Gekko Qianji

Led by Itachi, the three entered Root's underground base without incident.

The guards at the gate heard footsteps approaching from ahead.

They drew the ninja swords from their backs and went on alert. After all, Root ninja would never return to Root so openly.

The footsteps in the darkness drew closer and closer.

At last, through the darkness, the guards made out the faces of the arrivals.

"Uchiha Senya! And Uchiha Fugaku!"

"Itachi! What are you doing? Why did you bring those two here?!"

Itachi's next move gave them the Answer.

In the blink of an eye, the Sharingan appeared in his eyes, and genjutsu was activated instantly. The guards at the entrance froze in place, their ninja swords stabbing straight into their own hearts.

Blood splattered. The wrenching pain from his heart snapped the guard out of the genjutsu, and blood spurted from his mouth.

"Itachi... you... trait—"

Before he could finish, the corpse collapsed to the ground.

The three walked up to the gate, and Senya kicked it open with a brutal front kick.

The tremendous crash alerted the other members inside Root's base.

They quickly converged on the loud noise coming from the entrance.

"Uchiha! I never thought you'd have the nerve to barge into Root without authorization!"

"Get them! Attacking Root is a capital offense! Kill all three of them—even the Hokage won't be able to defend them!"

"Hold them off! I'll report to Lord Danzo!"

An Anbu ninja wearing a cat-faced mask immediately fled from the crowd.

Fugaku was about to attack the cat-masked ninja, but Senya stopped him.

Senya waved a hand, summoning Qianyue from the seal on his wrist, then looked at the several dozen ninja before him.

"How laughable. I never expected this huge Root facility to have only a few dozen Root ninja. With so few of you, you think you can take the three of us down? You're seriously overestimating yourselves!"

"This is where your lives end tonight. In your next lives, remember to find yourselves better leaders."

"Don't follow trash like Danzo anymore—a blind fool driven by nothing but selfish desire!"

As he spoke, the Mangekyō Sharingan emerged, his scarlet pupils gleaming with ominous killing intent.

"Burn to ashes—Qianyue!"

He turned the blade, holding it perpendicular to the ground, and released his grip.

The moment the Spirit Blade fell to the ground, it transformed from its tip into blue-white flames that rapidly spread outward.

Fugaku and Itachi also drew their ninja swords and took out kunai, launching into a slaughter as they competed to wipe out the Root ninja.

"Watch out! There's something wrong with these flames! Use Water Style!"

More than a dozen Root ninja leaped forward to stand before Senya's Spirit Fire, forming hand seals and using Water Style to resist it.

"Water Style: Water Wall!"

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

"Water Style: Water Shock Wave!"

More than a dozen Water Style jutsu surged toward the oncoming flames.

The Water Style techniques collided with Senya's Spirit Fire. Vast quantities of water evaporated instantly, releasing billows of white steam.

Just as the Root ninja thought they had stopped Senya's flames—

Suddenly!

Blue-white flames burst through the mist, shooting toward them in the shape of arrows!

The flaming arrows pierced straight through the dozen or so men! Spirit Fire spread from their wounds across their entire bodies in an instant, turning them into human torches!

"Ah! What kind of sorcery is this?! Water Style doesn't work!"

"Aaaah! Quick! Someone save me~!"

"The Sealing Squad! Get the Sealing Squad to try sealing techniques! I can't die yet! I still have to continue serving Lord Danzo!"

The wailing lasted only a few seconds before the dozen or so Root ninja turned to ash.

The flames conjured by Qianyue burned everywhere, and the remaining Root ninja swiftly avoided them at the sight.

Suddenly, a transparent figure appeared behind Senya.

"Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

With his back to the attacker, Senya grinned. He spun around and clenched his empty hand, and a fiery blade formed from Spirit Fire condensed in his grasp.

"Swallow Reversal!"

Three blue-white flames transformed into combat techniques and slashed at the ninja blades of the enemies attacking Senya from both sides and directly ahead!

With a crisp clang, one opponent's ninja blade snapped cleanly in two, while the other two invisible Shadow Clones dissolved into white mist.

Senya's Swallow Reversal struck the opponent squarely in the chest, blood spraying across the man's torso as three savage scars were carved into it.

The struck ninja fell backward onto the ground and struggled to remove the mask from his face.

Beneath it was an old man nearing fifty, his temples already gray, blood continuously spilling from his mouth.

"Pfft!"

"Y-You... what kind of sword technique is that...? How can one slash strike three times?!"

The old man's pupils widened. His life was rapidly fading, yet his voice still brimmed with fervor and disbelief.

Senya did not answer. He merely gripped his flaming blade and watched the man coldly.

"Gekko Qianji? I didn't expect you to join Root as well..."

To be honest, when Senya discovered that Root had ninja who possessed Transparent Release, he had felt somewhat displeased. Back at the beginning, Gekko Qianji had personally come to seek the Uchiha's protection.

Yet even Qianji, who had personally visited him back then, had joined Root. It filled Senya with anger.

He turned, intending to leave and continue attacking Root's other ninja.

Gekko Qianji was already on the verge of death, but he still exhausted all his strength to sit up and call out to Senya.

"Vice Clan Head Senya!"

Senya stopped, his back facing the other man.

"Do you have anything else to say?"

Blood continued to pour from Qianji's wounds.

"In the next generation of my Gekko Clan, only Hayate is a bloodline-limit ninja. He doesn't know anything! Please! Spare him!"

Using the last of his strength, Qianji forced himself to stand, then dropped to his knees and slammed his head heavily against the ground.

Blood flowed from Qianji's forehead.

After hearing this, Senya merely tightened his grip on his blade, the rage in his eyes burning ever hotter.

"I'll pass that sword technique from earlier on to Hayate."

Then he continued his assault on Root's remaining ninja.

Still kneeling on the ground, Qianji raised his head and looked at Senya's retreating back. He smiled.

The light faded from his pupils. They slowly closed, and he toppled to one side.

Even in death, a smile remained at the corner of his lips.

Senya withdrew the Spirit Fire and gathered it back into his hand.

Holding Qianyue in its most basic form, Senya began slaughtering Root's ninja using only taijutsu and his ninja blade.

His methods were brutal and bloody.

That was right. At this moment, Senya no longer cared about killing efficiently. He only wanted to vent his fury.

Only after hearing Qianji's words did he understand that it was not the Gekko Clan that had betrayed them. It was that beast Danzo, who had actually brought Root to the Gekko Clan to demand people!

Though the Gekko Clan possessed the Transparent Release bloodline limit, their numbers were few. Once someone awakened the bloodline limit, they would suffer from an innate bloodline disease. Very few bloodline-limit ninja lived beyond thirty.

For many years, the Gekko Clan had steadily dwindled. In this generation, only Gekko Hayate, a wielder of Transparent Release, had survived.

More than ten minutes later, the one-sided massacre came to an end. Senya unleashed one final Great Fire Annihilation at Root's base, burning all the bloodstains and corpses to ash.