"Enemy incoming, everyone be careful..."
Several Root members immediately paled and entered combat stance without hesitation.
Having been raised as killing machines since childhood, encountering danger never triggered thoughts of fleeing or surrender. They simply reacted with finely honed instincts.
"Use Doton (Earth Release) and Suiton (Water Release) to delay him. Wait for Danzo-sama to arrive and support us..."
The squad leader of the Root group spoke coldly.
Despite the coldness in his voice, their hands moved swiftly. Three shinobi began weaving hand seals, and the first two unleashed Doton techniques:
"Doton: Doryūheki!" (Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall)
"Doton: Tenkaigai!" (Earth Release: Heaven's Falling Cover)
With a rumble from the earth, thick walls of soil rose around them, tightly enclosing and shielding two Root ninjas inside.
Then, from above, a lid-like stone disk descended from the sky, covering the gap above the walls—forming a short-term fortress.
The third Root shinobi, left outside, spoke indifferently:
"Suiton: Suirō Same Ori!" (Water Release: Syrup Capture Field)
He spewed a glue-like liquid that coated the exterior of the earth walls, attempting to reinforce the seal and protect those within.
"Sacrificing one to protect two... As expected of Root. These shinobi are brainwashed so thoroughly, they've even lost their basic survival instincts."
Naruto praised, though there was no pity in his eyes. His hands took the shape of finger guns as he spoke coldly:
"Engan! (Flamethrower Pistols)!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...
The sound of firing rang out, but instead of bullets, it was dozens of flame projectiles, each the size of a bullet, fired from Naruto's hands.
They were pure fire, yet each blast was formidable.
The barrage struck the Root ninja, his body shuddering violently as he was driven backward, slamming against the earth wall.
Seconds later, the Root shinobi slumped to the ground, lifeless. The fire projectiles had cauterized his body from the inside, leaving not even a drop of blood.
"Danzo-sama will surely notice the disturbance here soon..."
"We just need to hold out for a few more minutes..."
Within the earth walls, the two Root shinobi remained cold and indifferent, utterly unconcerned by the death of their comrade.
To them, life—whether theirs or others'—was meaningless. Only the mission mattered. Even if they all died for it, they wouldn't bat an eye.
But as they waited, their eyes suddenly widened in disbelief, staring at the wall before them—being slowly pushed open.
"No way! That's a Doton technique! I didn't leave a backdoor!"
"Damn it... It's the Sharingan...!"
At that moment, still cleaning up the battlefield in the Uchiha compound, Danzo's expression darkened as he suddenly turned his head.
He had a bad feeling—one of the Root operatives who had taken Sharingan eyes was being targeted.
He rushed back in haste, but he was still too late. When he finally arrived, his expression froze in rage.
Inside the broken stone dome were two corpses nailed to the walls, a burning flaming spear driven through their chests.
On the wall, black characters burned into the stone:
"Danzo, you idiot. You sent only two Tokubetsu Jōnin to transport something this valuable. Are you stupid?"
"Pfft...!"
Danzo coughed up blood from sheer rage.
He never imagined that, after the battle ended and the area was cleared, someone would dare to launch a surprise attack—stealing from right under his nose.
This was Konoha. His territory!
"Sharingan... Where are my Sharingan!!?"
Danzo's twisted face was even more terrifying than his subordinates'. His fury was palpable.
He roared into the sky.
In the massacre of the Uchiha, Danzo had harvested over a hundred three-tomoe Sharingan, but Akatsuki had taken most of them.
He only had a small portion left.
And now, even that was gone.
Without the Sharingan, how was he supposed to conduct his research or develop implants?
"Who did this!? Who the hell did this!? I'll kill you! I'll tear you apart!!!"
Danzo's voice echoed with bloodlust, his hatred carving deep into his bones.
In this operation alone, Root had lost more than a dozen Tokubetsu Jōnin.
...
Such losses were heavy, even for Root.
Danzo had hoped to replenish his strength with the remaining Sharingan—but most were taken by Akatsuki, and now the rest were gone too.
This was the definition of "trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice."
Soon, Root began investigating. From the corpses, they extracted memories.
As the report was presented, Danzo's face contorted in wrath once more.
"Akatsuki... Namikaze Menma... After all the losses I've suffered, you dare leave me with nothing!?"
"I'll kill all of you!!!"
Just then, behind Danzo, a translucent portal in the air opened silently.
From it, Naruto emerged, upper body revealed, a cold grin on his face:
"Who did you say you were gonna kill?"
At the same time, both his hands became black flashes, slicing through the air toward Danzo's eyes.
Everything happened too fast.
By the time Danzo reacted, it was already too late.
He felt sharp pain in his eye sockets—the boy's hands were reaching in, clawing for his eyes.
Danzo's body trembled; his instincts screamed danger.
"Damn it—!"
Shlick!
A spray of blood.
Naruto had thrust both hands into Danzo's face and forcibly gouged out his two eyes.
Naruto's lips curled into a smirk.
Just as he was about to leave—
He blinked in confusion.
The two Sharingan eyes in his hand... had vanished.
He looked down—gone.
Instinctively, Naruto turned back to Danzo.
The old man's body was now shrouded in a faint white mist and vanished before his eyes.
Everyone present was dumbstruck.
Moments later, Danzo's completely uninjured body reappeared a short distance away.
Naruto's pupils shrank. He instantly recognized the technique.
"This is... Izanagi!"
(End of Chapter)
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