Settling Scores After Autumn

Deep into the night.

After Li Yu prepared everything, he activated the Flying Raijin Jutsu.

Outside Konoha Village, a special kunai was embedded in the ground in a deserted area.

Space rippled, and Li Yu appeared directly beside it.

He activated the Transformation Technique, disguised himself as an Iwagakure ninja, and headed straight for the home of Shimura Danzo.

Using Wood Release to sense the surroundings, he discovered that the house was empty.

Is the Shimura Clan completely deserted?

This old fox is quite slippery.

Li Yu turned and headed toward the secret base of Danzo's Root. As the Deputy Chief of the Anbu, he knew the location of this Root base.

He easily bypassed the patrolling Anbu ninjas within the village and arrived at a forest outside the village where the Root base was located. Without a word, Li Yu charged straight toward the front entrance.

"Who goes there? Halt!"

"Swish, swish." Li Yu launched a specialized kunai.

He activated the Flying Raijin Jutsu, appeared instantly beside the Root sentries, and kicked them both away.

Arriving at the gate, Li Yu unleashed a Strength of a Hundred punch, shattering the Root's heavy doors into flying splinters.

He strode into the Root base, walking with leisurely steps. He put away his kunai, clasped his hands behind his back, and strolled to the center of the hall.

Ignoring the Root ninjas surrounding him, he shouted, "Shimura Danzo, get out here!"

"Is that any way to address Lord Danzo?"

"Who are you, daring to trespass into Konoha's Root?"

By now, the Root ninjas had gathered in force. They simultaneously threw shuriken and kunai, many of which were rigged with Explosive Tags.

Out of the corner of his eye, Li Yu saw Danzo hiding in a dark corner, flanked by several Root ninjas who had yet to attack.

Li Yu revealed a strange, eerie smile.

I knew you were a devious old man, Danzo. You live up to your reputation.

Even with so many Root ninjas out, he didn't dare show himself, preferring to hide and observe his opponent.

Li Yu used his kunai with mechanical precision, striking the incoming shuriken and kunai. Several of the kunai exploded in mid-air.

"Boom! Boom!" The continuous explosions filled the air with thick smoke.

In the split second when everyone's attention was fixed on the explosions in the center:

"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"

A hand shot out from the ground beneath Danzo, grabbing him by the ankle.

Li Yu dragged Danzo away, vanishing from the spot and reappearing in a pre-selected, deserted area outside the village.

Danzo's face was etched with shock as he blurted out, "Flying Raijin Jutsu!"

Li Yu bent down to pick up his kunai and dispelled his Transformation Technique; he had no intention of hiding his identity from Danzo any longer.

"Zi Yu, it's you?"

Seeing Li Yu without his mask, Danzo's expression soured instantly.

"What are you trying to do?"

Danzo retreated a few steps, his voice sharp but his posture betraying his inner trepidation.

"You are Nawaki of the Senju Clan, Tsunade's younger brother. What exactly are you planning?"

"Not bad."

It was no surprise that Danzo, as a high-ranking official of Konoha, knew his true identity.

"Danzo, I'll ask you one thing: the two people who ambushed me during the S-rank mission in the Hidden Waterfall Village—were they from your Root?"

"Indeed, they were my Root operatives. I was also the one who leaked your intelligence to the other three ninja villages."

Danzo's admission caught Li Yu off guard.

He hadn't expected Danzo to be such a character; since things had reached this point, he didn't intend to hide anything.

A perfect opening.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!"

Danzo took a deep breath and fired a rapid succession of colorless, transparent air bullets from his mouth.

Li Yu's reaction was just as swift. He instantly activated his Sharingan, easily dodging the barrage of air bullets.

Even as he dodged, Li Yu thought to himself, Danzo, you truly are a cunning old fox. You intentionally admitted the truth to provoke an emotional reaction.

You seized the initiative and struck first. I have to give you credit for that move.

"Since that's the case, I'll copy a few ninjutsu; it would be a waste of Danzo's painstaking efforts otherwise."

Seeing that he had missed, Danzo formed hand seals once more.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"

Danzo took another deep breath, and after a massive air mass condensed, it surged toward Li Yu, who had yet to steady his footing.

Seeing that he hadn't even grazed a hair on Li Yu, Danzo, unwilling to give up, formed seals again.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"

The wind manifested as multiple waves, and as Danzo swung his arms in irregular patterns, the ripples spread out, lashing toward Li Yu like whips.

Seeing that Danzo had exhausted his repertoire and that the time was about right, Li Yu felt a shadow clone back at his home dissipate, and he instantly activated Sage Mode.

A smug smile appeared on his face. "Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Danzo, I'll send you on your way in one go."

"Sage Art: Big Ball Rasengan!"

A brilliant blue light flared on his right hand as he charged head-on toward Danzo, meeting the incoming wind ninjutsu.

Danzo, still holding his hand seal gesture, had his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

Seeing Li Yu stalemate his Vacuum Serial Waves for a moment before charging directly at him with the massive Rasengan, his legs trembled.

He leaped up, performed a 180-degree turn in mid-air, and prepared to flee.

Just as Danzo landed, a tremendous force struck his back, pinning him down and slamming him into the ground.

Using the momentum, Li Yu stepped on Danzo and performed a move akin to riding a skateboard.

Poor Danzo was slammed face-first into the dirt, stepped on, and skidded several meters forward.

He let out a scream of "Ahhh," which was then muffled into "Mmmph" as a mouthful of mud blocked his mouth.

Li Yu didn't hold back; he used Danzo's body as a springboard to leap into the air, ready to let him taste the Ancestral Strength of a Hundred.

He punched Danzo in the back, causing his body to instantly arch, his head and feet curling upward. The ground beneath them shattered over a large area, spreading out like a giant spiderweb.

"BOOM!"

Danzo spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning the color of a bitter melon; a punch reinforced by Sage Art was not easy to endure.

In the original story, Konoha was leveled by a bag of rice and the Super: Almighty Push. Naruto appeared in Sage Mode with incredible speed, taking out the Asura Path of the Six Paths of Pain with a single punch.

Danzo, unsurprisingly, passed out. Li Yu flipped him over, tore off the bandages covering his head, pried open his right eye, and gouged out a four-pointed, red, windmill-patterned Sharingan.

"It's actually a Mangekyo. It looks quite similar to Shisui's."

"It shouldn't be Shisui's. Judging by the timeline, it belongs to his father, Uchiha Kagami."

"Danzo, oh Danzo, you even kill your own teammates, even though Uchiha Kagami saved you many times."

He carefully stowed it away, placing it into a prepared vial of liquid. Having collected some interest, Li Yu jumped back with satisfaction, putting some distance between them.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Flames erupted toward the fallen Danzo, burning him until only a skeleton remained, before Li Yu activated the Flying Thunder God to return home.