Danzo's End

Night, beneath the Hidden Leaf Village, at Root's headquarters.

Dense barriers formed an interconnected array. If even one was triggered, the rest would activate automatically, sealing off the area and sounding the alarm so Root's ninjas could rush over and quickly capture whoever was there.

Besides these barriers, there were living things such as insects and sensory birds. Should anyone enter at this time, they would be swarmed and killed.

There were also ninjas concealed in the darkness, ensuring Root's safety.

It could be said that Root's combat strength might not have been the strongest, but their execution and fearlessness in the face of death ranked among the best in the ninja world.

To these people, death might have even been a blessing.

Yet today, within this heavily guarded Root base, a black figure silently arrived at a room on Root's lowest level.

This was the residence of Root's controller, Shimura Danzō.

To ensure his own survival, unless he absolutely had to go out, Danzo would never return to the surface under normal circumstances.

Inside the room, Shimura Danzō had not yet gone to sleep. He held a scroll in his hand, studying its contents.

The black figure passed through the door and flicked a sleeve at Danzo.

Yawn...

Danzo opened his mouth wide and yawned as drowsiness washed over him.

"I'm so sleepy!"

"Looks like I really am getting old. I should go to bed."

As soon as he finished speaking, Danzo casually set down the scroll, patted his mouth, and opened his right eye first.

Mangekyō Sharingan—Insight.

Even if he could only use its most basic ability, it was incomparably important to Danzo, who possessed no special bloodline. The fatigue and drowsiness he had felt for no reason just now were highly unusual for him.

For his own safety, Danzo used his precious Mangekyō Sharingan.

All he saw were densely packed barrier markings. Aside from the Chakra circulating here, there was not the slightest trace of anything unusual before him.

"Was it just my imagination?"

"Have I really grown old?"

Danzo's expression twisted viciously. "I'm not old. I have to live for a very, very long time. I will become the Hidden Leaf Village's greatest Hokage. No one can stop me from moving forward."

For his own safety, Danzo used his Sharingan to inspect the Chakra reactions around him once more, confirming which guards were still present before walking toward the bed beside him.

It was a stone bed with old bedding, the sort one would expect from a frugal old man. Looking at the bed alone, no one would have imagined that the renowned Danzo lived such a simple life.

"It's getting late. I should sleep early."

Danzo lay on the stone bed. Just as he was about to close his eyes, a black hand suddenly appeared before him.

Slap!

"Ah!"

His right eye was gouged out, and Danzo could not help crying out.

The physical pain meant little to him, but the mental anguish was nearly more than he could bear.

That was a Mangekyō Sharingan!

"Who exactly are you?"

After gritting out the question, Danzo quietly reached toward a corner of the stone bed.

"Don't worry. I've already isolated this room. If you want to use the alarm to draw Root's ninjas here, go ahead and try." Hikari held Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan in his hand and sighed softly.

"You've truly disappointed me. Such powerful eyes, stuck in that decrepit body of yours... they must be weeping too."

When the expected alarm did not sound, panic rose in Danzo's heart.

He knew his own situation best.

His left eye had been taken by this man, and now his right arm was sealed. Without the Sharingan's extra lives, he was only at the level of a jonin. Gritting his teeth, knowing the intruder meant him harm, he still decided to fight.

A kunai appeared in his palm in an instant, and he thrust it into Hikari's pitch-black figure.

It hit.

Before he could rejoice, Danzo realized something was wrong.

If a ninja had truly been stabbed, blood should have sprayed out. If it had been a clone, it should have dispersed after taking such a heavy blow.

"The ignorant are fearless!"

Thinking of Danzo's godlike maneuver of stabbing Susanoo with a kunai, Hikari felt that Danzo trying to stab his clone with a kunai was not so hard to understand.

This was naturally no ordinary clone, but the rare Yin Release: Clone Technique. Ordinary physical and ninjutsu attacks had no effect whatsoever on a Yin Release clone.

"You can undo the seal on your right hand. I hope to fight you while you're at your peak."

As he spoke, Hikari took several steps back, stood there, and made an inviting gesture.

You brat, you dare look down on me? I'll show you the consequences of underestimating Lord Danzo!

Danzo was burning with rage at Hikari's actions, but the result of his previous attack forced him to treat the situation cautiously.

He unwrapped the bandages around his right arm, revealing a sealing mechanism made of gold.

Danzo slowly removed the screws. Seeing that Hikari did not launch a sneak attack, he could not help feeling delighted.

As long as he had his extra lives, he could escape this room. With others around, what leader would fight alone? That would be idiotic!

It was time for you to sacrifice yourselves for me, Danzo.

Clatter!

The Golden Lock fell to the ground, revealing ten nauseating Sharingan embedded in his arm.

"If Madara Uchiha knew you were using the Uchiha clan's Sharingan for something like this, tearing you into pieces would be letting you off easy."

"Hehe, that is, if he comes back to life first!" Feeling the power flowing from his right arm, Danzo felt capable again.

Even if Madara Uchiha were alive, he would dare to challenge him.

"Die!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Spheres!"

When Danzo unleashed these two signature Wind Release ninjutsu, it was enough to make the Wind Shadow fall silent and the Sand ninjas weep.

It was laughable that the mighty Wind Shadow of the Land of Wind did not have any noteworthy Wind Release ninjas.

Under Danzo's horrified gaze, after being struck by both ninjutsu, Hikari looked as though nothing had happened. Not only were his clothes undamaged, even his hair was not out of place.

"Since you've attacked, I can't hold back either."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hikari flashed before Danzo with a whoosh and grabbed his right hand.

"This is..."

The balance originally maintained between the Sharingan and Wood Release was broken at that instant. The ten Sharingan spun madly, their ocular power surging in a moment.

And to avoid being suppressed by the Sharingan, the Wood Release could only retaliate furiously, continuously drawing power from Danzo's body.

"No..."

"Don't!"

Feeling the strength drain from his body, Danzo's face filled with terror.

He would die. He would die. He really would die.

His once fairly robust body was drained by the Wood Release until he was nothing but a dried husk.

Even so, Danzo did not die. His left eye remained open, and his mouth tried to say something, but it had already been eroded by Wood Release energy and turned into a section of fiber.

"See you!"

At this point, Danzo could forget about activating Izanagi. If he could even move a finger, that would already be impressive.

As Hikari released his hand, the Sharingan on Danzo's right arm all closed at once. A green sapling took root and sprouted from his arm, growing wildly upward.

Turning around, Hikari's clone vanished through the doorway, leaving only Danzo staring blankly ahead with vacant eyes.