61-65

Chapter 61: Hunting Danzo! 

Just as Inoichi Yamanaka was about to call his clan members over to handle things, two figures suddenly burst into the Yamanaka clan's compound, blocking his path. 

"...Root?!" 

The Root shinobi's masks were pretty distinct, so Inoichi recognized the bizarre pattern right away. He furrowed his brow, instantly on guard. 

"What's Root doing here uninvited?" Inoichi asked, his face expressionless. He really didn't want any ties with Root, knowing full well about that guy Danzo's ambition for the Hokage seat. Danzo wanting to be Hokage was like the Uchiha clan wanting to stage a coup—it was an "open secret" that most people could guess. 

The Yamanaka clan, after all, always stood with the Hokage. So naturally, they felt a bit resistant toward Danzo, who was clearly trying to usurp power. Of course, Inoichi also wanted to keep his distance from the Uchiha clan and their coup plans. The problem was, Akainu Uchiha kept having the Anbu bring bodies over, so even if Inoichi wanted to stay away, he couldn't help but interact with them for the autopsies. 

At that moment, the Root shinobi on the left spoke in a cold tone: "Inoichi-sama, these eight bodies belong to Root shinobi. The Yamanaka clan has no right to delve into the secrets within their minds." 

The Root shinobi on the right added, "You are not to touch these bodies. Our people will come to take them away." 

Inoichi's pupils subtly contracted. Eight bodies, all Root shinobi? Had Akainu Uchiha clashed with Konoha's Root again? 

"Alright," he simply said. 

Since Danzo was willing to clean up this mess, Inoichi was more than happy to avoid any extra trouble. 

A Fateful Night 

Before long, many more Root shinobi arrived at the Yamanaka clan's compound. Inoichi even noticed that the leader was none other than Danzo Shimura himself! 

Danzo stood beside Inoichi, quietly gazing at the eight bodies covered with white sheets. As a night breeze gently swept through, lifting the white sheet from one of the faces and revealing a somewhat familiar visage to Danzo... 

Danzo took a deep breath. 

"A-KA-I-NU" His knuckles were white from clenching his fists, and Akainu Uchiha's name was practically ground out from between Danzo's teeth. 

Standing nearby, Inoichi could clearly feel the immense rage brewing within the Konoha elder. Inoichi also noticed Danzo suddenly turned and glared at him. 

Inoichi: "???" 

"I haven't even started examining their memories yet," Inoichi muttered, feeling unfairly targeted. His explanation came out quite coldly due to his annoyance. As he spoke, Inoichi unconsciously glanced at Danzo's left ear, noticing it was missing. 

Danzo gave Inoichi a deep look. Once he replaced the 'monkey' (Hiruzen), every single member of the Yamanaka clan would be marked with the Tongue Sealing Curse Seal. Only then could he truly feel somewhat at ease about them. They knew far too much! Of course, Danzo just filtered these thoughts in his mind. 

Watching his Root shinobi successively hoist the bodies, he then strode directly out of the Yamanaka clan's compound. But just then, Danzo suddenly realized something was off. 

"Wait!" 

Danzo frowned, immediately calling out to his subordinates who were about to carry the bodies back to the Root base. His sharp gaze swept around in all directions. Seeing Danzo's demeanor, the Root shinobi also grew wary. 

Tap... tap... tap... 

The faint footsteps, growing closer, instantly drew Danzo and his men's attention to the dense, dark night ahead. The Root shinobi immediately dropped the bodies, drawing their ninja blades from their waists and surrounding Danzo. 

As the source of the footsteps gradually emerged from the pitch-black night, and their face dimly appeared in the moonlight, Danzo's expression instantly turned grim. He gritted his teeth, shouting the name of the approaching figure. 

"AKAINU!!!" 

A Daughter's Fright, A Father's Resolve 

"Dad, what's all that noise outside...?" Little Ino, clad in adorable pajamas and clutching a stuffed animal, rubbed her eyes as she padded barefoot from her bedroom. 

Inoichi had initially been shocked by Danzo's sudden, almost hysterical shout of "Akainu Uchiha" from outside. But when he saw his daughter woken up and coming out, he immediately understood what was happening outside. 

"Ino, get back to your room right away! No, go directly into the clan compound's underground secret passage!" Inoichi said, his face grim. "No matter what you hear, do not come out!" 

"...Huh?" Ino hadn't quite registered what was going on. 

But Inoichi sternly reprimanded her: "Go, now!" 

Ino flinched, startled. Her father's strict scolding made tears well up in her eyes, but she dared not ask any more questions and quickly ran off to the underground passage. 

"Phew..." 

Watching his daughter's quick departure, Inoichi let out half a sigh of relief, then nervously looked back outside the compound. 

"...What a troublesome night!" If he wasn't mistaken, Akainu Uchiha must have guessed that Danzo would bring his Root shinobi to the Yamanaka compound to retrieve the bodies. And what Akainu Uchiha did was simply wait outside the Yamanaka compound, patiently waiting for Danzo to come to him! 

He was hunting Danzo Shimura!!! 

Inoichi knew that Danzo had previously clashed with Akainu Uchiha. The Hokage himself had intervened to stop that conflict. 

"Perhaps... in Akainu Uchiha's 'Absolute Justice,' everyone in Root needs to be purged? This isn't good. I need to inform the Hokage right away." 

Inoichi was in a world of pain. 

The Trap is Sprung 

Danzo's face was as dark as stagnant water, and he felt the already healed wound on his left ear subtly throbbing again. He remembered clearly... 

It was Akainu Uchiha who had exposed his secrets to the 'monkey' (Hiruzen), causing him to lose several three-tomoe Sharingan and even forcing him to hand over some Sharingan data to the Hokage. 

"You inherently evil Uchiha brat! After what happened last time, you actually dare to appear alone before this old man? Just because you have Lava Release, you think you're invincible? Your Uchiha clan's innate arrogance truly displeases this old man!" 

Danzo's sinister eyes blazed with killing intent, and as he spoke, his Root shinobi around him began to stir, eager for action. 

Akainu Uchiha's gaze met Danzo's in mid-air. 

"I've been waiting for you for over two hours, Danzo-'sama'." 

Akainu Uchiha's indifferent tone made Danzo laugh in a fit of rage. 

Danzo asked darkly, "Are you deliberately luring this old man into a trap?" 

Akainu Uchiha's fingertips were dripping with molten lava, its orange-red glow faintly illuminating half of his profile. 

Akainu Uchiha chillingly replied, "How else was I supposed to drag a filthy rat like you out of Konoha's sewers?" 

Crack! Several fissures appeared on the ground beneath Danzo's feet. Even though he knew Hiruzen Sarutobi had warned him not to engage in another physical confrontation with Akainu Uchiha, Danzo knew even more clearly that if he didn't kill an Uchiha with such extreme, evil tendencies... 

Konoha would never know peace again! And Danzo himself wouldn't be able to sleep a wink! 

"Kill him!!!" 

He roared. 

Chapter 62: If They Don't Get Over Here Soon, It's All Going to Be Leveled! 

The moment Yamanaka Inoichi dashed out, ready to inform the Third Hokage, he saw eight Anbu Root ninja, brought by Danzo, simultaneously charging at the lone Uchiha Akainu. 

Four of the Root ninja positioned themselves strategically, cornering Uchiha Akainu. They quickly performed hand signs, unleashing a sealing jutsu that was completely unknown to Inoichi. Suddenly, from each of the four corners, eerie, green beams of light shot skyward, stopping only after reaching about fifteen meters high. These beams then stretched out, forming interconnected curtains of light to the front, back, left, and right, along with curtains above and below, sealing off the top and ground. It created a rather large, unsettling green chakra cube, trapping Uchiha Akainu inside. 

The other four Root ninja, meanwhile, moved in with their ninja blades. Their blades were clearly infused with Wind Release chakra. A flurry of almost invisible slashes enveloped Uchiha Akainu's vision. Even though the blades themselves didn't directly connect, the chakra-infused wind blades left one gruesome "wound" after another on Akainu's body. 

Then, one of the Root ninja spotted an opening and, with a swift strike, severed Akainu's right arm, sending it flying high into the air. 

"Now's our chance!" another Root ninja exclaimed, pulling a sealing scroll from his waist. He rapidly unfurled it, bit his thumb, and slammed his palm onto the scroll, muttering, "Ninja Art: Evil Sealing Method!!!" 

A terrifying suction force emanated from the scroll, pulling the severed arm into it and sealing it away. The remaining Root ninja immediately leaped backward, putting distance between themselves and Uchiha Akainu. This "hit and run" tactic was executed with incredible coordination, as if they'd practiced it countless times. 

"Heh heh..." Danzo, also caught within the chakra cube's sealing space, smirked mockingly. "That unique Lava Release Kekkei Genkai of yours, like a water-style transformation, I've already experienced it firsthand. Since ordinary physical attacks don't do much against you, we'll just cut your body into pieces and seal them separately." 

This was one of the tactics Danzo had been thinking about for days to deal with Uchiha Akainu. Seeing Akainu's missing right arm, Danzo's sneer deepened. 

However, Danzo noticed that Uchiha Akainu seemed to have no reaction. But in the next second, Danzo and the other Root ninja's eyes narrowed. They watched as Akainu's severed right arm actually began to slowly squirm! The magma at his shoulder constantly extended until it reached the length of an arm, then gradually coalesced into the shape of a limb. When the flowing magma subsided, a perfectly intact right arm appeared on Uchiha Akainu's body! 

Danzo was stunned. 

"During the Third Great Ninja War, there were already ninja from other villages who tried to seal me using similar methods," Uchiha Akainu said, slowly stepping forward. His voice was eerily calm as he asked, "What strange confidence makes you think you're the 'originator' of this method? And what naive idea makes you believe the person trapped by this cube sealing jutsu is me?" 

The moment his words ended, Danzo distinctly felt the surrounding temperature rapidly soaring! He could clearly see half of Uchiha Akainu's body transform into a churning, intensely hot magma! 

Suddenly, the flowing magma swelled like the rapidly proliferating tumors of a monstrous creature from a fantasy novel. In less than half a breath, the cube sealing jutsu was already half-filled with magma. Danzo's pupils constricted; his back was pressed tightly against the light curtain wall of the sealing jutsu, but he couldn't retreat another step. 

An alarm blared in Danzo's mind. Without time to think, he immediately shouted to the Root ninja in the four corners, "Cancel the sealing jutsu!" 

Just as the magma approached mere inches, the sealing jutsu was finally released. A still-shaken Danzo quickly retreated backward. 

Boom! 

The constantly expanding, scorching magma exploded violently, surging outwards in all directions. But just as it was about to engulf the buildings on the entire street, it suddenly froze. As if pulled by an invisible force, the magma rapidly contracted back towards the center. The massive amount of magma that retracted into Uchiha Akainu's body didn't cause him to explode. He could infinitely create magma using chakra, and he could also recycle magma back into chakra. 

Thump! 

Uchiha Akainu clapped his hands together: "Lava Release..." 

Danzo, still feeling the lingering fear, felt the ground beneath him tremble slightly. He was shocked to find cracks appearing beneath Akainu's feet, radiating a crimson glow. 

"...Blazing Eruption Technique!" 

BOOM!!! 

The ground beneath Uchiha Akainu shattered instantly, and a massive magma dragon head burst forth from the earth, its terrifying maw snapping towards Danzo! 

"Damn it!" Danzo cursed under his breath. He wondered why, even with all these subordinates, this evil Uchiha kid was only fixated on him. 

"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!!!" Six Root ninja simultaneously arrived in front of Danzo. Four of them quickly formed hand signs. The other two simultaneously slammed their palms onto the ground: "Summoning Jutsu!" 

Four noticeably smaller water dragons clashed violently with the giant magma dragon head in the air just in front of Danzo! 

Bang! Bang! 

Two enormous, turtle-like summoning beasts, not small in stature, suddenly appeared. Each opened its massive mouth, and two streams of pressurized water spewed forth from their maws. 

Danzo, with a grim expression, realized that he inexplicably only had six people left on his side. Two of his subordinates had vanished without a trace. They were probably engulfed by the magma when trying to release the cube sealing jutsu, not having enough time to pull back. 

"Two useless fools!" Danzo bit his thumb, his gaze dark as he stared at Uchiha Akainu. "Summoning Jutsu!" 

"...Seems like there was absolutely no need to come here after all," Yamanaka Inoichi mused. Even though he had rushed at full speed to the front of the Sarutobi clan compound, he distinctly felt immense commotion coming from behind him. When he hastily looked back, he could see, in the faint moonlight, a giant magma dragon and several water dragons intertwined and clashing in the sky. The fierce roar was like hundreds of exploding paper bombs going off at once. 

Everyone in Konoha was startled awake. 

Inoichi could also vaguely make out two giant turtles standing taller than the surrounding buildings, and even a "Baku" (Dream Eater) appearing out of thin air, even larger than the giant turtles! Inoichi didn't know whose summoning beasts the two giant turtles were, but he knew that "Baku" belonged to Danzo Shimura! 

Has it already reached such a heated stage so quickly? What about his clan members... and his wife and daughter...? 

Suddenly, several figures leaped out of the Sarutobi clan compound. The leading figure caught sight of Inoichi standing at the gate. Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had quickly changed into his ninja battle attire and had a very grim expression, suddenly paused. 

"Inoichi? What are you doing here?!" 

Inoichi didn't explain. He simply managed to squeeze out a single sentence: "Hokage-sama, if you don't get over there soon, the Yamanaka clan compound might be leveled to the ground." 

"Chapter 63: Konoha's Volcanic Bombs!  

A Clash of Titans: Dream Eater vs. Lava Style! 

The colossal summoned beast, Baku (Dream Eater), appeared in a flash, instantly unleashing a howling gale that swept outwards. The sheer force of the wind was enough to make the six Root ninja in front of Danzo struggle to keep their footing as sand and dust swirled around them. 

Baku lifted its massive head, its gaze fixed on the colliding lava dragon and water ninjutsu in the sky. It opened its enormous mouth, and an even more violent hurricane began to churn within, forming a visible, semi-transparent wind sphere about twenty meters in diameter. 

With a powerful expulsion, the wind sphere blasted forth, shattering both the lava dragon and the six Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu! The swirling winds moved like a typhoon, bending trees within hundreds of meters and sending leaves flying from trees even a kilometer away. 

Danzo had already leaped onto Baku's head, his robes flapping wildly in the wind, yet he stood unyieldingly. With a stoic expression, he formed hand signs and took a deep breath. 

"Wind Style..." 

Baku opened its mouth again, drawing in a massive amount of air. 

"...Wind Cutter Jutsu!!!" 

Danzo and Baku unleashed their Wind Style ninjutsu almost simultaneously. Two semi-transparent wind blades, one large and one small, tore through the air and sped towards Uchiha Akainu! Where the edges of the wind blades barely brushed the ground, two deep trenches were instantly carved out! 

"If I can't seal a part of your body, then I'll shatter your entire being and seal all of you away. I refuse to believe you'll remain unharmed after this!" Danzo's eyes gleamed with killing intent. He was convinced that Uchiha Akainu's Lava Style had its limits. After all, how could a person become an immortal monster simply because of some so-called Lava Release Bloodline Limit? 

The six Root ninja also acted decisively. Wind Style, Water Style, Earth Style... various ninjutsu that the Root ninja believed could suppress Lava Style were unleashed all at once, rushing towards Uchiha Akainu. 

Hokage's Fury and Uchiha's Concern 

"Baku... Danzo..." Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression grew grim as he swiftly moved towards the source of the commotion. Summoning such a dangerous beast within the village walls... did that Danzo fellow have any regard for him as the Hokage? Did he have any regard for innocent lives? 

"Inoichi, what exactly is going on?" Hiruzen asked Yamanaka Inoichi, who was rushing alongside him. 

Inoichi replied with a bitter smile, "Hokage-sama, I'm not sure what the conflict is between Danzo-sama and Akainu. They just happened to meet outside our Yamanaka clan's compound. Before I could even react, they were already clashing." Hiruzen felt a headache coming on. 

Within the Uchiha clan compound, Fugaku stared intently at the distant scene. "Baku..." he muttered. "Lava..." He realized that Akainu and Danzo were likely in another armed conflict. Last time, Akainu had killed two Root ninja and exposed Danzo's secrets regarding the Sharingan, making Fugaku deeply resentful and wary of the elder. After all, this was a Konoha elder who coveted the Sharingan intensely, even transplanting numerous Sharingan onto himself without the Uchiha clan's permission. 

When he heard footsteps beside him, Fugaku didn't need to turn to know it was his wife. He asked, "Has Sasuke woken up yet?" 

Uchiha Mikoto shook her head. "The child is still unconscious." 

Fugaku took a deep breath and made a decision. "You stay here and take care of him. I'll go see what's happening over there." 

Akainu Unleashes Volcanic Power 

Through the Three Tomoe Sharingan in Uchiha Akainu's eyes, the trajectories of both the large and small "Wind Cutter Jutsu" were fully observed. He deftly sidestepped the "Wind Cutter Jutsu" at an incredibly tricky angle, the semi-transparent wind blade passing less than ten centimeters from his body. As the incredibly powerful Wind Style ninjutsu swept past, ripples appeared on the surface of his flowing lava skin. 

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!! 

Behind Uchiha Akainu, the Yamanaka clan compound was literally cut into three sections by the two wind blades! Numerous buildings were caught in the destructive path. 

"Lava Style..." 

"Great Eruption." 

Facing the ninjutsu from the six Root ninja, Uchiha Akainu's right arm surged and expanded with lava. When he threw a punch forward, his right arm had transformed into an exaggerated and terrifying lava giant fist! All other ninjutsu seemed like mere flimsy objects before this lava fist. With a fierce impact, like a volcanic eruption, it obliterated all incoming ninjutsu! 

The splashing lava transformed into numerous incredibly powerful volcanic bombs! They seemed to fall without a set pattern, yet they subtly aimed directly for the six Root ninja, Danzo and Baku, and the two giant turtle summoning beasts! 

One of the giant turtle summoning beasts couldn't dodge in time. A volcanic bomb, easily over a meter in diameter, struck its shell. It initially wasn't particularly concerned, believing its shell, which could defend against many ordinary ninjutsu, would withstand the attack. But the next second, the giant turtle's eyes widened sharply. 

BOOM!!! 

The volcanic bomb instantly pierced through the thick shell, the scorching lava melting the shell and fiercely burrowing into its flesh. Most of its internal organs were cooked by the lava in an instant. Intense pain assaulted the giant turtle's consciousness, rendering it unable to react even when it finally thought to avoid the volcanic bombs. 

BOOM!!! 

Another volcanic bomb accurately hit its head. The giant turtle summoning beast didn't even have time to whimper before a massive hole appeared on its head! Its strong limbs completely lost all strength. It collapsed helplessly to the ground. 

The second giant turtle summoning beast, seeing this, frantically spewed out large columns of water, attempting to block the volcanic bombs falling towards it. However, it was still struck in the tail by a volcanic bomb, its entire tail "erased" and vaporized by the extreme heat, leaving not even bones behind. The intense pain caused it to shriek relentlessly. A puff of white smoke rose, and the last giant turtle summoning beast unilaterally canceled its summoning jutsu, choosing to flee! 

Uchiha Akainu's crimson gaze quickly swept over, meeting the eyes of a Root ninja whose astonishment was visible even beneath his mask. 

"...Damn it!" 

The Root ninja's heart pounded, his pupils constricting. He quickly formed hand signs, trying to dispel a Sharingan genjutsu, whether it existed or not. But then he looked up to see volcanic bombs raining down from the sky. He couldn't tell which were real and which were illusions. He didn't even know which way to dodge. 

BOOM!!! 

A volcanic bomb landed about three meters behind him. The ground shattered, sending a large rock flying, which struck him heavily on the back of his head. Splashes of hot lava from behind him acted like scattershot, easily piercing into his body. 

The Root ninja's body convulsed and trembled before he collapsed face-first onto the ground. Over a dozen visible charred holes dotted his body, small flames still flickering around their edges. 

The remaining Root ninja could only use various methods, either countering the terrifying volcanic bombs with their signature ninjutsu or hastily leaping onto nearby civilian houses. They had realized that while these volcanic bombs didn't deliberately avoid civilian homes, most were concentrated on relatively open ground. 

Even so, one Root ninja failed to evade and was completely engulfed by a volcanic bomb, leaving nothing but a tragic end! 

Chapter 64: Obito Uchiha 

Danzo probably thought he was being extreme, using powerful jutsu right in the Hidden Leaf Village, not caring about civilian casualties or structural damage. But then he ran into someone even more extreme. 

He couldn't even imagine the destruction if an uncontrolled, massive barrage of volcanic magma bombs rained down from the sky! 

However, Danzo knew one thing for sure: neither he nor his summoned beast could afford to get hit by that magma! He'd already experienced the horror of magma firsthand days ago. 

"Wind Style: Vacuum Consecutive Spheres!!!" 

Danzo took a deep breath, inhaling the thick, sulfurous air. Below him, his summoned baku, Baku, lifted its head and opened its massive maw. 

Puff puff puff puff puff— 

A flurry of wind bullets shot out, so numerous they seemed to challenge the incoming volcanic bombs from the sky. They clashed violently in mid-air. 

But just then, Danzo's peripheral vision caught sight of something alarming: Uchiha Akainu had mysteriously vanished! 

This is bad! 

Danzo's gaze darted around frantically, worried Akainu would seize the opportunity to get dangerously close. 

This time, however, Danzo was overthinking it. Uchiha Akainu's priority was to deal with those annoying "little flies" first. 

An orange-red hand, oozing with molten magma and radiating terrifying heat, had, at some point, seized a Root ninja's face. 

The Root mask instantly melted away, and the magma hand branded itself deeply onto the ninja's face like a searing iron. 

"Aaaahhhhhh—" 

Amidst the agonizing screams, Uchiha Akainu didn't even need to press hard. The Root ninja's face simply caved in like melting butter, nearly half of it collapsing. 

Until the screams finally stopped. 

Life completely extinguished. 

"A vulnerability!!!" As Danzo and Baku worked together to fend off the incoming volcanic bombs, one Root ninja gritted his teeth, risking everything to get behind Uchiha Akainu. 

He ripped open his ninja flak jacket, tore away his undershirt, bit his thumb, and drew a line across his abdomen. 

Immediately, strange, intertwining black sealing jutsu patterns rapidly emerged on his stomach. The sealing jutsu quickly drained his chakra, causing the Root ninja's muscles to visibly shrivel and wither. 

"Ninja Art: Puppet Binding Seal!!!" 

Whoosh— 

The black sealing jutsu patterns on his abdomen actually transformed into three black chains, shooting through the air towards Uchiha Akainu's back. 

Thud! Thud! Thud! 

The chains instantly pierced Akainu's body. Though no blood flowed from his form, the chains spread eerie patterns, gradually covering his magma-flowing skin. 

From the perspective of the Root ninja, whose body had withered to skin and bones, Uchiha Akainu seemed to struggle against the chains' restraints but couldn't break free no matter what. 

"Hmph…" 

Severely drained of chakra, the pale-faced Root ninja let out a cold laugh. "This is from the Uzumaki clan…" 

"What are you doing?! He's behind you!!!" A sudden shout made the Root ninja freeze. 

Before he could react further, he felt someone pull out the ninja blade tucked at his waist from behind him. 

Slish— 

A head, detached from its neck, slid to the ground. Uchiha Akainu calmly glanced at the headless corpse on the ground, then looked at the black chains impaling a patch of empty air in front of him. 

The Sharingan's genjutsu is just too overpowered. 

Especially in a life-or-death battle like this, even a single second of genjutsu is enough to decide someone's fate. 

"Meow! These guys are ganging up on Lord Akainu! Rookie, run faster! We need to go help Lord Akainu quickly!" 

Kikujiro, with a swarm of ninja cats, frantically rushed towards the Yamanaka clan compound. 

Izumi followed closely behind. 

"Kikujiro, what's that?!" Izumi asked, looking up at the distant Baku in shock while sprinting. 

Kikujiro first corrected her, "You should call me Senior Kikujiro!" 

It then quickly replied, "That's Shimura Danzo, that old dog's summoned beast. I think it's called Baku. It's a very powerful summoned beast, skilled in hand-sign-less Wind Style jutsu." 

As the lone human and the group of cats leaped and maneuvered across rooftops, suddenly, a cloaked figure on a rooftop ahead caught Izumi's and Kikujiro's attention. 

As Izumi passed by the figure, she quickly looked back, wanting to see who it was. 

But she found that the figure had suddenly vanished! 

As if they had never been there. 

As if it was just her imagination. 

"Kikujiro… Senior!" Izumi's pupils contracted slightly. She immediately called out, "Did you guys see that person just now?" 

Kikujiro's cat face was grim. "I saw them… but I didn't see how they disappeared. Meow… I think I vaguely saw them wearing a mask, a mask that only showed one eye. Never mind that for now, helping Lord Akainu is more important!" 

"Uchiha Akainu…" 

Under the night sky, barely visible ripples disturbed the air, and the cloaked figure reappeared. 

Their single exposed eye held a hint of gloom. 

"If it hadn't been for Minato-sensei back then, I probably would have died by your hand already, wouldn't I? Heh… I heard that little guy, Uchiha Itachi, went through the same thing I did." 

He muttered seemingly illogically to himself. 

"Running into you right after coming back to the Hidden Leaf, how unlucky. Should I take this chance… to kick you while you're down?" 

His gaze swept forward, and when he saw figure after figure rushing anxiously towards the Yamanaka clan compound, he sighed regretfully. 

"Never mind…" 

"Too many people." 

—BOOM!!! 

A torrent of scorching magma surged towards Baku and Danzo. Even from dozens of meters away, the extreme heat made Danzo's eyes sting and his skin itch. 

Baku inhaled deeply, then exhaled. 

Gusts of howling wind formed a solid wall, forcefully blocking the incoming magma flow. 

But Danzo sharply noticed something was off with the ground beneath Baku's feet. 

Tiny red glows appeared in the dense cracks, as if some terrifying entity was about to burst forth from the earth. 

Danzo's breath hitched. 

His pupils constricted. 

"Baku! Below!" His urgent shout made Baku's gaze shift downwards. 

The next instant, Baku's eyes reflected the glow of magma. 

—RUMBLE! 

The ground in front of Baku tore open, and a massive amount of magma erupted like a giant scythe, slashing towards Baku's head! 

Baku hastily retreated, but the magma erupted too quickly. In less than a blink of an eye, it flashed past its face. 

Danzo also watched helplessly as the red-hot, scythe-like magma suddenly swept past less than three meters in front of him! 

"Hisss-roar-roar-roar!!!" 

Danzo heard Baku's agonizing scream. When he quickly looked down, he saw that Baku's long nose and half of its face were completely gone! 

Chapter 65: Baku, Dead! 

Unspeakable pain wracked the Baku, making it shriek uncontrollably. Danzo, sensing what was happening, grimly barked, "Calm down! Don't unilaterally release the summoning jutsu! Trust me this once!" 

Danzo had, at some point, ripped off the bandages on his face, revealing a scarlet Sharingan, his gaze wildly sweeping in all directions. Once he locked onto Akainu Uchiha's figure, Danzo gritted his teeth. "Baku! You only need to hold on for two minutes! Give me two minutes, and Akainu Uchiha will be dead!" 

'Danzo... are you truly going to fight this lava monster to the bitter end?' 

A sudden voice exploded in Danzo's mind. The Baku couldn't speak normally, but it could communicate telepathically with Danzo through their summoning link. Danzo heard the Baku's heavy, panting tone. 

Danzo stared intently at Akainu Uchiha's figure not far ahead, his face grim as he ground out, "If this inherently evil Uchiha brat continues to exist in Konoha, the Uchiha clan will eventually seize control of the village!" 

He then slowly unwrapped the bandages from his arm—his Sharingan was no longer a secret to Akainu Uchiha anyway. As for the eight subordinates he'd brought to retrieve the bodies? When the Baku was heavily wounded by the lava, and before his subordinates even reacted, Danzo realized all eight of them were dead. Even if they weren't, they certainly couldn't provide support. This meant he had lost a total of sixteen Root shinobi today! All the old grudges and new ones combined made Danzo absolutely seethe with hatred for Akainu Uchiha! 

'Alright... just two minutes!' The Baku endured the intense pain on its face, choosing to trust its old human partner this one time. It glared at Akainu Uchiha, who had burned it. 

With an earth-shattering roar, the Baku opened its mouth and unleashed a colossal wind bullet, large enough to rival its own size! The Baku had no concept of "collateral damage." It was putting everything it had into this! 

The massive wind bullet surged towards Akainu Uchiha with destructive force. Where the wind bullet passed, the ground beneath was ripped apart by the gale, trees snapped, and houses collapsed. If the Konoha civilians living nearby hadn't quickly evacuated a few minutes earlier after hearing the sounds of ninja combat, they wouldn't have had time now. 

The intense gale forced Akainu Uchiha to narrow his eyes. It felt like an invisible wall was pushing him back, his feet dragging two shallow furrows in the ground. His three-tomoe Sharingan sharply caught a blurry figure being swept up and carried along by that enormous wind bullet! 

It was... Danzo! 

A Desperate Counter 

—BOOM!!! 

The colossal wind bullet had consumed Akainu Uchiha, and behind him, in the Yamanaka clan compound, houses were directly ripped from their foundations. A massive amount of building debris and fragments flew wildly in all directions. 

Akainu Uchiha's lava-flowing body seemed to be covered in explosive tags, "shattering" with a 'bang' as it was struck by the giant wind bullet! Large amounts of lava were either blown hundreds of meters into the sky, splattered in places igniting raging fires, adhered stubbornly to the ground like glue, or scattered into countless glowing specks flying through the air. 

Danzo pulled five sealing scrolls from his waist, bit his tongue, and spat a mouthful of blood onto them. 

"Ninja Art..." 

"Multiple Impure Sealing Jutsu!!!" 

Danzo suddenly clapped his hands together. The muscles in his old face twitched constantly. Behind him, the Baku's exhalation turned into an inhalation, its fierce suction no less powerful than the earlier howling wind. The scattered lava around them was being drawn together by this powerful pull. The five sealing scrolls Danzo had thrown also simultaneously emitted strong suction. They attempted to draw all the converging lava into themselves. 

Watching a mass of lava in mid-air converge into a rolling arm of molten rock, Danzo had only two thoughts: 'Is this brat a monster?! Is that body even human?!' 

But Danzo gritted his teeth. He refused to believe that five layers of sealing jutsu wouldn't be enough to seal Akainu Uchiha's entire body! 

However, the next instant, Danzo froze. 

"M-My... my arms..." Danzo's inexplicably shocked gaze slowly moved to his arms. He was horrified to see that under the moonlight, the shadows cast by the lava had materialized, binding his hands from a distance! 

—Shadow Imitation Jutsu!!! 

The name of a Nara clan secret jutsu exploded in Danzo's mind. 

The Unseen Threat 

The powerful force of the shadows binding his arms slowly forced Danzo's hands apart. The chakra continuously flowing into the sealing scrolls became severely disrupted by his movements. The sealing scrolls' suction also grew chaotic, even drawing in useless debris and fallen leaves. 

This is bad! 

If this continued, he absolutely wouldn't be able to precisely control the scrolls, let alone seal Akainu Uchiha. Danzo was startled, no longer having time to wonder why a Nara clan ninja had suddenly appeared and attacked him. He began to fear that the Sharingan transplanted into his arm would be crushed by the continuously tightening shadows! 

Danzo gritted his teeth and, with a fierce resolve, suddenly grew thick vines from his right arm. The numerous vines quickly grabbed onto the shadows binding his arms and forcibly tore them away. His expression was utterly grim, for after exposing his Sharingan secret, he had now revealed his Wood Release trump card! And both times were because of Akainu Uchiha! To think he, Danzo, had been pushed to such a point by this inherently evil Uchiha brat. 

Damn it! 

Suddenly, something else unexpected happened to Danzo. 

—The scattered lava throughout the air simply vanished from his sight without a trace! 

Danzo initially thought he was caught in a Sharingan genjutsu, but with all his three-tomoe Sharingan, he should have sensed it even if he was. 

Something's wrong... 

Where is he?! 

Did he escape?! 

Suddenly, Danzo was shocked to see the edge of one of the sealing scrolls appear strangely yellowed and charred, as if from extreme heat. 

That's right! 

If that evil Uchiha brat had escaped, why hadn't the surrounding temperature dropped at all? 

When he saw the charred sealing scroll suddenly catch fire, and the other scrolls also began to burn, Danzo finally realized what was wrong. 

He wasn't caught in a genjutsu, and Akainu Uchiha hadn't escaped; the opponent had simply used an unknown jutsu to hide his presence! 

The brat transformed into invisible but tangible lava! 

Danzo could only link it to one Kekkei Genkai—Scorch Release! 

Feeling the inexplicable scorching heat rushing towards his face, Danzo's forehead veins throbbed, and he roared internally, "Izanagi!!!" 

As the secret Sharingan jutsu activated again, he finally saw the orange-red lava fill his vision. 

But it was too late, too close. 

There was no way to dodge. 

—BOOM!!! 

Danzo's body was instantly swallowed by the lava, but under the absurd Sharingan secret jutsu that "rewrites unfavorable events," his body, vaporized by the lava, instantly reformed. 

"I won't be killed that easily by you!" 

Danzo, gritting his teeth as he spat out those words, suddenly noticed that Akainu Uchiha, who had just "killed" him, didn't continue the attack. He watched in horror as the terrifying suction of the summoned beast Baku drew the deadly lava torrent towards itself! 

Hiss! 

The Uchiha brat's true target was the Baku!!! 

Danzo's pupils constricted abruptly. But he was too late to warn it. 

The tsunami-like lava had already surged high, engulfing the massive body of the summoned beast, Baku.