The Anbu Captain leading the group swallowed, his face tingling beneath his mask.
He glanced at the rubble beneath his feet, then at the giant trees that had burst through the ground.
Not one of the normally arrogant Root Suicide Corps members was anywhere in sight.
Every last one had been buried alive beneath the tree roots.
"Sen Senju... take two steps back!"
The Anbu Captain held his short sword across his chest, his voice trembling.
"Sure thing. Look at you shaking. You can't even hold your sword steady."
Sen kept both hands in his pockets, his head drooping lazily.
"I... am not dead... cough, cough..."
A wheeze like a broken bellows came from the nearby mound of rubble and mud.
Muddy water poured away, revealing an old face smeared with black blood.
Danzo's severed arm was gone, and an eyeball turned beneath his eye socket.
At the critical moment, he had used up his second-to-last eye.
"Kill him! ANBU... kill him for me!"
Danzo lay sprawled in the muck, coughing blood as he shouted.
"He's a traitor! He wants to destroy Konoha!"
The ANBU exchanged looks, tightening their grips on their kunai.
But none of them dared take a single step forward.
"Old dog, you've still got quite a voice. Looks like I didn't crush you hard enough."
Sen slowly turned his head and glanced at Danzo.
"Sen Senju! Stop right there!"
The Anbu Captain steeled himself and took half a step forward.
"Danzo is a senior official. Take this back to the Hokage for judgment!"
"Judgment? Take him back so he can pull strings and get released?"
Sen smiled and shook his head.
"Stop! Take another step, and we'll attack!"
The ANBU drew deep breaths and pointed their weapons at Sen.
They knew it was no different from