Danzō Shimura's eyes were fierce as he pressed forward with his blade.
The force of the clash made both his sword and Hanzo's sickle tremble violently.
Though only Danzō remained to fight Hanzo, Hanzo had lost the use of one arm.
For a shinobi, losing an arm meant being unable to form hand seals—his combat ability would drop drastically.
And for Hanzo, whose unique weapon style required both hands, the loss affected him even more.
Danzō was confident—he could win.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. One hand is more than enough to kill you!"
Hanzo snorted coldly, shaking off Danzō's blade and retreating.
"Don't even think about escaping!"
Danzō pressed forward relentlessly, his sword moving in blurring arcs, refusing to give Hanzo any breathing room.
Hanzo fought while retreating, deflecting every strike with his sickle.
Danzō frowned.
Something felt wrong.
A wounded beast like Hanzo should be attacking more ferociously—not defending like this.
Danzō had already prepared to switch to defense, waiting for Hanzo to exhaust himself.
But now—
The roles had reversed.
Something's off.
His attacks didn't slow, but part of his attention shifted outward, heightening his vigilance.
Then he noticed—
The Root shinobi he had sent to deal with Ibuse still hadn't succeeded.
And from the looks of it, Ibuse hadn't taken significant damage.
Eliminating it quickly was impossible.
So Hanzo was stalling for time?
"These useless fools!"
Danzō cursed, intensifying his assault.
If Ibuse released another wave of poison, the battle might truly turn.
There was only one path—
Kill Hanzo before that happened.
In truth, the Root shinobi weren't incompetent.
Ibuse was incredibly powerful—strong enough in the past to suppress summons from the three great summoning regions.
Even without poison, its burrowing ability made it extremely difficult to deal with.
In fact—
Who would kill whom was still uncertain.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
Danzō forced Hanzo back and began forming hand seals—
But at that crucial moment—
His body stiffened.
Just for an instant.
"Iaidō!"
Hanzo seized the opening.
In a flash, his sickle cut forward.
Danzō's pupils shrank. Though he dodged with all his might, his right arm was still slashed open—deep enough to expose bone.
His expression turned grim.
Retreating quickly, he switched his sword to his left hand—
Then, without hesitation—
He severed his own right arm.
Hanzo's poison—
He had already experienced it.
If he didn't act immediately, he would die.
And yet—
Feeling the numbness spreading through his body, Danzō glared at Hanzo.
"When… did you poison me?"
"Oh? Already feeling the paralysis?" Hanzo grinned. "My blood is even more toxic than Ibuse's venom."
"Even in small amounts, once it disperses into the air, it's enough to numb your body and strip away your mobility."
Danzō's expression darkened further.
It seemed his instincts had dulled after staying off the battlefield for too long.
He had overlooked something so critical.
Today—
He might truly die here.
"Poison Mist!"
As if things weren't bad enough, Ibuse completed its toxin buildup and released another wave.
Thick purple poison spread rapidly across the battlefield.
"Careful! Fall back!"
The Root shinobi engaging Ibuse immediately retreated and regrouped around Danzō.
"Lord Danzō, we must withdraw! You cannot fall here!"
The few remaining shinobi stood before him, ready to cover his escape.
"Stop struggling. None of you are leaving today."
Hanzo shook his head coldly.
Among the survivors, the strongest were only two special jōnin—the rest were chūnin.
They couldn't stop him.
Danzō knew it too.
If they scattered, some might survive—
But he, as Hanzo's primary target, would certainly die.
So instead of fleeing—
He chose to fight to the death.
A glint of resolve flashed in his eyes.
He still had one final technique—
One that could take the enemy down with him.
"You—hold him off. Buy me time—"
"Hm?!"
Before he could finish—
Hanzo suddenly looked toward the distance.
Danzō followed his gaze but saw nothing.
He wasn't a sensory-type shinobi.
But one of his subordinates spoke:
"Lord Danzō—there's fighting over there. Based on chakra signatures… it's likely those two who escaped earlier."
Danzō's eyes lit up.
"Hanzo… it seems those brats you wanted to protect are in danger."
"Well? Still want to drag this out?"
"We may be at a disadvantage—but we can still take you down with us."
His tone was threatening—
But inside, he was tense.
This was his last chance.
If survival was possible—
Who would willingly choose death?
Hanzo's gaze turned cold.
Through Danzō's torn sleeve, he caught sight of faint black sealing markings on his chest.
"Consider yourself lucky."
Without hesitation, Hanzo vanished.
Danzō exhaled heavily, his entire body slackening.
"Move. Back to the Konoha camp."
Not long before, in a dark corner near the valley—
Uchiha Obito, wearing a mask, stood hidden alongside Zetsu, silently observing.
"Tch… Hanzo actually kidnapped Konan to threaten Nagato and Yahiko. He really is a pure shinobi," Black Zetsu said meaningfully.
Obito—referred to here as Uchiha Kenji—didn't catch the sarcasm.
"That's even better. It'll let Nagato experience the darkness of this world more deeply."
Black Zetsu nearly laughed.
In his eyes, Obito was just an immature fool—someone forcing sorrow for the sake of sounding profound.
Perhaps only when he learned the truth would he understand real darkness.
"They're here."
Obito's attention sharpened as he looked toward the valley entrance.
Nagato and Yahiko had arrived.
A cold smile curled beneath his mask.
Black Zetsu also focused.
They had been waiting for this moment.
But soon—
Both of them froze.
The situation unfolded completely outside their expectations.
"Why? Why would Hanzo attack Danzō instead of supporting him?!"
Obito couldn't understand it at all.
"Is he trying to protect Nagato and the others? Impossible! A ruler like Hanzo wouldn't do that!"
He racked his brain but found no answer.
Black Zetsu, however, after careful thought, began to see the outline of the truth.
"Perhaps… Hanzo is thinking further ahead than we expected."
Obito frowned. "What do you mean?"
Black Zetsu explained:
"Given the current situation in the Land of Rain, cooperating with Danzō would indeed bring short-term benefits."
"But those benefits come with risk."
"Working with Danzō—the 'Darkness of the Shinobi World'—is like dealing with a tiger."
"Many of Konoha's policies that restrict the Land of Rain actually come from him."
"So while cooperation might yield gains now, once Konoha stabilizes… the Land of Rain would likely pay a much heavier price."
"And more importantly—Konoha's internal situation."
His tone grew more certain.
"If Konoha's leadership were a tiger, then Danzō would be its claws and fangs."
"Hiruzen and the others are too soft. Without Danzō, Konoha becomes a toothless tiger—strong on the outside, weak within."
"It would become easier to pressure."
"Its foreign policy would lean toward compromise."
"In the long run, such a Konoha benefits the Land of Rain far more."
"That's likely what Hanzo saw."
Obito nodded slightly, though doubt still lingered.
"But isn't Hiruzen stepping down soon?"
"The Fourth Hokage will be either Orochimaru… or Minato Namikaze."
"Once a new Hokage takes power, won't Konoha's policies change?"
"How can Hanzo be sure the next Hokage won't be more hardline?"
Black Zetsu paused, then said:
"There isn't really a contest."
"Orochimaru has already lost his chance."
"The Fourth Hokage… will most likely be Minato Namikaze."
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