"Lord Danzo, the two giants have stopped fighting—shall we launch the assault now?"
Danzo's trusted subordinate, Code-name Beta, spoke up, snapping Danzo out of his daydream about sitting in the Hokage's seat.
Danzo narrowed his eye and looked ahead. Sure enough, the towering red and purple Susanoo had vanished—indicating the battle had ended.
"Good."
His face showed barely restrained excitement as he pulled out a small white snake hidden in his sleeve and crushed it with a snap—a signal to Orochimaru.
The serpent burst into mist—their secret code: It's time to strike.
Danzo turned to his elite Root shinobi, surrounding him in force.
"According to the battle plan—begin the purge!" he commanded coldly.
"Invade the Uchiha district. Leave no one alive—man, woman, or child! Kill them all!"
"The priority is collecting Sharingan—target three-tomoe eyes especially. Whoever collects the most will be handsomely rewarded!"
He paused, then added with a grim smirk:
"And find that brat, Uchiha Rukawa. Bring him in alive if possible. Break his limbs if you must—just leave him breathing."
"If any of you see him—report to me immediately!"
"Yes, sir!" the Root agents chorused, eyes glinting with bloodlust.
Raised through cruelty, deprived of emotion, Root agents craved bloodshed. And nothing thrilled them more than slaughtering helpless civilians.
But just as they were about to vanish into the shadows—
BOOM!
A dark shadow fell from the sky, plummeting straight toward them like a meteor.
"Huh? What the hell is that?" one Root ninja muttered, looking up in confusion as the shape grew rapidly larger in his eyes.
And then—
BOOM!!
The impact hit like a meteor strike. The ground shattered, cracks spreading in a massive spiderweb pattern. The Root ninja was flattened into a bloody paste on impact.
Those nearby were sent flying by the shockwave, coughing up blood midair.
And from the settling dust, a thunderous voice rang out:
**"Heard you were looking for me. Well guess what—I'm right here!"
A massive figure stepped out of the crater, cracking his neck as he rose.
"Who the hell are you?! How dare you cause trouble in Konoha?!" Danzo shouted sharply.
The man before them was over two meters tall, musclebound, with flowing black hair nearly dragging on the ground, a tight purple suit stretched over his frame, and a pair of reflective sunglasses hiding his eyes.
No Konoha shinobi matched this description.
And from his direction of arrival, it was clear—he came from the Uchiha district.
Danzo squinted.
Could this be someone the Uchiha secretly brought in?
"You don't need to know who I am," the massive man growled, rolling his shoulders.
"Once I crush your limbs to dust, you'll figure it out."
"Hmph! Bold words! You dare to walk into my encirclement alone? You're courting death!"
As Danzo slammed his cane to the ground, it was the signal.
Dozens of Root agents surged forward.
Three shinobi moved in first—one from the front, two from behind. Blades gleamed as they moved to slice him apart.
Rukawa didn't even look.
SMAAAACK!!
The one in front was instantly obliterated. His upper half exploded into a rain of blood and meat, and even his blade shattered into scrap metal. His legs fell limply to the ground.
Behind him, the other two agents hesitated mid-swing, stunned at what just happened.
But it was already too late.
Two massive hands snatched their heads like bowling balls.
"You sneak up on me and expect to walk away? Too naïve."
With a wicked grin, Rukawa smashed their skulls together—
SPLAT!
Like two watermelons colliding—skulls burst, blood and brain splattering across the dirt.
He dropped their limp corpses and wiped the blood off with a chuckle.
"Too weak. Don't waste my time fighting one by one. Come at me together—save me the effort."
He crossed his arms, eyes sweeping the remaining Root agents like they were cattle in a pen.
But just then—
CRACK!!
The ground beneath his feet exploded upward. A Root ninja burst out, kunai gleaming, aimed directly at Rukawa's crotch.
"Die, bastard!" the agent snarled, his kunai flashing in the moonlight.
Rukawa's face twisted in disgust.
"You wanna stab me where?!"
His foot came down like a hammer.
SQUISH!!!
The Root ninja's head was slammed so hard into the ground his skull was driven into his own torso. A horrifying death.
And still—more came.
SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!!
A rain of kunai and shuriken poured in from every direction.
"Hmph. Toy weapons. Save that crap for genin."
He stood still, arms crossed, not even blinking.
CLANG CLANG CLANG!!
Dozens of weapons clanged off his body, bouncing like they hit solid iron.
"Metal can't scratch him—but maybe explosives will!" shouted a Root agent.
And then Rukawa noticed—many kunai were attached to detonation tags.
"Heh... Only just now noticing?" someone cackled.
"Too late! You'll pay for your arrogance! Burn in hell!"
KA-BOOM!!!
Dozens of detonation tags ignited in unison, the resulting explosion engulfing Rukawa in a massive fireball