Facing Senju Haruto's relentless assault, Danzō felt death looming closer than ever before.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that this young man could not only break through his Kotoamatsukami genjutsu but also possess the Byakugan of the Hyūga clan.
Combined with his monstrous strength, the Root operatives Danzō had brought along couldn't even get near him.
Panicked, Danzō was forced to reveal another hidden trump card.
Wood Release: Bursting Spear Tree!
In an instant, Danzō raised his right arm toward Haruto. The bandages wrapped around it snapped apart, and the jutsu within erupted forth.
A colossal wooden spear-like trunk shot forward, hardening in midair, aiming to drive Haruto back.
At the same time, he barked orders to his Root shinobi to attack together, buying him a chance to escape.
Right now, capturing Haruto was no longer a priority—just retreating alive would be enough.
I can't die yet…
Konoha can only reach its peak under my leadership!
Clenching his teeth, Danzō held firm to that belief. No matter what, he had to get out of here.
A dozen Root operatives threw themselves at Haruto without hesitation, hands flying through seals, unleashing jutsu from every direction to cover Danzō's retreat.
Seizing the moment, Danzō severed his connection to the Bursting Spear Tree, grabbed the kunai pinning his sleeve, and snapped it with all his strength.
"I underestimated you…" he spat through gritted teeth, fury boiling in his chest.
Even so, he knew now wasn't the time to linger.
"You think you can just walk away?" Haruto's voice thundered as he channeled chakra into his fist, mirroring Tsunade's legendary strength. One punch shattered the incoming wooden spear.
Though Danzō had transplanted Hashirama Senju's cells and gained Wood Release, he was ultimately a politician—a schemer who had spent his life on intrigue rather than real combat.
He had stacked himself with powers and abilities, yet in a real fight, he was like a heavily reinforced bridge that collapsed under its own weight.
The so-called "opportunity" his Root operatives were buying was laughable to Haruto. Landing lightly on his feet, he unleashed a surge of overwhelming chakra.
BOOM!
With a deafening blast, the Root shinobi surrounding him were flung away like cut strings on kites, their jutsu dissipating before even brushing the hem of his clothes.
"H-how…?"
Danzō had barely made it to the doorway when he felt a crushing killing intent bearing down on him.
Instinctively, he looked back—not at a black-haired youth, but at a vengeful demon clawing its way out of hell.
"You… are you a devil?!" Danzō roared, yanking out another kunai and charging Haruto in desperation.
The sight caught Haruto off guard for a moment. After seeing his full power, this old fox still thought he could counterattack with a kunai?
CLANG!
Half irritated, half amused, Haruto simply clenched his fist and smashed down on the incoming blade.
Danzō, already weakened, couldn't even shape a proper Vacuum Blade with his Wind Release chakra. Their clash left his palm torn open and bleeding, the kunai flying from his grip.
In the same motion, Haruto drove a crushing kick into his abdomen.
CRACK!
Blood sprayed from Danzō's mouth. It felt as though Haruto's monstrous strength had shattered his organs. His body flew parallel to the ground for several meters before slamming into the earth with a bone-jarring impact.
Another mouthful of blood followed, staining his chest red.
"Damn you…"
Even when hunted in the Land of Lightning, he'd never been this humiliated. Yet now, a mere "upstart" had driven him to the brink.
His trump cards… useless.
"Shisui's eye…"
Haruto had no intention of sparing him. He didn't care if Danzō saw himself as some tragic hero who had sacrificed everything for Konoha.
In Haruto's eyes, Danzō was simply a man who had attacked him—more than once. That alone was reason enough to end him.
Besides, a man who had once tasted the light could never be content in the shadows.
On the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, Danzō had sat idle, waiting for a chance to seize the Hokage's seat.
When Orochimaru invaded Konoha, he'd done the same.
And during Pain's assault, he had ordered all Root to stay hidden underground. As long as Tsunade was there to protect the village from mass casualties, Danzō could emerge as the "savior" afterward, strike Pain down, and secure his position as Hokage.
Every move had been about one thing: his own ambition.
THUD!
Haruto dropped down in front of him. He could see the terror in Danzō's eyes, the way the man scrambled backward on the ground.
"Kotoamatsukami!" Danzō screamed, desperate to activate Shisui's ultimate genjutsu.
But the Sharingan was still in cooldown. All he could do was watch Haruto close in.
"No!" Danzō roared again, swinging his right arm to block.
But in Haruto's eyes, he was nothing more than a failed experiment—someone who had botched Hashirama's power—while Haruto himself wielded Wood Release in its true form.
SMACK!
Haruto slapped Danzō's arm aside and, in the same instant, reached forward and plucked out his right eye.
"Shisui's eye…" Haruto's lips curled. "I'll take it."
"No, no, no—!"
A searing pain tore through Danzō's skull as the precious Sharingan was wrenched from its socket. His world collapsed.
To him, Shisui's eye had always been the ultimate weapon—a key to rewriting the world and uniting the ninja world under his rule.
Now, it was gone.
His mind shattered, leaving only one thought:
This one dream… you will not take from me!
GRAB!
With a sudden burst of strength, the weakened Danzō clutched Haruto's wrist in a death grip.
"Die with me, you cursed brat!"
Wood Release: Root Burial Explosion!
Driven mad, Danzō poured all his remaining chakra into his right arm, fingers locking around Haruto's wrist to keep him from escaping.
Perhaps it was a gamble—but in his mind, either he or Haruto had to die here.
His right arm swelled at a terrifying speed, transforming into a massive tree that erupted upward, threatening to consume them both.