Chapter 359: Danzo's Death
Amamiya Kenichi glanced around.
At first glance, the place looked like an ordinary forest, but he knew it could very well be one of Root's hidden bases. That said, the location was slightly different from the Root base he remembered from before.
"Danzo really is a crafty old fox. He has hideouts everywhere." Kenichi scratched his head.
Still, that was normal. After both he and Orochimaru had defected, Danzo would never have kept using the original base. On top of that, the old base might even have become evidence that Hiruzen could use against Danzo and Orochimaru alike.
Kenichi did not care much about any of that.
After all, people had mouths of their own. Even if you silenced some of them, it would only make the whispers spread even further in private.
"Kenichi, do you know where the entrance is?" Nagato looked down at the ground below.
He could clearly sense Danzo hiding underneath. Earlier, he had left something on Danzo to lock onto his location and prevent him from escaping.
Still, he had not expected the old man to revive himself.
But it did not matter.
No matter how many times Danzo came back, Nagato would kill him again. Either way, Danzo was going to pay for Yahiko's death with his life.
"I don't." Kenichi shook his head. "It's Root. The entrance won't be easy to find."
Then he formed hand seals.
Of course, entering by the front door was not the only option.
With an Earth Release technique, he blasted away the surface and exposed part of the structure buried below. But what appeared was not an entrance. All he saw was a layer of gray-white concrete.
That was enough.
Before Kenichi could say another word, Nagato had already blown open a path and rushed underground with the Six Paths of Pain.
Kenichi's mouth twitched. Nagato really was in a hurry.
"Leader, remember to cut off Danzo's bandaged arm first!" Kenichi called out after him.
Nagato gave a brief nod and disappeared into the tunnel.
Kenichi, meanwhile, turned around.
He had no intention of going down. There were still people behind him.
Tsunade. Hiruzen. And Hiashi with his Byakugan activated.
The other clan heads were not here.
Kenichi looked at the three of them, then sighed.
Obito, Obito. One day, I'm really going to beat you to death with a shoe. Look at the mess you've caused.
"Heavenly Demon," Hiruzen said as he stepped forward, "what is the meaning of coming to Konoha just to murder one of our elders?"
His voice was steady, but his eyes were wary. He was still trying to determine who this man really was. He and Tsunade had made their guesses before, but they had never been able to confirm whether the Heavenly Demon was truly the person they suspected.
Still, the fact that he could use Wood Release made Hiruzen lean even further toward one answer.
After all, Hiruzen knew exactly what Orochimaru had been researching.
There was also someone in Konoha now who could use Wood Release, but that person's level was nowhere near the man standing in front of him.
"You should be asking Danzo that question," Kenichi replied with a shrug. "Ask him how many vile things he's done."
Hiruzen fell silent.
Tsunade looked away.
Hiashi kept his face blank, but inside he almost wanted to laugh.
How many vile things had Danzo done?
That was not a yes-or-no question. It was not even a multiple-choice question. It was an essay question.
There were simply too many.
If someone wrote them all down in a memoir, no one knew how many words it would take. If it had to be turned into a multiple-choice test, the options would probably go on forever.
Hiashi had personally heard plenty of people curse Danzo behind his back. The old man was ruthless and underhanded, willing to use any means necessary, yet he never showed a shred of accountability. He was contemptible to the core.
And Danzo's reputation was not bad only within Konoha. The other villages' higher-ups knew exactly what sort of person he was too.
So now, even Hiruzen, who had spent so many years with Danzo, could say nothing.
Because even he could not deny it. Danzo had done far too many shameful things.
At the same time, Hiruzen's thoughts drifted in another direction.
According to Tsunade, the man below was Jiraiya's disciple.
And he possessed those eyes.
Those eyes.
If the Sage's eyes could be taken for Konoha...
For a fleeting instant, greed flashed through Hiruzen's gaze.
With those eyes, he could pin the Raikage A to the ground and smash him flat.
The last time that dog from the Land of Lightning came to Konoha to discuss cooperation, his attitude had been arrogant from beginning to end. Even after Killer B suddenly turned into a tailed beast, he still looked like he wanted to attack Konoha. Hiruzen had tolerated that for a very long time.
"Hokage-sama, you can't stop them now. Danzo isn't getting away." Kenichi looked at the eager light in Hiruzen's eyes and shook his head helplessly.
It was not as if he could not fight.
He simply hated pointless battles.
If it had been him, he would have slipped into Root's base in secret, severed Danzo's arm, cut off his head, and left before the situation escalated.
Goal accomplished. Minimal chaos.
Simple.
But Nagato was different. This had turned into something that looked less like an assassination and more like a full scale attack on Konoha.
Granted, Nagato did have the power to flatten Konoha if he really wanted to.
Still, in Kenichi's eyes, all that mattered today was Danzo's death.
Tsunade stepped forward, eager to attack.
Truth be told, she was not exactly unhappy that Danzo was the one being hunted. But Danzo was still one of Konoha's elders. If she stood by and watched him be killed like this, then Konoha's prestige would be trampled into the dirt.
If they could not even protect an elder inside their own village, then what right did they have to claim they could protect their civilians? How could anyone trust them with missions?
Before another word could be spoken, several figures flew up from below.
It was Nagato.
And in his hand hung an old man's corpse.
Danzo was dead.
One of his arms had been severed and was now in Nagato's other hand. It was Uchiha Shin's grotesque grafted arm, wrapped in white bandages, with the Sharingan hidden beneath. Even like this, it gave off a revolting feeling.
"How dare you!" Hiruzen roared, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.
His old friend had really died just like that. Right in front of all of them.
Nagato merely snorted.
"A disgrace of a shinobi."
Then he turned, clearly intending to leave.
But Hiruzen and Tsunade moved at the same time. Even Hiashi joined them. Hiruzen and Tsunade went after Nagato, while Hiashi aimed straight for Kenichi. His intent was obvious. Hold Kenichi in place and buy time.
Nagato did not know exactly what Kenichi intended to do next, but he had seen Kenichi's Wood Release earlier. He wanted to see just how strong this man had become.
If Kenichi's strength had truly risen that much, then his earlier words would naturally carry far more weight.
After all, in the shinobi world, strength spoke louder than anything else.
Kenichi, meanwhile, felt a headache coming on.
Nagato's move had just slapped Konoha across the face in broad daylight. There was no way Konoha would let that pass, at least not for now.
And now the Akatsuki's future would become even more troublesome. The entire course of the world had once again drifted further away from what he remembered.
Worse, Nagato had added that extra line.
Kenichi understood that Nagato was referring to Danzo, but Hiruzen and the others clearly did not see it that way. Looking at their expressions, Kenichi had no doubt that from this moment on, they would be treating the Akatsuki as an even more dangerous enemy than before.
Hiashi said nothing.
He simply attacked.
His Gentle Fist came in continuous waves, each strike connected to the next like flowing water. Even when he missed, the palm force he unleashed still carried pressure meant to disrupt Kenichi's chakra flow.
He was completely silent from start to finish.
Kenichi did not say much either. Then suddenly he felt a surge of chakra approaching from behind.
He leaped away at once.
A pair of long legs flashed into view.
It was Tsunade.
"It looks like I can't hold back anymore," Kenichi muttered, licking his lips.
Nagato was still trading attacks with Hiruzen. Watching them, Kenichi could not help feeling uneasy.
Could Hiruzen really be planning to use that technique?
The Reaper Death Seal was powerful, but its weakness was obvious. Against someone like Nagato, who could use Shinra Tensei, sealing him should not have been easy.
But shinobi battles were battles of information.
Who would have thought Orochimaru, in a position of overwhelming advantage, would have had his arms sealed by an old, dying Hiruzen?
If Nagato got sealed too, that would be utterly ridiculous.
Kenichi might as well assume Nagato had thrown the fight on purpose.
So he changed tactics.
A thick mist spread out in every direction, rapidly swallowing the battlefield. It even began to creep toward Konoha itself.
Tsunade's expression sharpened immediately.
She had seen this sort of thing before. Hidden Mist followed by Lightning Release. A classic combination.
"Watch out for Lightning Release!" Tsunade shouted.
At the same time, she punched toward where Kenichi had just been standing. Her fist blasted away part of the surrounding mist.
But she did not see Kenichi.
Instead, she saw fire.
A wall of fire that seemed to cover the sky.
The next instant, a wave of heat exploded outward from Kenichi's position and swept through the entire battlefield. The thick mist instantly turned into scalding steam, and visibility dropped to nearly nothing.
"Leader, time to go!" Kenichi shouted.
Nagato seized the moment and broke away.
"They're not chasing?" Nagato asked as they ran.
"This is enough to buy us time," Kenichi replied.
The combination was simple.
Everyone expected Hidden Mist and Lightning Release.
So he used Hidden Mist and Fire Release instead.
The water particles in the mist became superheated steam, and once that steam clung to the skin and condensed, it would release even more heat. It was the same reason steam burns were often worse than burns from boiling water.
It was not some profound ninjutsu secret.
It was basic science.
Of course, the trick would only work once. After today, Tsunade and the others would remember it.
Still, once was enough.
After they ran a certain distance and were sure no one was pursuing them, Nagato slowed from a run to a fast walk and turned to Kenichi.
"How did you know that arm had to be cut off?"
Kenichi answered without hesitation.
"My teacher and I made that arm."
Nagato showed no surprise. The deal between Orochimaru and Danzo had never been some great secret. There was nothing there worth getting angry over.
Then Nagato casually tossed the severed arm over.
"Take it. There are quite a few Sharingan inside."
Kenichi caught it easily.
He was indeed interested in the arm, but not because of the Mangekyo or the Sharingan themselves.
What really interested him was Uchiha Shin.
That freak's body did not reject foreign tissue at all. Kenichi had regretted losing him to Obito before, but now he had gained an excellent research sample instead.
.....
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