Danzo's Death

The 65-meter-tall Five-Tails Kokuō is still in its best running form; one of its small steps is equivalent to the distance an ordinary Jonin can cover in a single Body Flicker.

Now, as he gallops at full speed, the mud and trees he kicks up make it impossible for anyone to get close.

All the Konoha Ninja present were somewhat stunned, they really hadn't expected the Iwagakure's sneak attack to come so suddenly, and even their escape was so decisive.

Han even went so far as to transform into a fully-formed Tailed Beast in order to speed up his escape.

"Taiichi- kun, shouldn't we pursue them?"

A voice rang in his ears. Taiichi turned his head and saw a ninja covered in blood, with one hand hanging limply and two dark circles under his eyes.

"You are... Commander Mimura Hamaki?"

Taiichi was incredulous and almost didn't recognize him. "You look terrible! You have more than ten wounds all over your body, big and small."

"Sigh, I'm not the Commander anymore. The current Commander is Danzo," Mimura Hamaki said with a hint of helplessness.

"What Danzo? He's just a coward who deserted in the face of battle. Look around, how many Root ninja are left?"

From the moment Taiichi arrived, he noticed that although many of the ninjas on the battlefield had been hit by a Tailed Beast Bomb, quite a few had survived. However, some of these ninjas had quietly retreated from the battlefield.

Taiichi didn't even need to look closely to tell that these people must be members of Root. Only they would obey Danzo's orders and run away alone, disregarding the lives of their other comrades in Konoha.

To put it bluntly, Danzo wanted to use the lives of other Konoha Ninja to delay Iwagakure's advance, buying time for his own and Root members' evacuation.

Mimura Hamaki and the surviving ninjas around her then realized what was happening. They searched around, but couldn't find a Root ninja.

This immediately stirred up a great deal of excitement among the crowd.

They could die in battle, even accept being left behind to cover the retreat and die, but only if they were aware of it. What is this now? It's blatant betrayal, something they absolutely cannot accept.

"We trusted him so much, and he just ran away without a word!"

"Does he still have the responsibility of Commander?!"

"If we'd known the Root were bad, why would they use us as scapegoats!"

Looking at the indignant Konoha Ninja around him, Taiichi knew that the desired effect had been achieved, but it was far from safe to do so.

"Jonin, the situation is urgent, and you have no choice but to continue as Commander and lead everyone in the next phase of the operation."

Although Iwagakure has just retreated, I believe they will surely return soon. The current situation in the Camp cannot withstand a major battle. I request Commander Mimura to issue orders as soon as possible.

"Yes, Jonin, please lead us." The surrounding ninjas nodded in agreement.

It wasn't that Taiichi himself couldn't take on the command, but firstly, he wasn't a ninja from the Western Front, so his position wasn't legitimate; secondly, he was indeed too young, and although everyone admired him, they all had some reservations about him taking on the command.

"Alright, since that's the case, then I won't refuse anymore." The dejection on Mimura Hamaki's face vanished, and he rallied, issuing orders one after another.

"Hikaru Inuzuka, organize four squads to go out and scout, ensuring the Camp is not attacked again."

"Hideo Yamanaka, lead the men to inventory the Camp's supplies and collect everything that can be salvaged. We'll be leaving the Camp soon."

"Suzuki, organize a search and rescue operation for the wounded. Find all the dead and injured."

After explaining these things, Mimura Hamaki turned to Taiichi: "Taiichi- kun, I've heard that your Medical Ninjutsu is outstanding. I would like to ask you to assist the Medical Team in treating the injured ninjas."

"No problem, Commander Mimura, it's what I should do." Taiichi answered without hesitation, fully demonstrating the spirit of a Konoha person, Konoha soul, and a heart full of the Will of Fire.

After saying that, he didn't take credit, and simply vanished from the spot in a flash.

Mimura Hamaki couldn't help but sigh, "As expected of Lady Tsunade's disciple, her spirit is truly admirable—decisive and efficient, she gets things done as soon as she says she'll do it."

Mimura Hamaki thought Taiichi was using the Flying Thunder God to go to the Medical Camp, but in reality, Taiichi appeared in the sky more than ten kilometers away from the Konoha Camp.

Of course, his Shadow Clone were still stationed at the Medical Camp. The casualties in this First Shinobi World War were too great, and no amount of Medical Ninja could meet the demand.

The scene then shifts to Danzo's side.

Faced with the Danzo Tailed Beast Bomb flying at such close range, Danzo was terrified. He cursed Iwagakure for being reckless and dodged to the side without giving any orders.

Although this was just a small, hastily produced Tailed Beast Bomb, it was still a Tailed Beast Bomb, and its power was not to be underestimated. The violent explosion directly blew away all nearby creatures.

The Konoha Ninja who had gathered at Danzo's command suffered even greater casualties.

Danzo was naturally one of them, but he managed to escape the epicenter of the explosion in time, thus saving his life.

However, after he regained his footing and looked around, he was immediately filled with despair. The hundred or so Konoha Ninja who had gathered around him were either dead or wounded by this Tailed Beast Bomb. Looking around the entire Camp, he saw shouts of killing everywhere.

Not far away, Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, had already regrouped, and behind him, Iwagakure Ninja were also poised to attack. Danzo knew that this battle was over.

Now, the only option is to preserve Konoha's fighting strength as much as possible, and more importantly, the strength of Root. Otherwise, what awaits me is not simply being stripped of my position, but taking full responsibility for this defeat.

"Terai, order the Root members to evacuate as soon as possible and regroup at Outpost No. 8 in the Land of Fire."

After saying that, Danzo left the Konoha Camp Danzo looking back.

In his view, the Camp was beyond saving. The entire Camp had been destroyed, and the enemy still had the Five-Tails Jinchuriki. The only thing to do now was to preserve as much of their own fighting force as possible.

Of course, the "friendly forces" here refers to the members of his Root. As for the ordinary Konoha Ninja, they can only be asked to make necessary sacrifices for Konoha, and the village will remember their contributions.

Danzo's escape was perfectly natural; without the slightest hesitation, his trusted confidant Terai quickly relayed the orders and followed in his footsteps.

The two fled frantically through the forest, as if an endless army was chasing them.

Neither of the two frantically fleeing noticed that thousands of meters in the air, a figure was looking down at them, taking in their every move.

Until Taiichi's true form appeared, the Shadow Clone turned into white smoke and disappeared, leaving only a Flying Thunder God Kunai in its place.

Taking the Kunai from his hand, Taiichi looked down at the two people still fleeing below and a smile of excitement appeared on his lips.

What does it mean to say that "Heaven's sins may be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins cannot be forgiven"?

What does it mean to "if you don't do stupid things, you won't die"?

This refers to Danzo.

As the Commander of the western front, Taiichi wouldn't have been able to do anything to him even if he found an opportunity, since he was responsible for the fate of more than a thousand ninjas on the entire Western Front Battlefield.

If anything were to happen to him, the entire Western Front Battlefield might collapse. This is why, even though he assassinated Yohei Uchiha, others could only silently swallow their anger and bear the bitter consequences.

But now look what's happened! Arrogance and conceit have exposed all their weaknesses in a so-called victory, and the sneak attack by Iwagakure has brought the entire Western Front Battlefield to the brink of collapse.

He himself led the Root to escape first, and at that moment, he completely discarded all the protective amulets.

You can't believe Taiichi would let such a perfect opportunity slip by.

With his Chakra Perception constantly monitoring the two, Taiichi accelerated and flew directly in front of them, adjusting his position to quietly hide in their path.

Within minutes, Danzo and his companion approached Taiichi's ambush point. At this moment Taiichi held his breath and cleared his mind to prevent his killing intent from being sensed by the two.

After the two passed the large tree where Taiichi was hiding, Taiichi's aura solidified, Body Flicker accelerated, pointing his Short Sword forward to strike Danzo's neck from behind.

Even if Danzo managed to dodge in a fraction of a second, he couldn't escape the Taiichi changes brought about by Taiichi.

Just as the Short Sword was about to pierce Danzo's body, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Taiichi's Short Sword, using his own body to block Taiichi's attack.

It was Terai. Taiichi hadn't expected that this Jonin would be so loyal to Danzo. He had blocked a fatal blow with his own life.

Because of this delay, Danzo was able to recover.

He Body Flicker under a large tree, turned around and looked at Taiichi, who had changed his appearance by wearing a mask.

"A ninja from Iwagakure? When did Iwagakure produce a ninja with such skillful swordsmanship?"

Danzo wasn't too panicked at this point. After all, he was a top-tier ninja. He had only been ambushed. If it came to a direct confrontation, even if he couldn't win, he could still escape.

Taiichi twisted his Short Sword, extinguishing the last glimmer of life in the Genin. Then, without uttering a word, he drew his Short Sword and charged straight at Danzo.

He knew all too well that villains die from talking too much. Although he wasn't a villain, he didn't want to leave any clues for the enemy to trace him.

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough

Without needing to Hand Seals, a violent hurricane, accompanied by countless Wind Blades, swept towards Danzo. He himself followed closely behind, keeping a close eye on every opening in Danzo.

Faced with the enemy's sudden Ninjutsu, Danzo was no pushover. He clasped his hands together and, with just three hand seals, unleashed an equally violent hurricane.

Wind Style versus Wind Style.

The two gales, now in the middle, suddenly created an even more violent storm. Trees were uprooted and scattered Wind Blade flew aimlessly.

The clash of Ninjutsu was evenly matched, which speaks volumes about Danzo's mastery of Wind Style.

Taiichi maintained his speed, his Short Sword scattering several incoming Wind Blade as he swiftly traversed the turbulent wind field and closed in on Danzo.

The Short Sword was aimed at Danzo's heart and stabbed down fiercely. The wind-style Chakra gathered on the blade extended the Short Sword by more than ten centimeters.

Danzo was not to be outdone. The clash of Ninjutsu had left several scratches on his body, and this attack made him realize that the newcomer's Wind Style was probably even stronger than his own.

But when it comes to close combat, he is equally formidable. He blows a breath onto the Kunai in his hand, and the originally ordinary Kunai immediately glows with a hazy blue light, with a finger-length blade extending from its surface.

The Short Sword and Kunai clashed fiercely. Compared to the Kunai, which is less than 30 centimeters long, the Short Sword had a clear advantage in close combat. However, after five moves, Danzo was suppressed by Taiichi and could only passively defend.

The Chakra released from the clash of weapons transformed into Wind Blade, leaving the area around the two men riddled with holes.

Danzo realized that the Rock Ninja were too difficult to deal with, as his Ninjutsu was inferior to theirs and he couldn't win in close combat either.

Taking advantage of the moment when their weapons clashed, he suddenly exerted his strength and leaped backward to break free from Taiichi's entanglement. While still in mid-air, he bit his finger and began to Hand Seals.

The sequence of Hai-Xu-You-Shen-Wei Summoning Jutsu.

A huge plume of white smoke rose, and the enormous Summoning Animal Dream Membrane appeared beneath Danzo's feet.

Without Danzo's instruction, the Baku Membrane opened its enormous mouth, and a powerful suction force swept in, drawing in all the surrounding dirt, pebbles, and broken branches and leaves.

Taiichi, however, was dismissive of this. He didn't dodge, but instead Hand Seals as he ran.

Earth Style · Earth Style: Great Earth Core.

The ground beneath Mengmo's feet suddenly sank, sinking more than ten meters. Both Mengmo and Danzo, who was standing on its head, fell into the sinkhole.

Earth Style: Earth Style: Earth Flow River

The land in front of Taiichi instantly turned into a river of mud, rushing madly into the sinkhole. In the blink of an eye, the sinkhole, which was more than ten meters deep, was filled.

Earth Style: Earth Style: Earth Dragon Spear

Within the earth, countless sharp rock spikes formed, not pointing upwards, but turning inwards, the dense array of spikes leaving no gaps inside the mud pit.

Taiichi heard a scream from above, followed by the mud pit suddenly sinking, indicating that the Baku had canceled the summoning.

From its appearance to its disappearance, Dream Membrane only appeared for a dozen seconds, and before it could even figure out what was going on, it was easily defeated by Taiichi.

Using his Chakra Perception, Taiichi Scout that Danzo was hidden underground as if he were dead. Without hesitation, Taiichi continued to Hand Seals.

Earth Style - Earth Style: Earth Dome Rising.

A volcano-like mound of earth rose up, followed by a large amount of mud and soil being spewed out, among which was Danzo was pretending to be dead.

When Danzo sensed the surging earth, he knew he couldn't hide any longer. In the instant he was spewed out, he endured the pain from the numerous wounds all over his body and completed the Hand Seals.

Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves

Danzo a series of air blades at Taiichi dared not take them. Danzo's Vacuum Style Techniques were incredibly powerful, capable of cutting through Susanoo's Ninjutsu.

He instantly Body Flicker away from the Ninjutsu's area of effect, then clapped his hands together, creating a series of Wind Blade out of thin air.

Although a single wave is not as powerful Vacuum Wave, it has the advantage of being continuous.

Danzo was now filled with fear. The Iwagakure Ninja was far too powerful. Their Wind Style, Earth Style, and swordsmanship were all top-notch. Why didn't Iwagakure send out such strong ninja in the previous battles?

Having narrowly dodged the attacks of wind Wind Blade, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Danzo. Exquisite swordsmanship, a fellow Short Sword, and proficient in various elemental Ninjutsu —this couldn't be some Iwagakure ninja; this was clearly Taichi Matsushita.

"Taichi Matsushita! It's you! Do you want to betray the village? How dare you attack me?" Danzo was hysterical. He frantically swung his Kunai to deflect a slicing Wind Blade, pointing at Taiichi with bulging eyes and roaring.

Taiichi curled his lip in disdain, too lazy to even acknowledge him. He just hadn't expected Danzo to recognize him in the end. But it didn't matter, he hadn't shown such powerful Earth Style before.

With a swift movement, he dodged Danzo Kunai, and with a light twist of his Short Sword, he had already grazed Danzo's neck.

Danzo covered his wound with one hand, his eyes filled with anger and resentment. He reached out his other hand towards Taiichi, as if trying to grab him, and staggered towards Taiichi.

Seeing Danzo's actions, Taiichi knew perfectly well that Danzo against him even in his dying moments.

He Hand Seals and slammed his hands onto the ground.

Earth Style: Earth Style: Earth Mountain Technique.

Two hemispherical rocks rose from either side of Danzo, heavily pressing the defenseless Danzo into the middle.

Taiichi heard the "smack" sound of the meat patty being added.