinate, you might want to remember your own position..."
"Hey, old man!" Naruto adjusted his ninja headband and stared at Shimura Danzo. "Looking at your age, you must be almost seventy, right? That's really old! You should be at an age where you're about to be buried, yet you're out here using despicable means to backstab people."
"Your body is like a candle in the wind. Instead of hiding in a corner and clinging to your last breath, you jump out to ambush us. You… think you've lived too long?"
"Trying to use reverse psychology on me?" The one-eyed old man waved his hand, completely unfazed.
He commanded in a low voice, "Falcon Squad, focus your attack on Uzumaki Naruto. Sealing Squad, provide support. The rest of you, capture Uchiha Sasuke and eliminate the miscellaneous personnel!"
Kakashi Hatake: "..." He was the Jonin leader of Team 7. How was he "miscellaneous personnel"?
The Root ninjas gave him no time to react. Two squads charged towards Naruto from the front and back, while the remaining ninjas spread out to surround Sasuke and Sakura.
Shimura Danzo himself didn't relax. He formed two shuriken in his palm and exhaled a stream of chakra from his mouth. "Wind Style: Shuriken!"
The high-speed, rotating shuriken made of wind flew out, their sharpness equal to that of a ninja sword, easily capable of slicing through a person's body. The two Wind Style shuriken shot toward Kakashi.
"Don't bring out such pathetic jutsu, okay?" Naruto flashed in front of Kakashi. The Rasengan in his hand spun at high speed as he infused it with Wind Style chakra. "Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"
The Rasenshuriken crushed Danzo's two wind shuriken with overwhelming force. Under Naruto's control, the aftershock of the jutsu even sliced open the body of a nearby enemy.
Using the opening created by the Rasenshuriken, Naruto charged into the enemy's formation. He had to defeat these people as quickly as possible.
Naruto grabbed an enemy's ninja sword, ignoring the blade cutting into his own palm. With his other hand, he gathered a vortex of chakra and pressed a Rasengan into the enemy's face.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto had no time to rest. The moment his real body broke through the enemy formation, eight shadow clones, in groups of two, pounced on the members of the Sealing Squad who were being protected by combat ninjas.
The ninjas of the Root's Falcon Squad formed hand seals together. "Lightning Style: Four-Pillar Bind!" Four rock pillars shot out from the ground, surrounding the shadow clones, and immediately released a dense web of lightning. The shadow clones all dissipated into smoke in an instant. The momentum of Naruto's attack was completely ruined.
"Sealing Art: Devour!" Naruto stretched out his palm. The dense lightning turned into chakra and was absorbed into his body. He coated his fist with chakra and shattered one of the rock pillars with a single punch.
The offensive wave he had just launched was too sudden. Even Kakashi was caught off guard. "Hey, Naruto, don't be so reckless..."
"Worrying about others when you can't even fend for yourself? Die!" Two Root ninjas swung their swords at Kakashi, but a sudden shockwave of chakra forced them to retreat.
"Spiral Shockwave!" A beam of blue chakra bloomed from Naruto's palm, forcing back the ninjas who were attacking Kakashi. The shockwave continued on, hitting a ninja fighting Sasuke and sending him flying.
"Thanks for that..." Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle. But when he glanced at Naruto's battle, he saw a high-pressure ball of wind flying toward Naruto, bypassing his line of sight.
Sasuke's face changed drastically. He shouted, "Naruto, watch out!"
His warning was too late. In order to use the Spiral Shockwave to rescue Sasuke and Kakashi, Naruto had left himself open. The high-pressure wind ball struck him square in the chest and abdomen. It felt as if a heavy hammer had slammed into him, and his whole body flew backward.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere."
Shimura Danzo nonchalantly stated the name of the ninjutsu. He lowered the fingers he had just used for hand seals and slowly walked toward Naruto.
As the leader of Root, who often provided support for ninjas on the main battlefield, he was best at finding the perfect opportunity for a sneak attack in the midst of a chaotic battle.
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Bonus:
Shimura Danzo: "Back in my day, I provided assists for the Hokage!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "You call that an assist? You coward. You were too afraid to fight head-on, so you just cast a few Wind Style jutsus from a distance."
Shimura Danzo: "Could you have won without me?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Did I really need that tiny bit of damage from you?"
Shimura Danzo: "Fine! Next time I won't help you then!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "As if you've helped me that many times..."