Chapter 122: Ambush Turned Into a Massive Rebellion.
"My Lord, please look!"
Aside from the few people he had emotional fluctuations for, Aburame Torune treated everyone else almost like a machine; not only did he lack the most basic sympathy, but his attacks were also ruthless.
He drew the ninja sword from his back, and with a swift stroke, sliced a large chunk of flesh from Uzumaki Tsunetachi's arm. Strangely, aside from the blood that splattered everywhere, the flesh tissue beneath the skin was like a sponge—hollow, soft, and devoid of any texture.
Furthermore, the scattered blood quickly turned into a fine, barely noticeable mist after hitting the ground, and even the "flesh" held in Aburame Torune's hand dissipated into smoke shortly after.
"A Shadow Clone?" Danzo Shimura vaguely guessed something. "But how could a Shadow Clone have such capabilities? Not only does it eliminate all weaknesses, but a large part of it is actually indistinguishable from a normal person!"
"This subordinate is not sure either, but he is definitely not Naruto, and to a large extent, he is just a Shadow Clone created through some kind of Secret Technique."
"In that case, not only did I rejoice in vain, but I have also been dragged into a trap?"
Danzo Shimura's instincts were undeniably sharp. Through the abnormality of Uzumaki Tsunetachi, he instantly sensed something was wrong, and the spearhead of his suspicion immediately locked onto Uzumaki Kenshin, who had kidnapped Uzumaki Tsunetachi!
"Where is Kenshin?"
"He has already defected, and we have discovered the real corpse belonging to Root 37." Aburame Torune reported to Danzo Shimura, "After inspection, Root 37 had been imprisoned and only died just a few days ago."
"Tian?!" Danzo Shimura shifted his suspicion to Naruto, who had been cooperating with him all along. "Is this a contingency plan he has been arranging all this time?"
"It is very possible." Fu Yamanaka stepped forward at this moment. "Through the Mind Transfer Secret Technique, I probed the brain of Root 37 and discovered the reason why he had been imprisoned."
"It was to observe the changes in his appearance and adjust the Transformation Jutsu at any time to prevent any flaws, wasn't it!"
Danzo Shimura was indeed an old conspirator; he managed to deduce the general situation from just a few clues. If not for his crooked intentions, he might have truly become a tactical Great Master of Konoha.
"Yes! And the Flying Thunder God Mark, which kept appearing in the Root base despite repeated prohibitions, has also found a perfectly logical explanation." Although Fu Yamanaka's words sounded like hindsight, such a secretive and unexpected infiltration method was truly impossible to guard against.
"Deal with him!" Having suffered a setback, Danzo Shimura waved his hand, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "And that mole as well—they absolutely cannot be let off. They know far too much!"
"People have already been sent to do it." Aburame Torune handled everything in an orderly fashion, so it was no wonder Danzo Shimura trusted him so much. "However, the results might not be satisfactory."
"Try your best. Right now, the most important thing is to patch the holes as much as possible."
Danzo Shimura glanced at Uzumaki Tsunetachi, whose forehead had been pierced by the ninja sword, twitching twice before dissipating into smoke. After adding that, he quickly left the Rootbase; he had to patch this vulnerability to prevent any untoward incidents.
But this was a trap set specifically for Danzo Shimura. No matter how quickly Danzo Shimurarushed to patch the vulnerabilities, he would still be more than a step behind the mastermind!
...
"You want to intercept and kill me outside Konoha Village? With your strength, that's not quite enough!"
Not long after Jiraiya left the village, Root Ninjasent by Danzo Shimura blocked his path. Although their ultimate mission was not to kill Jiraiya, they could still manage to slow down his travel speed as much as possible through layers of encirclement and interception.
Danzo Shimura arranged this move naturally for this purpose. After all, Jiraiya was someone who could defeat Shukaku single-handedly. Even if there was some trickery involved, his strength was undeniable, and he was simply not someone those Root Ninja could easily deal with.
But just as Jiraiya was preparing to take action and quickly deal with these Root Ninja, a sudden change occurred—the Root Ninja actually started fighting among themselves!
Due to the surprise attack and the fact that it was many against few, the Root Ninja, who died without understanding why, all fell to the ground, while the remaining standing Root Ninja vaguely took Uzumaki Kenshin as their leader.
"Are you the Root Ninja who kidnapped Naruto?" This sudden infighting left Jiraiya quite confused. "Aren't you all supposed to follow Danzo Shimura's lead?!"
Uzumaki Kenshin remained silent and gestured behind him. Naruto, having returned from watching the show, peeked his head out from a bush, looking a bit fearful.
Upon seeing that it was Jiraiya, a sincere smile appeared on his bruised face. He trotted a few steps to Jiraiya's side and pounced into Jiraiya's arms.
"Naruto... you..."
"It was the Ninja brother who knocked me out that saved me..." Naruto pointed at Uzumaki Kenshin, then added with some confusion, "I just don't know why, he always has a cold face and doesn't speak at all."
As soon as Naruto finished speaking, Uzumaki Kenshin pushed up his animal mask, opened his mouth, and stuck out his tongue.
The Root Ninja who had pledged loyalty to Uzumaki Kenshin followed suit, and as they stuck out their tongues, the Tongue Binding Sealbranded in the middle of their tongues was clearly seen by Jiraiya.
"Naruto, he is also acting against his will." Jiraiyaassumed he had instantly understood the ins and outs of the matter. "They are all just poor people controlled by Danzo Shimura; I don't blame them for kidnapping you..."
"I know, but in my heart, I just... feel..."
Before Naruto could finish, Uzumaki Kenshinsuddenly knelt on one knee, took a Seal scroll from his pocket, held it above his head with both hands, and signaled for Jiraiya to take it.
Although Jiraiya still had doubts in his heart, after hesitating for a moment, he comforted Naruto and walked over.
"This is..." When the scroll was unfurled, the contents and the items sealed inside shocked Jiraiya greatly. "How did you obtain this evidence of Danzo Shimura's crimes!"
Jiraiya's tone was very agitated. Although this was still some distance away from toppling Danzo Shimura, it would prevent Danzo Shimura from ever being able to lay a finger on the position of Hokage.
Furthermore, now that Naruto had been "rescued," there was no need to fear Danzo Shimura acting out of desperation. The matter of finding Tsunadecould be put on hold for a while; once Danzo Shimura completely lost his voice in Konoha, it wouldn't be too late to leave the village to search for her.
But the evidence in Uzumaki Kenshin's hands was more than just this; otherwise, Naruto's secret planning over the past few years would have been in vain.
After Jiraiya finished reading the intelligence and evidence handed to him by Uzumaki Kenshin, Uzumaki Kenshin took a miniature camera and a large roll of sealed film from his pocket and presented them with both hands once again.
"There's more?"
Jiraiya snapped out of his shock and hurriedly picked up the things Uzumaki Kenshin gave him. After a rough look through them, the contents recorded everything: evidence of Danzo Shimuracolluding with "Tian," making deals with "Tian," and secretly providing convenience for Orochimaruto harm Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Video and audio evidence was much more explosive than the initial document evidence. Moreover, Jiraiya quickly overturned his previous judgment; with this evidence present, while eradicating the tumor that was Danzo Shimuramight not be absolutely guaranteed, the success rate was around seventy percent.
"Why are you..."
Before Jiraiya could finish asking, Uzumaki Kenshinpointed to his own tongue and formed a hand Sealwith both hands. The meaning was self-evident: they wanted Jiraiya to help them remove the Tongue Binding Seal and completely break free from Danzo Shimura's control!
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