His voice abruptly turned cold, carrying an unquestionable resolve. "I don't like leaving loose ends. Danzo must die here today. Anyone who gets in my way is my enemy."
His overwhelming presence spread outward, mingled with icy killing intent, almost tangible!
This was not merely confidence in his own strength, but an uncanny ability to foresee the future and a desire to control it!
Hanzō's heart tightened.
He had never expected this eleven-year-old boy to possess such vision and nerve!
Did he truly dismiss Konoha's potential retaliation entirely, or did he have some strange certainty about how events would unfold?
His gaze involuntarily shifted toward the deathly pale woman who had stood silently behind Uchiha Makoto all this time, radiating terrifying heat and danger.
This mysterious Fire Release ninja was absurdly powerful. Even with Salamander Ibuse, he might not be able to secure a victory against her, and he could very well suffer serious injuries.
Was it worth fighting such a dangerous Uchiha prodigy and his mysterious subordinate to the death for Danzo, who was already half-crippled and clearly a target of Konoha's internal struggles?
Once that thought took root, it grew like wildfire.
After all, this was Konoha's own dogs tearing each other apart... If Danzo really died, he could simply "leak" everything he had witnessed today to the Konoha High Command through secret channels and let them deal with the headache.
The Land of Rain and Amegakure could wash their hands of it entirely, calling it an "attack by unidentified forces" or blaming "enemies Elder Danzo had provoked himself."
Hanzō weighed the benefits and risks in an instant.
The rewards of protecting Danzo were far outweighed by the risks. Fighting Uchiha Makoto to the death could leave him gravely injured or even dead, earn him the lasting enmity