"Are you… a monster?!"
The female Root's expression beneath her mask was full of shock, her voice trembling.
Uchiha Raizen's cold face showed a mocking smile:
"In this twisted ninja world, only monsters can survive. You've spent years killing in the dark—don't you understand such a simple truth?"
The two Root members shivered.
Uchiha Raizen sneered even more, then threw the male Root in his hand, who crashed into several trees, breaking them.
He then took out a scroll he bought earlier at a ninja tool shop. In the middle of the scroll was the character "棒" (meaning "club" or "stick").
Bang~
After a burst of smoke, a thick, spiked mace appeared in his hand.
At the same time,
His body fully transformed into a beast form, even growing taller to about two meters.
Blue dragon scales covered him, reflecting a chilling, terrifying light under the sunlight.
A fierce aura spread from Uchiha Raizen. His golden dragon-like eyes looked at the two Root, who were already shocked beyond words.
He grinned and said, "If Danzo chose you, you must be more than just this. Come on, use your full strength to entertain me!"
The male Root was strong. Though coughing blood, he stood up from the ground. He exchanged a glance with his partner, nodded slightly, and immediately moved.
The female Root jumped into the air, pulling out a huge shuriken. Using her momentum, she swung it toward Uchiha Raizen.
"Shuriken Manipulation Technique!"
The male Root quickly formed hand signs, pressing both hands on the ground:
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
As expected of Root's elite ninjas, the two worked together smoothly—one attacking from the air, the other holding him down from the ground.
But unfortunately, this level of ninjutsu was nothing more than a joke to Uchiha Raizen, who had dragon scale defense.
He didn't even activate his Sharingan. He ignored the sharp rock spikes that suddenly rose beneath his feet, and also the huge shuriken flying straight at him.
Clang clang~
The earth-style rock spikes broke apart as they couldn't pierce through the dragon scales.
The giant shuriken rubbed against the dragon scales, sparking small electric flashes that made Uchiha Raizen's skin itch—just like being bitten by mosquitoes.
"This… how is this possible!"
The two Root members couldn't believe their eyes. Their ninjutsu had no effect at all.
"It's my turn."
Uchiha Raizen stomped the ground fiercely, smashing the rocks beneath him with the strength of a wild beast. He leapt into the air and instantly appeared above the female Root.
Without mercy, he slammed his spiked club down.
"No!"
The female Root panicked, quickly pulling out a kunai to block.
It was a death wish—how could a small kunai stop a thick spiked club?
Without any surprise, Uchiha Raizen smashed her kunai and mask with one blow. The powerful force sent her crashing into the ground. Her fate was unknown.
The male Root on the other side was almost speechless, his eyes full of horror. Inside, he shouted:
"This guy isn't an ordinary Uchiha. No, he's an Uchiha we've never seen before! I must report to Danzo-sama!"
The next moment.
He turned and ran, not even sparing a glance for his companion's fate.
Uchiha Raizen's eyes were ice-cold.
Now that he had taken on this form, how could he possibly let either of them escape?
He swung the spiked club in his hands. From the dragon-shaped curse mark on his chest, power surged out continuously. A bolt of lightning suddenly fell from the sky, striking the club.
"Even though I haven't trained in Haki like they do in the world of pirates, with enough power and the boost of lightning, I should be able to use that move too."
Gripping the club tightly with both hands, the lightning that had just struck began to wrap around the weapon, coating it in a strange purple-black glow.
Uchiha Raizen let out a low shout:
"Raimei Hakkei!!" (Thunderclap Eight Trigrams)
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The thunder roared louder and louder, as if even the heavens were responding to it.
The male Root who was desperately fleeing felt his heart jolt from the thunderclap. Reflexively, he glanced up at the sky—only to witness a scene that would be etched into his mind forever.
A towering man, his entire body covered in dragon scales, descended with a terrifying aura, wielding lightning itself—swinging his club in a devastating arc!
The sheer terror of that swing... the Root couldn't even begin to describe it.
He only knew one thing—there was no way he would survive it.
At the brink of death, one thought surfaced in his mind:
"Since when did Konoha have this kind of taijutsu? Or is this some kind of Lightning Release Chakra Mode technique?"
He would never learn the answer.
The ground trembled violently.
Uchiha Raizen released his cursed mark state and returned to his normal form, breathing slightly heavily.
It was his first time fighting with the full power of the Azure Dragon Cursed Seal, and he had to admit—it felt pretty good.
The only thing he was dissatisfied with was the final move, "Thunder Roaring Eight Trigrams."
At best, it had the power of a "Thunder Roaring Four Trigrams."
But there was nothing he could do about that. After all, he didn't have Kaido-sensei to personally teach him, nor did he have the boost from Haki.
In the end, it was just a borrowed shell of a technique.
Thanks to the Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon's powerful regenerative ability, Uchiha Raizen's stamina recovered quickly.
He put away his spiked club, straightened his clothes, and used a Fire Style jutsu to burn the bodies of the two Root ninjas, erasing all traces.
After cleaning up the surrounding area to remove any sign of himself, Uchiha Raizen knew it wasn't safe to stay here. He decided to find another place to continue his training.
About two hours after he left, Danzo arrived at the scene with a few Root members.
Looking at the destruction of the forest and the ground, Danzo narrowed his eyes, his expression growing dark.
"Lord Danzo," one of his subordinates, skilled in sensory techniques, reported, "Judging from the residual chakra, the two who died were members of Root."
Danzo asked coldly, "And the killer?"
"The killer was very careful. No traceable clues were left behind."
"I see."
Danzo's face turned colder.
"They were assigned to monitor the Uchiha district. Who else could the killer be besides an Uchiha? Hmph. The Uchiha clan is inherently evil. Even with Shisui gone, their rebellious ambitions haven't died."
"What a shame… If only I had gotten my hands on the second eye…"
Danzo must take at least half the blame for Shisui's death.
Originally, to stop the coup, Shisui planned to use Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku Uchiha, forcing a change in the Uchiha clan's will.
But Danzo didn't trust Shisui at all. He coveted the power of Kotoamatsukami and secretly attacked, stealing one of Shisui's eyes.
Because of that, Shisui had no choice but to kill himself.
Now, the one who inherited Shisui's will is Itachi Uchiha.
To Danzo, Itachi is even harder to control and more dangerous than Shisui.
If he could, he would take Itachi's eyes too.
His right hand, wrapped in bandages and sealed for years, still hasn't collected ten Sharingan eyes.
Danzo's eyes flashed with a sinister look as if recalling something.
"The Uchiha clan seems to care a lot about their younger brothers. Just like that woman, Sasuke will also be Itachi's weakness!"
**********
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