Danzo, I've Been Waiting for You!

Run! That was the first thought to appear in these Root members' minds.

The Sealing Formula had been destroyed.

Namikaze Mirai was now like a fierce tiger that had broken free of its restraints.

No one knew just how terrifying this beast's power would be once it erupted!

But they could not run.

As Root members, handpicked through brutal selection under Danzo's command.

Fleeing in battle would bring punishment more horrifying than death!

Even knowing death lay ahead, they had to press forward without hesitation.

This was the fate every Root member had to obey! "Spread out and attack! Don't let him seize an opening!"

The Root Squad Leader barked out the order.

Given Namikaze Mirai's terrifying area-of-effect attacks, if they stood too close together, they would likely end up like the four Root members from before.

Nothing but flesh and blood! The instant his order was given, these carefully selected Root elites immediately scattered and charged in different directions.

Even as they spread out, they formed an encirclement around Namikaze Mirai.

"Not a bad idea."

Watching these unflustered Root members, Namikaze Mirai offered rare praise.

He had to admit it.

Danzo was quite skilled at training his subordinates.

However...

The silver tentacles around his body began flowing toward his back, gathering outward from the area around his shoulder blades.

Until a certain moment.

Splash!

A pair of silver wings that blotted out the sky unfurled, gleaming with a metallic luster.

Namikaze Mirai slowly rose into the air, standing high above like a Silver-Winged Angel.

If it were merely for flight.

He had no need to form wings from Magnetic Fluid.

But this form gave him an advantage with certain attacks.

Looking down over the forest, Namikaze Mirai gently raised his right index finger and aimed it at a moving Root Jonin.

A tiny Silver Serpent slithered from his sleeve, coiling around his fingertip and condensing into a Silver Sphere.

Pale blue arcs of lightning danced.

Boom!!! A blazing beam suddenly erupted, carrying terrifying force as it shot toward the moving Root member.

This terrifying attack, improved from the Electromagnetic Cannon, closely resembled a classic move from Dragon Ball.

Special Beam Cannon! A horrifying sense of danger struck from behind. The Root member's spine went cold, and a chill shot from his back to the base of his skull.

The moment the thought of dodging arose, his entire body was instantly pierced through by the beam, along with the trees in its path, all reduced to dust.

The entire forest suddenly shook.

A bottomless crater appeared, faint smoke rising from it.

The surviving Root members' eyelids twitched, their scalps going numb.

What kind of terrifying attack was that?! Just one strike and—

Namikaze Mirai's gaze shifted slightly, settling on a nearby Root member.

That Root member was forming hand seals, but he had been so shocked by the previous attack that he stood frozen in place.

Namikaze Mirai swung his right hand toward him.

This time, he did not raise his index finger.

A massive amount of Silver Fluid surged from beneath his sleeve, twisting and coiling as it condensed into a long, savage blade in an instant.

Squelch!

The Root member forming hand seals stiffened, his eyes trembling as they slowly lowered.

A savage silver blade had pierced through his abdomen.

The middle of the blade was long and slender, twisting grotesquely like a tentacle, while its front widened into a crescent-shaped axe blade.

It looked just like Venom's slash from Marvel! The pierced Root member's eyes filled with unwillingness as he gritted his teeth, seemingly about to say something.

The Crescent Blade-Axe piercing his body suddenly split from the middle, dividing into four and violently shredding him apart.

The four smaller, slender blades slashed wildly through the forest. Trees were cut down, then chopped into fragments by the attacks that followed.

Like a meat grinder, they pulverized everything around them.

Two nearby Root members had no time to dodge. They were cut apart in despair, their bodies divided into chunks of flesh that fell piece by piece.

The remaining Root members swallowed hard, their pupils trembling as cold sweat soaked their backs.

Namikaze Mirai, floating in the air, was like the Shinigami's emissary. To them, his handsome blond face was more terrifying than any demon.

"Run!"

The Root Squad Leader gave the order unwillingly.

Namikaze Mirai was no longer someone they could contend with.

Their deaths were insignificant, but someone had to escape.

Someone had to deliver the intelligence to Lord Danzo.

Upon receiving the order, the remaining Root members finally stopped resisting and scattered in flight.

At that moment, they had only one thought.

They had to bring the intelligence to Lord Danzo.

Their original intelligence.

Had been disastrously wrong!!

Namikaze Mirai was even stronger than he had been three years ago!

"Finally running? I haven't had enough fun yet!"

Namikaze Mirai watched the scene from the air, a trace of regret appearing in his azure eyes.

If you hadn't run.

You might have lived a little longer.

"What a pity..."

His eyes gradually turned cold.

The setting sun on the horizon was blood-red, its final rays spilling across the land.

The silver wings on his back, near his shoulder blades, burst open with a crisp metallic clang.

A black shadow descended over the forest, and even the last rays of the setting sun were blocked by those unfurled wings.

Amid an unbroken series of metallic sounds, countless silver feathers shot from the silver wings, layer after layer.

The Metal Storm swept through the entire forest. Amid the symphony of blades and slaughter, Root's screams were instantly drowned in bloodshed.

The forest was shredded apart. Within several hundred meters, not a single intact tree remained.

Around the bare roots, only small amounts of flesh mixed with dirt and wood fragments revealed that life had once existed there.

The slaughter was over.

The Metal Storm flew back into Namikaze Mirai's wings, then turned into fluid once more and slipped beneath his collar, as docile as a tame pet.

Namikaze Mirai's body slowly descended from the sunset, coming to stand upon the barren battlefield.

Ten Root members—five Jonin and five Special Jonin.

All annihilated!

Only the blood-red setting sun remained, casting its light across his profile.

Not a speck of dust stained him.

Hokage Office.

"The Land of Wind?"

Danzo narrowed his eyes. He did not understand what Sarutobi Hiruzen meant.

This assassination plan had been repeatedly calculated. It could not fail.

If nothing unexpected happened.

Namikaze Mirai was already a dead man.

Root's assassination squad should have been returning to base with his corpse. The research ninja who had long been prepared would dissect it and study his blood.

Was that unusual Magnet Release some mutation of a Kekkei Genkai, or...

"Lord Danzo, something's wrong!"

The sudden voice interrupted his thoughts. A Root subordinate appeared in the Hokage Office, his voice trembling slightly.

This was the Hokage Office. There was only one reason Root would come here to report.

The situation had become extremely dire!

Danzo faintly sensed that something was amiss.

"What happened?"

"It's the Blue Flash, he..."

Before the Root member could finish, Danzo suddenly sprang up, smashed through the Hokage Office door, and vanished from sight.

Forest.

The setting sun had reached its final moment, leaving only a corner of crimson on the horizon.

Danzo arrived, panting heavily.

The single eye outside his Bandage trembled faintly.

"H-how is this possible..."

The sight before him fiercely shook his mind!

Namikaze Mirai smiled faintly.

"Danzo, I've been waiting for you."