The Plot Succeeds

"Hey! You think you can get away?!"

Watching Danzo flee into the distance, Sasuke's lips curled into a cold smile.

Bang!!

With a stomp of his toes, the ground beneath him suddenly caved in.

Whoosh!!

Sasuke shot forward like a cannonball, ignoring the fleeing Root ninja as he charged straight after Danzo.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

The rocks and buildings in his path were brutally smashed into rubble as the distance between them rapidly closed.

In just a few blinks, Sasuke caught up to Danzo.

He swung out a muscular leg in a savage sweep.

The wind howled, as if even the air had been blasted apart.

The whip-like kick, carrying immense force, lashed directly toward Danzo's legs.

Sasuke's plan was simple: cripple his legs first, then have some fun!

Bang!!

However, when the attack struck Danzo, he exploded into a cloud of smoke.

"Another Shadow Clone! This jutsu is seriously annoying!"

Sasuke irritably shook his hair, when the sound of something slicing through the air suddenly came from behind him.

Whoosh!!

Danzo held a kunai wrapped in Wind Release chakra and stabbed directly at Sasuke's back.

Pfft!!

The kunai touched his back, barely breaking the skin.

"Oh? Not bad. Your Wind Release mastery isn't half bad, old man. You actually managed to break my skin. No wonder you were able to use Wind Release to break through Susanoo's defenses!"

Sasuke turned around and sincerely praised him.

"Y-You... what kind of monster are you?!"

Looking at the kunai broken in half in his hand, Danzo wore an expression of utter shock.

This kunai was infused with highly concentrated Wind Release chakra. Its cutting power was incredibly formidable; even against the thick hides of Tailed Beasts, it could inflict damage.

Yet when such an attack struck this opponent, it had only managed to scratch his skin!

Sasuke did not care what Danzo was thinking and immediately slapped at him.

Bang!!

The Danzo before him exploded into another cloud of white smoke.

"Why is it another Shadow Clone? This damn jutsu is really annoying!"

Sasuke frowned in dissatisfaction. Every time he caught one, it was a Shadow Clone. It was seriously irritating!

But then he sneered.

"Hmph! Let's see how many Shadow Clones you old bastard can make! You're not Naruto, so I refuse to believe your clones are infinite. Besides, you're not the only one who knows the Shadow Clone jutsu!"

The next moment, Sasuke crossed his hands in a cross-shaped seal.

—Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Jutsu!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

More than a dozen clouds of white smoke erupted out of thin air. As the smoke cleared, over a dozen muscular men appeared.

Without needing orders, the Shadow Clones automatically chased off in different directions.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!

After consecutively blowing up more than ten Shadow Clones, Sasuke fixed his gaze on the final Danzo!

"Hey! I found your real body. Let's see where you can run now!"

With a cold smile on his lips, his figure vanished from where he stood.

At the same time, the rapidly fleeing Danzo received news that all his Shadow Clones had been destroyed.

He glanced back at Sasuke, who was rapidly closing in behind him, and his face darkened like the bottom of a pot!

Damn it! How is this guy so fast?!

He cursed wildly inwardly, his expression incomparably ugly.

He had intended to meet up with Hiruzen Sarutobi first, then deal with this monster together.

There were plenty of powerful people over there. Dealing with someone who relied solely on brute force should not have been difficult!

But now, with the difference in their speeds, he would probably be caught in no time!

He had to think of a way to stall for time.

As Danzo pondered a solution, he suddenly noticed a Root ninja fleeing not far away.

He immediately changed direction and charged toward that Root ninja.

That Root ninja also noticed Danzo running toward him. He instantly sensed that something was wrong and had just tried to get away when a chilling voice reached him.

"You useless trash! Why are you running?! Stop right now and help this old man block that guy! Buy time for this old man!"

Fuck! He was running away himself, yet he had the nerve to call me useless trash!

The Root ninja cursed furiously in his heart. He wanted to keep running and ignore Danzo's orders.

But the stabbing pain from his tongue forced him to stop and carry out Danzo's command, staying behind to cover his retreat.

Facing the charging Sasuke, the Root ninja rapidly formed hand seals before slamming his palm onto the ground.

—Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!

A rocky wall without any dog heads carved onto it rose from the ground!

He intended to block Sasuke by creating an obstacle in his path.

Unfortunately, this sort of earth wall was no different from a block of tofu to Sasuke.

Naturally, Sasuke did not even hesitate. His speed did not slow in the slightest as he crashed straight into it.

The next moment,

Bang!

Boom!!

The earth wall shattered into countless fragments of stone, while the Root ninja behind it instantly exploded into a cloud of blood mist.

"What useless trash!"

Danzo could not help but curse at the sight. Then, he suddenly flung another unlucky Root ninja he had just grabbed behind him and slapped an explosive tag onto him in the process.

"Go! Stop him for this old man!"

Boom!!

The human bomb behind him exploded violently, and Sasuke rushed out from the smoke.

An attack of this level could not hinder him in the slightest.

"Old man, your subordinates really have it rough working for you!"

Sasuke mocked him as he simultaneously hurled a heavy punch toward Danzo's back.

The hairs on Danzo's back stood on end as he sensed the danger. He hurriedly twisted his body around and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Boom!!

Danzo was blasted more than ten meters away, crashing through and collapsing a residential building along the way.

"Sure enough, only after experiencing it personally can one understand how terrifying the power contained within that monster truly is. If this old man had not redirected the force in time, both arms would probably have been broken already!"

Danzo shook his numb arms, his face full of lingering fear.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

He coughed as he got to his feet. Just as he was about to continue running, a large hand suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

"Run! Why aren't you running anymore? Damn it, you old bastard! You sure can run, can't you?!"

Sasuke grabbed Danzo by the neck with one hand and lifted him into the air, cursing as he did so.

"Bastard! You cannot kill this old man! This old man is an elder of Konoha, one of Konoha's higher-ups. Killing this old man means becoming Konoha's enemy. You will face the pursuit of the strongest ninja village in the Ninja World!"

"When that happens, no matter how powerful you are, there will only be death awaiting you!"

Even after being caught, Danzo did not beg for mercy. Instead, he began threatening him.

"Hehehe! Kill you? No, I wasn't planning to kill you."

Sasuke said with a chuckle.

Danzo's eyes immediately lit up. It seemed his opponent was indeed afraid of becoming Konoha's mortal enemy.

Having understood this, Danzo immediately wore a smug expression and barked, "Hmph! In that case, release this old man at once. As long as you let this old man go, this old man will not pursue the matter of you slaughtering my subordinates. We'll pretend it never happened."

"At the same time, this old man will guarantee that you can leave Konoha safely."

"No, I think you misunderstood."

Sasuke slowly shook his head, then revealed a cold smile.

"What I mean is, simply killing an old dog like you would be letting you off too easily. I'm going to cut off all four of your limbs, make you wish you were dead, and have you spend the rest of your life in endless agony!"

"Hehe! Is that so?"

Rather than feeling afraid after hearing this, Danzo chuckled twice.

"A fate worse than death does sound rather terrifying. But that assumes you can actually do it!"

"You think I can't?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and immediately reached out, preparing to tear off Danzo's right arm first.

But at that moment, Danzo suddenly revealed a triumphant smile.

"You fell for it, you brainless idiot!"

—Kotoamatsukami!