The air in the underground laboratory was so thick it was suffocating.
Danzo stared at the shattered wood chips scattered across the floor, his one remaining left eye bulging wide. His prized Wood Release killing move had not even touched Hyuga Xiao's clothes before it was crushed into powder from afar.
"Don't get too cocky, brat!" Danzo roared.
His withered hands blurred as he formed seals frantically. His chest swelled high, and he suddenly exhaled forward.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Barrage!"
Dozens of translucent wind blades tore through the air with piercing shrieks, weaving into an impenetrable net of destruction. Every blade could sever refined steel, and they shot straight for Xiao's throat and Hinata's face.
Xiao did not even bother forming seals.
He raised his right hand, palm facing forward. A faint blue gleam flickered in his Tenseigan.
"Almighty Push."
Boom!
Violent repulsive force exploded outward from Xiao. The deadly net of wind blades crashed into an invisible wall of repulsion and instantly shattered into countless scattered currents of air. The gale swept backward, stripping stone chips from the laboratory walls and smashing experimental equipment across the floor.
Danzo had never expected Wind Release to kill anyone. The instant the wind blades were unleashed, he had already drawn the kunai hidden in his sleeve and, using the gale as cover, darted to Xiao's side like a ghost.
The muscles in his right arm, embedded with Sharingan, bulged as the kunai's tip stabbed toward Xiao's heart.
Too slow.
Within the Tenseigan's vision, Danzo's movements were as slow as crawling through a swamp.
Xiao did not even turn his head. His left hand still shielded Hinata behind him, while his right hand curled into a claw and thrust forward.
Squelch!
Blood splashed.
Xiao's palm pierced through Danzo's chest without resistance. The crisp