Deep in the Root Base, the stench of blood filled the air.
"Who are you?" Shimura Danzō spoke calmly and deliberately, a barb in his voice. "A rat from the gutter, hiding your head and tail because you don't dare show your true face?"
The old schemer opened his mouth and went straight to mocking him.
The corner of Hatake Sakumo's mouth twitched beneath his mask.
If he weren't afraid his voice would give him away, he would have cursed Danzo out...
I've got you cornered in your own lair in the middle of the night, and you've got the nerve to mock me?
But he really couldn't speak.
Hatake Sakumo pushed off the ground and shot straight at Shimura Danzō like an arrow from a bow.
Danzo cursed inwardly. This guy attacked without a word. He's even more reckless than I expected.
A bitterly thick stench of blood filled his nose. He glanced at the bodies sprawled all over the floor...
And his opponent didn't have so much as a scratch on him.
A chill slowly crept down Danzo's back.
He was a personal disciple of Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, and Konohagakure's current "shadow," second only to one man and above everyone else.
Among the great ninja clans, whether the Hyūga, Nara, Yamanaka, or Uchiha, he could suppress or deal with any of them as he pleased.
And now, two squads of his subordinates stood beside him, eight pairs of eyes watching.
He absolutely couldn't show fear.
Danzo swallowed his panic, acting as though the killing god before him was nothing more than a rat who didn't know his place.
He rapidly formed Hand Seals and shouted:
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
A long-range blade of wind slashed out of thin air, shrieking as it tore through the air toward the charging Sakumo.
Hatake Sakumo neither dodged nor evaded. His fist, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, met it head-on...
"Clang...!"
With a metallic clang, his punch smashed the B-rank Wind Release slash apart, scattering it into a turbulent gust that faded away.
Shimura Danzō's eyes twitched.
What was that? That pitch-black stuff could actually take his B-rank ninjutsu head-on?
But he kept his expression neutral and waved a hand, issuing a cold order:
"Everyone, attack! Take him down!"
Hatake Sakumo was speechless.
Why does everyone in Root love this routine?
Do you all like saying, "Everyone, attack! Take him down"?
He'd heard it so often in the base that he was sick of it.
As soon as Danzo finished speaking, the two squads around him moved.
Four members of one squad closed in from four directions, preparing to engage him at close range. The four in the other squad each formed Hand Seals and unleashed their signature ninjutsu.
Fire Release, Water Release, Lightning Release, Wind Release...
The ninjutsu were launched later but reached him first. A fireball, a ball of lightning, a wave of water, and a Wind Release slash swept toward the hooded, masked man from all directions.
Hatake Sakumo stood where he was, neither dodging nor evading.
Without so much as lifting an eyelid, he raised his iron fist and met all four ninjutsu head-on, one punch apiece!
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
He took all four ninjutsu head-on with Armament Haki.
The four Root ninja who had launched them nearly bulged their eyes out.
What was this? He took four ninjutsu head-on with his body?
The four who had planned to engage him at close range stopped in their tracks in unison. They looked at one another, none daring to move first.
How... how are we supposed to fight him?
But their boss was still behind them, and none dared retreat.
Their eyes darted around. They all pulled Explosive Tags from inside their clothes, stuck a few onto their Kunai, and flung them at Hatake Sakumo.
Hatake Sakumo cursed inwardly.
What bastards!
Each incoming Kunai had three or four Explosive Tags attached. With four Kunai, that made more than a dozen tags.
Their combined power was no weaker than a B-rank ninjutsu, and their blast would cover a wider area!
Damn it. I can't take out White Fang to launch a flying slash and intercept them at a distance, and I don't have a defense like Susanoo either.
I can only use some of the original owner's Lightning Release Ninjutsu.
Fortunately, Hatake Sakumo remembered a method that was just right for intercepting the Kunai and Explosive Tags.
"Lightning Release: Senbon."
Simply put, it was similar to Sasuke's Chidori Senbon. It formed Lightning Release into flying needles as thin as Senbon and fired them. Their killing power and strength were ordinary, but they made up for it in numbers and coverage.
Hatake Sakumo raised a hand, and a barrage of Lightning Release Senbon shot out.
"Clink, clink, clink, clink..."
The Senbon struck the Kunai and Explosive Tags precisely in midair, setting them off early.
"Boom!"
A series of explosions erupted in midair, filling the area with smoke and dust and obscuring everyone's vision.
This was exactly what Hatake Sakumo had been waiting for.
His figure flickered, and under cover of the smoke and dust from the explosions, he rushed out with the Body Flicker Technique. In the blink of an eye, he closed in on the squad of Root ninja fighting at close range.
One punch for one man.
"Bang!"
His fist smashed into the first Root ninja's head. Internal Destruction took effect, destroying his brain on the spot. He grunted and fell.
One kick for one man.
"Bang!"
He kicked the second ninja in the chest and abdomen, sending him flying like a ball. Internal Destruction took effect on him too, and the impact of hitting the wall killed him on the spot.
Danzo's face turned ashen, and he roared, "What are you standing around for? Attack!"
The other squad, who had been launching Fire Release, Water Release, Lightning Release, and Wind Release from the rear, snapped out of it at his shout. They hurriedly resumed forming Hand Seals and attacking.
But Hatake Sakumo didn't even look.
Ordinary B-rank ninjutsu had limited power. He could take them head-on with Armament Haki, and they were less effective than several Explosive Tags stacked together. He had nothing to fear and met them with his iron fist!
Seeing that ranged attacks were ineffective, the last four surviving Root ninja could only steel themselves and fight at close range.
They were controlled by the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, and Danzo had spent years brainwashing them. They weren't afraid to die protecting him, and their hands held their Kunai steady, without the slightest tremor.
Danzo, on the other hand, was very cautious.
Seeing how powerful the enemy was and how astonishingly well that "black stuff" defended him, Danzo decided he "probably" couldn't win one-on-one and began thinking of retreat.
While the last four Root members held the enemy off, he turned around, greased the soles of his feet, and ran!
Are you kidding?
He had sent many Root members to other villages and countries to gather intelligence, carry out assassinations, and do his dirty work in the shadows.
He had also planted many in the village to watch the every move of clans large and small, such as the Uchiha, Hyūga, and Nara, day and night.
He had sent many people out, but quite a few combat squads had remained to guard the base!
And now?
Almost all the combat squads guarding the base had been wiped out. Only this last squad remained.
If he didn't run, he would be the next one lying on the ground.
Having figured that out, Danzo turned and ran faster than anyone.
When Hatake Sakumo saw Danzo fleeing, he grew anxious. The entire plan was in place; Danzo had to die tonight!
Of the four who had surrounded him, two had already died in battle, leaving only two. Showing no fear, they thrust their Kunai straight at him.
Driven by urgency, Hatake Sakumo went from acting like a "brute" to "neutralizing" their attacks instead.
Rather than using Armament Haki to take the thrust head-on, he caught his opponent's wrist, deftly twisted and seized his arm, then bent it back, slashing the Root ninja's own Kunai across his throat.
"Squelch..."
One strike killed him.
Against the other man, Hatake Sakumo drew White Fang from his sleeve and stabbed it straight into him.
He took out White Fang now partly because Danzo, that old bastard, had run off, and he was running pretty fast.
Secondly, Hatake Sakumo figured he had killed almost all the Root members, or Danzo wouldn't have brought only those two squads with him.
If he delayed any longer, Danzo really would get away.
Hatake Sakumo withdrew his blade and gave chase.
Danzo, like Hiruzen, was forty-nine this year and at his "half peak." But now, with the buff of being "hunted by a vicious criminal," he ran at breakneck speed.
Hatake Sakumo had started a few breaths late, leaving a considerable distance between them. That was one reason he had chosen to take out White Fang: he could use flying slashes to pursue and kill Danzo.
Super Kage Level powerhouses in the Naruto world were weaker than admirals and Four Emperors-level powerhouses in the One Piece world.
The powerful fighters in the Naruto world were those with Six Paths Level combat strength, along with Quasi-Six Paths Level fighters like Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju. Those below these levels couldn't compare to the top powerhouses in the One Piece world.
Hatake Sakumo had obtained the top-tier Armament Haki of "Hawkeye" Mihawk, the "world's strongest swordsman" in the One Piece world, but he hadn't obtained Mihawk's physical abilities or swordsmanship. He couldn't send a flying slash a hundred meters.
Hatake Sakumo's slashes could travel a little over ten meters at most.
And so, Sakumo chased desperately from behind while Danzo ran for his life.
Fortunately, Sakumo was stronger and younger. Even with Danzo's "running for his life, too slow means death" bonus, Sakumo gradually caught up.
When the distance closed to fifteen meters, Hatake Sakumo raised his hand and sent a flying slash wrapped in inky blackness cutting through the air.
Danzo ran for his life, not daring to look back for fear it would slow him down.
But just then, cold sweat suddenly broke out across his back, and his scalp tingled.
Get down! Or you'll die!
That instinct had saved his life too many times.
Back then, he, his teacher Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen, and the others had been surrounded by Kumogakure.
His teacher had asked who would stay behind to cover their retreat. He had wanted to volunteer, but that premonition of death had warned him: Don't. You really will die.
In the end, he had chosen to back down.
To his surprise, Monkey... or rather, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had been the first to step forward.
Then Tobirama Senju had looked pleased and named Hiruzen Sarutobi the Third Hokage on the spot.
That incident had always been a thorn in Shimura Danzō's heart.
If he had stepped forward then, his teacher surely would have approved of him and made him the Third Hokage.
The thought went through Danzo's mind, only for him to push it back down.
I'm running for my life. Don't let my thoughts wander.
But Danzo had never considered that if he really had been the first to step forward, Tobirama Senju really would have sent him to his death, to hold off the enemy forces.
Was it possible that Tobirama Senju had named Hiruzen Sarutobi the Third Hokage precisely because he was the one who stepped forward, using the opportunity to keep him from going to his death?
Who was Tobirama Senju?
He was an unparalleled military strategist!
How could such a man hand over the position of Hokage based on a single question: "Who dares stay behind?"
The test had begun from the very start.
He had already made his choice of Hokage in his heart.
Asking "Who will stay behind?" had merely been a pretext. When Hiruzen stepped forward, he took the opportunity to promise him the Hokage Position, protecting the disciple he had long favored and keeping him from going to his death.
Shimura Danzō, who had grown into a cunning Konoha schemer with calculation etched into his bones, never understood any of this in his entire life.
He thought he had lost because he lacked courage. In truth, he had never been part of that test at all.
Once again trusting his instincts, Danzo dropped flat on the ground.
"Swoosh..."
A slash coated in inky blackness flew over his head, its sharp edge cutting through the wall like paper.
Danzo lay on the ground, cold sweat running down his temples. That sharp slash had nearly cut him in two.
He had almost pissed himself in fright.
Behind him, Hatake Sakumo's eyes went wide beneath his mask.
That bastard dodged even that?
Does he have eyes in the back of his head?
Hatake Sakumo knew that almost all the members in the Root Base were dead now. Only he and Danzo were left.
With no outsiders around, Sakumo stopped pretending.
"Shimura Danzō," he said, undisguised mockery in his voice, "you bastard, you're pretty nimble."