" Chidori!"
Kakashi's hand crackled with blue lightning as he surged upwards against the vines, about to strike 'Armor'.
Sizzle... Sizzle...
A serpentine bolt of lightning suddenly struck from the side.
Lightning Release: Imperial Lightning Snake
Kakashi's Sharingan quickly detected the attack and hastily switched to Chidori to neutralize it.
After landing, quickly slide backward to create a safe distance.
Kakashi focused his gaze on the attacker hiding among the leaves.
It's you!
Although the other person was wearing a mask, their samurai attire and long blue hair were still noticeable.
The first person that came to Kakashi's mind was the Amegakure envoy with whom he had once fought.
The same serpentine Lightning Release has become more powerful and its appearance is more vivid and realistic, indicating that the opponent has greatly improved its Shape Transformation in the lightning attribute.
This discovery immediately put Kakashi under immense pressure, as he, who was also proficient in Lightning Release, knew how difficult it was to achieve this.
"You Amegakure dare to attack the Third Hokage? Do you want to start a war with Konoha?"
" Amegakure? What Amegakure... what Third Hokage? Kakashi, I think you've lost your mind." Aoki Tsuki retorted.
He is now Panda of 'Root', working for Danzo.
"Have you already forgotten the Fourth's warnings?"
"If the Fourth were still alive, I definitely wouldn't dare..."
"You...!!" Kakashi was speechless.
Yes, now that his teacher, the Yellow Flash who was famous throughout the Shinobi World, is dead, Konoha's deterrent power has greatly diminished.
Who would take the words of a dead man seriously?
"Let's stop arguing here. We thought a thief was impersonating the Third passing by, which is why we attacked. It's all a misunderstanding. Let's disperse."
Aoki Tsuki waved his hand. Kakashi is a cunning bastard; if he's determined to run, no one can stop him.
"Hmph, I will report today's events to the Third truthfully."
Kakashi left behind a harsh remark, then turned and left with the Hokage's guards.
A was startled; Kakashi was too fast, and he didn't have time to react at all.
"Thank you, you saved me just now..."
"It's nothing. We're all serving Lord Danzo, so helping each other is only right."
Aoki Tsuki knew in his heart that even without his intervention, Kakashi would not have been willing to kill Kakashi, as he was the only person since the First to have mastered the Wood Release technique.
At that moment, the captain of the Root team walked over.
"This assassination attempt has likely failed. As for Lord Danzo..."
Without a doubt, Danzo will face questioning from the Third Hokage, as this is a grave crime of assassinating the Hokage.
" The Third have always been kind; they shouldn't make things difficult for Danzo," someone replied in a panic.
Just moments ago everyone was thinking about how to kill the Third, but now they're thinking about surviving by relying on the Third being a good person.
I've always heard that people who are rooted are just emotionless tools.
Rumors are not to be believed!
"Well... since the mission failed, I'll head back to report to Hanzō. Contact me if you need any help."
Aoki Tsuki greeted him, turned and left, figuring he wouldn't be able to find him anywhere.
The people from the root looked at each other, and in the end, they could only hang their heads and walk back dejectedly, like prisoners heading to the execution ground.
Neither the ambush nor the counter-ambush yielded any advantage.
In the Hokage's office in Konoha, Danzo sat in the Hokage's chair, gazing out the window and dreaming about what it would be like to become Hokage.
"I'm sorry, I can't give you this seat yet."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice sounded from behind.
"What?" Danzo turned around in shock. "You... you didn't go to meet the daimyo?"
"Something came up and I had to change my plans... You seem quite surprised that I'm still alive!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
"Where... I heard you set off for Daming Prefecture this morning."
Danzo was sweating profusely, and his voice trembled. He was in an extremely passive situation.
"Someone informed me that there would be an assassination attempt along the way. The mastermind behind it will be easily identified, and that would be a capital offense, without a doubt."
At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi his tone.
"However, the village is going through a difficult time, so this matter can be overlooked. In return, we hope he can dedicate himself even more to the village in the future."
"You still cling to pacifism, Hiruzen... Your naiveté will one day destroy you."
Danzo knew he had escaped death this time. He stood up and walked out, saying, "It's always been this way. You are the light, and I am the darkness."
"Where there is light, there is also darkness..." Hiruzen Sarutobi replied.
Without a doubt, Danzo a complete defeat in this encounter.
After separating from the Root members, Aoki Tsuki did not immediately return to Amegakure, but instead headed southeast following Sasori's trail.
Meanwhile, Scorpion had already arrived at the ambush point.
At this time, Shisui Uchiha was unaware that the mission he was about to carry out had been leaked.
"Alright, according to intelligence, this is the location the Kirigakure Assault Team will pass through. Now we just need to wait patiently..."
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
With a series of mechanical sounds, a dense Senbon Rain bonfires shot in from all directions.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
The massive, high-temperature fireball instantly engulfed the incoming Senbon Rain, melting it into molten iron. The Sharingan quickly detected the enemy's situation.
"These Chakra Threads... are they from a puppeteer?"
Following the direction in which the Chakra Threads converged, Shisui Uchiha located Sasori's hiding place and hurled several Shuriken at him.
Ding ding ding...
A bright silver scorpion tail shot out from the grass, knocking all the Shuriken away.
Scorpion decided to stop hiding and manipulated Hiruko to jump out.
"Who are you? Why did you attack me?" Shisui Uchiha asked.
"Someone paid 30 million taels to have our Akatsuki assassinate you. Coincidentally, I'm very interested in the Uchiha's body, and I believe you'll become a valuable collectible for me."
"Xiao?... A mercenary!"
Shisui Uchiha wasn't particularly surprised by this.
Having made a name for himself on the battlefield of the Kirigakure, he had long been a target for assassination.
"Killing me won't be easy. Once I catch you, I'll interrogate you thoroughly... the Body Flicker Technique."
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen figures of Shisui appeared in the arena, all rushing towards Scorpion.
Puff puff puff...
Scorpion manipulated Hiruko's tail to relentlessly attack, only to discover that these clones were like shadows, able to penetrate the attacks.
"It really doesn't have a physical form... What a strange clone..."
However, the attacks unleashed by these clones wielding their swords were indeed real.
Ding ding ding...
The Sharingan's dynamic vision easily spotted the weakness in Sasori's tail joints. Some of them were responsible for restraining him, while the others launched a fierce attack on the joints.
Click... click...
The scorpion's tail was cut into several pieces and scattered on the ground.
" Genjutsu: Sharingan "
One of them, Hiruko Shisui, cast Genjutsu, but what awaited him was...
puff...
Hiruko was completely unaffected; instead, she opened her mouth and spewed out purple poison gas, forcing Shisui's figure back.
"The real body is hiding inside... My Genjutsu is not working."
"Hmph, your Body Flicker Technique is impressive... Now let me show you my art..."
Having been easily outmaneuvered by the enemy during a sneak attack, Scorpion was losing face and prepared to unleash his ultimate move.
Puff puff puff...
In an instant, hundreds of Human Puppet were released, surrounding Shisui Uchiha, their blades dripping with purple venom.
" Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets "
"So many puppets...!!"
Even Shisui was taken aback; he had never heard of a puppeteer who could control so many puppets at the same time.
With his two signature moves, Body Flicker Technique and Genjutsu, failing to work, Shisui became increasingly certain that this attack was specifically targeted at him.
Fortunately, he still had a trump card up his sleeve.
"There's no other way... it seems we have no choice but to use that method..."
"Die!" Scorpion sneered.
The puppets, wielding broadswords, serrated blades, spears, and other weapons, charged towards Shisui.
Susanoo!
boom...
A violent explosion rang out, and a green skeletal giant appeared in the arena. With a wave of his hand, he crushed the puppets around him as if swatting flies.
"What kind of technique is this...?"
Scorpion gasped, deeply shocked by the sudden appearance of the giant.
The three Tomoe in Shisui Uchiha's pupils had coalesced into a four-cornered windmill that slowly rotated, and blood flowed down his face along his tear troughs.
Thud... Thud...
The giant easily shattered the puppet that the scorpion had painstakingly created with a wave of his hand; quantity became meaningless in the face of size.
In a matter of moments, hundreds of puppets were destroyed.
A large, green, skeletal hand pressed down towards the location of the scorpion's main body.
clang...
A metallic clanging sound rang out as a cone-shaped iron spike was placed against the palm of the large hand, blocking the attack.
"Is this... Magnet Release?" Shisui murmured.
As far as he knew, there were very few ninjas in the Shinobi World who were proficient in Magnet Release, and considering that the other party's puppeteer was very likely a ninja from Sunagakure.
"Could this be...?"
My art is no worse than yours.
As the Iron Sand converged, the iron cone rapidly grew larger and taller, pushing aside the green arm. Subsequently, a large amount of Iron Sand spread out, forming a black sea of mist.
"Hehe... I have many ways to deal with the Sharingan."
Based on the intelligence provided by the organization, Scorpion had meticulously devised numerous targeted tactical plans.
Susanoo n't scare him.
"This guy...! He's after my eye technique..."
Shisui felt a chill in his heart; the black mist formed by the Iron Sand severely obscured his vision.
If his Sharingan can't lock onto the enemy's location, his ultimate attack, "Thousand Arrows Fire," is completely ineffective.
"It's not over yet..." Scorpion's voice rang out.
Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from overhead, and a shadow fell over the area.
Rumble...
A massive cone descended from the sky, spinning rapidly with unparalleled potential energy.
The green Susanoo spread its arms and hugged the cone, drilling a hole in its chest defenses, but fortunately it managed to stop its attack in the end.
Shisui staggered two steps and almost fell.
Just then, the cone suddenly scattered into sand and escaped from Susanoo's hand.
In the blink of an eye, it transformed into dozens of enormous iron stakes, which crossed and fixed around Susanoo, restricting his ability to move.