[Bonus Chapter]
Shimura Danzō's movement instantly drew Hyūga Shinichi's attention. With all the Root and Anbu ninja currently engaged in the fight, it was highly likely that the resource-strapped Danzō would take action himself.
With all the Hyūga guards participating in the fight to surround the Anbu, Shinichi was indeed left without any protective ninja, standing alone.
"Advisor Danzō, what do you intend to do?"
Just then, Uchiha Fugaku, noticing Danzō's movement, frowned and spoke up. Ostensibly, this was a contest between the Hyūga clan and Hiruzen/Danzō, but ultimately, it was a struggle for political influence.
The core question was: Was the Hyūga clan's demand more important, or was the will of the village's high-level officials more important? Both sides were contending not just for the corpse, but for the right to speak.
From Fugaku Uchiha's standpoint, he naturally hoped the Hyūga would gain the upper hand. Like the Hyūga, the Uchiha were a major clan.
If the interests of a major clan could be prioritized by Konoha's leadership, it would also benefit the Uchiha. He had faced a similar choice, but Fugaku chose compromise, declining to stand against the village's high-level officials.
Due to his compromise, the Uchiha clan was forced to relocate their ancestral compound, which they had operated for decades, to the outer fringes of Konoha, far from the center. Though only a few years had passed, Fugaku already distinctly felt the Uchiha clan drifting away from Konoha's center of power.
He wished to change this reality, but it was not easy. Contact with the Hyūga clan represented a good opportunity for the Uchiha.
Faced with the unexpectedly intervening Fugaku, Danzō Shimura completely ignored him. Fugaku had already cemented the "cowardly" stereotype in Danzō's mind. Such a person did not warrant any courtesy.
"This matter has nothing to do with your Uchiha clan!"
"Do not interfere with me."
Danzō's tone was icy. As he spoke, he suddenly increased his speed, transitioning from a slow walk to a full sprint in an instant. Danzō's aggression left Fugaku speechless. In the momentary lapse of his hesitation, Danzō had already sped past him, aiming a punch directly at Hyūga Shinichi's abdomen.
He struck. As the leader of Root, Danzō Shimura finally chose to attack Hyūga Shinichi himself.
"Tsk..."
Shinichi had ultimately underestimated Danzō's sheer madness. He had thought that his status as a Main House heir would be enough to deter Danzō from personally intervening, but now it was clear he had misjudged. Indeed, how could Danzō—the man who dared to attempt the assassination of a Hokage and ambush the Uchiha's top expert, Shisui Uchiha—be the kind of person who would be concerned about his social status? For him, as long as the value outweighed the cost, he could strike.
Although Shinichi did not anticipate Danzō's personal intervention, the attack was immediately perceived by the Byakugan.
The moment Danzō threw the punch, Shinichi reacted quickly, overlapping his palms and pressing them against his abdomen.
He initially thought Danzō's strength would be at the level of an ordinary ninja. However, when Danzō's fist connected, Shinichi felt a tremendous force that sent him flying backward.
"Huh?"
The power of Danzō's punch was so immense that even with Shinichi's defensive preparations, he was overwhelmed. Shinichi had believed he understood Danzō. Currently, Danzō should excel in Wind Release Ninjutsu.
Before the Uchiha clan's destruction, Danzō shouldn't have mastered Izanagi, nor taken Shisui's Sharingan. Under the Byakugan's scrutiny, Danzō should not have acquired Hashirama Senju's cells yet.
Shinichi had thought Danzō would be only slightly stronger than those who rose through seniority, like Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. However, with one strike, Shinichi realized his judgment of Danzō's strength was deeply flawed.
The sheer power of this man's Taijutsu rivaled even the current Might Guy, a genuine elite Jonin-level physical ability.
Shinichi flipped several times in the air to disperse the force before landing steadily on the ground. The moment Shinichi landed, the sound of wind whistling from the air being sliced reached his ears. Looking up, he saw a shuriken infused with Wind Release chakra spinning rapidly toward his lower body.
The advanced technique of incorporating Wind Release nature transformation into shuriken throwing already proved Danzō's mastery of Wind Release Ninjutsu. The shuriken was incredibly fast, and its strong cutting property made Shinichi's body instinctively tense up, leaving no room for carelessness.
Choosing not to block with Kaiten, Shinichi drew a kunai. As the Wind Blade Shuriken approached, he leaped into the air. While airborne, Shinichi accurately aimed and threw his kunai. The kunai Shinichi threw was infused with Lightning Release nature transformation, giving it extreme speed and piercing power.
Under the precise vision of the Byakugan, Shinichi's kunai accurately pierced the central ring of the Wind Blade Shuriken, embedding it in the ground.
However, just as Shinichi dealt with the attack, two more whistling sounds assailed him. As Shinichi dodged, Danzō "blew" out two more Wind Blade Shuriken, aiming them at Shinichi, who was defenseless in mid-air.
Danzō's attacks came in relentless waves, and his control and application of Wind Release left Fugaku Uchiha, who was observing from the sidelines, looking grim. It was obvious Danzō was serious.
If Hyūga Shinichi made even the slightest mistake and was hit by these attacks, he would be crippled, if not killed. A child his age, losing any limb, would likely be ruined. While impressed by Danzō's strength, Fugaku was secretly worried for Shinichi.
Shinichi, however, showed no panic when faced with the renewed Wind Blade Shuriken. Activating the Flying Thunder God Technique, his figure instantly vanished from the air.
The Wind Blade Shuriken flew past Shinichi's former position, striking the nearby courtyard wall. The sharp wind blades cut two deep gouges into the wall before passing straight through. A section of the wall, losing its support, collapsed with a crash, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
When Shinichi reappeared, he was at Danzō's side, sweeping a roundhouse kick toward Danzō's chest. The spot where Danzō had first punched Shinichi was close to a kunai Shinichi had previously planted, allowing him to use the Flying Thunder God.
"The Flying Thunder God is indeed a powerful technique."
"But it is not invincible in your hands."
"You are still too green, brat!"
The location of that one Flying Thunder God kunai had long been noted by Danzō.
The sudden attack from the side did not surprise him; instead, he seemed to have expected it. Effortlessly raising his left hand to block Shinichi's roundhouse kick, Danzō swiftly reached out with his right hand, aiming for Shinichi's throat.
It was incredibly difficult to capture a user of space-time Ninjutsu, but not entirely impossible. Cursed seals were a very effective means of restricting an opponent's movement.
"Surrender now!"
A sharp glint flashed in Danzō's eyes. Seeing his hand about to grasp Shinichi's neck, he couldn't help but feel a sense of triumph.
However, just as his palm was about to touch Shinichi's skin, a powerful stream of chakra burst out from Shinichi's pores, forming a chakra wall. Though they were inches apart, no matter how hard Danzō pushed, he could not breach that tiny distance.
Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven?"
Danzō understood the Hyūga well and immediately backed away, fearing being caught in the rotation of the Kaiten. Yet, even when he had put two or three meters between them, Shinichi did not begin spinning. The chakra wall was not a precursor to the Kaiten.
"What's going on?"
Danzō was perplexed, but Hyūga Shinichi remained calm.
The Chakra Armor was one of the results of Shinichi's years of practicing chakra shape transformation.
Similar to the principles of Kaiten and Gentle Fist, the Chakra Armor required the release of chakra through the body's pores. However, unlike Kaiten, which used rotation, the Chakra Armor simply used highly dense chakra to form an adhesive layer of defense—a unique form of absolute defense.
After developing this technique, Shinichi attempted to integrate the chakra nature transformation into it. Although progress was slow, the potential for the technique was immense. This first application in real combat yielded a satisfactory result.
Danzō did not know what Shinichi had done. Lacking the Hyūga Bloodline Limit, he couldn't discern the nature of Shinichi's Jutsu.
After gaining some distance, Danzō quickly formed hand seals. As the seals were completed, Danzō's chest swelled rapidly, and he unleashed a ferocious torrent of wind toward Shinichi.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
As the strong winds swept through, the stone bricks on the ground were ripped up and hurtled toward Shinichi.
The wide-ranging Ninjutsu affected everyone present. The Hyūga ninja surrounding the Anbu had to stop their attack, stabilizing themselves against the sudden onslaught of the strong wind.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had retreated beyond the range of the Great Breakthrough, watching the fight between Danzō and Shinichi, his face shifting between dark and light.
Hyūga Shinichi's talent was truly outstanding. At such a young age, he had withstood Danzō's attacks for so long without being defeated, deeply impressing Hiruzen.
However, seeing Danzō forced to use a wide-range Ninjutsu meant the fight was not easily contained, and Hiruzen worried about the situation spiraling out of control. How would they resolve such a massive scene?
The flying stone bricks slammed into Shinichi's Chakra Armor and instantly shattered into small pieces. Shinichi stood calmly in the midst of the gale, not even needing to bend his waist, utterly unaffected.
At this moment, he slowly raised his right hand. As a lion-shaped chakra cloak enveloped his arm, a highly dense chakra sphere rapidly formed in the lion's mouth.
"Die!"
Killing intent emanated from Hyūga Shinichi's eyes. He lifted his hand, and the chakra sphere shot out like a cannonball toward Danzō.
Danzō was trying to find an opportunity to eliminate Shinichi, but Shinichi was plotting the same thing!
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