He leaped from the rock pillar that had extended to its limit, then swiftly formed hand signs, his mouth puckered, ready to unleash a Ninjutsu.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
This Ninjutsu was quick to cast, had considerable power, good speed, decent destructive force, and a long range, making it a rare high-angle artillery skill.
The Shadow Clone Ling only managed to shift her body, and the Super Beast Imitating Drawing birds beneath her feet dispersed into ink.
Ling also pretended to lose control of her body and plummeted towards the ground, while the Root Ninja on the ground naturally began forming hand signs, preparing to eliminate Ling, who was falling from the sky.
The Shadow Clone fell face-up towards the sky, a triumphant smile on her lips, because at this moment, Danzo was also falling towards the ground, and would soon arrive at the landing point directly above Ling's main body.
Danzo didn't notice anything unusual; he just stared ferociously at the soon-to-be-dead Uchiha Ling, his inner satisfaction unspeakable.
More than a dozen Ninjutsu of various attributes and levels covered Ling's Shadow Clone, completely obscuring her figure.
Those Root Ninja, including Danzo, all believed that Uchiha Ling could not have survived; she was surely dead this time.
To be able to kill a major hidden danger on the path of defection also made Danzo feel incredibly refreshed.
As a quasi-Kage-level expert, Danzo naturally wouldn't stumble upon landing; he landed steadily, bending his knees to absorb the impact.
Just as Danzo was admiring the Root Ninja's Ninjutsu, which was about to blast Uchiha Ling into oblivion, he felt a slight tremor in the ground.
Suddenly! The ground beneath his feet cracked open, and a petite figure shot out from within. Danzo dodged to the side, but he had no time to react because it was simply too fast.
Ling's long-planned strike, though only activated using Curse Power and Nue's lightning, still reached the attack intensity of an Elite Jonin.
The blade light, carrying a red electric glow, drew a dazzling arc, reflecting Uchiha Ling's beautiful smile in Danzo's horrified eyes.
Danzo's reaction speed was indeed very fast; his combat experience saved his life, as he instinctively shifted his body based on muscle memory.
Ling naturally didn't intend to kill Danzo just like that; a living rogue Ninja Danzo would surely bring a lot of fun to the Ninja World.
Moreover, if Danzo died, the Third Hokage would turn his attention to the Uchiha Clan or other Ninja clans. Only if Danzo remained alive and well, causing trouble in the Ninja World, could he keep the Third Hokage's attention diverted.
This was most beneficial to Ling's plan. Currently, the Uchiha Clan and the Third Hokage were just beginning to set aside their prejudices, so the Third Hokage couldn't be allowed to continue to be wary of the Uchiha.
Therefore, Danzo's existence was very necessary. Such a rogue Ninja, who knew almost all of Konoha's secrets and forbidden Ninjutsu, would definitely make the Third Hokage restless and on edge.
He would be terrified that Danzo might fall into the hands of another Ninja Village, and then Konoha Village's accumulated forbidden Ninjutsu and some secrets would be easily known by other Ninja Villages.
Although Danzo had etched trigger-type Curse Mark Ninjutsu into the brains of other Root members, he would certainly not plant Curse Mark Ninjutsu in his own brain.
Therefore, a defected Danzo would definitely be a hot commodity in the eyes of other Ninja Villages, to the point where they couldn't afford not to acquire him.
However, if they obtained Danzo, it would definitely provoke a furious counterattack from the Third Hokage, even if it meant starting a war.
Danzo felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder, and when he turned his head, he saw the lingering sword qi and his arm flying through the air.
His right arm, which had been transplanted with Hashirama cells, was now severed from his shoulder by Ling's sword. Even with the gushing blood and the searing pain, it could not extinguish the killing intent in Danzo's heart towards Uchiha Ling.
"Old man Danzo, you react quite fast, don't you? I'll take your arm. When you die, I'll return it so you can have a complete corpse."
Ling's white wings flapped behind her, and she swiftly flew to the location of Danzo's severed arm, easily grabbing it in her hand. Immediately, Sealing Technique runes covered the restless arm.
Any slower, and this arm would probably have turned into a constantly growing tree due to the Hashirama cells' rampage.
Ling quickly flew high into the sky, waving Danzo's arm as if bidding him farewell.
Danzo pressed his endlessly bleeding shoulder. Even as cold sweat from the intense pain dripped into his eyes, it couldn't stop Danzo's fierce gaze.
Ling, under Danzo's furious gaze, stored this Hashirama cells-modified arm into a Sealing scroll.
This was the best experimental material for researching Wood Release and Hashirama cells. For Ling, a self-proclaimed researcher, it was incredibly precious.
This was Orochimaru's current culmination of research, full of technology and brutal methods. Although it couldn't compare to the future Danzo's Hashirama cells Sharingan arm, it still had great research value.
It could allow Uchiha Ling to understand Orochimaru's current research progress and direction from this arm.
Ling believed that Orochimaru's current research was still at the cellular level and had not yet reached the genetic level, mainly because current microscopes and scientific instruments found it difficult to observe and separate chromosomes.
However, just at the macroscopic cellular level, being able to solve issues such as rejection reactions and cellular stability mixing, he could still be considered a genius.
"Despicable Uchiha brat! The humiliation I suffered today, I will surely repay in the future!"
Danzo had already noticed that Minato Namikaze was about to finish off the twelve Wood Release Root Ninja; now only four remained, using the Wood Human Technique to buy time.
Danzo, clutching his tightly bandaged shoulder, turned and fled without hesitation. He couldn't afford to waste any more time fighting to the death here.
"Old man Danzo! Have a good journey! Don't miss Konoha too much, come back to visit often when you have time!"
Ling's words almost made Danzo stumble. "Come back to visit often"? If he dared to return, the Third Hokage would dare to keep him.
Then, various methods would be enthusiastically employed to make him feel the warmth and joy of family.
Ling watched Danzo disappear into the distance and did not pursue him. She had already achieved her goal, and Danzo being alive was more beneficial to her.
Ling's objective was this arm, full of technology and brutal methods. In fact, when she saw Danzo use this arm to heal himself outside the Shimura Clan, Ling had already set her sights on it.
Ling was also not afraid of the Third Hokage questioning her lack of continued pursuit, as her Chakra was currently at its limit, and even if she pursued, she might not be able to win.
Standing on the tip of a large tree, Ling retracted the wings on her back, quietly waiting for the Third Hokage to finish off the Root Ninja and arrive.
Ling was also secretly wary of the White Zetsu hidden not far away. Perhaps this incident had attracted Black Zetsu's attention, so there were many White Zetsu monitoring.
Ling actually really wanted to capture a White Zetsu for research, but unfortunately, it would be a chain reaction, and she didn't have the confidence to face Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara yet.
Seeing that the Third Hokage and Minato Namikaze were about to finish off the Root Ninja, Ling also pretended to have recovered some Chakra and began to pursue again.
In reality, she was indeed recovering Chakra, but she was also putting on a show for the Third Hokage to avoid being held accountable.
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