"The commotion's too big—retreat!" one Root operative shouted to the other.
"Retreat?" Wen Lan stood in the open hall, his ninja blade now at his waist, stance coiled like a drawn bow.
Left hand gripping the scabbard, right hand on the hilt, he inhaled slowly—and exhaled.
A thread of golden lightning flickered at the corner of his mouth.
"Thunder Breathing · First Form · Thunderclap and Flash!"
The blade swept out, wrapped in golden lightning, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek.
The instant the sword left its scabbard, the air seemed to freeze.
Wen Lan stomped the ground and vanished in a flash, blade-light ripping through the silence straight toward his enemy's throat.
Behind him, a trail of golden-white lightning streaked across the ground—like something torn straight from a manga panel.
The Root ninja retreated in panic, kunai snapping up to block. The clash sent violent tremors through his arms, numbing his grip.
He tried to stall with the kunai—only for it to be cleanly severed.
Years of battle instinct saved him; he snapped his upper body backward, Wen Lan's blade grazing past his nose by a hair's breadth.
Wen Lan landed like a bolt of lightning on a distant wall behind the man, eyes cold, momentum unbroken. He twisted with the motion—lightning flaring even brighter.
Without slowing, he kicked off the wall like a swimmer pushing from the finish, reversing direction at even greater speed.
The blade swept again, golden lightning clinging to it like a shadow. The air crackled with the scent of scorched ozone.
Suddenly, the second Root operative raised his hands—index fingers and thumbs forming a frame, like a camera aimed at Wen Lan.
"Mind Body Switch Technique!"
Wen Lan's pupils contracted sharply. He forcefully twisted his body midair, the lightning arcing as he slashed in a spinning cut!
The golden lightning tore free from the blade, flying straight toward that Root ninja.
At the same time, Wen Lan evaded the Mind Body Switch and landed smoothly, eyes locking onto the man.
"A Yamanaka?" Wen Lan barked.
The Mind Body Switch Technique was the Yamanaka clan's secret art.
He instantly remembered—Root had a Yamanaka.
Yamanaka Fū.
Danzo's right-hand man.
"Withdraw!"
Yamanaka Fū dodged the lightning without hesitation, turning and fleeing, vaulting over the wall in a blur.
The other Root operative followed at once.
Wen Lan exploded with fury.
"This is Uchiha territory—you think you can come and go whenever you like?!"
Blazing flames erupted from his body, completely different from the golden lightning before.
The fire was thick and vivid, almost magma-like, warping the air with searing heat.
"Flame Breathing · Fourth Form · Blooming Flame Undulation!"
He spun his blade.
The sword became a whirling inferno, expanding as it tore through the air like a flaming tornado.
In an instant, it caught up to the remaining Root ninja.
Raging fire surged outward, forming a massive ring of flames that trapped him completely.
The Root operative formed seals in a frenzy.
"Water Release · Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A roaring water dragon burst forth, slamming into the wall of flames with a thunderous crash.
Wen Lan glanced toward the distance—Yamanaka Fū was already gone, fleeing at high speed.
On the rooftops, shadows were moving fast.
Uchiha clan members were arriving.
Wen Lan's residence had once belonged to the Third Elder, isolated from other homes—quiet, secluded.
That meant even if the disturbance reached the clan, reinforcements wouldn't arrive instantly.
Water and fire collided, erupting into massive clouds of steam that swallowed the courtyard, obscuring all vision.
The Root ninja intended to use the fog as cover to escape.
But he'd forgotten one thing—
The Sharingan can see chakra through mist.
It wasn't as precise as the Byakugan, but a ninja was nothing more than a walking mass of chakra.
With the Sharingan active, as long as you weren't blind, you could see.
Wen Lan sneered.
In the fog, his Sharingan glowed an eerie crimson, locking onto the Root ninja's chakra flow.
"If this were the Hiding in Mist Technique, I might be annoyed—but ordinary steam?"
"You think that can blind my eyes?"
He stomped forward, charging into the fog like a living flame.
"Flame Breathing · First Form · Unknowing Fire!"
The blade flashed.
Fire tore through the mist like a phantom, striking the Root ninja's shoulder directly.
A scream rang out.
Wen Lan pressed the attack mercilessly, consecutive fiery slashes forcing the man back step by step.
Under the intense heat, the fog rapidly evaporated, visibility returning.
In the distance, Uchiha reinforcements arrived, sealing off every escape route.
The Root ninja gritted his teeth, only to realize his chakra was completely locked on.
There was no escape.
Especially when he saw them—
One by one, pairs of crimson Sharingan lit up the night, closing in.
Despair flashed through his eyes.
He knew—
He was dead.
[I can't let my identity be exposed. For Danzo-sir!]
He inhaled sharply. Without hesitation, he burst into manic laughter beneath his mask.
"Then you can all die with me!"
He tore open his clothes—
His entire body was covered in explosive tags, igniting at once.
A blazing shockwave erupted outward!
"Fall back!" Wen Lan shouted, his face changing instantly.
He retreated at once. The Uchiha who had just arrived also withdrew in a flash.
But the Root ninja roared and charged straight at Wen Lan.
Wen Lan's Flame Breathing instantly shifted to Thunder Breathing as he prepared to move—
Then a voice rang out.
"Earth Release · Earth Shore Return!"
A massive earthen wall rose up before Wen Lan!
BOOM—!
The explosion detonated, a violent wave of heat and force ripping outward.
The earth wall blocked the shockwave and flames completely.
Wen Lan felt a presence land beside him.
He turned.
It was Uchiha Fugaku.
"I heard the disturbance and rushed over. What happened?" Fugaku asked, frowning.
"Root," Wen Lan said, staring at the crater left behind—nothing but scorched earth and fragments remained.
His expression was dark.
Not because he'd been attacked—
But because he hadn't caught Danzo red-handed.
Danzo Shimura was like a toad crawling onto your foot—
He didn't bite, but he disgusted you endlessly.
A complete clown.
After all, he was the man who dared to stab a Susanoo with a kunai.
Wen Lan truly wondered—
What gave him that courage.
Liang Jingru?
"Danzo wanted to recruit you?" Fugaku asked.
"Heh." Wen Lan sneered.
"Knowing Danzo, he probably wanted to erase me ahead of time."
"He would never use an Uchiha as his subordinate."
There was one thing Wen Lan didn't say aloud—
Danzo had always coveted the Uchiha's Sharingan.
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