Danzo: I've Met the Greatest Enemy of My Life?

What if I blow Yamato to pieces? In the Original Timeline, Retsuo really liked this character. ### Of course, life or death be damned! Without that kind of resolve, what are you even doing calling yourself a ninja? Retsuo had no other choice. He could only blow him up! ### The barrier unrolled and dispersed as it went. In Retsuo's perception, countless tentacles seemed to reach out and cover the array of Explosive Tags. Yin Release poured down, scouring the illusion core of the Explosive Tags! ### At that instant, an overwhelming sense of danger surged through Yamato's heart! ### Snake—Rat—Dog—Tiger, "Wood Release—Wood Locking Wall!" ### Yamato's Chakra surged wildly, his heart devoid of joy or sorrow. ### His instincts told him that he had to use this technique he had just learned to save his life, even though he was still inexperienced and couldn't guarantee that he would successfully cast it on the first try. ### This technique was undoubtedly the most difficult of all his techniques, far more difficult than Deep Forest Emergence. It demanded an extremely profound mastery of Chakra shape transformation. ### In an instant, leaves flew in every direction and the ground heaved. Two layers of sturdy wood burst from the earth, rapidly growing in front of and behind him. Like clam shells closing, they clamped him in the center! ### Bang bang bang bang bang bang— ### Countless explosions erupted like a string of firecrackers. Yamato, trapped inside the Wood Locking Wall, also let out several screams. The Explosive Tags beneath his feet hadn't been isolated from the blast. ### When the explosions finally stopped and the battered, nearly shattered Wood Locking Wall dissipated, he saw a Signal Arrow's long flaming tail fly out from the eye socket of the Hokage's stone face. He heard the sound of the signal exploding. ### Uchiha Retsuo's figure flashed and vanished through the doorway opposite them. His footsteps rapidly receded, leaving Yamato standing there like a stunned wooden chicken... ### Meanwhile, after running for a while, Retsuo suddenly sensed a reaction from the Yin Release Barrier. ### "Did Yamato develop resentment?" ### No! ### His gaze swept over the bend in the stairs. Suddenly, he felt a sense of déjà vu, a similar feeling of recognition, along with a similar prickling sensation. ### Not Yamato! ### Retsuo immediately pulled out Explosive Tags and attached them to Kunai. He activated his Sharingan. Throw! ### The first one, thrown horizontally— ### The second one, thrown upward at a thirty-degree angle to the right— ### The third one, with an Explosive Tag attached, thrown with added force to hit the second one first, bounce toward the first, and rebound! ### When Retsuo saw the Kunai turn as expected, he immediately leaped toward the bend in the stairs, closing his Sharingan at the same time. ### He took a deep breath and formed hand seals— ### Snake—Goat—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger! ### The Explosive Tags detonated, and a startled cry rang out from around the bend. ### Retsuo lunged forward and saw a figure hurriedly leap up. ### "Excellent, I predicted your prediction! Fire Release—Great Fireball Technique!" ### A massive fireball rolled forward, carrying scorching heat! ### The next moment, a charred figure flew through the air trailing roaring flames. It rolled violently across the ground, but even the flames failed to go out. It began fleeing in a shrill panic! ### "You brat! You actually dared attack an ANBU Ninja! You're finished! You're completely finished—" ### From the voice, it was that Root Ninja from the other day! ### The man hurried away at top speed, but Retsuo didn't dare pursue too aggressively. After all, this was the Uchiha's merciful technique. He had never killed anyone before, so its lethality remained untested. ### The man was a Jōnin, after all. Retsuo hadn't expected a technique used merely as a greeting to finish him off. ### When he ran out of Hokage Rock, Retsuo looked over and saw Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen standing outside in a Battle Suit with a gloomy expression, followed by a large group of people... ### It seemed this memorial ceremony had not gone smoothly. Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could ask anything, Retsuo immediately made an extremely exaggerated display, waving his hands and shouting, "Wood Release! Wood Release Ninja—" ### "What!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression changed drastically. Even a commotion broke out behind him. The Konoha ninjas were all startled when they heard the words "Wood Release." ### "A Wood Release Ninja attacked me just now! And another ninja claiming to be from Root ambushed me!" ### Sarutobi Hiruzen said woodenly, "The person on fire was clearly shouting that he was an ANBU Ninja. I've already sent people after him." ### Behind him, Shimura Danzō's face was livid. ### Uchiha Fugaku's expression was rather strange, as though he had been intimidated by Wood Release, but Utatane Koharu, a mere woman, was quite decisive: "Hurry inside and take a look!" ### "Exactly!" Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately broke into a run. Retsuo flashed after him and returned to Hokage Rock in the blink of an eye. ### The malicious intent on the Yin Release Barrier suddenly grew especially intense. There was no need to ask—it was Danzo. ### Why had the malicious intent suddenly grown stronger? Because Yamato hadn't cut off every trace. Although the Wood Locking Wall on the ground had been dismantled, there was still a large pile of splinters, and the wooden strips sealing the stone face's eyes hadn't even been removed... ### Sarutobi Hiruzen maintained his pose of gazing at the sky for a very, very long time. ### After a long while, he suddenly asked, "Danzo, that person who claimed to be an ANBU Ninja just now was a ninja from your Root Anbu, wasn't he?" ### "How could that be!" Danzo denied it without hesitation. "How could a ninja from my Root be defeated by a Ninja Academy student?" ### Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "A Wood Release Ninja could be defeated by a Ninja Academy student, let alone a Root Ninja." ### "..." ### Danzo was actually rendered speechless. Utatane Koharu calmly asked, "Retsuo, how did you defeat the ninja behind us?" ### "It was just Kunai throwing and the Fire Release—Great Fireball Technique." Retsuo looked proud. "That's the secret technique of our Uchiha Clan." ### Aside from Fugaku, who was full of praise, everyone else, including Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chōza, and the other transparent nobodies, wore expressions of utter collapse. ### The problem was that the battle site around the bend in the stairs really only showed traces of Kunai and explosions. ### Danzo suddenly asked sternly, "Could this be a Great Fireball Technique as well?" ### He pressed two fingers together and pointed at the area of the Wood Locking Wall's explosion. ### That's Great Fire Annihilation, isn't it? Someone might even believe it if you said it was Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags! ### However, Retsuo wasn't intimidated by his imposing manner as Danzo had expected. Instead, he was filled with anger and spoke righteously: "Why should I tell you? I strongly suspect that the Wood Release Ninja belongs to Root! I even suspect that Root was the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails attack on the village and the death of the Fourth Hokage!" ### "What!" ### Many people changed color. Some were terrified, some fearful, and some wore amused expressions. ### Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately stopped the enraged Danzo and looked over the two of them again with a deeply suspicious gaze. ### Fugaku watched the people in the scene with almost no presence. While secretly delighting in the situation, he keenly noticed the Third Hokage's gaze. ### There's something to this! Based on his years of experience reading people's expressions, he judged that the Third Hokage had definitely grown suspicious. Otherwise, he wouldn't be staring at Danzo like that. ### "Tell me why." Hiruzen's voice carried an aged weariness. If he had any choice, the Shinobi God of War would never allow any information about Wood Release to become public. ### But that little brat Uchiha Retsuo had already shouted it out in public, with absolutely no awareness of secrecy! How had his Ninja Academy teacher taught him? Ah— ### I'll dock his pay when I get back! ### Retsuo remained composed yet indignant: "Because the Root Ninja I drove away was the same Root Ninja who impersonated Lord Third's orders on the day of the Nine-Tails attack and tried to abduct me from Hokage Rock! On the day the Nine-Tails attacked the village, not a single Root Ninja attacked the Nine-Tails. While the village's ninjas were suffering heavy casualties, they stood by and watched, displaying none of the Will of Fire! They had no time to fight for the village, but they had time to disguise themselves as ANBU and plot schemes, and the Masked Man also—" ### Shimura Danzō spat out a mouthful of old blood. Have I encountered the greatest enemy of my life? I was always the one framing others! ### But the words "Masked Man" saved him. Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately waved his hand, signaling Retsuo to stop talking. He understood now. ### Two instances of Wood Release! And both times, it had been the same Root Ninja! If this was true, there was an explosive conspiracy lurking within! ### But how had Retsuo defeated the Wood Release Ninja? That was someone who had fought the Fourth Hokage head-on without falling behind. ### There was no time to think deeply. At that moment, an ANBU Ninja flew over and whispered into Hiruzen's ear. ### Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately furrowed his brow and asked in a low voice, "You lost him? Three people pursued him in that condition. How could you lose him?" ### The ANBU Ninja immediately said softly, "He had someone waiting to receive him." ### Hiruzen's expression grew even worse. Someone waiting to receive him? Given the village's current level of alert, anyone with the slightest sense would know it had to be Root! ### "Jōnin Shimura Danzō!" Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted sternly. "Hand over the roster of Root Anbu members. From this moment on, you are no longer an elder of the village. Suspend all your duties until the truth has been uncovered!" ### Danzo seemed to have predicted Sarutobi Hiruzen's reaction long ago. He sneered and said, "I refuse." ### Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned. ### Shimura Danzō continued to sneer. "Don't forget, you're only an elder too, Hiruzen. You aren't the Hokage right now. But I also want to know the truth. You should investigate it as soon as possible." ### With that, he left with his head held high.