The ground began to heave violently. Massive trunks tore through the soil, rising one after another, transforming the battlefield into a dense, suffocating forest.
The sound of twisting wood — creak, crack, groan — made Yagami's scalp tingle.
Danzō's face, once calm and calculating, now showed open shock.
He knew the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara had once shared a bond unlike any other.
But how—how could Madara possibly wield the Wood Release, the First's own bloodline limit?
Trunks surged like waves, slamming toward Danzō.
He swung his Vacuum Blade in desperate arcs, slicing through the advancing wood.
Yagami, who had wisely distanced himself beforehand, was already at the outer edge of the Deep Forest Emergence, leaping and rolling backward to escape the jutsu's range.
The forest grew denser by the second, branches and trunks blocking all sightlines. Neither Danzō nor Madara spared so much as a glance toward the expendable ANBU at the periphery.
Too close to Danzō, the Yamanaka Root operative was crushed under a twisting trunk, his abdomen caving in.
Unable to move, with his last breath, he cast Mind Transfer Jutsu at Madara.
Madara didn't even look his way. That level of mental intrusion was nothing to him — like a breeze brushing past his ear.
The other Root ninja, farther away like Yagami, had escaped the forest's radius.
Extending both hands, he unleashed a swarm — insects spreading like a living canopy to devour the Wood Release vines.
He was from the Aburame Clan, trying to relieve Danzō's pressure.
Madara tilted his head slightly, one Sharingan narrowing in mild surprise at the Aburame's strength.
Then a single flower blossomed among the wooden branches — it opened with a hiss, releasing a cloud of toxic pollen.
The insects fell instantly, raining lifeless onto the wooden surface — leaving behind dark mounds of corpses.
The Aburame switched through three species of kikaichū in rapid succession, but none could withstand the poisonous mist. He died miserably among the roots.
As for Yagami — he was hacking away at trunks with Earth Release: Rising Spears, making as much noise as possible while slowly retreating farther and farther from the battlefield.
Madara, frail and ancient in appearance, possessed an overwhelming reservoir of chakra.
Standing atop an arched bridge of intertwining trunks, he looked down at Danzō.
Danzō finished a sequence of hand seals and exhaled sharply.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
A high-pressure orb of wind erupted from his mouth, blasting apart swaths of the wooden forest.
Splinters filled the rain-soaked air, glittering in the lightning.
Madara's eyes gleamed — this was getting interesting.
"Your mastery of Wind Release isn't completely pitiful," he said coolly. "Then let's see how your wind handles… this."
The ground cracked again — and from it rose a giant wooden golem, its roar echoing through the storm.
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
The golem's massive fist came crashing down toward Danzō.
He countered again with another Vacuum Great Sphere, but the Wood Human's strength far exceeded expectation.
The creature's arm cracked only slightly before smashing straight through the wind blast, its fist slamming toward Danzō.
At the last instant, Danzō narrowly dodged, splintered wood exploding around him.
Changing tactics, he darted through the forest, bounding from branch to branch straight toward Madara.
He's old, Danzō reasoned. He must be near death — like Uzumaki Mito in her last years. He's running on fumes.
Now was no time to question how Madara had gained Wood Release. He had to strike while the old demon was weakened.
Kill Madara, and it would all be over.
Besides, Danzō had long coveted Wood Release himself. Perhaps the secret lay hidden in Madara's body.
If Madara could wield it — why couldn't he?
His Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly, its power cutting through the choking growth of wood and vines.
The forest thickened still, the trunks growing faster, closer. Danzō clenched his fists and activated his ultimate technique.
"Susanoo!"
A translucent green Susanoo skeleton burst into existence around him.
Madara's voice carried over the storm, mocking and disdainful.
"Tobirama, that fool… he taught you trash to think you could wield a Susanoo before me?"
"The Uchiha who trusted the Leaf — not one of them could even protect their own eyes."
He snorted — and for the first time in this battle, Madara raised his hand.
Until now, every jutsu had been cast effortlessly, almost lazily, without movement. But this time, he began to weave seals.
It meant he was finally taking it slightly seriously.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
A colossal dragon of intertwined roots erupted from the earth, shrieking as it coiled through the air and lunged at Susanoo.
It wrapped around the green skeleton, draining chakra greedily. The armor's newly formed muscles withered, retracting until only bones remained.
Blood streamed from beneath Danzō's right eye.
The Mangekyō's strain — combined with the Wood Dragon's chakra absorption — sent agony lancing through his skull. His vision blurred.
Only twice… and my body's already failing? he thought grimly.
Susanoo shattered. The Wood Dragon unraveled, crashing apart into splinters — and in the space it had gripped, Danzō was gone.
Wind chakra lifted him as he leapt free of the tangle, soaring into the rain.
While midair, he formed seals again and spat out another jutsu:
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!"
Compressed bursts of air fired from his mouth in rapid succession — sharp, deadly projectiles tearing through the storm like a machine gun.
Each shot howled with terrifying piercing power, all aimed at Madara.
Madara lifted one hand lazily.
"Wood Release: Cutting Technique!"
Dozens of wooden spears shot out from the bridge beneath his feet, colliding with the wind bullets midair.
The attacks cancelled one another out — until several spears broke through the barrage and struck Danzō directly.
The wood lances pierced his torso — and exploded outward from his back.
Blood and bile splattered in the rain. Danzō looked like a grotesque pincushion. His organs had to be completely destroyed.
Yagami's eyes widened — and then, in a blink, Danzō's body vanished.
The wooden spikes clattered to the ground, stained red and green — proof he'd truly been struck.
But from behind a tree trunk farther down the slope, Danzō emerged again, sprinting away into the distance.
Yagami cursed under his breath. Damn coward — running without a word.
From his vantage, he noticed Danzō's right eye — Kagami's Mangekyō — had gone lifeless white, dull and drained.
The precious Sharingan of Uchiha Kagami had become nothing more than Danzō's disposable Izanagi tool.
Yagami and the surviving Aburame ninja immediately took off after him.
Madara stood atop the slope, making no move to chase. He simply watched them flee, expression full of contempt, before turning and walking back into the cave.
Yagami guessed the Rinnegan transplant for Nagato must still be in its final stages.
Compared to that, a few Hidden Leaf's pests weren't worth the trouble.
When they had fled far enough, Yagami didn't feel relieved — only more anxious.
This is bad. Really bad.
He followed silently behind the Aburame, who in turn followed Danzō.
Yagami didn't dare make a sound — not a splash in a puddle, not the crunch of a leaf. The last thing he wanted was Danzō turning on them in fury.
Inside, Yagami's emotions were a chaotic mix — thirty percent joy, seventy percent regret.
Joy, because that old thief Danzō had finally been humbled — utterly humiliated before Uchiha Madara, losing a freshly stolen Mangekyō Sharingan before he even had time to warm it in his socket.
But regret… because Madara had been a disappointment.
The moment he opened his mouth, he talked big — arrogance overflowing — yet in the end, he couldn't even kill Danzō.
Why didn't you wait to transplant the Rinnegan, old man?
You left yourself with only a three-tomoe Sharingan — what good is that?
Can't even kill one Danzō.
What a loser. A big, ancient, pathetic loser. No wonder you never accomplished anything in your life.
Even the Aburame ninja ahead was trembling, barely holding himself together. He was no calmer than Yagami at all.
***
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