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Chapter 152: Root Destroyed, Time to Harvest
Danzo's only intact left eye was half-open, staring fixedly at Konan floating in mid-air. He panted rapidly. Izanagi could revive the body, but it couldn't restore the chakra used for the technique. With very little chakra left in his body, he knew he could not escape death.
He thought his strength stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world, yet he couldn't even get close to White Tiger, let alone harm her. The entire battle was fierce and swift, a complete stomp from start to finish. Aside from using Izanagi to survive and stall for time, he couldn't mount a single counterattack.
"Cough..."
Danzo coughed up a mouthful of blood and roared, "White Tiger!! I am the Hokage of Konoha!! Don't look down on this old man!!"
"Wood Release: Tree Root Burial!!"
Boom!
His right arm suddenly expanded, transforming into a gigantic tree. It swept across the stone spikes extending from all around. The tip smashed ruthlessly into the ceiling of the hall, creating a loud bang. The entire underground hall shook violently, scattering a large amount of debris and gravel.
Although this move was ferocious, it couldn't stop the endless attack of stone spikes.
Crack!
Danzo took a step forward, and his right arm, now a tree, snapped at the root. Exploding the power of the Senju within his right arm with all his might was only to create a moment of respite.
Suddenly, the smiling face of his old friend, Hiruzen Sarutobi, appeared in his mind.
Hiruzen, you are the leaves bathing in the sunlight, and I am the roots buried deep in the earth.
But now, I will die as the Hokage, just like you!
"White Tiger!!" Danzo leaped up violently, fully exploding with the Body Flicker Technique, shooting toward Konan. He shouted angrily, "I am the Hokage of Konoha!! An existence like you is too dangerous!! I will absolutely not allow you to harm Konoha!!"
He tore off the clothes on his chest, revealing a torso inscribed with black trigram runes.
"Even if I die, I won't let you threaten the village!! Come with me to the afterlife!!!"
Splash! Splash!
Danzo approached at high speed, a large amount of black ink suddenly spraying from his chest.
"Reverse Four Symbols Sealing!!"
Fifty meters... Thirty meters...
Twenty...
Puchi!!
Danzo, still in mid-air and not yet within twenty meters, was instantly turned into a hedgehog by stone spikes shooting up from the ground and down from the ceiling. His body froze in the air, unable to advance another inch.
The black ink from his chest continued to spray, but it only splashed onto the surrounding stone spikes, the ground, and the ceiling. He was always just that short distance away from Konan.
Danzo's half-open left eye widened violently, staring at Konan in front of him, and he spurred a large mouthful of blood. "I... I..."
"I... wanted to take you... with me... as... Hokage..."
His words came to an abrupt halt as he breathed his last.
The sprayed ink connected into a single mass, and the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing fully activated. It formed a pitch-black sphere over ten meters in diameter, which shrank toward the center with a swish and vanished into nothingness. Danzo's corpse, the stone spikes, the ceiling, and the ground within the coverage area were all annihilated.
Danzo was dead. The battle was truly over.
The entire Root Headquarters fell silent, leaving only the woo-woo sound of the cold wind.
Konan floated in mid-air, looking at the two semi-circular voids above and below, and whispered, "Yahiko... Nagato, Danzo is dead. I have avenged you..."
Of the three enemies, Hanzo the Salamander and Danzo Shimura were dead. Only Obito Uchiha remained. It wouldn't be long before she sent Obito down to join them, completely settling the score.
Alex floated beside Konan, his gaze sweeping over the blood-soaked hall. This battle had no twists or difficulties. Neither Danzo nor the hundreds of Root ninjas posed any threat. It was only the existence of Izanagi that had stalled for some time.
"Alex." Konan didn't immerse herself in past sorrow for long. She looked at Alex. "It's time to collect the Bloodline Limit samples."
[Let's go!]
Alex nodded and took the lead, flying deep into the base.
The Root's collection was by no means inferior to the Hokage Residence; in fact, it likely surpassed it. If the Hokage Residence had one item, given Danzo's personality, the Root base definitely had a copy. The Scroll of Seals, which recorded Konoha's various ninjutsu, secret techniques, and sealing jutsu, definitely had a backup here!
The battle was over; now was the time to harvest the fruits! This harvest would inevitably far exceed previous ones. It was basically equivalent to robbing one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Alex and Konan flew straight to the deepest part of the base, arriving before a metal gate. Purple light flickered on the door, clearly a protective barrier.
[Konan,] Alex examined the light curtain. [This should be a defensive measure developed from the Four Violet Flames Formation. Just break it with brute force.]
They had searched every room on their way down and hadn't found any precious items. It seemed all the good stuff was hidden behind this metal gate. Right next to it was that old schemer Danzo's room.
Boom!
Konan, in Sage Mode, possessed a tough body and immense strength. With just one punch, she made the purple light curtain tremble violently. After five consecutive punches, with a chi sound, the light curtain shattered, turning into purple specks of light that faded away.
Bang!
Konan blasted the metal gate open with a punch and entered with Alex.
Behind the door was a massive storage room, spanning hundreds of meters. Both sides were lined with two-meter-tall cultivation tanks. They were filled with green solution, bubbling occasionally. Even more chilling was that something was clearly soaking in the solution. From the outline, they looked like human figures.
Alex leaned in for a closer look.
Whoa!
They were all corpses. And acquaintances, at that.
Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Sakumo Hatake, Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, and so on. The vast majority were powerhouses since the founding of Konoha, along with a small portion of corpses from outside the village possessing special Bloodline Limits or abilities.
Alex clicked his tongue in wonder. Danzo really wasn't a decent human being. Tobirama Senju was his teacher, yet he secretly dug him up and pickled him in a jar. Truly a good apprentice; such "filial piety." Tobirama Senju probably never imagined while he was alive, enjoying his research and developing forbidden jutsu, that his own corpse would be used for research by his disciple after death.
Aside from "The Darkness of Shinobi," "The Pot Kage of Konoha," and the "5.5th Hokage," Danzo Shimura should also have the title of "Grave Robber." As long as it was a strong person's corpse, regardless of relationship, he would dig it out of the grave.
Alex observed carefully; every corpse had defects. They likely had parts of their body tissue excised for research. Among them, Hashirama Senju's corpse was the most severely damaged. The head was cut open, the legs were missing large portions, and even the heart was gone. Over the decades, he had probably been ravaged quite a bit by Danzo and Orochimaru.
Hmm? Why don't I see Hiruzen Sarutobi's corpse?
Alex flew past all the tanks and confirmed that Hiruzen wasn't there. He felt it was odd. Did Danzo look down on his old friend's corpse, or did he hold special feelings for him and couldn't bear to disturb his peace? Alex didn't know; perhaps this was the power of their bond...
"Alex." At this moment, Konan walked over holding a large scroll. "Look, what is this?"
His heart jolted, and he blurted out: [The Scroll of Seals!]
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