The dark corridors of Root's underground facility were now oozing with blood. Beheaded corpses lay scattered like broken dolls, and heads rolled across the stone floor in silent horror.
*Bang!*
The heavy footsteps echoed as they stepped into the flowing blood, splashing crimson with each stride. The squad assigned to guard the entrance had been mercilessly slaughtered.
Uzumaki Sora calmly wiped the blood off his blade and continued deeper into the shadows of Root's hidden lair.
*Boom...*
A low mechanical grind echoed as part of the stone wall slid open, revealing a metallic door that had blended perfectly with its surroundings. From within, three people in white medical uniforms stepped out, likely startled by the commotion.
The leading man narrowed his eyes at Sora and asked curtly, "How could anyone dare to invade here? Have the intruders been neutralized?"
Sora's face, concealed beneath his cloak, tilted upward ever so slightly.
"You mean me?"
*Swish!*
Before the words could settle, three lines of red traced the air. In an instant, all three men clutched at their slit throats, eyes wide in disbelief as they collapsed. Blood sprayed onto the wall behind them in wild arcs.
Without a second glance at the corpses, Sora strode into the dimly lit laboratory.
But the sight that met his eyes made his grip tighten around the sword's hilt, and the veins in his arm bulged.
"Uchiha... Hino..."
Floating within a massive containment pod filled with greenish liquid was a grotesque figure—his body mutated with tumors and lesions, but the face was just recognizable. It was the boy who once smiled brightly in a photo, flanked by two loving parents.
Years ago, when Sora and his mother had just moved into the Uchiha district, they'd been tolerated but not welcomed. Yet one family had always been kind: the owners of a humble pancake stall. Their only son, Uchiha Hino, had shown promise. He awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan at age eleven and graduated early during the war.
Sora had grown up beside him, both mentored by kindness during difficult times.
But Uncle Tesho had told him years later that Hino had died on the battlefield. No body was ever recovered. And now...
This—this monster—was what had become of him.
*Ta…ta…*
The measured tap of a cane echoed from behind. Sora didn't turn. He already knew who it was.
*Swish, swish, swish!*
Dozens of shadows flickered around the chamber. Root operatives surrounded him in formation.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" came a hoarse voice behind him.
Danzo emerged from the shadows, wrapped in his usual bandages and cloak, his voice calm and devoid of remorse.
"The power of three-tomoe Sharingan is only a step. Uchiha Madara's eyes were different—unique. The Mangekyō Sharingan... the power of Susanoo, the giant formed by chakra's pure will... Konoha needs that strength. As it needed Senju's Wood-style."
Danzo gestured toward the monster in the container. "This one—Uchiha Hino—was promising. I nurtured him in secret. But even at his peak, his Sharingan could evolve no further. I attempted to accelerate it using Senju Hashirama's cells... but the result is what you see."
He raised his right arm slightly, the heavily bandaged limb twitching. "I've carried these secrets for years, for Konoha's sake. The fusion... failed. But I learned something vital."
Sora stood motionless. He didn't need to respond. The silence spoke more than words.
Danzo continued, "Uzumaki Sora... killing me changes nothing. But I can offer you a future. You already possess Wood-style. If you gain the Mangekyō Sharingan and work with me, I can restore the Uzumaki Clan. We'll rebuild Uzushiogakure. You'll be the new Daimyō. All I need... is your cooperation."
Sora stared at the twisted shell of Uchiha Hino.
Was this what Danzo called a future?
"Daimyō?"
His cloak rustled slightly as he lifted his head. The Mangekyō Sharingan spun in his eye sockets, its tomoe forming a deadly pattern.
"Is this the power you're talking about?"
*Swish!*
In a flash, Sora vanished.
Danzo retreated with surprising speed, but it was like rushing into the blade itself. Sora's sword erupted from Danzo's chest, piercing cleanly through.
Danzo coughed, his voice rasping. "Man...ge...kyō...?"
*Slash!*
Sora swung the blade sideways, slicing Danzo into two from the heart.
Yet before the body hit the ground, it flickered and vanished into mist.
Like an illusion.
Not far away, Danzo reappeared, breathing steadily, and said, "So it's true. You really are a perfect vessel—Uzumaki's vitality, Senju's cells, and now Uchiha's eyes. I must have that body."
*Bang!*
Danzo's cane struck the ground. Root operatives leapt into motion.
"Four Purple Flame Formation!"
*Fwoooosh!*
Violet flames erupted around the entire chamber, forming an inescapable square barrier. The temperature spiked as the air shimmered.
Sora parried an incoming sword strike with ease and responded with a precise thrust—shunk!—impaling the attacker through the ribs.
He flicked the blade free and muttered, "A barrier? That's cute. You think it'll stop Flying Thunder God?"
He tossed six specially marked kunai outward in a fluid arc.
*Clang! Clang!*
To his surprise, Root operatives blocked or deflected each kunai before it landed. Every target point was intercepted.
They were prepared.
In the distance, Danzo slowly began unwrapping his arm. Beneath the bandages were numerous Sharingan embedded into his flesh. His hidden right eye glowed.
"Izanagi." Sora muttered. "You've already used it once. Are there three more? Did you harvest all these during the war?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Did you use more Uchiha like Hino? How many others?"
Danzo raised his voice, "With your Flying Thunder God blocked, you cannot kill me. I alone can bring back the Uzumaki clan! Join me!"
Sora dodged a wind blade with barely a shift of his foot. His eyes gleamed. "You alone can do it, do you?"
*Clap!*
His hands formed a rapid seal.
"Wood Style ∙ Deep Forest Emergence!"
*BOOOOM!*
The ground shook violently. From beneath the earth, massive wooden trees erupted like serpents, their roots twisting and spiraling in all directions.
The living forest crushed everything in its path.
*Puff! Puff! Puff!*
Dozens of Root operatives were skewered mid-air, their bodies tossed like ragdolls. Screams filled the air, only to be silenced as branches tightened like nooses.
*AAAAAAH!!*
The Four Purple Flame Formation wavered under the pressure, but held.
Danzo's eyes shone with unhidden hunger. "Yes... this is it. The real Wood-style! Combined with the Mangekyō... This power can unify the ninja world!"
Sora stood amidst the chaos, unscathed. His cloak fluttered in the breeze created by the living forest.
He raised his sword again, his voice calm.
"I don't need to unify the world, Danzo. I just need to erase the filth."
*****
Support me on my pat reon and gain early access to my creations.
https://www.pat reon.com/RroY28 (remove the space)
You can access up to 30 advanced chapters.