Chapter 90 – Walking Right Into It
Uchiha Dali's intense questioning once again plunged Hyuga Kenta into silence.
"Forget it, we'll take him back and deal with it later!"
Uchiha Dali didn't want to waste any more time. He was planning to take this guy back for interrogation by either the Anbu Intelligence Division or the Yamanaka clan.
However, right at that moment, a sudden change occurred.
Two flashes of white light streaked through the air and struck Hyuga Kenta directly in the heart.
Uchiha Dali and Minato Namikaze both felt a chill in their hearts. When they looked down at the prisoner, they saw he had already been killed.
"You're courting death!"
Uchiha Dali immediately gave chase.
"Wait up!"
Minato quickly followed after him.
These two were among the fastest in the ninja world. Within mere seconds, they had caught up to the attacker—though, to be precise, the assailant had stopped running on his own.
In that moment, standing before Uchiha Dali and Minato were three figures.
The one in the center was none other than the head of the Root organization—Shimura Danzo.
Flanking him on either side were his two trusted subordinates.
"So it really is you, you old scoundrel Danzo!"
"Trying to cover your tracks and escape after killing someone? Do you think we're blind?!"
Seeing Danzo reveal himself, Uchiha Dali narrowed his eyes.
"You're wrong. I never intended to run."
"The Uchiha clan was never meant to rule Konoha. You're neither worthy nor suited. The true Hokage should be me. Only I can lead Konoha to glory!"
As he spoke, Danzo suddenly slammed one hand onto the ground.
In an instant, the trunks of over a dozen trees around them, as well as the ground beneath their feet, burst with blinding flashes of light.
"Damn it, it's an explosive tag trap!!"
Minato's face paled.
He cursed himself for being so careless—how could he have stumbled into such a basic trap?
In the critical moment, he suddenly felt a powerful force yank his body, flinging him uncontrollably into the air.
BOOM! BOOM!
The buried explosive tags detonated all at once under Danzo's command.
Flames surged into the sky, smoke billowed thickly.
Not only were numerous trees obliterated by the blast wave, but the ground itself was torn open, leaving behind a crater more than thirty meters wide.
Danzo then forcefully exhaled a gust of Wind Release chakra, instantly feeding the raging flames in the pit.
The roaring fire engulfed the entire crater, mercilessly devouring everything around it.
Danzo stared coldly at the scene.
"With this, no one will be left to compete with me for the position of Hokage."
He murmured calmly to himself.
But just then, his expression changed slightly. He snapped his head upward.
Standing atop the treetops, overlooking them from above, were Uchiha Dali and Namikaze Minato.
The former wore a look of icy ruthlessness, while the latter's face was full of disappointment and disbelief.
"Danzo-sama… why would you do this?"
Minato asked in confusion.
"They're not dead?!"
Danzo's gaze darkened, and he didn't answer Minato. Instead, he slowly began to unravel the bandage over his right eye.
He quickly removed it, revealing a long-hidden Sharingan in his right eye.
Seeing the Sharingan, Minato frowned again, his face filled with shock.
Uchiha Dali had long known about this secret of Danzo's.
But at this moment, he still feigned surprise and demanded, "Why do you have the Uchiha clan's Sharingan?"
"Attack!"
After unlocking his right-eye Sharingan, Danzo immediately gave the order to the two subordinates beside him.
He had no intention of answering their questions.
The two elite Root members dashed forward, one heading for Minato, the other for Uchiha Dali.
Seizing the chance as the two were being drawn into combat, Danzo rapidly formed hand seals and took a deep breath, aiming at Uchiha Dali.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!"
His mouth became like a machine gun, spewing out deadly, high-density Wind Release chakra projectiles at Uchiha Dali and Minato.
"How laughable."
Uchiha Dali didn't waste words. He raised a hand and conjured a massive Rasengan, hurling it at the Root elite charging toward him.
The enormous Rasengan struck the enemy head-on, blasting him backward. At the same time, the poor man's back was struck squarely by one of Danzo's vacuum bullets.
Boom!
The unfortunate Root ninja didn't even get a chance to use a single technique before the attack from his own superior shredded his back into a bloody mess.
His spine and internal organs were ravaged by the devastating Wind chakra.
Clearly, he was as good as dead.
Seeing how ruthless Uchiha Dali was—actually using his opponent's ally to block an attack—Danzo's expression turned icy.
He unleashed another barrage of vacuum bullets, relentlessly firing at Uchiha Dali like a living machine gun.
Wind Release jutsu was already known for its blistering speed.
Under Danzo's command, the continuous volley of Vacuum Bullets came down in rapid succession, extremely difficult to defend against.
But Uchiha Dali completely ignored the barrage, vanishing the next instant from Danzo's line of sight.
"What?!"
Danzo's pupils shrank in horror, sensing imminent danger.
He had witnessed Uchiha Dali's speed before.
The thought of someone faster than light flashed through his mind.
He realized that no matter what direction Dali attacked from, there was no way he could dodge this fatal strike.
In desperation, he attempted a self-destructive technique, preparing to use the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Jutsu to drag Uchiha Dali down with him.
But before he could even fully unlock the sealing script on his body, Dali's kunai was already pressed against his throat.
"Do you really want the Uchiha clan dead that badly?"
Uchiha Dali asked coldly.
Just then, Minato finished off the other enemy and jumped over, speaking in a low voice: "Dali, he's the head of Root."
Minato had originally planned to plead for Danzo's life.
At the very least, they should take him back to the village and uncover the truth before deciding anything.
But Danzo didn't appreciate it in the slightest.
Facing Dali's question, he responded coldly, "The Uchiha clan is a clan of evil. Their ambition was seen through long ago by the Second Hokage. I only regret not wiping your clan out sooner. That way, none of this would've happened…"
Shlick—
Before Danzo could finish, Dali's hand moved.
With a single clean stroke, he slit Danzo's throat.
Blood spurted more than three meters into the air.
But right at that moment, another sudden change occurred.
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