Chapter 142: The Final Chapter of Danzo Shimura
Konoha, the outskirts of the Root base.
"Danzo Shimura, save yourself some dignity and tell me where you have Naruto imprisoned!"
Jiraiya, having finally dealt with Aburame Torune, joined Asuma Sarutobi and the others in besieging Danzo Shimura. As soon as he opened his mouth, he intended to persuade Danzo to surrender.
"I... do not know!"
Under the effect of the Tongue Binding Seal, Danzo Shimura wanted to speak but couldn't; one could only imagine the frustration in his heart.
Of course, as the developer of this technique, Danzo had tried to undo the Tongue Binding SealNaruto had placed on him. However, Naruto, who had long ago obtained the vast majority of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu from Danzo, possessed an attainment in Sealing Jutsu that was by no means low.
Danzo Shimura's hopes were dashed...
With the failure to break the Seal, only two paths remained before Danzo Shimura: putting up a desperate last-ditch resistance, or surrendering and awaiting trial.
But how could Danzo Shimura be willing to accept that?
Besides desperate resistance, the second path had already been blocked by his own hands, and the outcome was already decided; there was almost no possibility of a turnaround.
"I can only tell you that the mastermind behind Konoha's troubles is someone else. Besides me, there is another person you would never suspect manipulating everything from the shadows!"
Danzo Shimura could only give Jiraiya and the others hints in a roundabout way, but in their eyes, this was merely Danzo trying to shift the blame before his death.
Just as the persuasion proved fruitless and Jiraiyaand the others were about to strike, Uzumaki Kenshin suddenly appeared, pointing to his tongue to signal Jiraiya to release the Tongue Binding Sealfor him.
Jiraiya, of course, had also studied Sealing Jutsu; otherwise, Naruto's Clone would not have sought him out, and Naruto would not have set up such a plan.
Sure enough, after Jiraiya pressed his hand onto Uzumaki Kenshin's tongue, the original version of the Tongue Binding Seal was released, and Uzumaki Kenshin completed the first step of the follow-up mission assigned by Naruto's main body.
"Thank you for your assistance, Jiraiya-sama. This is the evidence of Danzo Shimura's collusion with outsiders to harm the Third Hokage-sama, as well as the location where Uzumaki Naruto is being held."
"Good!" Jiraiya still had doubts in his heart, but he trusted the strength of Asuma Sarutobi and the others, and finally decided to give it a try. "Asuma, Guy, Kurenai, the three of you go rescue Naruto. Leave this place to me!"
"Yes! Jiraiya-sama!"
Asuma Sarutobi and the others naturally knew which priorities were more urgent. Following Uzumaki Kenshin, who was already heading toward Naruto's place of imprisonment, they disappeared from Jiraiya's sight in a few leaps.
"Danzo, now is the time for your atonement!" Jiraiya said in an unfriendly tone. "Over these years, you should give an explanation to all the excellent Shinobi you have harmed or indirectly caused to suffer!"
"I never expected that I would also be a pawn in someone else's hands, and in the end, I don't even have the right to explain!"
Danzo Shimura's expression was dejected. Having spent a lifetime playing with schemes and intrigues, he had been defeated in his own area of expertise and was forced to shoulder everything; the pain of such a setback and the desolation of having grievances that could not be voiced were things Danzo was now experiencing to the fullest.
"When they died with hatred in their hearts, it must have felt something like this..." Danzo Shimuraunderstood Naruto's 'well-intentioned' efforts. "We were all played, played by someone who looks harmless all day long!"
Danzo Shimura was bordering on madness. "Jiraiya, as long as you let me go, I will absolutely make that culprit receive his due punishment. Don't forget, only darkness can fight darkness!"
"You are the greatest darkness in Konoha!" Jiraiyautterly loathed Danzo Shimura's face. If it weren't for Danzo's secret maneuvers, how could Konoha's Sannin trio have fallen apart!
"If it weren't for you, how could Sensei have made so many wrong decisions?!" Jiraiya certainly knew of Hiruzen Sarutobi's many mistakes, and not just Jiraiya—Tsunade and Orochimaru were also well aware of them.
However, behind these mistakes, Danzo Shimura's shadow was present to a greater or lesser extent.
"Words are useless now; let our skills do the talking!" Seeing that his final struggle was fruitless, Danzo Shimura suddenly tore off the bandages on his arm, and the hideous Sharingan covering his arm finally saw the light of day!
"You are truly the person I have most wanted to kill, without exception!" Jiraiya gritted his teeth. "This monstrous appearance of yours is what you call loving Konoha? I see you as nothing but a blood-sucking parasite of Konoha!"
After the harsh rebuke, Jiraiya wasted no more words with Danzo Shimura. Starting with a Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, he instantly opened the curtains on the battle between the two.
...
The scene shifted, and the duel between Uchiha Sasuke and Guren also came to an end.
However, at this moment, both of them were in a wretched state. Uchiha Sasuke could barely stand, relying only on the support of his ninja sword.
Although Uchiha Sasuke was in a terrible mess, the various Otogakure Ninja on the second-floor balcony had basically fallen silent. This was out of recognition for Uchiha Sasuke's strength, as well as fear of him.
One must realize that Uchiha Sasuke was only twelve years old now, yet the combat intelligence he displayed at this age directly crushed everyone present. Even Guren, who was nearly entering her Peak period, had almost fallen into a trap and died at Uchiha Sasuke's hands.
However, there was still a gap in strength between the two. At the very least, the current Uchiha Sasuke's chances of winning against Guren, who had developed her Crystal Release Bloodline Limitto the extreme, were less than thirty percent.
"You indeed have the qualifications to become Orochimaru-sama's vessel." Aside from her torn clothes making her look disheveled, Guren had few external injuries. "But that is a matter for many years from now; you are still far from it!"
Despite her tattered clothes, Guren, who still hadn't exposed anything, jumped back up to the second-floor balcony. Before leaving, she glanced at Uchiha Sasuke and then warned the OtogakureNinja who had just been watching the show.
"You'd better behave yourselves. Uchiha Sasuke is not someone you can handle."
However, Guren's kindness—or rather, her protective gesture out of appreciation for Uchiha Sasuke—did not draw any gratitude from him. Instead, it further stimulated the pride within the Uchiha Bloodline.
"Stop being hypocritical! Sooner or later, I will trample you under my feet!" Uchiha Sasuke, drawing strength from somewhere, pointed his sword at the Otogakure Ninja. "If any of you still think the Uchiha Clan is unworthy of its name, come down and fight me!"
"Sasuke-kun... Sasuke-kun..." Karin Uzumakisuddenly ran down from the second-floor balcony to the first floor. "Your current state..."
"Get lost! Believe it or not, I can kill you right now!"
Karin Uzumaki, who was about to trot up to Uchiha Sasuke's side, was stopped by a ninja sword held against her neck. If the sword advanced even a tiny bit, a bloody gash would appear on her slender neck.
"My blood has the effect of rapidly healing injuries and restoring one's state. Sasuke-kun can try it..." Karin Uzumaki smiled slightly and raised her arm, which was covered in bite marks, toward Uchiha Sasuke. "Don't worry about those wounds; just pick an intact spot and bite down."
"Orochimaru-sama!"
"You've arrived, Orochimaru-sama!"
"Orochimaru-sama!"
"..."
While Uchiha Sasuke was hesitating, Orochimarusuddenly appeared on the second-floor balcony. Ignoring the noisy greetings around him, he extended his snake-like tongue to lick his lips, revealing a bloodthirsty smile.
"Karin's blood indeed has that kind of effect; you can give it a try." After giving a hint to the still-hesitating Uchiha Sasuke, Orochimaru turned to look around at his fanatical subordinates, his bloodthirsty smile widening. "Whichever of you can kill Uchiha Sasuke will be qualified to become my candidate vessel."
After leaving those words, Orochimaru turned and left, not caring in the slightest about the feverish atmosphere behind him that had already fallen into madness. As for the life or death of Uchiha Sasukeand Karin Uzumaki, Orochimaru didn't care much.
Because he had a body even more outstanding than Uchiha Sasuke's, Uchiha Sasuke naturally became one of Orochimaru's backup options.
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