Chapter 23
With every leap I took between the trees I had created earlier, the heat of the flames grew stronger, and the sounds of battle against Danzou grew louder.
I had finally reached the climax of everything we had planned so far, and I was determined to leave that place victorious.
'This is where you lose, Danzou.' That was the only thought racing through my mind at that moment.
I finally got close enough to witness the battle unfold. Danzou had three more ANBU with him, Itachi was in the distance, attacking with his most powerful jutsu, while Shisui preferred to keep the fight close, limiting what Danzou could do and dealing with the ANBU at the same time.
'They're impressive... even Danzou is managing to keep up with the pace of the battle, even without his Sharingan.' For a few seconds, I had to watch each of their movements to sync with the rhythm of the battle.
That's when I saw the perfect opening to join my allies. Shisui was in the air when Danzou appeared behind him, about to cut him with a Fuuton-infused blade, but before he could make the cut, a wooden log hit his bandaged arm and pushed him away.
"Mokuton: Wooden Stakes!"
I shouted, now fully entering the fight, and then set out to help Shisui deal with the ANBU.
[You landed a direct hit! +70 EXP]
"Thanks. Let's finish them off quickly; he'll recover from your attack soon," Shisui said, advancing towards one of the ANBU.
"Right!" I said, as I prepared my hand seals to deal with the other one.
The sequence of blows and jutsu that followed was fast, but extremely tense. The ANBU who were directly protecting Danzou were much more powerful than the ones we had dealt with before, and this shifted the tide of the battle.
I made hand seals as fast as I could for each wooden stake I threw at the ninja I was fighting, but he almost danced between each of my blows, dodging them with absurd precision.
'Damn, it's time to change strategy.'
"Mokuton: Wood Prison."
When I made the last hand seal, a large wooden prison surrounded the ANBU I was facing. He tried to break free from the technique, but every movement was blocked by the logs, which were stronger than normal. As I watched him trapped there, ideas began to race through my mind, until I had a flash of inspiration.
'What if...' I thought.
Seeing the ANBU trapped inside my Wooden Prison, I put my hands together again, making another seal, and the logs began to compress and come together, gradually shrinking the prison's interior and restricting my target's movements.
If he hadn't been wearing a mask, I would have been able to see the expression of despair on his face
"I'll call this one... Mokuton: Sealing Dome!" I said, when there were no more cracks that allowed me to see my enemy.
If I wanted to, I could have continued compressing the dome until there was nothing left of him, but that wasn't my goal here.
Before I could act again and continue the fight, I felt a sudden impact on my back and was thrown away.
[Damage received: -50 HP]
I managed to stabilize myself faster than usual, and when I turned to see who had hit me, I saw Danzou, recovered from my last attack on him.
"Little Senju, you are very skilled for a ninja of your age. Why don't you join my organization? There is a ninja who could help you with your Mokuton," he said, as he landed on one of the tree trunks and looked down at me.
"I have no reason to join you, Danzou. Your attempts to manipulate me won't work," he said confidently.
"That's a shame... but I can use your skills once you're dead."
He then looked at the ninja who was fighting Itachi and said,
"Sugaro, now!"
The ninja nodded, and as he moved away from Itachi, several insects began to fly back to his body. In that instant, I realized what was about to happen.
'Shit, that Aburame...' My expression of surprise froze on my face as I saw my entire body freeze and I fell to the ground.)
Itachi and Shisui fell at the same time, trying unsuccessfully to recover from the poison coursing through their bodies.
"There's no point in trying to move, because Sugaro's insect poison is the strongest among the Aburame clan."
"Haha... hahahaha! It's pathetic that you came here with such a simple plan, trying to disturb the peace that has permeated Konoha for so long. You, conspirators of the Uchiha clan, planned a coup and tried to overthrow me first? You should have prepared better for this," Danzou said, with a smile on his face.
I tried to regain control of my body, but I didn't have enough strength yet. Danzou began to walk calmly toward Shisui.
'Shit, no, no, no! Things are still happening the same way.'
"Your eyes are special, Shisui, it's a shame that an Uchiha doesn't know how to use them properly," Danzou said when he reached Shisui's paralyzed body. Then, with surgical precision, he removed one of the Uchiha's eyes, who screamed in pain.
His scream was only muffled by Renji's shout, who had just arrived on the scene.
"Nooo!" he screamed, his eyes red as he awakened his Sharingan.
Shisui staggered backward, putting his hand over his eye to stop the bleeding. He had managed to regain movement for a few seconds thanks to the pain.
Watching that scene, I began to breathe deeply and tried to focus on the roots scattered across the floor. Time seemed to slow down.
The screams and voices began to fade, and I only paid attention to my own breathing. I began to remember Hashirama's advice and the scrolls my father had given me.
A few seconds passed, and then I opened my eyes. This time, I began to feel my muscles returning to my control, and if I were watching an episode of Naruto, I'm sure that classic battle song "Strong and Strike" would be playing at that moment.
[You have recovered from the poison.]
When I read that notification and began to get used to my muscles again, I ran toward Danzou, who had just placed Shisui's eye in his right eye, which had previously been bandaged. Before he or any of the ANBU could react, I was already beside him, my fist fortified by >Stone Skin<, striking Danzou's left jaw directly, causing him to spit blood as he flew several meters across the ground.
He may have been powerful, but age takes a heavy toll, and the punch was enough to destabilize him for a few seconds — long enough for me to cover Shisui and Itachi with my Mokuton and get them off the battlefield.
Sugaro was the first to try to come toward me, but Renji stopped him with a blow to the Aburame's shoulder, who was unable to react accurately and had his arm rendered useless.
Danzou recovered, and with the help of the other ANBU, he finally got up from the ground.
"Our battle ends here, Danzou." I said with a serious expression.
"Enough!" he shouted angrily, bringing his bloodied hand to the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Baku!"
Smoke spread across the battlefield as he shouted the jutsu, and then a large chimera beast appeared.
"Shit..." I said, watching that gigantic summon unleash a ferocious roar.
....
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