Sensing the overwhelming greed radiating from Danzo, Seimei snorted coldly and decisively raised his hand to cast "Genjutsu: Sharingan."
However, Danzo was not entirely blinded by greed. Almost as soon as Seimei made his move, Danzo swiftly closed his eyes and retreated rapidly.
At the same time, two Root ninjas appeared in front of him, using their bodies to block Seimei's line of sight and any potential attacks.
For the moment, Danzo was truly safe.
Wasting no time, he immediately gave the order: "Attack!"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding Root ninjas acted without hesitation, launching their assault on Seimei.
The first wave of attacks came in the form of various poisoned weapons.
With his Sharingan and Byakugan active simultaneously, Seimei deftly dodged every incoming attack with fluid movements.
Not only that, but he also countered by throwing several shuriken, aiming directly at a few Root ninjas who were forming hand seals.
However, these ninjas showed no regard for their own safety. If an attack could be avoided, they evaded it. But if dodging would interfere with their jutsu, they chose to ignore the threat.
This did not mean they were defenseless, though.
Other Root ninjas nearby covered for them, intercepting any attacks directed at them.
In just this brief exchange, Seimei witnessed the seamless coordination among them.
Crackle!
A bolt of lightning shot straight at Seimei.
His Sharingan spun rapidly, predicting the trajectory of the lightning. With a swift sidestep, he narrowly avoided it.
But just as his feet touched the ground, a figure emerged from below, reaching for his ankles with both hands.
"Earth Release?"
Seimei reacted swiftly, leaping straight up to avoid the ambush.
However, being airborne made him a prime target.
Some hurled weapons at him, others cast jutsu, while a few charged directly, seemingly intent on engaging him in close combat.
Seeing this, Seimei wasted no time. He drew the long blade from his waist.
Crackle!
A deafening sound rang out.
The blade in Seimei's hand erupted with blinding lightning, plunging everyone around into a disorienting illusion.
Yes, this was "Lightning Release: Lightning Sword!"
After ten days of practice, he had mastered the technique to Level 6. Although it hadn't reached the perfection of Level 7 (0/0), it was already highly effective.
Especially now, used in such a sudden and unexpected manner.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Seimei dodged the incoming kunai and shuriken and then performed "Blink Sword Technique." His body shone with a faint azure light as his speed surged to its limit.
A mere afterimage flashed by, and he was already in front of a Root ninja.
Whoosh!
The long blade slashed out.
Caught in the illusion, the Root ninja couldn't react and was easily struck down by Seimei, the blade slicing through his throat.
Splat!
A spray of blood arced through the air.
In the next moment, Seimei's figure blurred again, appearing in front of another Root ninja.
But just as he was about to repeat the process, a chakra orb shot toward him at bullet-like speed.
With his keen perception, Seimei halted his advance and dodged the sudden attack.
His Byakugan quickly spotted Danzo, who had discreetly moved to a safe distance.
Danzo was now preparing to fire a second chakra orb from his mouth.
It was clear that the earlier attack had been his doing.
And this jutsu was one Seimei recognized well: the B-rank technique "Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
Seimei glanced at Danzo, then at the surrounding Root ninjas, and unexpectedly sheathed his blade.
While dodging Danzo's attacks, he raised his hands and began forming seals, casting the technique "Chakra Cloak!"
A faint azure light enveloped Seimei's body, rapidly solidifying into an elegant, flowing robe.
Though it appeared lightweight, its defensive capability was remarkably robust.
Danzo's subsequent Vacuum Spheres struck the Chakra Cloak, causing only faint ripples, failing to inflict any real damage.
Meanwhile, the other Root ninjas broke free from the illusion and resumed their attacks. However, their hastily executed D-rank and C-rank techniques were completely ignored by Seimei.
Only those who tried to approach him directly or attacked with thrown weapons caught his attention.
Even so, Seimei refrained from counterattacking, focusing instead on avoiding the onslaught. After skillfully dodging a coordinated attack, he raised his hands again and began forming seals.
This unusual behavior immediately alerted Danzo and the Root ninjas.
Some launched desperate attacks, while others prepared for potential danger.
Seimei observed their reactions but remained unfazed.
Soon, most of them would die anyway.
With this thought in mind, Seimei completed the hand seals and, with a low shout, unleashed the technique "Lightning Release: Thunder Prison!"
In an instant, lightning erupted in all directions!
A sudden burst of dense lightning appeared, centering on Seimei and quickly spreading outward in all directions.
Everything in its path seemed to be devoured, making it impossible to see clearly.
The crackling sound of electric currents, mixed with the distinct crackling of a lightning-release technique, assaulted the eardrums painfully.
Even though the group hadn't been attacked yet, their hair had already begun to stand on end due to the static electricity.
"Scatter!"
Someone shouted, and the Root ninjas immediately dispersed, fleeing rapidly in all directions.
However, they were far too close to Seimei.
Moreover, the expansion of the Thunder Prison was extremely fast.
In the end, except for a few well-prepared Root ninjas, the rest were caught within its range.
The technique, Lightning Release: Thunder Prison, had not been demonstrated publicly since Seimei had learned it.
Thus, Danzo and the Root ninjas were completely unaware that he had mastered this technique.
As a result, they were caught off guard.
In battles between ninjas, intelligence often determines victory.
If it were just an ordinary ninjutsu, they might have only suffered minor losses.
But against a technique like Thunder Prison, improper handling could lead to annihilation.
Just like now.
After several moments, the thunderous roars finally subsided.
When everything calmed down, there were a dozen or so charred corpses scattered around Seimei.
They were at varying distances and posed differently, but the outcome was the same: death.
Not far away, Danzo's figure appeared.
Soon after, four Root ninjas emerged one after another.
These were the only survivors.
As for Danzo, being the farthest away and the quickest to escape, he was naturally unharmed.
Among the four remaining Root ninjas, two were as vigilant as Danzo. The moment they realized something was wrong, they used the Body Flicker Technique to escape beyond the Thunder Prison's range.
The other two survived by using Earth Release techniques to burrow deep underground, evading the attack.
Seimei looked at the five of them and smiled casually.
However, his good mood contrasted sharply with Danzo's grim expression, as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Looking at the corpses strewn across the ground, Danzo thought grimly, "Even if I achieve my goal and take down Seimei this time, I'll hardly have any strength left to influence the Hokage election."
Not only that, but any other plans he had in mind would likely be stalled due to a lack of manpower.
After all, the Root organization was essentially just a training institution under Konoha's Anbu. Although its personnel numbers had long exceeded limits with Hiruzen Sarutobi's tacit approval, it was still quite limited.
This time, to ensure success, Danzo had brought nearly all his forces.
Yet, after two waves of slaughter from Seimei, most of them were either dead or gravely injured.
Under such circumstances, the strength of Danzo's forces had been significantly weakened.
Indeed, Root ninjas could be trained quickly by pushing their potential to the limit.
However, no matter how fast, there was still a process involved.
At the very least, in the short term, it was impossible to fill this gap in the Root organization.
Because of this, Danzo's expression was especially grim.
He now had only one thought: kill Seimei.
If he couldn't even accomplish that, this entire operation would be a catastrophic failure.
With that in mind, he turned to the four remaining Root ninjas and commanded, "Attack!"
Hearing this, the four didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately charged forward.