The mission Uchiha Seiryu received was to go to the northwest border to eliminate spies from the Land of Earth.
After leaving the village, the three sped toward their destination.
However, before they even arrived, masked figures sprang from all directions, instantly forming an encirclement.
"Anbu?" Uchiha Inaho tensed at their attire.
"No, not Anbu. Root." Seiryu remained calm, drawing his long sword. "Prepare for battle."
"Damn it! What's the village planning—attacking its ninja?" Uchiha Zaito grumbled, drawing a kunai.
"Uchiha Seiryu, the Uchiha traitor. Today, I, for the sake of the village, will eliminate you, this destabilizing element." Danzo's sinister voice rang out, but Seiryu, scanning the area, saw no sign of Danzo himself.
"A coward who hides in the shadows dares to talk big here?" Seiryu sneered.
"Seiryu, drop your tricks. Do you want to force me to appear so you can use the dojutsu you stole from Shisui on me? Too bad—Shisui has confessed everything. The village knows your plot to steal his eye and rebel. Surrender now!"
"Seiryu, what's he talking about?" Inaho asked, confused.
"Now's not the time for explanations." Lightning crackled around Seiryu, the air filled with explosive pops. "Let's deal with these rats first."
"Understood!" Inaho and Zaito nodded, standing back-to-back with Seiryu, forming a defensive triangle and quickly weaving hand signs: "Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"
Two massive fire dragons roared toward the incoming Root forces, their explosive heat instantly consuming several Root ninjas in the vanguard. Though Danzo had sent his elite, Inaho and Zaito were among the Uchiha's best, each having awakened two-tomoe Sharingan. As for Seiryu, his response was even more direct—nine blue lightning orbs, packed with chakra, formed in an instant and crashed in multiple directions.
Lightning Style: Lightning Ball—a basic jutsu even Konoha's lightning-natured genin could master, but in Seiryu's hands, it became devastating.
In a flash, over a dozen Root ninja were obliterated, their bodies erased. But Root ninja, brainwashed by Danzo, had no will of their own. The deaths of their comrades didn't slow them; they charged at the trio with suicidal resolve. Water- and wind-style users among them launched elemental attacks, hoping to use type advantage to subdue the Uchiha.
"Killing Anbu, Seiryu—do you intend to betray the village?" Danzo's voice rang out again.
He was answered by several massive bolts of lightning crashing down from the sky, precisely striking where Root Ninja clustered. The explosive thunder claimed even more lives, while the six ghostly blue lightning orbs Seiryu had summoned spun rapidly around the trio, neutralizing the incoming water and wind jutsu.
"Still not planning to show yourself, Danzo? Or do you think these pawns are enough to stop me?" Seiryu taunted.
"Don't bother, Seiryu. You'll never control me." Danzo's snort was cold.
"Danzo, you give yourself too much credit." Seiryu calmly continued to slaughter Root ninja with jutsu. "You're just a rat in the sewers, always living in shadows, ready to be cast aside by Hiruzen Sarutobi at any time. You're not worthy of Kotoamatsukami."
At that moment, giant wooden pillars shot into the sky, merging into a colossal hand that crashed down toward the trio.
The earlier attacks had been meant to sap their chakra. The real killing blow was this—a trump card Danzo had hidden all along.
"Wood Style?" Inaho exclaimed in shock. The Uchiha immediately recognized the origin of this jutsu.
The two tried to resist with their techniques, but they couldn't even scratch the massive wooden hand.
Seiryu spoke calmly: "Get behind me."
At once, the three tomoe in Seiryu's eyes spun rapidly, transforming into Mangekyō Sharingan. Pitch-black ocular power surged from his eyes, enveloping the trio and manifesting as a towering, black armored warrior covered in azure runes.
Seiryu's ocular power and explosive lightning chakra gathered in Susanoo's hand, forming a ghostly blue long sword. With a single slash, he cut the giant wooden hand in two.
"Danzo, have you had enough?" Seiryu's voice was icy. "Do you know why I didn't use the Uchiha's ultimate power from the start? Because I plan to bury you all here."
As he spoke, the sky above darkened, the vapor from the earlier fire and water jutsu forming thick storm clouds overhead. Massive energy compressed within. Everyone looked up, faces filled with terror. Even Root ninja, long devoid of humanity, felt the instinctive dread in the face of such power.
"Lightning Style: Kirin," Seiryu spoke softly. Suddenly, under everyone's feet—except for the trio at the center—a faint spark flickered. It was almost imperceptible, but it was a death sentence for all present.
A colossal blue beast of lightning crashed down from the sky. Thunder filled the area, enveloping everything in light. The Root ninja had nowhere to run. Only in a corner did multiple layers of Wood Style: Domes rise, barely holding back the heavenly wrath.
…
Minutes passed. The thunder faded, rain poured down, and the metallic scent of blood dissipated.
Where the wood domes had risen, the final layer collapsed, revealing two figures. One, a masked man, fell dead, hands still forming seals; the other leaned on a cane, his other arm wrapped in bandages and slung before him.
"Found you, Danzo." From within Susanoo, Seiryu smiled brightly.