Wood Release: Wooden Spindle Wall!
Itsuki clapped his hands, and thick wooden pillars burst from the ground.
They arched upward, locking together into a massive dome that shielded him completely.
The denser the chakra poured in, the stronger the wall's defense became.
Against this fortress-like barrier, even Danzo's two elite guards couldn't break through.
Danzo's single eye narrowed. His patience had run thin.
The battle had dragged on long enough, his men slaughtered, his pride trampled. He had to end this—now.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
But before he could move, bursts of smoke erupted behind the remaining Root operatives.
Seven identical figures appeared.
The Root members froze. "This is… the Shadow Clones from earlier!"
Their faces darkened as the realization hit.
At the very start, when they ambushed Itsuki with four combined jutsu, he had countered with seven shadow clones, merging with his original body for a devastating counterattack.
Afterward, the clones seemed to vanish. They'd assumed Itsuki had dispelled them—what every ordinary shinobi would do to conserve chakra.
But Itsuki was no ordinary shinobi. He'd left the clones intact, transformed into stones, hidden and waiting.
Now, while everyone's focus was on his real body, the clones struck.
Wood Release: Tree Binding Death!
Each clone targeted a Root operative. Seven massive trees burst upward, coiling around the ninja, crushing them in an instant.
Crack. Crunch.
One by one, their bodies exploded into red mist.
In the blink of an eye, only one Root shinobi remained—the one who'd already been injured earlier.
"You bastard!" Danzo's fury erupted, his killing intent flooding the barrier.
He didn't care about the lives of Root operatives. They were tools, nothing more.
But being humiliated like this—slapped in the face by a boy—was intolerable.
"Don't be impatient, old dog. There's still one left."
Itsuki lowered his wooden wall and casually snapped his fingers, pointing toward the last Root member.
The seven clones turned in unison, their mocking smiles freezing the survivor's blood.
He collapsed, scrambling backward, a dark stain spreading beneath him. "D-don't kill me! Please!"
Even Root shinobi, conditioned as they were, weren't soulless.
Faced with death—after watching their comrades crushed into blood clouds—fear broke them.
Danzo's face went black as soot. Rage boiled—not only at Itsuki's arrogance, but at the pathetic display of his own subordinate.
The two guards snapped, charging Itsuki's clones to prevent further humiliation.
Meanwhile, Danzo's voice cut like ice. "Senju Itsuki… you'll regret this."
Itsuki blinked. Senju? When did I become Senju?
He smirked, realizing Danzo must have assumed Wood Release could only belong to Hashirama's bloodline.
But in Itsuki's own eyes, he was just a commoner who had forced fate to bend.
"Regret? Why should I regret?"
His grin sharpened. "You ambushed me first. And now you whine when I fight back? I don't care who you are, and I don't care why you came for me. I'm not generous. If you raise a hand against me—then be ready to die. That includes you, old dog."
Danzo growled. "Do you know who I am? Do you really think Wood Release lets you ignore—"
"Shut up!" Itsuki's palm sprouted a spear of sharpened wood. He gripped it and hurled it with brutal force.
Danzo twisted aside, narrowly avoiding the strike. Fury burned in his eye.
This brat won't even let me finish. He's silencing me on purpose—keeping me from revealing my identity. He knows… or at least suspects.
Danzo stopped speaking. Fine. Then he would end this with his ultimate trump card.
He tore away the bandages covering his right eye.
"Since you're so stubborn, I'll strip away your will and make you my puppet!"
The stolen Sharingan glowed. Kotoamatsukami—Uchiha Shisui's ultimate genjutsu. A jutsu Danzo had never dared waste. Until now.
But Itsuki already knew.
The instant Danzo exposed his eye, Itsuki darted behind a towering tree, weaving signs at blinding speed. His palms slammed against the earth.
Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees
All around, the forest erupted.
Trees exploded upward, thicker and faster than before. Their branches stretched endlessly, swallowing the battlefield.
Danzo's guards cut down clone after clone, but they were too late.
Even they, seasoned elite, couldn't hack through the suffocating growth fast enough.
"Damn him! He avoided my genjutsu before I could even cast it!" Danzo's stomach twisted.
He tried to reason with himself. No—impossible. No one knows about Kotoamatsukami except me.
This boy was just lucky. He happened to move at the right time.
Still, doubt gnawed at him.
Suddenly, the Aburame guard shouted, "Lord Danzo! The pollen—it's poisonous!"
The forest had fully awakened. Gigantic blossoms unfurled, releasing golden clouds into the air.
The Flower-Tree World. Its pollen numbed nerves, paralyzed the body, and dragged victims into unconsciousness.
Danzo's eyes widened. Damn it… I forgot this technique!
He and his men leapt upward to escape the tightening forest, but only dove headfirst into the choking yellow fog.
Itsuki, hidden deep within the living wood, smiled coldly.
The trees groaned, pollen thickened, and the air itself became his ally.
The old dog, his guards, all of them—trapped in his blooming nightmare.