Kotoamatsukami, I'll Take It!

Facing Xu Fan's assault, Danzo felt death looming over him for the first time.

He never imagined that this young man had not only broken his Kotoamatsukami genjutsu, but also possessed the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan.

Combined with the Super Strength he already possessed, the Root Shinobi Danzo had brought could not even get close to him.

In his panic, Danzo had no choice but to reveal another trump card.

Wood Release: Violent Spear Tree!

Danzo swiftly raised his right arm and aimed it at Xu Fan, who was charging toward him. The bandages wrapped around his arm burst apart, and the exact same technique erupted forth.

A gigantic tree swelled and hardened outward, attempting to force Xu Fan back.

At the same time, Danzo ordered the Root Shinobi to attack together and create an opportunity for him to escape.

At this point, he no longer cared about obtaining Xu Fan. As long as he could retreat safely, that would be enough.

I can't die yet...

Konoha can only reach its peak under my leadership!

Danzo clenched his teeth, his conviction supporting him as he vowed to leave this place no matter what.

For a moment, more than a dozen Root Shinobi threw caution to the wind and surrounded Xu Fan. Their hands rapidly formed seals as they unleashed all manner of ninjutsu at him, creating an opportunity for Lord Danzo to retreat.

Danzo, meanwhile, desperately seized that opportunity. He severed the connection between his arm and the Violent Spear Tree, grabbed the kunai pinning him in place, and snapped it with all his strength.

"I underestimated you..."

Danzo gritted his teeth, his heart filled with endless fury toward Xu Fan.

Yet even he could tell that this was not the time to linger.

"You want to run? Do you think you can?"

Xu Fan roared, gathering Chakra in his fist and unleashing Super Strength just like Tsunade's. With one punch, he shattered the incoming Violent Spear Tree.

Although Danzo had transplanted Hashirama Senju's Cells into himself and gained Wood Release,

he was ultimately just a politician who had spent his life scheming and playing power games. His combat experience was too poor for words.

He had loaded himself up with abilities, yet in the end, he had only managed to seal a bridge.

Xu Fan was even more dismissive of the escape opportunity the Root Shinobi had created for Danzo. His feet landed on the ground, and boundless Chakra erupted from him.

Boom!

With a tremendous blast, every Root Shinobi surrounding him was sent flying back like kites with severed strings.

Even the techniques they had unleashed failed to so much as touch the corner of Xu Fan's clothes.

"How could this be..."

Danzo had only just fought his way to the doorway when he felt an immense killing intent crush down upon him.

He instinctively turned around. What he saw no longer seemed to be a black-haired youth, but a vengeful demon crawling out of hell!

"You bastard... are you a demon?!"

Danzo could not help cursing as he desperately pulled out a second kunai and fiercely stabbed it toward Xu Fan.

It had to be said, the sight took Xu Fan by surprise.

After witnessing his methods, this man still thought he could counterattack with a kunai?

Boom!

Both amused and irritated, Xu Fan clenched his five fingers into a fist and smashed it directly into the incoming kunai.

Danzo was already extremely weakened. Even if he infused it with Wind Release Chakra, he could hardly form a Vacuum Blade.

In the clash between fist and kunai, Danzo's webbing split open, blood seeped out, and the kunai was sent flying away.

The instant Xu Fan landed, he aimed at Danzo's abdomen and kicked him flying.

Pfft!

Danzo spat out blood, feeling as though Xu Fan's Super Strength had shattered all his internal organs.

His body flew parallel to the ground for who knew how long before his back crashed heavily onto the earth.

He spat out another mouthful of blood, staining his chest red.

"Damn it..."

Danzo viciously cursed Xu Fan. Even when he had been hunted in the Land of Lightning, he had never been in such a miserable state.

Yet a mere brat had forced him into this position.

His ultimate trump card had proved utterly useless.

"Shisui's eyes..."

Naturally, Xu Fan had no reason to spare Danzo. He did not care whether Danzo was some tragic hero who had devoted his life to Konoha.

In his eyes, this man had attacked him, and more than once.

That reason alone was enough for Xu Fan to sentence him to death without hesitation!

Besides, once someone had tasted even a little sweetness of the light, they could never return to being a shadow.

On Nine-Tails Rampage Night, Danzo had stood by and done nothing so that he could succeed the next Hokage.

When Orochimaru invaded Konoha, he had adopted the same approach.

When Pain came to capture the Nine-Tails, he had even ordered all of Root to hide underground.

As long as Tsunade was there, she would not allow the village to suffer excessive casualties.

Then he, appearing as a savior, would become the new Hokage and seek revenge against Pain.

He would destroy the Akatsuki Organization and become a hero of the ninja world.

Yet Danzo did all this only to satisfy his own selfish desire to become Hokage.

Boom!

Xu Fan leaped into the air and landed before Danzo.

He could even see the terror in Danzo's eyes as his body kept inching backward.

"Kotoamatsukami!"

At that critical moment, Danzo shouted hysterically, trying to activate Shisui's strongest genjutsu.

However, that eye had long since entered its cooldown period. Other than watching helplessly as Xu Fan approached, it could do nothing.

"No!"

Danzo roared again and tried to use his right hand to interrupt Xu Fan's movements.

But their strength was simply not on the same level.

In Xu Fan's eyes, Danzo was merely a failed product implanted with Hashirama's Cells. Xu Fan, on the other hand, was the one who had perfectly gained the power of Wood Release.

Smack!

Xu Fan slapped Danzo's right hand aside, then swiftly reached forward with his other hand and gouged out Danzo's right eye.

Shisui's eyes!

"I'll take it!"

"No, no, no, no!"

As a wave of searing pain shot through his head and the exposed Sharingan entered his view, Danzo's composure completely shattered.

All this time, he had regarded Shisui's eyes as the secret weapon that could rewrite everything, the key power that would help him fulfill his dream of unifying the ninja world.

Yet now, they had fallen into Xu Fan's hands.

To Danzo, this was undoubtedly a devastating blow.

His mind completely collapsed, leaving only one thought in his head.

You can take anything from me, but not this dream!

Clack!

The weakened Danzo erupted with one final burst of strength and grabbed Xu Fan's hand that held Shisui's eye.

"Die, you damned bastard!"

Wood Release: Root Burial Explosion!

Having completely lost his mind, Danzo no longer cared about anything. He gathered all his Chakra into his right arm while tightly gripping Xu Fan's wrist with all five fingers, refusing to let him break free.

Perhaps it was a gamble, but today, either he or Xu Fan had to die!

In an instant, Danzo's right arm expanded at a visible rate, forming a gigantic tree that swallowed both him and Xu Fan whole.

Thanks to Seven Deadly Sins◆Original Sin, Night Rain∞Listening to the Wind, and Su Erjun for the tips~