[Root]
"I, this old man, have already handed over the secret technique to you, so why haven't you returned my granddaughter?", An old man with white hair and beard shouted angrily at Danzo.
En no Gyoja and Hotaru.
He had originally been living in seclusion with his granddaughter on Mount Katsuragi, never expecting that he would suddenly be found by Root's people.
And they directly captured his granddaughter Hotaru.
The elderly and frail En no Gyoja had no choice but to comply and be taken to Konoha.
En no Gyoja had been in seclusion for so long, naturally he didn't know about the information in the outside world.
He hadn't expected the ninja who captured them to actually be from Konoha.
Danzo used Hotaru's life as leverage to force En no Gyoja to hand over the secret technique of the Tsuchigumo clan.
Now that the secret technique had been handed over, but Danzo clearly had no intention of releasing them.
"Don't be anxious, though you've handed over the secret technique,"
"But how do I know if it's genuine?"
"You need to cooperate with us in testing. Once it works, of course we'll release you," Danzo let out a sinister chuckle.
Those who entered this place, how could they possibly leave alive?
Danzo's team was currently developing the Gyuttenko Plan. This secret technique from the Tsuchigumo clan could greatly shorten the development time.
But before that, he still wanted to squeeze the last bit of value out of En no Gyoja.
En no Gyoja took a deep breath. His age and physical illnesses had essentially worn him down.
Now, just speaking a few more words left him gasping, this was also why Danzo hadn't restrained En no Gyoja at all.
En no Gyoja hadn't expected that even though he had signed a confidential pact with the Third Hokage, disaster still came upon him.
Though the Third Hokage hadn't appeared, Danzo was certainly related to him.
En no Gyoja handing over the secret technique to Danzo was merely a stopgap.
But from Danzo's behavior, it was clear he wasn't going to let him go.
En no Gyoja was much older than Danzo and could see through him completely in just a short time.
But as someone who had once walked out of piles of corpses and seas of blood, at this moment, he made a decision.
"I'll only cooperate after seeing my granddaughter. Otherwise, give up."
Danzo's expression darkened, "You really want to die, huh?"
En no Gyoja snorted coldly, "Our clan's secret technique, without my guidance, would take at least several decades to figure out."
"I just want to make sure my granddaughter is safe. Huff... huff..."
Danzo looked at En no Gyoja who seemed on the verge of collapsing, and waved his hand, "Bring up his granddaughter."
The moment he captured this old man, Danzo had already examined his condition.
Though En no Gyoja knew the Tsuchigumo clan's secret technique, even the strongest can't withstand the erosion of time.
Now En no Gyoja's body couldn't even gather chakra, there was no threat at all.
That's why Danzo threatened him without restraint. After all, emotional bonds aren't something everyone can escape from.
"Grandpa!"
Hotaru was still just a 7-year-old child.
She had been living peacefully at home when evil people suddenly descended from the sky and captured them both.
The servants who had taken care of her for years were also killed.
She was badly frightened.
Now upon seeing her grandfather, she immediately rushed into his arms, sobbing loudly.
En no Gyoja hugged Hotaru tightly, "Don't be afraid, child, Grandpa is here."
He whispered in her ear, "Hotaru, bear with it. Don't scream."
Then he pressed his hand hard against Hotaru's back. Hotaru immediately felt a burning pain.
A special secret seal appeared on Hotaru's back. If her clothes were lifted, one would see the veins on her back bulging completely.
With the twisting of the seal, the center gradually transformed into a gem-like pattern.
Hotaru didn't know what was happening. She was both scared and helpless, but she listened to her grandfather more than anyone.
Though she was in pain, she didn't cry out.
Danzo said coldly, "You've seen her. She's perfectly fine."
En no Gyoja stood up and said coldly to Danzo, "Since I've come here, I guess I won't be leaving alive, right?"
Danzo stared at En no Gyoja with a chilling gaze, "You know that yourself. Don't resist, or else before you die, you'll still suffer some..."
While Danzo was speaking, En no Gyoja formed hand seals and pressed them onto Hotaru's back.
The clothes on Hotaru's upper back instantly shattered, and countless energies in the air began rushing toward it.
Danzo snorted coldly, "Still trying to resist, even here with me?"
He reached out to grab En no Gyoja.
En no Gyoja didn't resist, instead quickly forming two seals and slapping them onto Hotaru's shoulder.
Danzo grabbed En no Gyoja with one hand, and immediately a large number of curse seals appeared on En no Gyoja's body.
It was Danzo's Self-Cursed Binding Seal.
En no Gyoja should've been immobilized, but instead collapsed softly to the ground.
His entire body quickly shriveled up as if all life had been sucked out of him.
Only those who die from the Self-Cursed Binding Seal collapse like this.
Danzo didn't have time to think. Those last two hand seals were clearly to accelerate Hotaru's absorption of energy.
Around Hotaru's body, a swirling vortex formed. Countless energies surged into her back.
Hotaru felt intense pain on her back, but when she saw En no Gyoja fall to the ground, she rushed to help him, "Grandpa, what's wrong? Grandpa!"
Danzo's face changed. He immediately reached for Hotaru.
But a white glowing shield suddenly appeared around Hotaru, blocking Danzo on the outside, and also keeping En no Gyoja's body out.
Hotaru sat on the ground in pain, crying loudly, "Grandpa, it hurts... GRANDPA..."
Danzo's expression turned harsh. He formed seals while taking a deep breath.
Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!
A wind blade shot from his mouth.
Whoosh!
The wind blade struck the white light shield without causing even a ripple.
Sweat broke out on Danzo's forehead. His face was filled with shock, he hadn't expected En no Gyoja to trick him even in death.
"Damn it!", Danzo immediately abandoned Hotaru and started running out.
And at the same time, he rapidly formed seals with his hands.
"Uuuu... Grandpa..."
Within Hotaru's cries, the energy being absorbed behind her reached a critical point.
Blazing white light suddenly erupted.
———
Some distance away from Konoha, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune were hurrying on the road.
Along the way, Jiraiya had been explaining in detail the recent events in Konoha.
Information on paper always had gaps.
But with Jiraiya's additions, Tsunade now understood everything clearly.
"This Uchiha Rengoku is no ordinary person."
After listening, Tsunade felt that all previous descriptions of the Uchiha were no longer accurate.
According to Tsunade's understanding, someone of Uchiha's strength should've just flipped the table already.
But judging by Rengoku's recent actions, it was only a matter of time before he took the Hokage's seat.
Jiraiya felt the same. After all, Konoha's own Nine-Tails couldn't handle the Uchiha.
And the Uchiha compound now even had a One-Tail Jinchuriki.
Just then, the three of them looked up toward the distance.
A massive white light sphere appeared above Konoha.
The thunder-like boom and intense tremors reached them only after a delay.
Tsunade and Jiraiya's expressions changed instantly.
They immediately accelerated toward Konoha.
Shizune, a beat slower, also hurried to follow behind.
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