Danzo, I've Been Waiting for You!

Flee! That was the first thought to flash through the minds of these Root operatives.

The Sealing Formula had already been destroyed.

The Namikaze Mirai before them now was like a ferocious tiger that had broken free of its chains.

No one knew just how terrifying a power this beast would unleash!

But they could not flee.

As Root operatives, the elite under Danzo's command, honed through brutal selection.

Desertion in battle would bring a punishment more dreadful than death itself!

Even knowing the path ahead led to certain death, they must press forward without hesitation.

This was the fate that all Root operatives were bound to obey! "Spread out and attack! Don't let him seize an opening!"

The Root Squad Leader barked his order.

Given the terrifying area-of-attack ability Namikaze Mirai had displayed, if they clustered too tightly, they would likely end up just like the four Root operatives before them.

Nothing but shredded flesh! The moment his command was issued, these carefully selected elite Root operatives immediately scattered, charging toward different directions.

Even as they dispersed, they formed an encirclement formation, trapping Namikaze Mirai in the center.

"Not a bad idea."

Watching the Root operatives remain composed in the face of danger, Namikaze Mirai offered a rare word of praise.

He had to admit.

Danzo did have a way with training his subordinates.

But...

The silver tentacles coiled around his body began to flow toward his back, converging outward from the center of both shoulder blades.

Until, at a certain moment.

Whoosh!

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

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

If it were merely for flight.

He would have no need to condense wings from Magnetic Fluid.

But this form granted an advantage against certain attacks.

Gazing down at the forest with contempt, Namikaze Mirai lightly raised the index finger of his right hand, aiming at a moving Root Jonin.

A tiny Silver Serpent slithered out from his sleeve, coiling around the tip of his finger, condensing into a Silver Sphere.

Pale blue arcs of lightning crackled.

Boom!!! A blazing beam of light erupted suddenly, carrying a terrifying momentum as it blasted toward the moving Root operative.

This fearsome attack, an improved version of the Electromagnetic Cannon, bore a striking resemblance to a classic technique from Dragon Ball.

The Special Beam Cannon! A terrifying sense of danger surged from behind, sending a chill racing up the Root operative's spine straight to the back of his skull.

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

The entire forest shuddered violently.

A bottomless pit appeared, wispy smoke rising from it.

The surviving Root operatives nearby felt their eyelids twitch and their scalps go numb.

What kind of terrifying attack was that?! One single strike had—

Namikaze Mirai's gaze shifted slightly, landing on a Root operative nearby.

That operative had been forming hand seals but was frozen stiff, stunned by the attack he had just witnessed.

Namikaze Mirai swung his right hand, aiming at that operative.

This time, he did not raise his index finger.

From beneath his sleeve, a massive surge of Silver Fluid erupted, twisting and coiling, condensing in an instant into a long, savage blade.

Pfft!

The Root operative mid-seal froze, his expression stiff, his eyeballs trembling as they shifted downward.

In his abdomen, a grotesque silver blade had pierced straight through his body.

The middle of the blade was slender, twisted like a writhing tentacle, while the front end expanded outward, shaped like a crescent-moon blade-axe.

It was eerily similar to Venom's slashing attacks from Marvel! The pierced Root operative's eyes were filled with unwillingness, his teeth clenched as if he wanted to say something.

Suddenly, the Crescent Blade-Axe piercing through him split apart from the middle, dividing into four, and violently shredded his body.

Four smaller, elongated blades went on a frenzied rampage through the forest, slicing through massive trees, which were then minced into splinters by subsequent strikes.

Like a meat grinder, they tore apart everything in their vicinity.

The two nearby Root members had no time to dodge; in despair, they were severed, their bodies carved into chunks of flesh that fell piece by piece.

The remaining Root members swallowed hard, their pupils trembling, cold sweat already soaking their backs.

Namikaze Mirai in the sky was like an avatar of the Shinigami; his golden hair and handsome features, in their eyes, were more terrifying than a demon.

"Retreat!"

The Root Squad Leader gave the order reluctantly.

The current Namikaze Mirai was no longer someone they could contend with.

Their deaths would be insignificant, but someone had to escape.

To deliver the intelligence to Lord Danzo.

Upon receiving the order, the remaining few Root members finally stopped resisting, turned, and scattered in all directions.

They had only one thought in their minds now.

They must bring the intelligence to Lord Danzo.

Their original intelligence.

Had been horribly wrong!!

Namikaze Mirai was stronger than he was three years ago!

"Finally running away? I haven't had my fill yet!"

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

If you hadn't fled.

You might have lived a little longer.

"Pity..."

His eyes gradually turned cold.

The setting sun on the horizon was like blood, casting its final rays.

On his back, the silver wings near his shoulder blades, with a crisp metallic sound, burst open.

A black shadow descended upon the forest, and the last rays of the setting sun were blocked by those spread wings.

In a continuous metallic roar, dense silver feathers shot from the silver wings, layer upon layer.

The Metal Storm swept through the entire forest; in the song of blades and shredding, the screams of the Root members were instantly drowned in the bloodshed.

The forest was shredded; for hundreds of meters around, not a single intact tree remained.

Around the bare roots, only a small amount of flesh mixed with soil and debris hinted at the life that had once been there.

The slaughter ended.

The Metal Storm flew back to Namikaze Mirai's wings, then turned into fluid and melted back under his clothes, docile as a tamed pet.

Namikaze Mirai's body slowly descended from the sunset, standing on this barren battlefield.

Ten Root members: five Jonin, five Special Jonin.

Total annihilation!

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

Not a single speck of dust.

Hokage Office.

"Land of Wind?"

Danzo narrowed his eyes; he didn't understand Sarutobi Hiruzen's meaning.

This assassination plan had been deduced multiple times; it couldn't fail.

Barring any accidents.

Namikaze Mirai should already be a dead man.

The Root assassination squad was bringing his body back to the base; the research ninjas, already prepared, would dissect his corpse and study his blood.

That special Magnet Release—was it a mutation of some Kekkei Genkai, or...

"Lord Danzo, something terrible has happened!"

The sudden voice interrupted his thoughts; a Root subordinate appeared in the Hokage room, his voice trembling.

This was the Hokage room; for Root to come here to report, there was only one possibility.

The situation was already extremely critical!

Danzo had a vague premonition of trouble.

"What happened?"

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

Before Root could finish speaking, Danzo suddenly burst into motion, smashing through the door of the Hokage Office and vanishing from sight.

The forest.

The dying sun on the horizon had sunk to its final moment, leaving only a corner of crimson lingering in the sky.

Danzo arrived, panting heavily.

The single eye outside his bandage trembled faintly.

"How... how is this possible..."

The scene before him violently assaulted his mind!

Namikaze Mirai smiled faintly.

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