At that very moment, a powerful surge of chakra erupted from the edge of the battlefield.
Shimura Danzō had watched coldly as Yusuke struggled like a cornered beast, steadily burning through his stamina and chakra.
Only when Yusuke was pushed to the brink did Danzō finally make his move.
After building up his strength for a long time, Danzō's figure flickered. Moving far faster than anyone else present, he instantly charged into the battle.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
A tightly condensed blade of high-pressure wind shot from Danzō's mouth. It wasn't aimed at Yusuke, but instead cut off every angle he could use to dodge!
At the same time, Danzō's withered hand, like a demon's claw, reached straight for Yusuke's throat!
Danzō's deadly strike came from the front, while an elite jonin prepared to deliver a fatal stab from behind!
Yusuke was trapped! There was nowhere to run!
At this critical moment, Yusuke's thoughts raced at full speed. Danzō's attack was faster and deadlier. He had to deal with the threat behind him first to seize a chance at survival!
Ignoring Danzō's attack, he forcibly twisted his body and poured most of his chakra into his greatsword to block the strike from behind!
"Clang!!"
The elite jonin's short blade was knocked aside. Yusuke used the force to hurl himself forward, but the blade's tip still carved a deep gash into his back.
Danzō's hand had already touched his skin, carrying a deathly chill.
A ruthless glint flashed in Yusuke's eyes. If he couldn't dodge, he would risk his life in a mutual strike and force Shimura Danzō to pull back!
He let Danzō's hand close around his throat. At the same time, riding the momentum of his lunge, he swept his greatsword backward at Danzō's neck from a tricky angle.
"Pfft!"
Danzō's hand clamped down hard on Yusuke's throat. His bones creaked with a grating crunch, and Yusuke's vision went black.
But at almost the same moment, his greatsword sliced across Danzō's neck.
Blood sprayed everywhere!
Danzō's head lolled to one side, and the hand around Yusuke's throat went limp.
Yusuke broke free and staggered backward, clutching his throat as he coughed violently. Blood poured from his mouth.
He was confused. Why had Shimura Danzō, that crafty old fox, chosen to trade his life for a chance to grievously wound him?
"It's... over." He panted as he watched Danzō's body fall.
Just as he was about to sense the Flying Thunder God Technique mark he had left on Hyuga Aya and prepare to leave, something happened.
The next instant, what he saw made his scalp prickle.
The scene beside Danzō's corpse rippled like water, as though an invisible hand were turning back time.
Yusuke watched in horror as the wounds on Danzō's body rapidly healed.
Finally, Danzō stood before him again, completely unharmed. Even his clothes had returned to their original state!
"What an astonishing potential."
"Unfortunately, it's still futile before true power."
Danzō rolled his neck, his voice laced with the taunting amusement of a cat playing with a mouse.
"Is this Izanagi?" Yusuke coughed up blood, staring at the scene in disbelief.
Danzō unwound the bandage over his right eye and looked coldly at the gravely wounded Yusuke, as though he were prey caught in a trap and struggling to its death.
"So you know about that Uchiha forbidden technique."
"But mine isn't that."
Danzō gave a sinister smile. The five-bladed pinwheel pattern in his right eye slowly vanished, replaced once more by a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Only, one of the tomoe in that scarlet eye seemed a little dimmer.
As Yusuke stared at that bizarre eye, a bone-deep chill washed over him.
"Time reversal? Or a genjutsu? No... this feels like a real resurrection."
"But it must have a price. It must have a limit!" His mind raced as he tried to make sense of this incomprehensible ability.
"Give up your pointless struggle. Hand over the Uzumaki Legacy and your secrets, and I'll let you die quickly."
Danzō spoke to the gravely wounded Yusuke, trying to shake his resolve.
The other two elite jonin and three ordinary jonin closed in again, surrounding Yusuke.
"I can't drag this out." Yusuke took a deep breath, forcing down the turmoil in his chest.
His injuries and depleted reserves would no longer let him sustain a high-intensity battle for long.
Now he could only gamble that Shimura Danzō didn't have many resurrections left.
"Heh." Yusuke gave a quiet laugh, deliberately making his breathing even more ragged as he pretended to be at the end of his strength.
He let his sword hand droop as if he were powerless, then took a wavering step forward, as though ready to surrender.
Danzō's lips curled into a cold smile, but he remained wary.
The other five Root shinobi edged forward slightly, ready to capture him.
At that very moment, Yusuke's eyes blazed with light, his previously unfocused gaze now sharp as a blade.
"One-Blade Asura! (Incursio!)"
He shouted silently in his heart!
Bzz—
A dazzling white light burst from his body, and a fierce surge of chakra shot into the sky.
Within the light, full-body armor covered in fine white scales appeared over Yusuke in an instant.
The armor hugged his muscles, and a white cape snapped behind him.
The greatsword in Yusuke's hand changed shape as well, transforming into a red-bladed spear—Red-Backed Shrike!
An immense sense of power filled his body. Yusuke felt as though he could tear through anything, and his pain and exhaustion were temporarily suppressed.
"What?!"
"The sword in his hand is a divine weapon."
Danzō's pupils contracted. The quality and quantity of this chakra far exceeded his expectations.
In a flash, Yusuke vanished from where he stood. This wasn't just the Body Flicker Technique; it was also the terrifying speed of a body pushed to its limits.
"Pfft!"
Red-Backed Shrike struck like a red bolt of lightning, instantly piercing the chest of the nearest ordinary jonin.
His opponent hadn't even managed to raise his weapon to block.
"Fifth."
Yusuke's voice rang out through his mask, metallic and grating.
"Stop him!" Danzō cried in shock and fury, rapidly forming Hand Seals.
The other elite jonin reacted swiftly, slashing at Yusuke's neck with a short blade infused with Wind Release chakra.
"Too slow."
Yusuke flicked his wrist. Red-Backed Shrike, still carrying the dead shinobi's body, swung like a sledgehammer toward the elite jonin!
The elite jonin had no choice but to retreat and block.
Yusuke used the momentum to turn and pounce on another ordinary jonin.
"Genjutsu: Mist Servant Technique!"
Countless spear-shadows suddenly appeared before the ordinary jonin's eyes, making him falter.
"Die!"
Red-Backed Shrike swept across, and a head went flying!
"Sixth."
The battle became a one-sided slaughter. With Incursio activated, Yusuke's speed, strength, and reflexes had all reached Kage Level.
He was also a well-rounded fighter, skilled in Taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu.
Aside from Shimura Danzō, a standard Kage-level fighter, he utterly outclassed every Root shinobi present.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!" Danzō's Wind Release Ninjutsu came hurtling in.
Yusuke neither dodged nor retreated. Red-Backed Shrike thrust forward, its tip crackling with lightning and flame, and shattered the high-pressure wind sphere outright.
Yusuke darted out of the exploding cloud of smoke like a phantom, charging straight at Danzō.
"Protect Lord Danzō!" The last elite jonin desperately tried to intercept him.
"Get lost!"
Yusuke thrust his spear. It was simple and direct, yet faster than the eye could follow.
"Clang!"
The elite jonin's short blade was knocked flying, and Red-Backed Shrike pierced his shoulder blade.
Yusuke followed through, launching the elite jonin into the air and hurling him viciously against a nearby tree.
The elite jonin's vision went black, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
At this point, among the Root shinobi still standing, only the elite jonin beside Shimura Danzō and the last ordinary jonin remained.
A minute had passed. Yusuke's [Stage One: Incursio *Armor Form] still had a minute and a half of duration left.
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