Shimura Danzō Cornered, Shisui Uchiha Returns

In the dense forest near Root Headquarters.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"

"Protect Lord Danzo! Aaaah..."

Shisui Uchiha's two Wood Clones unleashed ninjutsu from either side, mercilessly slaughtering Shimura Danzō's men.

After glancing at the corpses on the ground, Shisui Uchiha spoke calmly.

"Keep pursuing at this pace. Remember, don't go too fast!"

"Yes, Lord Senju Ye!"

Shisui Uchiha had let Shimura Danzō go so he could slowly drive him into complete desperation.

Only then would the man reveal every hidden force at his disposal to save his own life!

And the results proved that his approach had been right.

To stay alive, Shimura Danzō had sent out numerous strangely dressed ninja along the way, all of them at jōnin level.

Some wore civilian clothes, others wore Anbu uniforms, and some even came from other ninja villages. There were already dozens of them.

Watching Shimura Danzō flee in disarray ahead of him, Shisui Uchiha smiled faintly, his face stained red with blood.

"Danzo, let's take our time with this..."

Tap, tap, tap.

Clutching the wound on his shoulder, Shimura Danzō raced onward under the protection of several loyal operatives he had secretly trained to die for him.

Countless cold corpses lay behind him, their blood forming shallow pools.

To break out successfully this time, Shimura Danzō had deployed almost every secret asset he had concealed over the years. His losses were enormous!

But as long as he escaped alive, he would find a way to rise again!

"Damn you, Senju Ye! Damn you, Uchiha Fugaku! Mark my words, sooner or later, I'll settle the score for tonight!"

"Especially you, Senju Ye! After the Nine-Tails Incident, you clearly couldn't unleash powerful ninjutsu anymore, yet you still dared attack me. What a joke."

In Shimura Danzō's eyes, Senju Ye had spared him solely because his body had yet to recover.

Otherwise, if he still possessed the strength he had used to subdue the Nine-Tails, there would have been no reason to let him go and give him a chance to return to Root Headquarters and regroup.

"Senju Ye, enjoy your little victory while you can. Soon, you and the Uchiha Clan will face true annihilation!"

After all, given what he knew of Hiruzen Sarutobi, once Hiruzen Sarutobi realized Senju Ye was no longer as powerful as before, he would certainly begin making moves in secret.

Then he would only need to coordinate with Hiruzen Sarutobi from the outside while the latter worked from within, and they could eliminate Senju Ye without much effort!

And Uchiha Fugaku's pair of Mangekyō Sharingan...

He would have them, no matter what!

But just as Shimura Danzō fought his way onward with those thoughts in mind and was about to reach Root Headquarters...

A mass of Uchiha Clan ninja suddenly appeared along the route he had to take, spewing fireballs one after another.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Aaaah..."

"Fall back! Hurry!"

Yet as soon as Shimura Danzō retreated with his few remaining trusted men, the Uchiha Clan ninja who had long been waiting for him there all emerged from the dense forest.

Their ninja weapons were still stained with fresh blood, and paired with those scarlet Sharingan...

They looked utterly chilling in the darkness of the night.

At the sight, Shimura Danzō's expression turned grim.

But just as he instinctively tried to back away, Shisui Uchiha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the heads of Konoha's major clans arrived.

In an instant, every escape route available to Shimura Danzō was sealed off!

Standing on the Wooden Man's shoulder, Shisui Uchiha looked down at the utterly bedraggled Shimura Danzō and spoke calmly.

"Danzo, you've lost."

"..."

Hearing Shisui Uchiha's words, Shimura Danzō clenched his teeth, gripped a shuriken, and roared at him with a savage expression.

"I haven't lost! I'm an elder of Konoha's Elder Council! I'm the head of Root! Without any concrete evidence, you have no right to touch me!"

"If we can't break through to Root, then we'll capture Senju Ye first and wait for reinforcements from headquarters!"

"Yes, Lord Danzo!"

As Shimura Danzō's words rang out, his last few trusted men gripped their ninja weapons and attacked alongside him.

Shisui Uchiha merely shook his head.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"

Before Shimura Danzō and his men could close in, a ferocious flaming dragon lunged at them, shattering their attack formation.

Two unlucky men were even swallowed by the fire dragon, their agonized screams piercing the air.

"Aaaah!"

Seeing Uchiha Fugaku attack, Shimura Danzō's expression grew deeply grim.

Against Senju Ye, who was putting on a strong front despite his weakened condition, he could still work with his men to capture him.

But against Uchiha Fugaku with his Mangekyō Sharingan, along with the heads of Konoha's major clans surrounding them...

Now he was truly in trouble!

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"

Thud, thud, thud!

Though outnumbered, Uchiha Fugaku used his Mangekyō Sharingan to evade every attack from Shimura Danzō's trusted men perfectly, then strike back and kill them.

As he watched his men fall one after another to Uchiha Fugaku's blade, while every sneak attack he attempted failed...

Shimura Danzō gritted his teeth, a look of resolve flashing in his eyes.

Tap, tap, tap.

The next instant, he suddenly accelerated toward Shisui Uchiha atop the Wooden Man, pulling off his bandages in full view of everyone.

"Senju Ye, you're already at the end of your rope, yet you still dare act so arrogantly before me!"

"Then I'll capture you first! Once the people from headquarters arrive, none of you will be able to do anything to me!"

"..."

At Shimura Danzō's roars and actions, the heads of Konoha's major clans, who already knew what had happened at Root Headquarters, looked at him with mockery and contempt.

People from headquarters coming to help?

What a joke!

As those thoughts ran through everyone's minds, Shimura Danzō finally reached Shisui Uchiha.

"Hahaha, I've got you!"

But just as he was about to use his Sharingan's ability on Shisui Uchiha, a dark figure abruptly appeared before him.

"Who are you?"

The dark figure did not answer. He drew his sword and struck with lightning speed.

The next instant, the sound of blood spurting rang out across the area.

Slash!

Staring at his severed arm, cut clean off with a single sword strike and spinning through the air, Shimura Danzō's face filled with disbelief.

At the same time, the man thrust his hand straight into his eye socket and gouged out the Sharingan.

"Aaaah..."

Only then did Shimura Danzō recognize the true identity of the man before him.

It was Shisui Uchiha, who should have been at the Land of Fire's border!