The Root ninja who had spoken had barely finished when he was sent flying, the air filling with the heavy stench of blood. It was brutal.
"Damn it! How is this possible? This brat..." Seeing this, Danzo's face darkened, fury spreading across it without restraint.
This was a coordinated assault by the entire Root, after all!
They hadn't been able to use ninjutsu just now, for fear of endangering the civilians. But with so many of them using taijutsu, they should've been more than enough to dominate!
Yet Naruto was suppressing them all by himself!
Had the Jinchuriki really grown this much in just three years?!!
As Danzo watched Root get driven back, utterly beaten and disheveled, he immediately barked, "Fall back! Retreat for now!"
"Y-yes!"
At his command, the Root ninja hurriedly disengaged and fled, like beaten dogs, returning in utter disarray to stand behind Danzo.
Their masks had all been smashed, their faces bruised and swollen, some even missing teeth. They looked nothing like the fearsome Root they'd been moments ago!
Naruto's clones didn't press their advantage. Instead, they dispelled themselves, dissolving into smoke.
Besides, he hadn't even fought at full strength just now.
After all, he couldn't harvest all the leeks in one go...
Kakashi and the other jonin were helping the Anbu evacuate the crowd. Seeing this, they couldn't help being deeply shaken.
Strong! Far too strong! Even if Naruto had benefited from his chakra reserves and Shadow Clones...
This was still utterly absurd—his strength was staggering!
If it came to a hand-to-hand battle, sending Naruto alone would apparently be enough to crush the other nations!
"This is youth!" Might Guy's eyes gleamed with envy. "If only I could make this many clones, just like Naruto..."
"Don't dream, Guy." Kakashi mercilessly cut off Guy's fantasy, then sighed softly. "It seems that after three years with Lord Jiraiya, Naruto hasn't just changed his personality. He's also become stronger than me!"
Tsunade watched the scene with a grave expression, then spoke solemnly to Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, even though you told me beforehand, I still can't believe it! Naruto's taijutsu is already every bit as good as ours!"
"Let's not talk about that right now..." A bitter smile tugged at Jiraiya's lips, and helplessness flickered in his eyes. "It doesn't matter how badly he beats those heartless Root scum. The important thing is that Naruto just killed those people—and some of them were Anbu!"
"Damn it! Those bastards got themselves killed by running their mouths, and now we have to clean up the mess!" Tsunade was beginning to understand the situation too. She gave a cold snort.
After all, in the Shinobi World, there were plenty of cases where someone too weak to back up their words mocked another person and got killed for it.
Unfortunately, those trolls Naruto had just sent to their graves would never get the chance to regret it.
By then, Naruto's gaze had already settled on the panel before him.
[Kid, I'm the Chakra Monster! More than a thousand Shadow Clones beat Yamanaka Qiutiao and Aburame Baya to a pulp..., Villain Points +689!] [Current Villain Points: 1033] [Ding! Villain Points have reached 500. Randomly unlocked S-rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu: Purple Lightning! Purple Lightning Dragon, shaking heaven and earth!] [Ding! Villain Points have reached 1000. Randomly unlocked a Space-Time Ninjutsu on par with the Fourth Hokage's: Flying Thunder God! A phantom crossing a thousand miles in an instant!]
The next moment.
"Whoosh—" A warm current, like a spring breeze spirit, swept over Naruto in an instant. He felt as though he had immediately mastered both techniques.
His understanding of Lightning Release and space-time had also deepened considerably.
And unlike the One-Tomoe Sharingan reward, these two techniques were already at the pinnacle from the very beginning!
Just as Naruto was still immersed in his newfound understanding...
The Anbu had already cleared all the bystanders from the area.
Danzo's expression was dark as he addressed Naruto coldly. "It seems your strength has improved quite a bit over these three years. But you're still green in front of me! Jinchuriki, surrender at once. Don't force my hand!"
As he spoke, Danzo slammed his cane against the ground, kicking up clouds of dust as if he were about to pass judgment on them all.
Naruto heard him and gave a disdainful sneer. "And what if I do force your hand? You're nothing but an old dog who can't even beat someone else for the Hokage Position!"
In Naruto's eyes, Danzo's only trump cards were his Sharingan and Kotoamatsukami, supposedly the strongest genjutsu.
Unfortunately, with his soul fused across two lifetimes, Naruto's spirit had long since become incomparably resilient, reaching a terrifying level!
Over the past three years, Naruto had encountered countless powerful enemies on his travels, and among them were naturally no shortage of genjutsu experts!
Yet their genjutsu had no effect on Naruto at all!
So he was absolutely confident he could resist Kotoamatsukami's influence!
Of course, the main reason was the four conspicuous words on his system panel: "Genjutsu Immunity"!
"Damn it!" Danzo had been struck where it hurt. His eyes widened, and his face twisted into a hideous scowl. "Brat, you'll pay for what you just said!"
"Stop spouting nonsense! You don't get to decide what happens to Naruto!" Tsunade could no longer stand watching. She stepped forward and shouted angrily.
"Heh..." Danzo's fury turned to cold laughter. He then said to the two old friends behind him, "Homura, Koharu, Tsunade has clearly joined forces with the Jinchuriki. They're in cahoots. I propose we strip her of the Hokage Position immediately and report this to the daimyo. What do you say?"
But neither of them answered.
Danzo turned around in confusion, only to discover that Mitokado Homura and Koharu had already disappeared.
A bruised and battered Root member stepped forward and quietly said a few words to Danzo.
Danzo's face instantly turned black as a cooking pot. "Those two good-for-nothings!"
It turned out that when Mitokado Homura and Koharu saw Naruto single-handedly beating Root into a panicked retreat, they had fled without the slightest hesitation!
What a pair of fair-weather friends!
Danzo suppressed his anger and fixed Naruto with a cold, hawklike stare. "Brat, so what if your taijutsu is formidable? Root didn't use ninjutsu earlier because we were concerned about the civilians. Don't get cocky! No matter how strong your taijutsu is, you can't withstand a coordinated ninjutsu assault!"
At his words, Root swiftly shifted into formation, taking the standard stance for a coordinated ninjutsu assault!
Seeing this, Jiraiya immediately shouted, "Danzo, what do you think you're doing?! You dare use large-scale ninjutsu inside the village?! Don't forget, the Anbu and we are all here!"
Danzo heard him and gave a sinister smile. "The Anbu and the jonin are too busy to help you right now!"
Jiraiya and Tsunade were startled and hurriedly looked into the distance.
Only then did they realize that a growing crowd of civilians had somehow gathered around the area, all screaming at the top of their lungs.
In short, they were all demanding that Naruto be punished severely!
The Anbu and jonin were already overwhelmed. The civilians were as numerous as fish swimming upstream!
All they could do was desperately try to hold them back. They had no strength left to come to their aid!
Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't dare force the Anbu and jonin to come help them either. If Danzo went berserk, he would stop at nothing!
If the civilians surged in and Danzo still had Root unleash their ninjutsu, the consequences would be unthinkable!
At that moment, it was effectively Naruto, Tsunade, and Jiraiya against all of Root!
They were facing a ninjutsu barrage from hundreds of people!
Danzo's face was full of malice. "History has always been written by the victors!"
He had already decided to kill Jiraiya and Tsunade. Once they were dead, the others would have no choice but to accept him as Hokage!
And he could capture the Jinchuriki at the same time—a perfect two-for-one!
But as Danzo remained lost in his own daydream...
Naruto slowly crouched and picked up a tiny stone from the ground, then held it in his hand.
Seeing this, Danzo let out a piercing laugh. "What, are you going to use that as a shuriken?!"
Naruto ignored him completely. The chakra in his palm merely quivered.
The next moment...
Whoosh—
Naruto suddenly hurled the stone. It sped toward Danzo with a sharp whistle.
"I gave you too much credit! It seems that after three years of training, all you've improved is your taijutsu!" Danzo sneered at the sight.
In the blink of an eye, the stone reached Danzo's face.
Danzo smirked and leaned slightly to one side, letting the stone pass by him.
But he failed to notice the mark on the stone, glowing faintly like a mysterious seal and emanating a terrifying space-time distortion!
The next instant...
The signature Flying Thunder God theme suddenly rang out.
Whoosh—
A dazzling black-and-gold light erupted beside Danzo, and Naruto emerged from it.
One hand held the stone. With the other, he reached beneath Danzo's bandages and plunged it toward his eye!
Fast! Far too fast!
Danzo didn't even have a chance to react.
"Argh!"
A scream of unbearable agony rang out.
"Splurt—"
Naruto tore a blood-red Sharingan, radiating overwhelming ocular power, straight from Danzo's eye socket, bringing a strip of bandage with it!
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