Let's split our focus between two unfolding events.
While various battles raged inside and outside the Village Hidden in Leaves, Aozora calmly observed the civil strife within the Sarutobi Clan.
By now, the Sarutobi ninja had already divided Asuma and the others into four separate battle groups, fully leveraging their numerical superiority.
Aozora turned his gaze to Asuma first. Compared to the other three cloaked figures, he stood out more clearly.
It must be said—Asuma's talent and strength were indeed impressive. Years spent wandering hadn't dulled his abilities at all.
Faced with a coordinated assault from three Sarutobi Jonin, he switched fluidly between Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, unleashing Wind Release and Fire Release in tandem, yet surprisingly hadn't fallen behind.
However, after watching carefully for several moments, Aozora shook his head and shifted his attention toward the remaining three black-clad ninja.
Currently, Asuma's power was only at the beginning of the Elite Jonin level—such strength posed absolutely no threat to him.
If so, then the one giving him a sense of danger must be among these three.
His crimson eyes followed the black-clad ninja under attack. His black Three Tomoe slowly rotated as Aozora studied the subtle reactions of the mysterious trio.
Soon, Aozora detected a flaw.
No, rather, he found a weakness among them.
The displayed strength of the three black-clothed ninja was all close to the Elite Jonin level—nothing particularly remarkable, and Aozora couldn't detect anything unusual about them. Yet he sensed that two of them seemed subtly protective of the slightly shorter figure among them.
[Their leader?]
[Let me see who you really are.]
A playful smile curved Aozora's lips. Spotting an opening, he thrust his hand forward and called out sharply, [Sword Light Divergence!]
Before the last word even faded, the [Flying Dagger Capable of Slaying Immortals] circling Aozora instantly changed course, transforming into streaks of blue light shooting toward the black-clad ninja surrounded by Sarutobi attackers.
Mid-flight, the blue lights split—one became two, two became four—instantly turning into a dense rain of azure meteors.
Naturally, this wasn't truly [Sword Light Divergence] from Xianxia cultivation tales. It was Aozora imitating Junping's Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Although these separated kunai lacked the full might of the [Flying Dagger Capable of Slaying Immortals], Aozora had deliberately slowed down the original dagger itself to prevent it from going too far.
Yet a flurry of solid kunai flew through the air, hiding the true Flying Dagger among them—a blade whose edge was terrifyingly deadly, producing far more bizarre and unpredictable effects than directly controlling the dagger alone.
Beneath his cloak, Danzo's face twisted with distress and frustration.
Before launching the plan, he and Orochimaru had analyzed Konoha's strength.
Present-day Konoha was not weak. Fugaku, Shisui, Aozora, and Jiraiya all possessed Kage-level power.
At the moment, the strongest in Konoha was Jiraiya himself. In his prime, he seemed to have mastered the legendary Sage Art and once faced multiple Kage-level opponents from Hidden Cloud (Kumo) without backing down.
However, they believed Jiraiya wouldn't become an obstacle. He absolutely would not protect Fugaku Uchiha—the one responsible for The Third's death. At most, he'd help defend Konoha by targeting rogue ninjas disrupting the village.
Next, what concerned them greatly were Fugaku and Shisui, who had awakened the Mangekyou.
Fugaku's Mangekyou possessed the terrifying ability to paralyze ninja in endless fear, rendering them immobile. If Fugaku couldn't achieve a one-shot kill, the enemy — even when supported by other elite jonin — would still face life-threatening danger.
Shisui seemed unable to maintain his Mangekyou for long due to age-related limitations, but his troublesome Phantom Clone Technique, masterful genjutsu, and unused dojutsu made him impossible to underestimate.
Especially worth noting was Aozora. Orochimaru specifically emphasized Aozora's Intangibility-igniting Fire Release and directional flying daggers.
Konoha's strength far exceeded theirs, but war wasn't a match like the Chunin Exams — it was brutal reality where strategy and unpredictability ruled.
Though Konoha had four Kage-level experts, they wouldn't gather together in one place.
As long as the Sarutobi Clan created diversions through destruction elsewhere, they'd definitely have an opportunity to strike precisely and eliminate Fugaku Uchiha, the Fifth Hokage.
Unfortunately, plans were just plans.
The Sarutobi Clan's rebellion was discovered, and Jiraiya unexpectedly entered the battlefield — something never anticipated.
When Aozora appeared, Danzo didn't reveal himself but instead chose to remain hidden. Fully aware of Aozora's might, he waited silently for the perfect moment to strike a crippling blow.
What surprised him was that this young Aozora was extremely cautious. Not only did he avoid approaching directly, he even incited members of the Sarutobi Clan to come forward and deplete their forces.
Now seeing them at a disadvantage yet still not engaging personally, Aozora stayed back, launching attacks with [ninja tools].
A storm of azure streaks tore through the air, raining toward Danzo during gaps between Sarutobi ninja assaults.
Understanding the power behind Aozora's throwing knives, Danzo abandoned concealment entirely.
[Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!]
Instantly, kunai infused with sharp wind-natured chakra sprouted half-a-meter-long air blades.
Swinging these blades, Danzo instantly killed two nearby Sarutobi ninja before discarding the kunai and jumping backward.
While flipping away, his fingers moved faster than shadows, completing seals in merely half a breath's time.
[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!]
Immediately, violent winds erupted. The fierce gusts deflected incoming flying daggers' trajectories. The air blades themselves collided repeatedly with the projectiles, producing continuous metallic screeching sounds.
Crash! Crash! Crash! —
Each thrown dagger shattered against the air blades, bursting into thick clouds of white smoke that veiled the next wave of azure projectiles.
Just as Danzo prepared to increase chakra output, a bone-chilling sense of danger suddenly surged within him.
With his inner alarm blaring, Danzo instantly ceased his technique, channeling chakra into his feet to propel himself sideways.
In the next moment, a slender streak of blue light shot from the smoke, piercing straight through the afterimage left where Danzo stood.
Not far off, Danzo reappeared.
His hood was already torn apart, revealing his sinister face. This time, a fresh cut sliced deep into the bone, joining the tangled web of old scars across his face.
Seeing Danzo in danger, the other two black-clad ninja suddenly unleashed their powers, rushing forward to guard him.
The Sarutobi ninja who dropped several dead comrades leapt away in panic, eyes wide with terror as they stared at Aozora and the three figures before them.
Aozora waved his hand again, recalling [Flying Dagger Capable of Slaying Immortals].
[Flying Dagger Capable of Slaying Immortals] was forged from chakra-conductive metal, but prolonged combat against weapons made of refined iron would still cause wear and tear.
"Well, well. It's you — the rogue ninja Danzo!"
Seeing Danzo with blood streaming down his face, Aozora felt slightly relieved.
Despite losing his right arm crafted from Hashirama's Cells, Danzo still possessed Kage-level strength. However, Aozora felt no fear at all.
After all, he had no shortage of cannon fodder.
"Wherever the leaves dance, the fire burns eternal. Its light shall guide the village, and its warmth shall awaken new life among the budding leaves."
Facing the moon, Aozora recited the Will of Fire like a poetic chant.
Then turning toward the Sarutobi Clan's ninja, he said, "Lower and middle ranks should evacuate our clansmen immediately. The rest will join me in eliminating the traitor Danzo!"
He paused, then added solemnly, "For Konoha's future, for the Sarutobi's future, today I ask every one of you to stand ready to sacrifice yourselves!"
By then, over half of the Sarutobi ninja had fallen, and the survivors were all wounded. After hearing Aozora's words, sadness appeared on their faces, and many younger ninja stared at him angrily.
However, jonin like Sarutobi Shinki gave Aozora grateful looks.
Without hesitation, Sarutobi Shinki issued firm orders for his juniors to organize civilian evacuation. Then he, along with the two remaining jonin and five special jonin, resolutely swallowed the clan's secret medicine.
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