Sasori appeared to be arguing with Kakuzu, but his attention never left Danzō.
As the former leader of Root, Danzō was infamous for his cunning. Even in his current miserable state, no one could be certain that this old schemer didn't still have another trick hidden away.
After all, Danzō had escaped the Fourth Hokage's pursuit and survived what should have been a fatal attack during Kakuzu's ambush.
Once could be dismissed as luck.
Twice was another matter entirely.
No one knew how many times Danzō could "die" before he truly stayed dead. Sasori, however, only needed to die once for it to be over.
The moment he noticed Danzō preparing to flee, Sasori made his move.
Hidden within Hiruko, he swung the massive scorpion tail behind him. The poisonous barb trembled subtly, moving just like that of a real scorpion.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The tension of their earlier argument vanished, replaced by murderous intent.
Dragging the tail behind him, Sasori advanced. The sharp tip scraped across the ground with a grating sound. His movements lacked any predictable rhythm, sometimes quick, sometimes slow.
In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of Danzō.
The tail swept forward in a brutal arc, aiming directly for Danzō's forehead.
Danzō wasn't foolish enough to block with his bare hands.
Everyone in the shinobi world knew Sasori's mastery of poison. The tail was undoubtedly coated with a deadly toxin, likely one without an antidote.
A kunai infused with Wind Release chakra appeared in Danzō's hand.
He intercepted the strike diagonally.
Wind Release chakra greatly enhanced the blade's sharpness, but the instant the collision occurred, Danzō released the kunai rather than absorb the impact directly.
He knew his limitations.
Age had weakened his taijutsu, and he had no intention of competing physically against younger opponents.
Before the weapon could be knocked away, Danzō caught it again. Although the Wind Release chakra had already been dispersed, the exchange made it appear as though he had met Sasori head-on.
Only Danzō knew the truth.
Sasori's strength was astonishing.
Even after regaining his grip, Danzō had to continuously channel chakra into the kunai to disperse the vibrations running through it.
The moment he neutralized the remaining force, Sasori attacked again.
The tail lashed out repeatedly, forcing Danzō into a hurried defense with no chance to counterattack.
Then, without warning, the tip of the tail opened.
A massive fireball erupted toward him.
At the same time, Kakuzu moved.
His arms shot forward, connected to his body by countless thin black tendrils. The limbs bent at impossible angles, forming a wide semicircle as both hands lunged straight toward Danzō's head.
Sliding backward, Danzō rapidly formed hand seals.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Several blades of compressed wind burst from his mouth.
The attacks instantly split apart the incoming flames before curving through the air toward Kakuzu.
Both Sasori and Kakuzu stood among the strongest shinobi in the world.
Kakuzu, in particular, had accumulated a lifetime of combat experience. He was one of the oldest shinobi still alive, having spent decades fighting and killing.
It was hardly surprising that Danzō was outmatched.
As for Sasori, although far younger, his talent was monstrous.
Even Chiyo, renowned as the greatest puppeteer of Sunagakure, could not compare to him. He possessed the Human Puppet of the Third Kazekage, his greatest masterpiece.
Danzō lagged behind both of them.
But when it came to risking his life, he was not inferior to either.
After all, Danzō had built his reputation on sacrificing everything to achieve victory.
Seeing Danzō ignore his own safety and attack with a seemingly suicidal strategy, Kakuzu remained calm.
He made no attempt to withdraw his arms.
Sure enough, without any visible action from Sasori, the Third Kazekage Puppet appeared behind him.
The puppet's fingers twitched.
Iron Sand gathered instantly, forming a defensive wall intended to shield Kakuzu from the incoming Wind Release.
The two had been arguing moments ago, yet now they coordinated perfectly.
But Danzō had prepared for this.
Farther away, a Summoning Beast appeared.
It possessed an elephant's trunk, rhinoceros-like eyes, a bull's tail, and tiger-like limbs.
Baku.
The dream-eating beast inhaled deeply.
A tremendous suction force erupted from its mouth, drawing away the scattered Iron Sand while simultaneously empowering Danzō's Wind Release techniques.
The enhanced winds surged forward, temporarily suppressing Sasori's movements.
Danzō had come prepared.
Baku was only one of his contingency plans.
He genuinely intended to kill Sasori and Kakuzu here.
And if he couldn't, he intended to make them pay dearly.
Watching Danzō throw away his life in exchange for a chance at taking one of theirs, Kakuzu couldn't help feeling a trace of admiration.
Could this old man really resurrect endlessly?
The thought excited him.
But whether he could or not hardly mattered.
If he died, he died.
Kakuzu wasn't afraid of death.
He had five hearts.
Without further hesitation, the black tendrils within his arms spread outward completely, writhing like a mass of living serpents.
Of course, Sasori was still here.
Even if things went badly, retreat remained an option.
Kakuzu never fought a battle without an escape route.
The next instant, the tendrils slammed directly into the center of Danzō's forehead.
Simultaneously, Baku's empowered Wind Release struck Kakuzu head-on.
The force was terrifying.
Despite his body being modified by Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu was blasted more than ten meters away. Deep wounds tore across his body, exposing bone. Both arms were severed, and one of the masks on his back shattered instantly.
The destructive power of the combined Wind Release was obvious.
Yet black tendrils immediately emerged.
They crawled from his sleeves over his ruined arms, then spread from his neck across his temples and face, rapidly repairing the damage.
The sight was horrifying.
Kakuzu slowly rose and looked toward Danzō.
The old man's condition was even worse.
After crashing through several massive trees, his forehead had been completely destroyed. The area between his eyes was a bloody ruin.
There was no doubt.
He was dead.
Yet his corpse quickly disappeared.
A moment later, Danzō reappeared not far away, completely restored.
Kakuzu frowned.
"Can he really revive endlessly?"
The final Sharingan on Danzō's arm closed.
Without hesitation, he expanded the distance of his attack.
His figure vanished and instantly appeared beside Kakuzu.
Kakuzu was still recovering from his injuries.
Suddenly, countless black tendrils burst from beneath the ground.
Like venomous snakes, they shot through the grass and wrapped tightly around Danzō.
The dense mass of wriggling black threads was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
But Danzō's right arm suddenly swelled.
A gigantic tree erupted from it, fed by his chakra.
Wood Release.
The explosive growth shattered the tendril restraints and shifted Danzō's position.
Kakuzu clearly hadn't expected that.
Even he froze briefly upon seeing Wood Release.
At that moment, Danzō's right Sharingan spun rapidly.
The tomoe connected together, forming a strange pattern.
"Kotoamatsukami."
Kakuzu's vision blurred.
The battlefield vanished.
He found himself standing within a forest.
"That Mangekyō technique again..."
He had experienced it once before and still remembered the lingering fear.
He had no idea what sort of torment awaited him this time.
Then a familiar voice echoed through the woods.
"Are you the Takigakure shinobi who wishes to assassinate me?"
Kakuzu slowly looked up.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
"Danzō..."
His expression twisted with fury.
"Damn you to hell!"