Dozens of figures appeared one after another around the area, each wearing a mask, their bodies radiating dense killing intent. It was obvious—this was a group of Anbu members.
And not just any Anbu.
Those who could appear here were all Root members.
The flames from the explosion were still burning.
"Did we get him?"
"Don't lower your guard. Don't forget who the other side is."
Everyone watched the site of the explosion with extreme caution, until a voice filled with disdain slowly sounded from the other side.
"Hehehehe… as expected of that old bastard Danzō, even at a time like this he still thinks of screwing me over."
"Unfortunately, tricks like this are still a bit too weak if you want to ambush me."
Gekko Chizan was already standing on the surface of the lake.
For many years now, his habit had been to first set up coordinates whenever he arrived at a new place, just in case.
That good habit had saved him once again today.
"Turning his blade on his own people… that old bastard Danzō really has some nerve."
"But he's seriously overestimating himself."
Gekko Chizan sized up the Root members in front of him. To be honest, there were quite a lot of them—thirty in total.
Adding the three who had entered the laboratory earlier, Danzō had really made plenty of preparations just to deal with him.
"Team One, form a formation with me!"
"Teams Two through Seven, attack!"
"Teams Eight and Nine, identify all of his techniques!"
"Team Ten, hmm!"
With a sharp shout from the leading ninja, all forty Root members present sprang into action.
Everyone moved to their assigned positions, except for the three members of Team Ten.
They charged straight toward the lake where Gekko Chizan stood. Four figures moved first—it was the captain and the members of Team One he had mentioned.
"Four Violet Flame Formation!"
Four purple-red walls shot up from the ground, forming the sealing technique known as the Four Violet Flame Formation.
When Gekko Chizan saw this sealing technique, he almost laughed out loud. What was the point of using something like this to trap him?
But when he noticed the placement of the formation, he fell silent.
These four weren't casting the seal on him at all—they were casting it on the base entrance.
Clearly, they were planning to protect the base and keep him from entering.
"Ninjutsu, Mind Transfer Technique!"
"Water Release, Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Lightning Release, Earth Flow!"
Immediately after, attacks from the others began as well.
All kinds of secret techniques and ninjutsu filled the air.
Two teams even started pulling out the Flying Thunder God kunai he had placed around the area earlier.
Gekko Chizan shook his head helplessly.
"Everyone, your intel still isn't good enough."
"Though I'll admit, from a tactical standpoint, your plan isn't exactly wrong."
"But still… it's useless!"
"I can still fly!"
With a casual flick of his hand, countless crystals poured down. Embedded within those crystals were his Flying Thunder God markings.
Facing the barrage of attacks, Gekko Chizan remained calm. He had no intention of taking them head-on.
And unlike Danzō, he wouldn't do something like harming his own people.
What he intended to do was subdue all thirty of them, then take them to Fugaku and have Fugaku re-brainwash them.
"Tch! Damn Flying Thunder God Technique!"
"Flying around like a damn fly—Water Release, Thousand Needle Rain!"
"Everyone, keep attacking, don't stop! Fire Release! Fire Dragon Bullet!"
Amid the curses, the attacks continued.
It had to be said—Root ninja were indeed competent. The power of their techniques was impressive.
Flames and torrents of water alternated in relentless waves. Even with the Flying Thunder God Technique, Gekko Chizan could only keep dodging.
After all, there were too many enemies, and the attacks were airtight.
And it seemed the enemy was only probing.
"Mind Transfer Technique…"
There were Yamanaka clan members among them. That Mind Transfer Technique was the real headache.
Gekko Chizan had to dodge fire and water while also guarding against that Yamanaka secret technique.
While it wasn't an instant kill if he got hit, given the current situation, if he did get caught, there was a very high chance he'd be finished.
"Earth Release, Headhunter Technique!"
Just as he landed, movement suddenly came from beneath the ground.
Gekko Chizan flew again, just as a pair of massive hands burst out of the earth. The sneak attack made his brows knit tightly.
Before he could curse, another presence appeared right beside him.
By the time he reacted, it was already too late—a figure covered in dark purple-black was right in front of him.
"Holy shit! A little purple guy!"
"What the hell is this?!"
Without thinking, Gekko Chizan immediately dodged and pulled back. Only after creating some distance did he finally see clearly.
This wasn't some little purple guy at all—it was Aburame Torune of the Aburame clan.
"Torune, I'm actually on pretty good terms with Shibi. Are you sure you want to make a move on me?"
This time, Gekko Chizan directly withdrew from the center of the battlefield and landed on the top of a distant tree. Standing there, he looked at the purple figure with a regretful expression.
Aburame Torune said nothing, only staring at him coldly.
Seeing this, Gekko Chizan knew there was no point in saying anything more.
"In that case, there's no helping it."
"I'll just capture you all and talk later."
"Crystal Release… One-Sided World…"
Gekko Chizan truly had no talent when it came to naming techniques, but that didn't affect their power in the slightest.
He clapped his hands together, and chakra began to transform.
The unique aura of Crystal Release surged out violently.
Everything around them began to crystallize, spreading outward in all directions.
"This is his Crystal Release—don't touch it!"
"Use ninjutsu to stop the crystals from spreading!"
The captain shouted again. In truth, even without his command, everyone had already begun to counterattack.
Watching the crystals creep closer bit by bit, everyone understood one thing very clearly—this stuff could not be touched.
"Water Release, Great Waterfall Technique!"
One Root member didn't even care about chakra consumption and directly unleashed a large-scale Water Release technique.
Massive torrents of water surged up from the part of the lake that hadn't yet crystallized.
Seeing this, the others quickly retreated backward to avoid being overtaken by the crystals.
Meanwhile, the Yamanaka clan ninja seized the opportunity to continue harassing him with Mind Transfer Technique.
"Man, you're really annoying."
"Fire Release!"
"Not good!"
"Defend!"
The moment Gekko Chizan formed hand seals, the Root members felt a suffocating pressure.
In the next instant, they all began defensive preparations.
Water Walls, Earth Walls—every defensive ninjutsu they had was unleashed at once.
"Great Fire Annihilation!"
Towering flames erupted like a volcanic explosion. The scale was so immense that even the nearby Four Violet Flame Formation was engulfed within it.
"Whoosh!"
Among the Root ninja, there were quite a few who could use Water Wall—eight of them, to be exact.
But eight walls of water were nowhere near enough to block Gekko Chizan's flames. White steam instantly billowed into the air.
In the end, it was only thanks to the presence of the Earth Walls that they barely managed to withstand this Fire Release technique.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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