"This… this is… a monster! That thing's not even human!!"
Behind their masks were faces twisted in terror.
They were afraid. Truly, utterly afraid.
"Heh… fall into despair, you pathetic trash."
Rukawa grinned, bloodlust flashing in his eyes.
BOOM!
With a heavy thud, the ground beneath him caved in as he vanished from sight.
"Aaaagh!!"
A scream rang out.
In the blink of an eye, Rukawa had appeared next to a Root shinobi and kicked him clean in half.
"AAAAHHH!!!"
Then he charged into the crowd, activating God of War Mode.
Agonized screams echoed without pause.
Like a tiger in a flock of sheep, the Root ninja fell like paper dolls.
One hit. One kill.
Their bodies shattered on contact—no one could take a single blow.
This wasn't a battle.
It was a massacre.
Every punch, every stomp from Rukawa claimed another life.
The ground ran red.
"HAHAHAHA!!"
Bathed in blood, Rukawa threw back his head and laughed.
It wasn't madness—it was joy.
Something primal inside him craved the feel of warm blood splashing on his skin.
Sure, he could've summoned his Susanoo and flattened all of them in one go.
But he didn't.
Why?
Probably because of the side effects of too many Super Soldier Serums.
The serum was affecting his mind—driving him to relish raw, physical combat.
But he didn't mind.
After all, bare-knuckle beatdowns were the truest form of masculine poetry.
"Aaaah! I'll kill you!!"
A Root ninja charged at him, dual blades gleaming, eyes bloodshot with rage.
Clang! Clang!
The blades struck both sides of Rukawa's shoulders… and bounced off.
"Nice courage. Too bad..."
Rukawa grabbed the man by both shoulders and—rip!!
Tore him in half.
Blood sprayed like a fountain, soaking Rukawa's body in crimson.
He turned around—SMASH!
A giant palm slammed down on a would-be ambusher.
Crack crack crack!!
The attacker's spine shattered under the blow.
His head popped out through his rear end like a cork.
Brutal.
Absolutely brutal.
The other Root members who witnessed the scene felt their hearts turn cold.
An all-consuming sense of dread crawled over their skin.
Despair.
Utter, soul-crushing despair.
"F**k this! We can't beat this thing! RUN!!"
Someone finally broke.
He turned and bolted.
And with one deserter came the cascade.
Root shinobi began fleeing in all directions.
Better to suffer the pain of the Tongue Seal than face this demon.
Besides, they saw it—Danzo had already slipped away, leaving them to die.
So why should they stay?
"You think you can run?"
Rukawa smirked, eyes locking onto the fleeing Danzo.
BOOM!
With a single step, the ground cracked open beneath him.
SWOOSH!
Rukawa shot forward like a missile, ignoring the fleeing Root cannon fodder.
His target was Danzo.
CRASH CRASH CRASH!
Stone, debris, and even buildings shattered in his path.
He was closing in fast.
In the blink of an eye—he was on him.
With one massive leg, Rukawa swung a brutal horizontal kick straight at Danzo's legs.
WHOOOOSH!!
Even the air cracked under the force.
He wasn't aiming to kill—he was aiming to cripple and play with him.
SMASH!!
But Danzo exploded into white smoke.
"Tch. Another clone?! This damn jutsu's really getting on my nerves!"
Rukawa snarled, whipping his hair to the side.
Just then—a whisper of wind from behind.
SWISH!
Danzo lunged with a kunai coated in Wind Style chakra, aiming for Rukawa's back.
THUNK!
The kunai struck, slicing open a small patch of skin.
"Oho… not bad."
Rukawa turned, raising a brow in appreciation.
"To break my skin… not bad at all, old man.
You really were the guy who broke through Susanoo with Wind Style, huh?"
"You… what the hell ARE you?!"
Danzo stared, horrified, at the snapped kunai in his hand.
This wasn't just any kunai—it was infused with high-compression Wind Chakra.
Even tailed beasts couldn't shrug it off easily.
And yet, this guy only suffered a paper cut.
Rukawa didn't answer.
He just threw a backhand slap at Danzo's face.
SMACK!!
More white smoke.
"AGAIN?!"
Another shadow clone.
Rukawa's eye twitched.
"This is getting REAL old."
But then, his lips curled into a dark smile.
"Heh… let's see how many clones you've got left, old man.
You're not Naruto—I doubt you can keep this up forever."
"Besides… it's not like I'm the only one who can use clones!"
POOF POOF POOF!
Rukawa formed a hand seal.
Ninpō: Shadow Clone Jutsu!
A dozen hulking muscle-bound Rukawas appeared in plumes of smoke.
Each one immediately scattered in a different direction.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
As each clone blew up another Danzo clone, the real Rukawa finally locked eyes on the true body.
"There you are!"
He grinned like a wolf that had finally cornered its prey.
His body vanished in a blur.
Far ahead, the real Danzo was running full tilt, sweat pouring from his brow.
He had just received the message—all his clones were gone.
Looking back, he saw Rukawa hurtling toward him like a demon from hell.
His face turned dark as ink.
Damn it! Why is this guy so fast!?
He had planned to regroup with Hiruzen and deal with this monster together.
But now? With this speed gap?
He'd be caught in moments!
He needed to buy time.
Somehow. Any way he could..