"Stop right there."
Danzo stood at the entrance of the training ground, his voice low and commanding.
Unlike before, when he had seemed defeated and powerless, Danzo now radiated the aura of a hardened warrior—the commanding presence of the Hokage's advisor and the sinister edge of Root's leader.
His single exposed eye gleamed with confidence.
"…"
No one responded.
Fuma, Minato, and the others behind them—Obito and Konan—completely ignored Danzo, treating him like thin air.
Only Guy glanced at him in confusion, then turned to Minato and asked loudly, "Minato-sensei, who's this weird-looking old man? I don't think I've seen him in the village before…"
"Uh… I don't know him either, Guy…" Minato replied, barely holding back his laughter as he patted Guy's head.
Danzo's face darkened. He raised his pale, bandaged arm and said coldly, "I said, stop!"
"Wood Release: Root Burial!"
From Danzo's arm, thick, gnarled wooden branches erupted, twisting together into the shape of a spear that shot toward Fuma with terrifying speed and force.
For Danzo, there were two moments in his life that had left him utterly humiliated.
The first was when Tobirama had asked for a volunteer to cover their retreat, and Danzo had hesitated.
The second was when Fuma had smashed his face into the floor of the Uzumaki compound, leaving him unconscious and utterly disgraced.
Danzo planned to make up for the first humiliation by becoming Hokage. As for the second—he was going to settle it right now, with strength.
"I'm not trying to look down on you, Danzo…"
Fuma watched the approaching roots with mild interest. He raised his hand and casually sliced through them with a single strike. His expression turned amused as he shook his head.
"But… do you really understand how to use Wood Release?"
Wood Release—the bloodline limit that had shaken the ninja world under Hashirama's mastery—was regarded by many as the key to overwhelming power.
In Konoha, it had become an obsession. The belief was that mastering Wood Release meant inheriting Hashirama's strength.
But the truth was different.
Jutsu quality mattered, but Hashirama's true strength came from something deeper—his unmatched chakra reserves and his perfect Sage Mode.
Even if Hashirama had wielded Ice Release, Boil Release, or simple fire-style techniques, his sheer chakra reserves and Sage Mode mastery would have allowed him to burn through Madara's complete Susanoo with a basic Fireball Jutsu.
"Fuma! Don't underestimate me!"
Danzo roared as a surge of reddish-orange chakra erupted from his body, forming the shape of three tails.
The Nine-Tails' chakra cloak.
Feeling the incredible chakra coursing through his body, Danzo's confidence swelled. He took a deep breath and quickly formed a series of hand seals.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great—"
*THUD!*
Danzo's vision blurred as Fuma flashed forward, seized him by the leg, and effortlessly swung him through the air.
Despite Danzo's frantic struggles, Fuma drove him headfirst into the ground with a brutal slam. Danzo's head was embedded in the dirt, his body twitching from the impact.
"Hmm… a chakra cloak with three tails?" Fuma crouched down and examined Danzo's trembling form with genuine interest.
"You've surprised me, Danzo. Looks like Lady Mito put some effort into helping you."
Fuma's hand began to emit dark smoke as he pressed it against Danzo's back. A powerful suction force erupted from his palm.
"Shhh…"
The chakra making up Danzo's Nine-Tails cloak began to dissolve into a fine mist, rapidly draining into Fuma's body.
"As expected of the Nine-Tails… even a three-tail cloak has this much chakra density."
Fuma could feel the powerful chakra swirling inside him.
"But… completely devouring the full Nine-Tails with my current strength would still be too difficult."
"Stop! Stop!"
A voice rang out as Hiruzen hurried onto the scene, his face tense. He glanced at Danzo—his body still half-buried in the ground—before looking at Fuma with a strained smile.
"We need to calm down… The last battle caused too much disturbance in the village. Fuma, please… return to your post for now."
"Hmm…"
Fuma nodded. "Don't worry, Third Hokage. This is my job. You can rest assured—what happened with Gamabunta was only a small part of the Security Division's response plan. Konoha will be safe."
Hiruzen's face tightened. 'Was that a threat?'
After a brief moment of silence, Hiruzen sighed. "I've seen the Security Division's work. Even the ANBU could learn a few things from your team. Thank you for your contributions, Fuma."
He turned toward Sakumo and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Sakumo, the ANBU should work harder too."
Sakumo's expression didn't change, but inwardly, he was screaming.
'Work harder? What does that even mean? Train every ANBU to have three tomoe Sharingan?'
'Or maybe spend a few billion ryo to build a floating war fortress? How exactly are we supposed to work harder?!'
Sakumo resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Well then, I'll be going, Third Hokage."
"Goodbye, Fuma."
After Fuma left, Hiruzen let out a long breath of relief. He was genuinely worried that Danzo's recklessness might provoke Fuma into tearing him apart limb from limb.
At this point, even elite Kage-level shinobi like himself couldn't fight Fuma head-on without a detailed strategy.
One-on-one combat was simply out of the question.
"Get up, Danzo. This is… embarrassing."
Hiruzen patted Danzo's leg, signaling for him to stand. Despite the humiliating situation, Hiruzen couldn't help but feel amused.
Danzo getting his head smashed into the ground by Fuma was becoming a recurring theme.
If he helped Danzo out of the ground now… would Danzo be angry?
"Don't touch me, Hiruzen!"
The reddish-orange Nine-Tails' chakra cloak flared up again, blasting apart the earth around Danzo.
Danzo's hair stood on end, and his single eye turned red, the pupil becoming vertically slit.
His chakra flow was becoming unstable—almost feral.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and spoke calmly.
"Enough, Danzo. Fuma is long gone."
Danzo whipped around, his gaze sharp and bloodshot, but Hiruzen didn't flinch. His chakra pressure sharpened, radiating an intense aura of authority.
"Calm down, Danzo. Don't let the Nine-Tails' chakra corrupt your mind."
Danzo froze, his expression flickering. His breath steadied. The wild gleam in his eye faded.
"I don't need you to tell me what to do, Hiruzen!" Danzo snapped. "I have complete control over the Nine-Tails' chakra! Just give me more time, and I will master this power!"
Hiruzen gave him a measured look but said nothing.
After Fuma had humiliated Danzo at the Uzumaki compound, Danzo had vanished for a long time—only reappearing after becoming the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki.
Despite his arrogance, Danzo was now one of Konoha's most valuable military assets.
"Danzo, you saw Jiraiya's condition."
Danzo's expression darkened.
"Send your medical nin from Root to treat him. We need to stabilize Jiraiya's injuries immediately."
Danzo hesitated, then nodded.
"I understand. But in return, Jiraiya must hand over the Mount Myoboku summoning scroll."
Danzo's eye flashed coldly.
"If Mount Myoboku is forced into an alliance with Konoha… even if Jiraiya's ninja career ends, it will be worth it."
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