Chapter 127: Danzō's Desperate Wood Release Trap, Third Raikage's Overwhelming Haki Counter, Hachifusa Puppets Destroyed, and Orochimaru's Emergency Retreat
A massive bead of sweat dripped from Danzō's forehead—this was the first time he had witnessed such a direct and brutal fighting style.
This combat approach even reminded Shimura Danzō of tailed beast battles: almost no dodging, effortlessly destroying enemy ninjutsu.
He controlled the Genjutsu puppet to cast illusion on the Third Raikage while positioning the Swordsmanship puppet in front of him to block.
Unfortunately, under the Third Raikage's berserk Lightning Release Chakra Mode, the Genjutsu puppet's illusions had no effect at all.
Perhaps because he was getting hyped up in the fight—or simply wanting to draw Danzō's attention—
the Third Raikage grinned crookedly at Danzō and said: "Isn't this Konoha's Hokage advisor Shimura Danzō? Meeting an old friend and not even coming over to say hello?"
Danzō didn't reply—he just stared fixedly at the Third Raikage A.
Right now—seeing the Third Raikage leap into the air, Danzō rapidly formed hand seals and used Wood Release.
"Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"
Multiple wooden vine branches extended from Danzō's arms, attempting to capture the Third Raikage A. The vines directly wrapped him up.
With inexplicable confidence, Danzō ordered the Swordsmanship puppet to move in and heavily injure the Third Raikage—he planned to finish him off with Hachifusa later.
At the same time he mocked: "Caught by Wood Release—Wood Release will directly drain your chakra. Without chakra, can you still use Lightning Release Chakra Mode? Just accept your fate and become my puppet!"
The Third Raikage showed no panic. He did sense Wood Release absorbing and suppressing his chakra.
But he discovered the absorption and suppression speed wasn't fast—and he had another solution.
The Third Raikage directly deactivated Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
"Hahahaha! Third Raikage! Your chakra has already been suppressed by Wood Release? Our Konoha's Wood Release truly is invincible!" As Danzō's trash talk rang out,
the Swordsmanship puppet's blade reached the Raikage. Danzō even worried slightly—if the Swordsmanship puppet killed the Raikage in one slash, could he still turn the Third Raikage into a puppet with Hachifusa?
But he quickly lost the need to worry.
Danzō's mouth fell open—in his vision, the Swordsmanship puppet's long sword struck directly into the Third Raikage's chest.
"Clang!"
The chakra-coated sword in the puppet's hand snapped instantly. Then the Third Raikage's right hand easily broke free from the wood. A pitch-black, thick arm extended from the wood and crushed the Swordsmanship puppet's neck.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You clearly aren't using chakra! How can you have this kind of defense and power?!" Danzō completely broke.
"There's one sentence you should remember: Only Haki stands above all!" The Third Raikage revealed a dangerous look.
BOOM—the Third Raikage shattered all the surrounding wood.
Only now did Danzō suddenly recall Naraku's words about the Haki Seed.
According to Naraku's explanation, the Haki Seed only provided a slight boost to defense and strength! Plus a tiny bit of perception!
It still required massive time to develop!
Yet the opponent before him was a Third Raikage who had developed it for one month—defense strong enough to tank Five Release: Great Barrage Technique, able to snap a top swordmaster's blade even without chakra.
Strength capable of effortlessly shattering Wood Release ninjutsu; perception—even if not as far-reaching as Byakugan—comparable to Byakugan at close range!
He had scoffed at Naraku's Haki Seed back then—never expecting the path to heaven was right beside him.
Watching the Third Raikage A step closer step by step, the cornered Shimura Danzō prepared to take the moral high ground and condemn him—condemn Kumogakure for having no sense of contract, accepting Teigu yet still invading Konoha!
Utterly shameless!
But then he saw the Third Raikage A preparing his stance—massive lightning gathering on his fist, slowly raising it.
Danzō could only desperately unleash defensive ninjutsu.
"Wood Release: Wood Wall!"
A row of wooden pillars curved up from the ground, forming an arched barrier to protect Danzō.
Immediately after, the Third Raikage A's attack arrived.
"Hell Thrust: Armament Haki: Straight Fist: Internal Destruction!"
The Third Raikage's fist struck the wood. Perhaps because the Third Raikage's level wasn't yet sufficient,
the wooden pillars were instantly destroyed. The ground behind them was blasted into a huge crater, and Shimura Danzō behind the pillars was sent flying by the tremendous force.
In the final second before being blasted away, Danzō's mind didn't flash to his close friend Sarutobi Hiruzen—but to Uchiha Naraku.
Uchiha Naraku truly is an innately evil Uchiha brat!
I was so foolish—knowing full well the Uchiha are an innately evil clan, and Uchiha Naraku is an innately evil Uchiha brat.
Yet I still believed him! Just from this "useless" Haki Seed he mentioned, it's clear Naraku was hiding far more.
Like a revolving lantern, Danzō recalled every loophole Naraku had shown in front of him.
But now he ultimately could change nothing!
Fortunately, the Third Raikage's internal destruction was relative to the wooden pillars' interior, and with Inspiring Armor's protection,
Shimura Danzō didn't turn into minced meat—but his condition was still dire.
His internal organs had completely shifted from that punch; some were even shattered.
This level of injury was roughly equivalent to the fatal wounds Kato Dan and Nawaki suffered in the original story.
However, Inspiring Armor's power continued frantically eroding Danzō's body, consuming his lifespan and vitality to keep him alive.
But the price wasn't just that—Wood Release power even caused green plants to grow on Danzō's body. These plants pierced through his limbs, rendering them immobile.
The Third Raikage looked at Shimura Danzō—who had turned into a mass of overgrown grave grass.
He sneered disdainfully. But just as he prepared to retrieve the fallen Teigu Hachifusa from Danzō—
"Summoning Technique!" ×3
Three gigantic summoned beasts appeared in the Kumo camp, wreaking havoc. Ordinary ninjas had virtually no resistance against such massive summons.
He couldn't help but rage, raising his fist and charging forward.
However, of the three large summons, two immediately began fleeing the moment they saw the Third Raikage pursuing.
Only Manda was still feasting happily and didn't run.
Then it had its outer skin casually shattered by one punch from the Raikage—who didn't bother to look closely and continued chasing the other two summons.
At this point Manda immediately fled back to Ryūchi Cave to shed its skin—it had just been playing dead.
When the Third Raikage reached Gamabunta, he found no ninja on the toad's head.
He suddenly realized he had fallen for a trap.
Turning back, he saw Orochimaru issue a retreat order to the troops—then flee while carrying the plant-covered Danzō.
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