Night of Root Annihilation III

Inside the base, at the entrance to the highest cave, Danzo looked down at his subordinates and the figure they were chasing.

A slender figure, with long, flowing hair tied up.

"Uchiha... Itachi"

Danzo's face flushed red. In his sixties, Danzo had never been so angry in his life.

The left eye that was visible on his face had a very complex expression: anger, gloom, confusion, and a trace of sadness.

Just two days ago, he was still confidently joining me in launching the operation to save Konoha. That intense emotion, those Mangekyō Sharingan that were awakened because of my best friend.

All of this demonstrates Uchiha Itachi's true feelings; Uchiha Itachi was a true dark ninja, a successor capable of shouldering the future of Konoha.

However, just one day later, Uchiha Itachi changed his tune again. Instead of luring the Fourth Hokage, he infiltrated the base himself, assassinated and slaughtered his own subordinates in their sleep, and became the Fourth Hokage's henchman.

"As expected, the evil Uchiha... Not a single Uchiha Clan can be trusted!"

Danzo at Uchiha Itachi complex expression softened, replaced by a resolute look. The flush on his face faded, leaving only a slight redness. His expression became calm and unreadable, making his thoughts impossible to fathom.

Danzo watched for a few minutes. Uchiha Itachi was in grave danger, but he always managed to escape unscathed at the most perilous moments. The pursuing Root experts frequently paused and froze, clearly under the influence of Genjutsu. And there was that somewhat strange Crow Clone technique.

Orochimaru emerged from the cave, standing behind Danzo, also observing the battle below. His hoarse voice trailed off as he softly spoke:

"Danzo, the Uchiha Clan truly produces many talented individuals. This person is no ordinary fighter; let me help you eliminate him."

Orochimaru stood at the edge of the cave, watching the young man below with his eerie crimson eyes, fighting against multiple opponents with equal skill.

Danzo understood Orochimaru's meaning and considered it payment for his request for assistance. However, Uchiha Itachi had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and this person, these eyes, could not be given to anyone else.

"Need not."

Danzo coldly refused, discarding his cane from his left hand and extending his right hand from inside his robe. On his right forearm was a heavy-looking metal ring.

Danzo calmly pulled out the nail from the edge of the ring, breaking the seal.

Orochimaru Danzo Danzo's movements. He was very familiar with Orochimaru's arm; it was one of his masterpieces, the one he personally performed the transplant surgery on.

"Using a sealing method to imprison the Wood Release power in his arm and the Sharingan, and then breaking the seal when battle is needed? Danzo is truly not to be underestimated."

Orochimaru secretly admired Danzo for actually subduing the arm.

Below

Uchiha Itachi was drenched in sweat. The intense battle had sent his adrenaline soaring, and the difficulty of dealing with these opponents had exceeded his expectations.

Pfft! Sizzle!

Uchiha Itachi was stabbed through the abdomen by a Root member, and then another Root member followed up with a fatal blow, slicing through Itachi's throat with a short sword.

However, no blood splattered from either the pierced abdomen or the slashed throat.

The Uchiha's figure remained frozen, just as before, then trembled all over, transforming into a flock of black crows that flew upwards.

A member of the Root rapidly Hand Seals, finishing with the Tiger Seal.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!

From the mouth area of Root ninja mask, a large fireball shot upwards, completely engulfing the crows.

Caw! Caw! Caw!

The crows cried out mournfully as they fell from the sky, leaving behind plumes of smoke and the smell of burning.

But Uchiha Itachi's figure disappeared again.

The Red-Haired Root members who were providing support from the rear clasped their hands together, closed their eyes, and activated their Sensory Ninjutsu.

The fact that they hadn't managed to capture a single Uchiha who had trespassed Jonin the base for so long made the red-haired Anbu feel somewhat ashamed, especially with Danzo watching from above.

"Danzo, look above! Be careful!"

Sensing Uchiha Itachi's Chakra rushing downwards towards Danzo, the red-haired Anbu shouted a warning to Danzo, turning around and yelling:

"More enemies! Two, at the entrance! Tatsuma Squad, go deal with them!"

The red-haired Anbu sensed that two more enemies had intruded and immediately issued orders.

"Hey! Follow me, students, follow me too!"

Ryoma immediately shouted, and his team members, along with the Root students who had been watching indifferently from above the cave, jumped down and followed Aburame Ryoma towards the entrance.

The group consisted of fifteen people: four elite members from the Root and eleven root trainees who had not yet passed their graduation exam.

After being trained by Red Ogre and others, Aburame Ryoma was no longer Danzo's trusted right-hand man, and his position was somewhat shaken. Ryoma was also convinced of Red Ogre's strength and had no choice but to obey his orders.

Danzo heard the shouts below, and in the short time it took to chase him, he had already removed the sealing device on his right hand, and with his left hand holding the metal ring of the sealing device, he threw it forward.

Bite!

Uchiha Itachi's feet were attached to the top of the cave. From Danzo's perspective, he gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands, bent over, and thrust downwards and backwards. He was struck by a metal ring, which made a clanging sound.

Uchiha Itachi hadn't known much about Danzo's strength before, thinking that Danzo was probably an experienced retired Jonin, roughly the same as Maruboshi Kosuke from Konoha. But now, in their first encounter, he realized that he had underestimated Danzo.

Danzo's calm demeanor, the casually tossed metal ring, and the fact that he was above the cave and out of Danzo's sight—his movements were so nonchalant, as if he could see himself.

Furthermore, the sheer weight of that ring indicates that Danzo did not simply toss it away carelessly.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Green saplings burst forth from the wall that Uchiha Itachi had attached himself to.

The red- Anbu clasped their hands together in the Si (Snake Seal, having besieged the intruder for a long time. Their original tactic of outnumbering the enemy, elite against elite, and using Chakra to capture the intruder with minimal effort, had clearly failed.

The red-haired ANBU Anbu's Chakra surged, and he decided to change the underground environment, unleashing a powerful Wood Release Ninjutsu.

"Wood Release Secret Technique: Deep Forest Emergence!"

With a roar, the red-haired Anbu, even though he was wearing a mask, could be sensed by everyone that his Ninjutsu must have been infused with an enormous amount of Chakra.

In the spacious base, trees instantly began to grow horizontally on the walls, with seedlings sprouting from the soil and growing into large trees in just a few seconds.

The red-haired Anbu fully manipulated the Wood Release ninjutsu, causing the tree branches to grow lush and leafy, resembling a hundred giant green pythons that encircled and swept around Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi's assassination Danzo failed. The tree at the cave entrance beneath his feet was growing extremely fast, robbing him of a second chance. Itachi was chased and leaped by the ancient green tree, darting and bounding through this strange green forest.

"The Chakra consumption is not right!"

Uchiha Itachi noticed that the rate at which his Chakra was dissipating was abnormal, as if something was absorbing and devouring his Chakra. Sensing something was wrong, Itachi quickly took out Military Ration Pill from his ninja tool pouch and swallowed it.

Uchiha Itachi's assassination attempt failed, and like Uchiha Shisui, he was ganged up on and beaten by the Root.

The only option is to use delaying tactics to postpone our defeat and hope for reinforcements!