Minato was about to explain his identity when a figure suddenly appeared before them.
It was an Anbu ninja clad in dark armor, his face concealed behind a mask, his gaze fixed intently on Minato.
"Please accompany me, Your Excellency," the Anbu said, his voice as lifeless as the dead of night, devoid of any emotion. "Lord Danzo requests your presence."
"Danzo? Who's that?" Naruto asked, utterly confused. He had a flood of questions he wanted to ask Minato, but the interruption made him visibly impatient.
Just as Naruto moved to confront the Anbu, Minato raised a hand to stop him.
Glancing at the sky, which was gradually darkening, Minato said calmly, "Go home first. I have some business to attend to. I'll visit you later."
"Ugh... fine," Naruto grumbled, reluctantly leaving first.
Minato turned to the Anbu, composed as ever. "Lead the way."
They quickly arrived at the Konoha Root Base, nestled deep within the forest east of the village.
Minato knew the location like the back of his hand; he could find the entrance even with his eyes closed.
As expected, Danzo was likely already waiting for him within the Root Base, his Kotoamatsukami already craving its next victim.
The Root Base was impervious to the Telescope Technique, which was probably why they'd been brought here.
As Minato entered the Root Base, he found Danzo already there, flanked by his subordinates.
Though Danzo's expression remained impassive, a flicker of smugness flashed in his eyes at Minato's arrival. Even a genius like Namikaze Minato must obey the rules.
Minato's presence deeply satisfied Danzo's increasingly uncontrollable lust for power.
"Namikaze Minato—" Danzo leaned on his cane, exuding an air of mysterious authority. "Do you know why this elder has summoned you here?"
Minato shot him a dismissive glance, then scanned the masked faces of the surrounding Root members. "Is anyone going to leave before I make my move?"
Danzo's face darkened. He'd assumed Minato had come in response to his orders, not to attack him!
"Insolent—" Danzo scoffed coldly, shifting his grip on the cane. With a subtle wave of his hand, he commanded, "Seize him!"
The Root members surged forward, launching their assault.
In the next instant—
Plop!
Minato materialized behind Danzo, clutching a crimson Sharingan in his hand.
Danzo staggered, the bandages covering his right eye spreading with crimson. His face twisted with disbelief.
How is this possible? How did he know?
In the next instant, Minato whirled around, his face contorted with barely suppressed fury. He lunged toward Danzo, his hand outstretched. "Return Shisui's—"
"Stop!"
Danzo twisted his waist and kicked Minato with such force that the man flew across the room, crashing into the wall and leaving a massive crater.
"Lord Danzo!"
The Root Ninjas surrounding them gasped in shock.
"Protect Lord Danzo!"
"How nostalgic."
Minato sneered at the familiar scene and dialogue. He watched as Danzo crawled out of the crater, looking utterly battered. Blood trickled from his mouth as he gasped for breath, staring at Minato.
He hadn't anticipated Minato's speed. In the blink of an eye, the man had plucked out his eye before he could react.
Danzo had envisioned a different scenario: regardless of whether Minato would serve him, he would casually lift the bandage over his right eye, silently eliminate the threat, and crush Hiruzen's spirit.
Instead, Minato had blindsided him, tearing out his eye the moment they met.
"This isn't the Flying Thunder God Technique... Who exactly are you?"
Danzo's face twisted with fear. Minato moved too quickly; he hadn't even had a chance to remove the sealing on his right hand and activate Izanagi.
Unlike Ame no Uzume, which could be activated instantly, Izanagi required pre-set conditions to be triggered.
But Danzo never imagined he would lose an eye in an instant.
How is this kid so fast?
Shouldn't the Flying Thunder God Technique have a telltale kunai-throwing animation?
Why isn't this brat even pretending?
Minato saw no point in explaining his abilities. With a calm expression, he raised his finger, and a dazzling light erupted from its tip.
This dismissive attitude further infuriated Danzo's already hypersensitive mind.
"Buy me some time."
He retreated several steps, positioning his subordinates as a shield. While removing the sealing on his right hand, he sprinted toward the exit, showing no intention of prolonging the fight.
He understood the situation clearly: Minato's effortless defeat of Kakashi proved he had reached a formidable level of combat prowess. Combined with the Flying Thunder God Technique, he was inherently invincible.
The enemy had somehow learned of Kotoamatsukami's existence, which meant they likely also knew about Izanagi.
Though Danzo clutched his hand of resurrection tokens, continuing this fight would only be futile.
His top priority was to quickly involve the others, to use the entire village's strength to deal with this brat!
The gloom in Danzo's eyes seemed about to solidify—
I must survive!
I am the true chosen one of Konoha!
No matter how many die, no matter what the cost, I absolutely cannot fall here!
Danzo roared inwardly, but in the next instant, Minato suddenly appeared, kicking him backward with such force that he slammed into the wall.
Thud!
Embedded in the wall once more, Danzo's figure seemed to shatter into fragments and dissipate like a phantom.
The next moment, another Danzo, seemingly reckless of his life, charged toward the exit.
The bandages wrapped around his right arm had been completely unwound, revealing over a dozen Sharingan eyes on his pale forearm—a grotesque sight that made the hair on the back of one's neck stand up.
On that arm, one of the Sharingan eyes was slowly closing.
"To have transplanted so many Sharingan... you're truly rich beyond belief—"
"6~"
In the next instant, Minato reappeared before Danzo, a hint of mockery in his eyes, and kicked him back again.
Pfft!
Blood gushed from Danzo's mouth as he flew backward.
He finally realized that once Minato had his sights set on someone, escape was utterly impossible.
From the moment the conflict began, his subordinates had been nothing but stunned, unable to even locate Minato, let alone stop him. They were paralyzed by Minato's terrifying mobility, frozen in fear and utterly ineffective.
Just as despair washed over Danzo, a masked youth stepped firmly in front of him, his gaze unwavering.
The youth wore only a breastplate, his skin mottled with dark purple bruises. "Allow me to escort you out, Lord Danzo. A single touch from the Nano-Sized Venomous Insects on my body—"
Before he could finish, Minato flashed forward and kicked the breastplate covering the youth's chest.
Boom!
The youth staggered backward, instinctively flailing to regain his balance. His handback slapped Danzo across the face.
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