"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
In an instant, the ground fractured into countless fissures. Thick, sturdy roots burst from the earth, growing into towering trees within seconds. Flexible branches acted like a swarm of angry pythons, winding and climbing toward the sky.
With Danzo at the center, the battlefield, which had been scarred and ruined by their clash, was instantly blanketed in green. Spurred by special chakra saturated with vitality, seeds sprouted and reached maturity in mere heartbeats. The branches grew and intertwined at a startling speed, forming a wood-bound jungle that blotted out the sun as thick roots sought to crush Makiya, who was riding his flying sword.
"Just a final struggle. You've clearly read the intel on me, yet you still choose to use such a large-scale ninjutsu? Your brain must have short-circuited."
Makiya controlled his flying sword to ascend rapidly. The rising roots and branches eventually had to rely on the ground, and after chasing him for a distance, they fell away powerlessly.
The forest below was lush and green, with various branches and trunks still twisting and growing. Makiya contemplated whether to hit Danzo with a grand jutsu to give him a dignified end, but then he sensed a certain soul signature rapidly moving away.
"Wait... what happened to the Will of Fire? Why is he running?"
Makiya rolled his eyes. He already had a grasp on Danzo's Wind Style, and his understanding of nature transformation had advanced a step further. He planned to officially end this boring battle.
Within the woods, Danzo's figure darted through the dense foliage. His tattered white robes flapped loudly as his eyes filled with panic and resentment, occasionally glancing back to check the enemy's movements.
'I can't die yet. I haven't become Hokage. How can I die here!'
The trees behind him continued to surge and crawl, lunging toward Makiya under his command to buy himself more time. However, he was trying to do a job he wasn't equipped for. Due to the excessive drain on his chakra and life force, Danzo's cheeks and eye sockets had sunken deeply, his muscles withered and shrunken as if he had been drained dry by a succubus.
Danzo's heart was full of bitterness. Becoming Hokage was his lifelong obsession—one might even call it his inner demon. Until he sat upon the Hokage's throne, he would never give up his life easily.
When Pain attacked Konoha, Danzo's approach had been to order all Root ninja to stay put while he hid underground, nowhere to be found. Only after Tsunade had exhausted her chakra to save the villagers and fell into a coma did Danzo seize the opportunity to step out and stir up trouble.
In the meeting with the Land of Fire's officials, he first pointed out that Tsunade could no longer fulfill her duties and that a new Hokage should be appointed. He listed the failures of previous Hokage, claiming only he was the ideal candidate, and was eventually designated as the 'Sixth Hokage' by the Daimyo.
Although he hadn't passed the jonin confidence vote and many in Konoha didn't recognize him as Hokage, it satisfied Danzo's wish. Having draped himself in that grand title, the pest in the shadows finally felt like he had a bit of human dignity.
Thus, when he was ambushed and cornered by Sasuke, he actually gained a bit of awareness as a Hokage before his death, intending to eliminate a threat for Konoha's sake. In the end, he furiously sealed a bridge, and his brief 'Hokage' career came to a sudden halt.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three streaks of golden light slashed through the sky like lightning. Following the massive tremors, three giant golden swords pierced the forest directly in front of Danzo. The blades sank deep into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust and stone, cutting off his path.
Over a dozen Makiyas appeared beside the giant swords, each surrounded by countless floating small blades. Without another word, the dense swarm of flying swords shot toward Danzo under Makiya's control.
The speed of the flying swords was incredible. Danzo didn't even have time to form seals for a Wind Style defense. His right arm suddenly twisted violently, expanding and deforming at a visible rate. Countless wooden fibers burst from beneath his skin, instantly forming a massive, leafy tree. The thick trunk and dense foliage formed a sturdy barrier in front of Danzo.
However, Makiya's flying swords weren't the type of jutsu that couldn't change trajectory once fired. A large number of swords swerved in mid-air, flexibly bypassing the giant tree to strike Danzo from the flanks.
Danzo hurriedly severed his connection to the giant tree, desperately waving a kunai with his remaining left hand to defend himself. The scorching flying swords sliced through the kunai and his arm directly. Then, more swords traced golden paths through the air, piercing his heart ten thousand times over as flames roared.
A single flying sword carried a sealing scroll from behind Danzo, slowly flying back to the Makiya standing in the center. This was the only sealing scroll Danzo had on him; it likely contained something valuable.
The fire-engulfed Danzo vanished again. When he reappeared, he was extremely close to the Makiya in the middle. Izanagi had rewritten his state of death, even healing his injuries. Even his violently destroyed right arm was restored, though most of the Sharingan on it had closed, with only one on the back of his hand stubbornly remaining open.
A golden rain began to fall from the sky. Radiant light blanketed a vast section of the forest, containing a lethal intent within its splendor. Every raindrop was a flying sword. No matter where Danzo resurrected, he would be turned into a sieve the next second.
Upon his final resurrection, Danzo's body was very close to the central Makiya. He wore a desperate smile. In the final moments of his life, he finally saw his own actions throughout the years clearly for the first time.
'I am the Darkness of the Shinobi of Konoha. Even if I am despised by thousands, even if Hiruzen misunderstands me, this is my way of protecting Konoha. This is my ninja way! Teacher, am I qualified to be Hokage now...'
"I... am not a coward!"
Danzo ripped off his white robe, revealing the sealing formula inscribed on his body beforehand.
"Reverse Four Symbols Seal!"
Ink-black liquid instantly erupted from Danzo's chest, drenching the surrounding earth. As the golden flying swords pierced Danzo's chest, Makiya instantly lost control over them.
A flying sword marked with the character [Righteousness] appeared behind Danzo. A second later, Makiya's figure appeared. He didn't flee; instead, he stepped closer to Danzo.
"Don't look back, Danzo. I'm the Third Hokage."
Makiya teased casually. Flames surged in his hand as a line of golden fire erupted from his fingertip, slicing across Danzo's neck.
Danzo felt a wave of heat at his neck, and then his perspective began to rotate and rise. The world spun around him for some reason. He saw a headless body gushing 'ink,' saw Makiya throwing out a sealing scroll behind it, and saw the other Makiya clones watching indifferently. Finally, a trace of a smile appeared.
'Ignorant Uchiha. This is what happens when you look down on the sealing arts of the Uzumaki clan! I've finally eliminated a threat for Konoha!'
The pitch-black sphere expanded instantly, engulfing everything nearby. A massive suction centered on Danzo spread outward. All matter caught within the black sphere was pulled by the sealing technique and eventually vanished into nothingness.
A massive crater appeared in the forest. Danzo's headless body, Makiya, the giant trees, and the rocks had all vanished, as if they had been erased from the world by the Creator.
Danzo's head flew through the air, wearing a chilling smile at his success. With a thud, his face landed on the grass, and his sealing scroll fell nearby.
As he smiled, the expression froze. Another Makiya appeared beside his head, sat down cross-legged, and picked up the sealing scroll to examine it.
Danzo's eyes bulged. His facial muscles shook violently, his mouth hanging open though he could make no sound.
'How is it possible... they were all clones...'
As that final thought flashed through his mind, Danzo's consciousness fell into total darkness.
The generation's 'Darkness of the Shinobi,' the man behind the Shinobi Hero Hiruzen, the Scapegoat Hokage of Konoha, was finally dead. Before dying, he had sealed a large patch of empty land and a few of Makiya's clones.
The reason Makiya specifically left Danzo's head was twofold: first, on the off-chance he could search it for useful intel, and second, to collect the bounty from Hiruzen.
After all, it was worth five hundred million ryo. Orochimaru's base was full of equipment and supplies, but not much cash. Research was an expensive endeavor, so he'd consider this Danzo's contribution to the development of the ninja world.
After waiting a while to confirm Danzo was truly dead, Makiya picked up the head, tucked the scroll away, and flew back toward the initial battle site on his sword.
This body was also a clone.
The original was currently back there collecting bodies. The Root members were carrying good stuff when they evacuated. In the spirit of the traditional virtue of thriftiness, these things had to be delivered to someone destined to have them.
Makiya felt that he was that destined person, so he naturally accepted them with a smile.
Yamato had been jolted awake once by the aftershocks of the battle and actually tried to use Wood Style to escape. Makiya appeared beside the youth with a Flying Raijin and knocked him out again with a hand-chop.
Leaving a bunch of clones to process the corpses, the original took Danzo's head and the sealing scroll, intending to go back and give Hiruzen a surprise.
In the middle of the meeting, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe, his left eyelid twitching incessantly.
'Sigh, I've really been so tired lately. After I retire, I want to sleep until I wake up naturally every day,' Hiruzen lamented in his heart. He felt truly powerless; the position of Hokage had drained his energy. Every day was spent bickering with clans or high-level officials, balancing various factions until his heart was weary.
The bickering was still ongoing. The large conference room felt like a chaotic vegetable market. The various clans had been successfully divided by the two Hokage advisors, arguing over their respective interests.
Adults didn't care about right or wrong; they only cared about profit. The Hokage advisors might have been negligent or stupid, but how to use this incident to gain more benefits for oneself or one's clan was what everyone cared about most.
Hiruzen shifted his gaze to the back of the crowd. Makiya Uchiha, who had been active at the start, was now silent, standing at the back of the room and watching everything with cold indifference.
"For some reason, I have a bad premonition." Hiruzen took another puff of his pipe, forcing down the unease in his heart and praying it was just a hallucination caused by exhaustion.
However, reality always delivered a slap to the face. Murphy's Law applied to every occasion. Hiruzen suddenly sensed a familiar aura rapidly approaching from the distance.
Turning his head, he saw Makiya approaching the Hokage Building on a flying sword. He leaped lightly into the air and landed on the windowsill of the conference room.
Behind him, two Anbu arrived at the bottom of the building, panting. They looked at each other, feeling as though this scene was very familiar, as if it had just happened.
"Lord Hokage." Makiya looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and grinned. "Mission accomplished. The criminal Danzo Shimura has been executed. That'll be five hundred million ryo—this is a small business, no credit!"
Danzo's head rolled onto the conference table with a thud, causing the two advisors, including Homura Mitokado, to shudder in terror.
The noisy conference room fell instantly silent.
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