Amid the myriad of ninjutsu attacks, Wind Release took precedence, followed closely by Fire Release.
The merging of wind and fire created massive flames that surged toward Ye Zi and the close-combat team.
"They don't even spare their own people," Ye Zi scoffed coldly as he swiftly formed three hand seals.
Wood Release: Sealed Hall.
Two semi-circular wooden walls rose rapidly from the ground in front and behind him, enclosing Ye Zi within.
The raging flames roared past, swallowing the wooden barrier and all the close-combat team members in the blink of an eye, spreading to the forest on both sides of the path.
The poisoned kunai disappeared into the flames, leaving no trace.
As the scorching wind hit his face, Danzo coldly stared at the roaring inferno. He had seen Ye Zi deploy a Wood Release defense at the last moment but wasn't sure how effective it had been.
The Root members stood silently, watching the flames gradually weaken and then die out. All that remained were charred corpses scattered across the ground and a blackened semi-circular wooden barrier.
At that moment, a spiritual entity emerged from the blackened barrier, flying straight toward the nearest genjutsu ninja. Caught off guard, the ninja had no time to react before the spirit entered his body, leaving him frozen and his expression blank.
Danzo's gaze turned cold as he hurled a kunai at the possessed subordinate.
Whoosh!
The kunai pierced the air and embedded itself into the Root member's skull, killing him instantly.
Having absorbed only a sliver of chakra, Ye Zi's spirit emerged from the corpse and hovered above the wooden barrier.
Crack!
The blackened wooden barrier shattered as Ye Zi struck it from within, revealing himself.
"You truly are ruthless, Danzo. It's no surprise that someone who could kill his own niece without hesitation would act this way," Ye Zi said coldly, his eyes fixed on Danzo. He also noticed the eight Sharingan on Danzo's arm and right eye, though their specific purpose was unclear.
"Attack," Danzo commanded, ignoring Ye Zi. He ordered the ninjutsu, genjutsu, and even medical teams to launch a coordinated assault on Ye Zi.
Danzo himself remained stationary, holding only a kunai without drawing his blade.
The close-combat team was entirely annihilated, and the genjutsu techniques were ineffective against Ye Zi. Their combined formation no longer held any significance. The sole purpose of throwing everyone at Ye Zi was to exhaust his chakra and stamina.
Once chakra was depleted, physical stamina would naturally decline as well.
In Danzo's eyes, the remaining Root members were nothing more than expendable pawns meant to wear down Ye Zi. He no longer expected them to defeat him.
Shrouded in Lightning Release, Ye Zi engaged the remaining Root members in close combat while keeping a wary eye on Danzo.
He dodged projectiles and ninjutsu, relying primarily on his lightning blade to dispatch enemies and occasionally using his spirit form to absorb chakra from targets when opportunities arose.
However, every time Ye Zi's spirit successfully entered a target, a kunai from Danzo would swiftly end the target's life, cutting off the chakra absorption.
Danzo's ruthless strategy was clear: he directly sacrificed his subordinates to thwart Ye Zi's efforts to regain chakra.
By killing his subordinates on the spot, Danzo ensured their souls moved to the Pure Land before Ye Zi could fully extract their chakra.
This merciless tactic left Ye Zi visibly frustrated.
After slaying all the Root members, Ye Zi's chakra reserves were down to less than ten percent.
Despite multiple successful infiltrations, Ye Zi had absorbed only minuscule amounts of chakra before Danzo's interruptions. By the time all the Root members were dead, Ye Zi had very little chakra left.
Had he not relied heavily on his kenjutsu and taijutsu to conserve chakra during the fight, he might have been worn down to death.
The bloody corpses littered the path, and the scorched marks from the flames covered the area behind Ye Zi.
"Not bad," Danzo said with a cold smile, watching Ye Zi, who was now slightly out of breath. His tone carried a hint of mockery, while the sight of the carnage around him elicited no emotion.
Ye Zi remained expressionless but internally weighed whether he could kill Danzo in his current state. He had long wanted to eliminate Danzo, and now the man carried eight Sharingan on his body. Killing him would grant Ye Zi a significant reward.
Most importantly, this was a rare opportunity. Danzo was no longer hiding within the Root's stronghold, and all his subordinates were dead. With just Danzo left, Ye Zi decided not to flee but to take the chance to kill him.
Similarly, Danzo saw Ye Zi's weakened state as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to eliminate him and seize his eyes.
The two locked eyes, their gazes growing colder as their mutual killing intent intensified.
At this moment, both had only one thought: to kill the other.
Zzzt!
With his chakra running low, Ye Zi withdrew his spirit form and slightly increased the flow of lightning around him. In his current state, there was no room for probing attacks, so he charged directly at Danzo.
Danzo drew the thin blade hidden in his cane, faint chakra coursing through it to counter Ye Zi's lightning blade.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward to meet Ye Zi's charge, the scarlet Sharingan in his right eye locking onto Ye Zi's movements.
The two clashed at high speed, their blades meeting in a screeching clash of metal before they crossed paths.
Danzo, aided by the Sharingan, could clearly track Ye Zi's movements. Were Ye Zi at full strength, even Danzo's Sharingan wouldn't be able to follow him so easily.
After passing each other, the two immediately turned and clashed again, their blades locking in midair in a brief test of strength.
Their eyes reflected one another's figures, each filled with icy killing intent.
"His speed and strength have diminished. The consecutive battles have left him in terrible shape. With Izanagi, I can win," Danzo thought confidently after a few exchanges.
His strength and speed were sufficient, and with the life-saving ability of Izanagi, Ye Zi had no chance.
Danzo's lips curled into a cold smile as he forced Ye Zi back with a burst of strength, then swiftly formed hand seals.
Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!
From above, Danzo spat out numerous air bullets that shot toward Ye Zi.
Ye Zi shifted his body effortlessly, dodging the air bullets, then stepped forward and charged at Danzo.
He understood clearly that if he wanted to kill Danzo, his chance of victory lay in one thing, kenjutsu.
In the blink of an eye, Ye Zi closed the distance. His longsword turned into a sharp streak of light, slicing toward Danzo's left shoulder. Danzo raised his blade to intercept, blocking the strike.
"It's useless. I can see your sword movements perfectly now," Danzo sneered coldly. With a quick movement of his arm, he precisely parried another strike from Ye Zi.
In this situation, Ye Zi wasted no energy on unnecessary words. Gripping his sword with one hand, he unleashed a flurry of slashes, creating a curtain of blades that enveloped Danzo. With his other hand, he brushed against his belt, producing two shuriken between his fingers.
Danzo, busy parrying the storm of sword strikes, caught the movement instantly.
"Trying to create an opening with shuriken?" Danzo thought.
Ye Zi's gaze sharpened. Using his relentless swordsmanship, he forced a small gap in Danzo's defense. Without hesitation, he flicked his arm, sending the shuriken flying toward Danzo's eyes.
"Child's play," Danzo muttered.
His Sharingan saw everything clearly. While defending against Ye Zi's sword, he easily dodged the incoming shuriken.
Despite Ye Zi's weakened state, his kenjutsu was undeniably terrifying, it was a lethal style honed through countless battles against numerous foes. Only when facing it could one truly feel the overwhelming pressure emanating from his blade.
Danzo, who had refined his own kenjutsu over decades and developed his unique style, found himself at a disadvantage against Ye Zi. This showcased the unparalleled lethality of Ye Zi's blade techniques, which only someone like Sakumo Hatake could rival.
It was no wonder that the twenty-three highly skilled swordsmen under Danzo, handpicked for their expertise, had not only failed to defeat Ye Zi but hadn't even been able to suppress him.
It wasn't because they were weak, it was because Ye Zi was simply too strong.
Although Danzo was losing in the kenjutsu exchange, he remained calm, knowing he could slowly exhaust the last remnants of Ye Zi's energy.
Their blades clashed rapidly in the air, producing bursts of sparks.
Ye Zi's gaze turned cold. His left arm moved subtly as the two shuriken, which had flown past Danzo earlier, suddenly changed direction. The two projectiles collided in mid-air, causing one shuriken to spin sharply and redirect its path toward Danzo's back.
Danzo's ears twitched. Amid the clanging of their swords, he keenly detected the faint sound of the redirected shuriken slicing through the air.
"It's the shuriken from earlier," Danzo thought with a slight chill. He couldn't turn to check but realized Ye Zi must have manipulated them. Deciding to evade, he shifted his position laterally to the right, knowing Ye Zi's attacks were concentrated on his left side.
Seeing Danzo's reaction, Ye Zi's lips curled into a faint smile.
Danzo wasn't weak, after all. He managed to hold off Ye Zi's relentless assault and move to the right. However, just as he did, the piercing sound of the redirected shuriken reached his ears.
"What?" Danzo was startled, and a sharp pain erupted from his back, causing his movements to freeze momentarily.
Ye Zi seized the moment. His longsword effortlessly broke through Danzo's defenses and plunged into his heart.
Shhht!
Danzo's eyes widened in shock.
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Currently on Chapter 491 - The Missing Opportunity