Ambush and Assassination

Dan was dead.

When Itachi heard this news from the mouth of Lord Danzo, his entire body trembled, his mind reeling in shock, before he raised his head, his pair of crimson Sharingan staring fixedly at the man before him.

Lord Danzo did not evade Itachi's gaze, meeting it head-on as he said indifferently:

"Dan brought his destruction upon himself; no one could have saved him. He must have felt great regret before he died, but unfortunately, he can only go to the Pure Land World to repent."

Itachi lowered his head once more.

Uncle, are you really dead?

No, this is merely Lord Danzo's one-sided account. That man... he wouldn't die so easily.

Based on what Itachi currently knew of Dan, anyone who underestimated his uncle had ultimately paid a heavy price.

Was the Masked Man not the best example of this?

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt much more at ease.

Lord Danzo did not know what Itachi was thinking; his expression turned stern as he reprimanded the youth kneeling before him:

"Itachi, do not forget your original intention. You said you wanted to become strong enough to eliminate your own chaos, which is why I allowed you to join the Anbu. And Dan is someone who would cause you to fall back into that chaos, so whether he is dead or alive, you should stay away from him."

In Lord Danzo's view.

With Uchiha Dan out of the way, Itachi would sooner or later return to his control.

"I understand, Lord Danzo."

Itachi slowly stood up and said calmly, "But after this matter is over, please at least hand over Uncle's remains to me so I may bring them back to the clan for burial."

"Very well, I grant your request. The men I sent out should be returning any moment now."

Lord Danzo nodded slightly, agreeing to Itachi's request.

He had intended for Itachi to see Uchiha Dan's corpse with his own eyes all along, so that Itachi would finally give up hope.

And so.

The old man and the youth said no more, waiting in silence within the Root Base.

At this moment.

Outside Konoha, in a secluded forest rarely visited by people.

After Dan left the village, whether by intent or by chance, he had unknowingly walked into this remote area.

If anyone wanted to do him harm, this was the perfect moment to strike.

Sure enough.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

A violent storm of kunai and Shuriken descended from behind and the sides of Dan, raining down upon him.

Boom, boom, boom.

Several kunai struck Dan's tall frame in succession, and the explosive tags attached to them detonated, swallowing him in fire and thick smoke.

"Did we get him?"

"Don't let your guard down, it shouldn't be that simple."

"Uchiha Dan might have already discovered we were tracking him; be careful of a trap."

As these voices rang out, four Root Ninja emerged from the forest. They dared not be careless, cautiously closing in on Dan.

A gust of wind blew, and the thick smoke dissipated.

Dan stood tall in his original spot, not only having failed to fall but appearing completely unscathed.

Upon seeing this, the four Root Ninja were all taken aback.

Although they had read the intelligence reports and knew that Dan's body was incredibly resilient, seeing with their own eyes that he remained unharmed after such an attack still exceeded their expectations.

Dan examined the Root Ninja of varying heights and builds before him, frowning with some displeasure:

"Why are there only this many of you?"

What did he mean?

The four were stunned by his words. We came here to kill you, and you're complaining there aren't enough of us? Are you worried you won't die, or are you looking down on us?

The men couldn't be bothered to trade words with Dan; without a sound, they scattered, forming a perfect encirclement around him.

"Forget it, they're still Root Ninja, so they should be worth much more than the average shinobi."

Dan muttered to himself as he took off his conical hat and cloak, hanging them on a nearby tree branch so he wouldn't damage them while fighting.

Just as Samui had speculated.

Dan's source of income over these years had been leaving the village every so often to work as a bounty hunter, tracking down wanted rogue ninjas and collecting their rewards at the Bounty Exchange.

At the same time, he accumulated some combat experience during this process.

In terms of combat experience.

Dan was certainly no match for those elite ninjas who frequently carried out dangerous missions and fought on the front lines, but at the very least, he had not devolved into an idiot who knew nothing of how to fight.

His own formidable defensive power also provided Uchiha Dan with a high margin for error, ensuring he wouldn't flip his car and get stabbed to death by a single kunai.

He happened to be running low on money recently.

Since these Root Ninja had delivered themselves to his doorstep, Uchiha Dan decided to play along and lead them here to finish them off.

Just then.

"Do it!" Following a sharp shout from one of the Root members, all four attacked Uchiha Dan simultaneously.

But Uchiha Dan's attack was faster than theirs.

Swish.

His gaze was like lightning; as his eyes met those of the enemy to his front-left, his black pupils suddenly transformed into the scarlet pattern of the Three-Tomoe.

That man had just finished forming his hand seals and was holding his hands up to form a "viewfinder," aiming at Uchiha Dan to launch a Genjutsu—the Mind Disturbance Body Technique.

He hadn't expected Uchiha Dan to strike first.

In an instant.

The man's consciousness was dragged into the hellish Genjutsu of the Sharingan, where thick, rusted iron spikes pinned his body firmly in place, causing him unbearable agony.

Demonic Illusion: Hanging Neck Technique.

This was a binding-type Genjutsu that required no hand seals, triggered simply by making eye contact with the enemy, and was one of the most powerful Sharingan techniques.

Thud.

That Root Ninja from the Yamanaka Clan collapsed limply to the ground.

One down.

This was the first time in his twenty-four years that Uchiha Dan had revealed his Sharingan in front of an Outsider, and he had opened with a lethal Genjutsu.

However.

The remaining Root Ninja remained expressionless, completely unfazed.

Everyone knew that one should never fight an Uchiha one-on-one.

But now it was four-on-one; sacrificing one person to stall Uchiha Dan for a second or two would create a winning opportunity for the others.

This was the combat plan the Root had long since formulated.

Whoosh.

As Uchiha Dan used his Genjutsu to take out the first enemy, two Root Ninja rushed him from the left and right simultaneously.

The man on the left was a six-foot-three giant, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted like a mountain of flesh, matching Uchiha Dan in sheer mass.

He let out a roar as his entire arm rapidly expanded and grew, his fist becoming as large as a water vat, smashing down toward Uchiha Dan's head.

This was the Akimichi Clan's Expansion Jutsu.

By contrast.

The enemy on the right was much smaller and thinner, his attack style far more subtle.

He did not rely on brute force, but instead moved with agile footwork, delivering a light, palm strike toward Uchiha Dan from a bizarre angle.

This was the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist.

One hard, one soft, striking in unison.

A dangerous situation formed in an instant.

Uchiha Dan's expression remained unchanged; he completely ignored the attack from the Hyuga Root member. He stomped on the ground, using his waist to drive the power of his entire body, and slammed a fist into the Akimichi Root member.

Boom.

The two fists collided.

The seemingly unstoppable Akimichi Root member was actually forced back a dozen steps by Uchiha Dan, only stopping when he crashed into a large tree. His mask shattered, and his face was filled with shock.

The Akimichi Clan's Expansion Jutsu was a Yang Release Ninjutsu that consumed a massive amount of the user's body heat to multiply their strength several times over.

Even so, he still couldn't match Uchiha Dan in a direct test of strength.

This man was simply a muscle monster.

However.

When the Akimichi Root member was knocked back by Uchiha Dan, the Hyuga Clan attacker seized the opportunity.

Puff, puff, puff.

Taking advantage of Uchiha Dan's lack of defense, his Byakugan, hidden beneath his mask, easily pierced through to the weak points of the latter's body, and he struck repeatedly with his fingers pressed together.

Every blow landed squarely on Uchiha Dan's pressure points.