The Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique, wrapped in a violent whirlwind, shot out faster and more fiercely.
The cliff walls on both sides of the canyon became the side walls of a furnace.
Striking later, but arriving first.
White Ghost's combined Wind and Fire ninjutsu collided with Tei and Bo's combined Water and Wind ninjutsu right in front of them.
From a great distance, Uzumaki Genchō used his telescope to see the river illuminated by the firelight, glowing like a ribbon of light.
He sighed in admiration, "Fox's Fire Release is truly powerful! Even within the Uchiha and Sarutobi clans, few possess such a level of Fire Release."
Uzumaki Kaichō, however, said, "It doesn't seem like Fire Release alone. Dozens of meters of the river are illuminated, and the light extends extremely fast. It seems more like a combined Wind and Fire ninjutsu."
Uzumaki Yūka felt happy in her heart; Fox seemed to have become even stronger.
Tei was still maintaining his Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, his vision completely blocked by the hurricane water vortex.
He and Bo had been partners for many years, and their combined Water and Wind ninjutsu had killed countless enemies of Root.
However, the level of the newcomer's Fire and Wind Release still surprised him.
Strong. Very strong.
He was spitting out the Great Breakthrough hurricane from his mouth when he suddenly felt a chill behind him.
Turning his head slightly, he saw the person wearing the White Ghost mask suddenly appear behind him!
Yōkō used Water Body Flicker to abruptly flash behind Tei and Bo.
He formed a single hand seal and quickly used Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.
Using Water Body Flicker combined with a single-seal technique, he instantly achieved the effect of one person attacking two from both front and back on this river.
To say "the two of you are surrounded by me" was not an exaggeration at all.
At this moment, the true worth of the "Demigod of the Ninja World," Hanzo, was still rising.
For the young Sannin to have survived against Hanzo, they must have had some skill.
The sea of fire and hurricane in front of Tei had not yet dissipated, while his back was struck by the fire dragon.
"No!"
Tei was a Wind Release master of the Shimura clan! He was supposed to lead Root to overpower the Anbu, defeat the Lynx, and compete for the next clan head!
How could he die here?
However, the flames came too fast, instantly engulfing him.
His future collapsed violently before this mysteriously appearing assassin.
The Water Release was burned into steam, the chaotic winds calmed, and the flames extinguished.
Yōkō frowned; there was only one charred corpse on the water's surface.
"I didn't expect Tei, who acted so tough, to die this quickly. The quiet Bo, however, has quite good Water Release prowess... as expected of a Root ninja..."
Yōkō's figure likewise disappeared.
Over a hundred meters away, Bo, with half his body burnt, was moving underwater.
His eyes were full of fear. Just which Fire Release master wanted to kill them?
In the next instant, he only felt a pain in the back of his head.
Someone had appeared beside him in the water, a kunai deeply embedded in the back of his skull.
How did he swim over?
Why could he move so fast in the water?
Bo's eyes slowly closed as he sank to the river bottom.
Having dealt with the enemies, Yōkō waved from afar to Uzumaki Yūka and the others.
After bidding farewell to Uzumaki Yūka, Yōkō had the Stone Panda Hakuji reverse summon him back to the izakaya's basement.
It was another day of a pleasant mood and smooth thyroid.
Several days later, downstream of the river where the battle had taken place.
A Root ninja, Hei, shouted, "Found it! Lord Danzo!"
The second corpse was fished out and placed before Danzo alongside the first one that had been retrieved earlier.
It had taken four Root ninja several days to finally find the two bodies.
Hei watched Danzo staring blankly at the two corpses, his heart filled with anxiety.
Root was not like those cannon fodder in the Anbu. Root only had ten members... nine members, who were the most loyal to Lord Danzo.
Kō didn't count; Kō was special. Orochimaru and Lord Danzo had a cooperative relationship; he wasn't a loyal subordinate.
Among the nine, Otsu had died in the Land of Whirlpools, and Tei and Bo had died here.
Otsu, Tei, and Bo were all top-ranked members of Root. Their deaths were a significant loss for Root, one that would be difficult to replace.
Danzo remained silent for a long time before asking, "Ki, can you extract any information from their brains?"
Ki replied, "My apologies, Lord. One brain was completely burned through, the other has a kunai stuck in it. There's nothing I can do."
The two had died gruesome deaths.
Just like Shimura Sumi and Sarutobi Yutaka, they had also been defeated by a Fire Release master.
Bo was a Water Release Jonin, yet he had fallen before the assassin's Fire Release.
Danzo's eyes lowered, and in the end, he said nothing.
Behind the Konoha Memorial Stone, two new gravestones quietly appeared.
One of the gravestones bore the name Shimura Kō.
Not far from Shimura Kō's grave was another Shimura clan gravestone, that of Shimura Sumi.
A woman with graying hair knelt before Shimura Kō's grave, weeping for a long time.
She cried until she fainted, woke up, and then fainted again.
Until her eyes grew cloudy and turbid, as if she had gone blind.
She staggered to her feet, stumbling and occasionally tripping over roadside chairs or stones, groping her way back to the Shimura clan compound.
Entering the compound, her vision was a complete blur. Her nearly blind, tear-worn eyes could only make out the brightest spot in the entire compound: the residence of the clan head, Shimura Danzo.
Shimura Danzo saw his sister-in-law walking in with an unsteady gait and immediately noticed the problem with her eyes.
Her shins were covered in fresh bruises from collisions; it was a mystery how she had managed to return like this.
"Brother Danzo!"
After calling out, the skin around the woman's eyes instantly turned red, a symptom of wanting to cry but having no tears left.
"Brother Danzo! Your own younger brother, my husband, died in the Anbu.
My youngest son, Shimura Sumi, died in the Land of Grass.
My eldest son, Shimura Kō, died in Root.
Just how many more have to die!
How many members of the Shimura clan have to die before it's enough!
Why can't we be like other ninja clans, stop fighting during peacetime, and enjoy just a little bit of peace?
Brother Danzo, you are already the Head of the Anbu, a high-ranking village official. What higher position do you still want to reach?
Do you really want to become Hokage?"
"Silence!" Danzo harshly cut her off.
His Four White Eyes, with their small pupils, stared fixedly at the wretched woman before him.
A moment later, Danzo looked away, defeated.
This was a rare instance of Danzo losing a confrontation.
What could he possibly say to persuade the woman before him? What did she have left to lose?
Danzo's imposing manner weakened considerably. "Don't talk nonsense, sister-in-law. The sacrifices of our Shimura clan are all for Konoha."
"Hahaha! Hahaha! All for Konoha, is it..."
Ki appeared at the appropriate moment, rushing over to support the woman.
Placing a hand on the back of the woman's head, Ki looked towards Danzo.
Seeing Danzo nod, Ki applied pressure with his fingers.
After that night, the Shimura clan gained a madwoman, a woman who had become mute and unable to speak after the successive sacrifices of her two sons.
For the entire night, Danzo felt restless while reading scrolls.
He raised his hand, and Ki appeared again.
"Ki, inform Orochimaru that he must never use Shimura clan ninja for experiments again. Even for compatibility with me, it is absolutely forbidden."
Half an hour later, Ki returned to Danzo's study.
"Lord Danzo, Kō says it's acceptable, but he requires more test subjects. The prisoners of war we captured have been used up."
Danzo said, "If there aren't enough, capture more. The Land of Fire has plenty of commoners."
Ki replied, "I said the same, but Kō said commoners without chakra and ninja with chakra are worlds apart. Without ninja for experiments, he cannot make a breakthrough."
Danzo thought for a moment and said, "Go to the Land of Rain, the Land of Waterfalls, and other small countries to capture ninja. If absolutely necessary, rogue ninja will do."
After Ki left, Danzo pondered for a long time before heading towards the Hokage Building.
***
Dive deeper into the story with 50+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!
(End of Chapter)