Inside a cave in the Land of Rain, Kato Dan's face was pale.
Since he mastered the forbidden Jutsu, Spiritual Transformation Technique, he had never failed.
His direct combat strength was inferior to Jiraiya and others, but his deterrent power on the battlefield was unmatched even by three Jiraiyas combined.
He never expected to suffer a loss at the hands of an Anbu wearing a fox mask.
When he tried to control that Squad Leader, the Squad Leader was already controlled by a secret technique of the Yamanaka Clan.
He had never encountered such a situation before and was no match for the clash of two souls.
This taught him a lesson: he needed to be more careful when encountering the Yamanaka Clan in the future.
Physical injuries could be healed with medicine, but soul injuries could only heal slowly on their own.
Kato Dan said to the two Senju guards, "Give me another half an hour. After half an hour, I will use the Spiritual Transformation Technique to scout the return route. If there's no danger, we'll return to the front-line camp."
Dan was an important Elite Jonin of the Senju Clan. The Senju guard said, "Dan, don't push yourself too hard and don't leave any hidden injuries."
Kato Dan nodded, indicating that he knew his limits.
Lying in the cave, Kato Dan listened to the gurgling rain outside the entrance.
Senju Flower Wood, the clan leader, had asked him to investigate the truth behind the Nine-Tailed's seal transfer, and he had indeed investigated many Anbu Ninja.
Unfortunately, the Anbu Ninja's command system was strict; the lower-level members knew nothing and only followed the orders of their Squad Leader.
The Squad Leader also didn't know the true orders, or didn't know all of them.
Any Anbu he investigated had to be killed to prevent his own exposure.
After the Fox Squad escaped, Kato Dan worried that the Fox Squad might report to the Anbu.
He hadn't obtained any valuable intelligence from the few Anbu Squad Leaders.
Should he target an Anbu Captain?
Kato Dan thought about the Anbu Captains he knew and felt it would be very difficult.
Yellow Dog, a veteran Anbu Captain, was the Hokage's right-hand man. Yellow Dog had protected him during the Battle of Mt. Niuhe, possessed strong Taijutsu and Ninjutsu abilities, and had an unyielding will.
Black Ant, a Nara Clan Anbu Captain, was the Anbu's strategist, with command authority second only to the Hokage and Danzo.
Which Anbu Captain should he target?
Who exactly knew why Susanoo Armor suddenly appeared on the Nine-Tailed?
The sound of rain grew slightly louder.
The terrible weather in the Land of Rain made him wonder why the people here endured hunger daily instead of relocating.
"Parasitic Insects!"
A Senju guard suddenly cried out. Parasitic Insects had actually used the heavy rain as cover to crawl into the cave.
The three people inside the cave quickly rushed to the entrance. Outside the cave, two Anbu charged towards them.
One Anbu wore a beetle-painted mask, and the other wore a fox mask.
A fox mask?
Kato Dan was startled. Wasn't that the Anbu Squad Leader he had fought before?
Had he already been exposed?
Kato Dan said, "The Anbu wants to kill me! Stop them!"
The two Senju guards hesitated for only a very short moment, immediately deciding that protecting Kato Dan was more important than anything else.
One Senju Ninja rushed out of the cave, blocking the two Anbu.
The other Senju Ninja guarded Kato Dan, wary of enemy sneak attacks.
"Water Release: Severing Wave!"
A high-speed water jet spewed from the Senju Ninja's mouth, sweeping horizontally and cutting the two Anbu in half at the waist.
Even the large trees behind them were neatly severed.
The power of Severing Wave was extremely strong.
However, the Senju Ninja's expression changed drastically.
"Not good!"
The Anbu with the beetle-painted mask disintegrated into countless insects, revealing it to be an Insect Replacement Technique.
And the Ninja with the fox mask turned into mud, which was an Earth Replacement Technique.
As expected of the Anbu elite who could find Dan, they possessed such exquisite Body Replacement Jutsu.
"Be careful!"
Inside the cave, the sound of Exploding Tags suddenly echoed.
The Senju Clan guard flew out with Kato Dan pressed against his back, enduring the Exploding Tags directly to prevent Kato Dan from being harmed.
Night Light regretfully emerged from the cave floor. The Senju Clan's guard was very strong; even with a sneak attack, he couldn't succeed.
After the heat from the Exploding Tags at the cave entrance dissipated, he slowly walked outside.
When he came out of the cave, he saw two Senju guards quickly fleeing north with Kato Dan, while B pursued them from behind.
Night Light quickly followed. Danzo was still hiding nearby, and it wouldn't be good if Danzo found him slacking off.
After running for a few minutes, one Senju guard, seeing that they didn't have a speed advantage, stopped to cover the retreat for the other two.
"Go quickly! Don't mind me!"
He jumped up and charged towards B in mid-air, but was blocked by the Fox Anbu in mid-air.
What a fast Body Flicker Technique!
Night Light's Ninja blade was unsheathed, clashing with the Senju guard's Kunai.
B continued the pursuit, while Night Light engaged in a fierce battle with the Senju guard.
The Senju guard felt increasingly uncomfortable as he fought. He felt that the Fox Anbu opposite him was like his own mirror image.
Both were skilled in Earth Release and Water Release, both had strong physiques, giving him a slight advantage, but he couldn't win quickly.
The Fox Anbu primarily used Water Release: Water Formation Wall for defense, showing little desire to attack, as if delaying would lead to victory.
The Senju guard suddenly realized that the Fox Anbu's delay meant that there weren't just two Anbu; other enemies were hidden in the shadows!
The decisive factor was not between the two of them, but in the sneak attack from the hidden enemies.
The Senju guard turned his head and saw the Anbu with the beetle mask and the other guard also locked in a one-on-one battle.
The Beetle Anbu's movements were more extreme, almost fighting with a trade-damage approach, only wanting to get close to Kato Dan as quickly as possible.
Kato Dan had already sat down on the ground, preparing to use the forbidden Jutsu.
"No!"
Once Kato Dan used the Spiritual Transformation Technique, his physical body would be completely defenseless.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared behind Kato Dan.
Danzo held a Kunai, on which was a sharp Wind Release Chakra Vacuum Blade.
The Vacuum Blade swung, cutting the raindrops in mid-air one by one.
Danzo stared at Kato Dan's neck; if he killed Kato Dan, the trouble would be resolved.
However, the Vacuum Blade suddenly stopped three centimeters from Kato Dan's ear.
Kato Dan's soul was even faster!
As expected of Kato Dan, whom everyone praised, his forbidden Jutsu release speed was so fast.
Danzo's expression changed, and his entire demeanor transformed.
Danzo spoke:
"Lord Danzo, I didn't expect it to be you. Since you found me, there's no need to hide anymore.
I've been investigating something: on the night of the Nine-Tailed's seal transfer, whose Sharingan created the Nine-Tailed's Susanoo Armor, causing Lady Mito to die prematurely?"
Danzo's eyelids were trembling, and he was struggling.
"Then let me ask you again, why did you suddenly put on an eye patch?"
Saying that, Danzo's left hand reached up and lifted the eye patch.
Beneath the eye patch, a new Mangekyo Sharingan glowed crimson in the rainy night.
"It really is you!"
The Vacuum Blade in Danzo's right hand suddenly thrust upward, piercing into Danzo's own throat.
The Vacuum Blade was exceptionally sharp, cutting through boulders and even steel armor with ease. As for Danzo's fleshy throat, it was like modeling clay.
Danzo's throat was instantly pierced.
Without Danzo's Chakra support, the Vacuum Blade instantly disappeared.
Blood gushed out, for a moment even drowning out the sound of the rain, splashing loudly onto the muddy ground.
Danzo's corpse fell forward, stiffly landing in a puddle of rainwater.
Danzo died again?
Died twice in one night?
Night Light, with his resurrection system, wouldn't dare to die like that.
Blood spread in the puddle.
B shouted, "Lord Danzo!"
Night Light felt no joy in his heart, staring intently at Danzo's figure!
Could it be…?