The sensory ninja in the guard team noticed the commotion underwater and immediately reported it, acting without waiting for Danzō's command.
A three-man team dealt with the underwater attack and protected Danzō, while the other seven took the initiative to charge, preparing to launch a probing attack.
Kakuzu took a step forward and released his two Earth Grudge Fear masks, wind and lightning. He first bombarded them with Wind Release: Pressure Damage, and then precisely sniped them with Lightning Release: False Darkness.
A high-pressure wind ball swept out, stirring up layers of giant waves. A beam of lightning shot out, following closely behind, and pierced the chest of a Root ninja, leaving a charred wound.
The three Root ninja were unharmed under the cover of their comrades. They ran swiftly and nimbly between the layers of giant waves.
Pakura took a step forward, formed hand seals, and a huge orange-red fireball floated in the air above her head...
The hand seals changed, and the huge fireball split into fist-sized fireballs. The fireballs were fired in unison, like a volley of ten thousand arrows, or a meteor shower!
There was no escaping. Two Root ninja performed a jutsu to counter, while one hid behind his teammate's jutsu.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
The fireballs landed on the thick water wall, and steam billowed. A dense fog appeared, and the water wall quickly dissipated.
The moment the defense was dispelled, four kunai were shot into the fog. The three Root ninja narrowly avoided them.
However, two large sharks leaped out of the water. The kunai plunged into the sharks' bodies, and thin, tough, transparent steel wires appeared.
As the sharks swam and with Uchiha Itachi's manual operation, the three Root ninja were tied up tightly.
Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!
The scorching and violent flames split along the three steel wires, like a dragon's breath, and bombarded the three of them. Three short, sharp screams were heard. The three charred corpses sank to the bottom of the water and then became quiet.
All of this, though it takes a long time to describe, happened in just two or three breaths. In a single exchange, the guard team had lost four members.
"All of you, fall back. I will test them myself. You will act on my command," Danzō's expression was blank, his voice deep as he gave the order.
Hearing this, besides the ones dealing with the sharks, the rest of the guard team retreated under each other's cover.
After forming the Izanagi seal, Danzō rushed out at a remarkable speed, leaving a white trail on the surface of the water...
"I'll go and meet Danzō. You guys finish off the guard team as soon as possible."
Uchiha Itachi said a word and then rushed out. At full speed, he also left a white trail. The two figures quickly approached each other and engaged in a fierce and dangerous taijutsu clash.
"Pakura, you stay behind us and act on my command."
"Kisame, no need to waste any more time. The enemy is weaker than we estimated. Let's go," Kakuzu ordered.
"Alright."
"No problem."
The three of them charged in a triangular formation, with Pakura at the rear point.
The black threads on Kakuzu's wrists twitched, his expression blank. Kisame held the massive Samehada, his expression fierce. Pakura was surrounded by fireballs, her expression calm.
Seeing the strange state of the three of them, the guard team was reluctant to engage in a taijutsu battle and all resorted to conventional tactics, that is, coordinated ninjutsu.
Kakuzu acted as the main force for the probing, the number one meat shield. Kisame, who was tough and had Samehada for protection, acted as the number two meat shield. Pakura was the assassin for the one-hit kill.
The Root ninja who could serve as Danzō's guard team were indeed skilled. With their desperate and exquisite coordination, they broke through the multiple obstacles set up by the three, destroyed one of Kakuzu's hearts, and caused minor injuries to Kisame.
However, that was as far as it went. After their abilities had been tested, the three of them cooperated with each other and quickly finished off all six of them with taijutsu.
On the other side, Danzō had already lost an eye to Uchiha Itachi. Itachi had only been hit by a single kick.
"Itachi, come back," Kakuzu ordered.
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi decisively pulled away and regrouped with the four of them.
Danzō saw that his entire guard team had been wiped out, and his face was very ugly. He had a bad premonition...
Today would probably be a day of bad luck.
Four ninja of the same level as Uchiha Itachi. This Akatsuki's strength was truly not to be underestimated!
But even if he died, for the sake of Konoha, for the sake of the ninja world, he would drag them down with him, especially Uchiha Itachi!
Although I will most likely die, my dream will not be extinguished, because Kageyama Kogetsu's dream is similar to mine!
...
To this day, Danzō had not suspected Kageyama Kogetsu.
One reason was that although Kageyama Kogetsu was ambitious, he also had the impression of having some conscience—he could not kill Sarutobi Hiruzen.
In Danzō's eyes, it was very normal to be ambitious. He believed that in terms of dealing with people, Kageyama Kogetsu was a weaker version of himself.
For an ordinary ninja, it was not acceptable to have selfish motives. Only the high-ranking and the strong were worthy of having selfish motives. Ordinary ninja should just be content with being tools for missions.
Another reason was that on the surface, besides having some contact with Uchiha Itachi, Kageyama Kogetsu had no contact with the others.
In Danzō's view, all members of the Uchiha clan were innately evil. They would absolutely betray Konoha and assassinate the Hokage!
...
After the four of them had gathered, they began to use ninjutsu for bombardment, no longer engaging in close combat.
Danzō summoned the Baku and used the fierce wind it blew to enhance his wind-style ninjutsu.
Then, using the massive, tough-skinned summoning beast as a shield, he withstood the first wave of ninjutsu bombardment and then rode the Baku to charge at the four of them.
The four of them quickly dispersed. Danzō did not hesitate and rode the Baku, which was the size of a small mountain, and charged towards Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Itachi directly used Amaterasu. Against this kind of large summoning beast, Amaterasu was very effective.
The Baku could not withstand the burning of Amaterasu and cried out in pain as it returned to its dwelling place.
To survive, the Baku had to decisively abandon a part of its body or flesh. If it hesitated for too long, it would only lead to death.
Danzō landed on the surface of the water and continued to charge. Uchiha Itachi instantly formed hand seals and activated a ninjutsu to stop him.
The other three were not idle either. Various ninjutsu were bombarded from all angles, taking out one of Danzō's Izanagi.
To be on the safe side, Uchiha Itachi proactively dispelled the Uchiha Flame Formation.
With the four of them besieging him, and Brother Kogetsu watching from the sky, Danzō had no way to escape.
The four of them maintained their distance and used kiting tactics to bombard him in turns with various ninjutsu, closing one Sharingan after another.
Danzō racked his brains, wanting to get close to Uchiha Itachi or someone else.
However, the four of them were all Kage-level experts with rich combat experience and outstanding combat intelligence. They countered his moves and adapted to the situation. Danzō had no chance of success.
Some tactics, even if one knew what was going on, could not be broken in the face of an absolute difference in strength.
In the end, Danzō had no choice but to get as close to Uchiha Itachi as possible and activate the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique.
The blood in Danzō's entire body flowed rapidly, activating the formula engraved on his heart. His body spewed out black blood like ink, and with a ferocious expression, he rushed towards Uchiha Itachi...
Boom!
A spherical black orb enveloped a radius of hundreds of thousands of meters, sealing Danzō's body, Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan, and the surrounding flowers, plants, trees, rocks, and soil.
Just before he died, Danzō saw Uchiha Itachi's panicked expression, and a smile appeared on his face.
He had not died in vain. He had eliminated a traitor for Konoha!
In reality, Uchiha Itachi was not in trouble at all. He was following orders and had cast a genjutsu on Danzō, making him mistakenly believe that he could not escape the sealing range.
In mid-air, Kageyama Kogetsu, with his hands behind his back and floating in the air, looked at the black sphere below him and smiled.
"To let you die thinking you had achieved something, to send four of the best Kage-level experts to besiege you, and to even let you be the Fifth Hokage..."
"Such a grand send-off is worthy of you."
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