"Auntie, I'm sorry, I can't take you with me."
Uchiha Izumi apologized repeatedly.
The next moment, the other woman's eyes widened before she slumped to the ground.
"You—"
"The enemies are coming soon, stop talking and go."
The Black-Robed Man's tone was ice-cold.
Uchiha Izumi noticed that her clanswoman wasn't dead, just knocked unconscious.
She placed the child into a wooden bath bucket.
There were already about a dozen children in the two buckets, arranged in a circle; it was crowded, but they fit.
Some had woken up earlier but were knocked out again.
The infants couldn't stop crying.
Uchiha Izumi said, "These few are orphans; their parents either died in the war or passed away early from illness. It's better to take them away—"
"Protect them well."
The Black-Robed Man didn't waste words and formed hand seals.
Water Release: Water Style: Wave of Raging Water!
Although it was the simplest Ninjutsu, the water flow was near-perfect under his control, with every wave pushing the two buckets rapidly outward.
In the blink of an eye, the two were riding the waves toward the outskirts of the village.
But after a short while, a gust of gale-force wind blew in.
In front of them, a figure dropped from above; the moment he hit the ground, a hurricane swept out in all directions, buffering his descent.
Bandages wrapped around a quarter of his face, carrying a thick intent to kill.
"Where do you two think you're taking Konoha's villagers?"
"It really is you guys!"
Uchiha Izumi's eyes were filled with intense rage. "Konoha? Did you ever treat us as people of Konoha?"
"Stupid and naive."
Danzo swept a cold gaze over her, not bothering to look at the little girl a second time.
His gaze fixed on the Black-Robed Man. "You were the one who rescued Shisui last time, weren't you?"
"It's been a long time, Danzo."
The Black-Robed Man chuckled softly.
Danzo narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "I don't recall having an old acquaintance like you."
"On the battlefield, you wouldn't notice a nobody, but a nobody will remember a famous figure of the Ninja World like you."
The Black-Robed Man smiled. "Time is precious. If you have nothing else to say, I won't disturb you further."
Chakra surged, and the surrounding water waves roared upward.
"Stubborn and foolish!"
"If you surrendered, I might have spared those children. But now—"
Danzo sneered, forced his hands to form seals, and spat out a violent wind from his mouth.
The hurricane roared!
A high-pressure ball of wind formed a terrifying hurricane; as soon as it appeared, it swept everything around it into the center of the vortex.
Wind Release: Pressure Damage!
Uchiha Izumi's face turned deathly pale.
Such a terrifying technique was impossible to block!
It's over!
Although she had awakened the Three Tomoe, her Ninjutsu abilities were not strong; she was more adept at Taijutsu.
She couldn't possibly block a Ninjutsu of this level.
However.
The person in front of her had no intention of changing his hand seals, still maintaining the seal for a simple Water Release technique.
The difference was that his palm was pressed against the ground, as if brewing something.
At the moment the "Pressure Damage" raged, a cracking sound rang out from the ground.
The gale-force wind swirled soil and rocks, tearing the rift further apart.
Before long—
Splash!
Water gushed up from beneath.
Danzo raised an eyebrow, vaguely sensing something was wrong, and took two steps back.
The next moment, he saw a phantom so fast it was impossible to react to, flashing past from within the water.
Who is it?
Startled, he used Body Flicker to retreat, spitting out a continuous wave of wind from his mouth.
Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!
However.
In the night, the opponent's figure suddenly dissipated, reappearing right in front of him.
So fast!
He no longer cared about hiding and pulled out the hand he had been keeping concealed in his clothes.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out.
Danzo looked closely and saw another Black-Robed Man; the difference was that the opponent's right hand held a short,
sharp bone blade.
In the next second, the opponent's left hand brushed over the bone blade.
The short bone blade disintegrated and split into countless tiny bone needles flying toward him.
!!!
Danzo was shocked and leaped back with Body Flicker, exploding his Chakra outward to repel the bone needles, but some still pierced his right ribs.
The bone needles sank into his body, splitting and scattering further.
Sharp pain radiated from his wrist and ribs.
It even affected his ability to form seals at the joints.
Danzo struck with a blade; although the Black-Robed Man blocked the edge, the sharp Wind Release Chakra still sliced open the opponent's arm.
However.
At the same time he cut the arm, explosive tags fluttered out.
He withdrew his blade and focused, adopting a defensive stance while looking into the distance, but where could he see the Black-Robed Man's Shadow Clone, Uchiha Izumi, or those two bath buckets?
Even—
the one in front of him turned into a phantom in the next second.
The real Black-Robed Man was fleeing through the distant forest.
He wanted to give chase, but the pain in his ribs and arm was unbearable; he immediately formed hand seals, and a Shadow Clone emerged from his side to throw his main body further away.
At the same time, he spat out a massive wind ball.
Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!
Under the highly concentrated Wind Release Chakra, the explosions and flames were swept up by the wind, heading toward the previously opened water vein rift.
Boom!
Wind, fire, and explosions.
The water-spouting ground collapsed further, and the underground water veins surged wildly, but there was no sign of those people.
"Lord Danzo—"
Toge only just hurried to the scene.
Seeing the mess everywhere, he swallowed hard and looked at Danzo in disbelief, then immediately realized: "I'll go after them!"
"No need to chase."
Danzo's face was cold, and he was in a terrible mood. "You can't catch him."
"What is his background?"
Toge was incredulous.
With Lord Danzo's strength, the opponent had actually slipped away from under his nose, and he even looked quite disheveled.
This was truly—
He lowered his head, not daring to look further.
Danzo said coldly, "It's a remnant of the Kaguya Clan!"
"The Kaguya Clan?"
Toge was surprised, then understood why Danzo didn't let him chase.
Besides the strength of their bones, the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku made their Taijutsu extremely terrifying.
With that clan's speed, if the opponent wanted to run, they definitely couldn't catch up.
Unless Danzo went personally.
But now, Danzo clearly had no such intention, so he shut his mouth.
Danzo swept a cold gaze: "What's the situation over there?"
"I noticed the battle on your side and rushed over immediately, so I don't know the situation there," Toge replied.
Toge replied.
"Go there."
After Danzo finished speaking, he quickened his pace, his brow furrowed tightly.
The bone spurs in his ribs would cut his muscles whenever he moved, causing unbearable pain, and the spurs were sinking deeper as he moved.
"Lord Danzo, are you feeling unwell?"
"Capturing Shisui is more important."
Danzo endured the pain and increased his speed.
Fortunately, Toge didn't let Danzo suffer for too long.
Halfway there, Toge's Kikaichu returned, and his expression changed instantly.
"Lord Danzo, you should go to the hospital first. Over there—"
He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and plucked up his courage. "They failed to surround Uchiha Shisui; he escaped!"
"All of them are trash!"
Danzo cursed coldly, his face turning livid.
Although he had also let a group of Uchiha escape, he didn't feel it was a pity for them to be gone, but Shisui was not even seventeen.
The opponent's potential definitely didn't stop there; he would continue to improve and grow, and his future strength was unpredictable.
To be hated by such a person—
The entire Konoha would find no peace.
At this moment, he felt a faint trace of regret.
If he had been more thorough then, or if he had coordinated and joined forces with Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shisui definitely wouldn't have escaped.
"Also, on the Uchiha side—according to our count, many people are missing. Currently, the fire is too large to determine whether they are missing or were taken away."
"
Danzo was once again silenced by this news.
He was silent for several seconds before asking, "What are our gains?"
"Most of the bodies from the Security Division have been collected. Additionally, Sasuke is already heading back from the Ninja Academy."
O
Toge looked at Danzo. "Itachi is currently still at his home. Your orders?"
"Don't touch them. Dispatch Root and Anbu to track down Uchiha Izumi and the children she took."
Danzo's tone was ruthless. "Block the borders; they won't get far!"
"Yes!"