Night of Root Annihilation II
Uchiha Itachi, carrying a blood-dripping longsword, sped through the dimly lit Root Base, sweeping through cave after cave.
They raided more than thirty caves, most of which were occupied by Root's young trainees. Fewer than ten caves belonged to Root members, and a very small number were either data archives or weapons depots.
The more Itachi swept through the base, the colder his heart became. He realized he had underestimated the base, having assassinated nearly twenty Root members and forty Root trainees. Only about half of the caves had been cleared; the other half remained.
Including the root members and trainees, there are probably as many as fifty or sixty people. If it weren't for the assassination attempt in their sleep, it might have only taken three or even two root elite squads to drive them away.
Itachi composed himself, ran along the wall, and dashed into the next cave.
Pfft! Sizzle!
The sound of weapons piercing through flesh echoed from inside the cave. Uchiha Itachi, wearing a mask that obscured his expression, rushed out of the cave at high speed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Uchiha Itachi rushed out of the cave, he was met with a barrage of Kunai attacks.
Ding! Ding!
Uchiha Itachi knocked his ninja tools away, then dodged backward and clung to the cliff face. His scarlet face stared at the highly recognizable Root member in front of him, whose short red hair was very eye-catching. His feet were also attached to the wall, and he stood on the cliff face as well.
The red-haired Anbu stared at Anbu's figure and recognized him as Uchiha Itachi, whom Danzo had brought to the base the day before yesterday.
"You betrayed Danzo?"
The red-haired Anbu Ninja stared at Uchiha Itachi, his tone icy, exuding a chilling aura.
Uchiha Itachi's eyes turned bloodshot. He glanced behind him and saw two Root members flanking him from the front and back. Itachi knew his operation had been exposed. Without a word, he drew his sword and charged directly at the red-haired Anbu.
Puff!
Itachi's swift slash, the sword that could cut through iron like mud, beheaded the red-haired Anbu in one strike.
"Ring the bell!"
The decapitated red-haired ANBU's Anbu darkened, becoming a wooden human form. Above the cliff, the red- Anbu's voice echoed again, his hands rapidly Hand Seals.
Upon hearing the command, the other Anbu halted his forward momentum, unleashed a burst of Chakra, and leaped high into the air by pushing off the wall. This Root member was surprisingly agile in mid-air; with two quick movements, he landed on the thick, long rope next to the large bell, swung the rope, and kicked at the bell.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!
The red- Anbu clasped his hands together and gave a soft shout, completing the Ninjutsu activation.
On the cliff, countless sharp earth spikes suddenly rose up, densely packed, and dozens of meters within Uchiha Itachi's body, earth spikes of varying lengths continuously emerged.
Just a second before the Earth Flow Spears rose up, Uchiha Itachi leaped to dodge. Sensing the large area of earth spikes rising, he used both legs to push off the wall and jumped away, landing on the cross-shaped wooden bridge inside the base.
After a brief exchange, Uchiha Itachi Byakugan was quite strong. The previous Body Bind Genjutsu had Anbu the red-haired ANBU, and the decapitation strike left Itachi unable to determine whether he had killed a clone or whether the opponent had dodged it at the crucial moment with Substitution Technique.
A short while after the bell rang, footsteps began to echo in the caves within the base, waking many Root members who then began an emergency assembly.
"Oh no!"
Uchiha Itachi realized his operation had been exposed. As he ran across the bridge, he pulled out a Kunai with his left hand and threw it at the red-haired ANBU Anbu on the cliff. At the same time, he plunged his longsword into the wooden bridge beneath his feet and quickly Hand Seals.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
A single Shuriken transformed into a dense barrage of Shuriken, relentlessly bombarding the red-haired ninja on the wall.
The red- Anbu clasped his hands together, and an earthen wall rose up, effortlessly deflecting all the ninja tools that were being fired upwards. At the same time, the red-haired Anbu reached into his ninja tool pouch and pulled out two Kunai.
Seeing that there was no movement, the red-haired Anbu climbed over the earthen wall. Although the Earth Style wall blocked many ninja tools below, it also blocked his view. Sensing danger after crossing the earthen wall, the red-haired Anbu stretched out his Kunai to block.
Bite!
The two Kunai severed, and the longsword continued its relentless attack, slashing towards the neck of the red-haired Anbu.
Uchiha Itachi gripped his longsword, and with a single horizontal slash, the sword, sharp enough to cut through iron like mud, severed the enemy's two Kunai and slashed towards the enemy's neck.
The red-haired Anbu reacted with lightning speed and displayed remarkable Taijutsu combat skills. He bent over and fell backward, narrowly dodging the longsword's slash. At the same time, he hooked his right foot and swiftly kicked Itachi's chin.
Itachi's attack failed, so he dodged slightly backward to avoid the kick. Before he could give chase, he used the Body Flicker Technique to leap into the air and dodge the horizontal slash of the Ninja Sword behind him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
After dodging the sneak attack from behind, Uchiha Itachi stared at the Root ninja wearing a mask who had attacked him from behind.
Itachi, who had jumped into the air but had nowhere to get a foothold, was in trouble again, as countless Kunai and Shuriken shot at him.
Pfft! Sizzle! Pfft! Sizzle!
Uchiha Itachi was covered in Kunai and ninja tools, and even had three kunai stuck in his throat.
A dozen or so Root ninjas leaped toward Uchiha Itachi, preparing to deliver another finishing blow, determined to turn Uchiha Itachi into mincemeat.
Boom!
Uchiha Itachi, covered in Kunai and Shuriken, looked as if he were covered in Explosive Tag, and then let out a deafening explosion.
A dozen or so Root ninjas narrowly escaped the massive explosion, their ankles bound by more than a dozen large tree branches.
The red-haired member of the Anbu formed the Snake Seal with both hands, rescuing many Root members. At the same time, the Snake Seal his hands changed, and he simply closed them together. His eyes closed.
"Up there!"
The red-haired Anbu shouted a loud order, and many Root members looked up. Uchiha Itachi's feet were attached to the large bell, and his hands were in the Tiger Seal.
"It's Fire Style!"
Although the others didn't see the Hand Seals earlier, they saw the final Tiger Seal very clearly.
Most of the Ninjutsu ending with the Tiger Seal are Fire Style, and the enemy is the Uchiha Clan. Before the Root members could even raise a warning, many Root ninjas had already Hand Seals.
Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
As everyone expected, Uchiha Itachi brought his right index and middle fingers together and held them to his lips, unleashing countless fireballs resembling those from the Phoenix Flower Fire.
Under Uchiha Itachi's control, the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique fireballs were precisely aimed at the Root members below, hitting each of them with two fireballs, leaving none unscathed.
Water Style: Water Wave! x2
Two Root ninjas used Water Release Ninjutsu, spewing out streams of water the size of pools from their mouths. The two ninjas swayed their heads from side to side, and the water swirled upwards from the bottom, turning the pool-like water into Water Dragon, completely blocking the densely packed small fireballs.
The originally powerful Hanabi bomb was extinguished upon impact with the water, disappearing without a trace, without even causing a ripple.
The water jet, spraying upwards, extinguished the fireball and then shot straight upwards, crashing into Uchiha Itachi.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Uchiha Itachi dodged, and the water wave struck the large bell. This time, the bell's sound was much lower and more resonant due to the water. At the same time, water fell from the sky, and a torrential downpour began within the base.
"Fifteen people, twenty-two people. I wonder Ruofeng. The Lord Hokage has sent two people to assist me. Who is the other one?"
Uchiha Itachi was running and dodging inside the base. The explosion from the earlier Clone Great Explosion was a coded signal, a pre-arranged support signal with Ruofeng.
Uchiha Itachi ran while waiting for backup.
"Hopefully the Hokage can arrive soon, otherwise..."
These elite ninjas were so formidable that even Itachi couldn't guarantee he could escape unscathed.