The ruins looked eerie, overgrown with thorns, weathered by wind and sun, and extremely dilapidated. It was unclear what era they belonged to, but fortunately, they were Ninja, not historians, so they had no interest in the age of the ruins.
Fifteen minutes after Kurotsuchi and her group entered the ruins, Danzo and his men caught up.
The old man intended to play the role of the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole behind.
The former head of the Kamizuru Clan had buried the Secret Technique scroll in this place, likely valuing its hidden nature. In the middle of a loess plateau, without the guidance of a Kibichu, finding such a ruin, buried by changes in terrain, would indeed be a difficult task.
The ruins resembled an ancient tomb, with mechanisms like crossbows, trapdoors, and boulders appearing periodically inside.
Fortunately, Kurotsuchi and her group were Ninja. Even without a path, they could use Chakra to cling to walls and move as if on flat ground.
They followed the Kibichu downward, eventually finding a coffin in a side hall of the tomb. Two Iwagakure Ninja pushed open the coffin lid to reveal a male Mukuro holding a scroll marked 'First'.
The Kibichu circled the Mukuro, confirming that this was the former head of the Kamizuru Clan.
Before they could celebrate, Danzo, looking grim, led his men in.
"Danzo?! How dare you come to the Land of Earth?! Do you want to start a war between our villages?!" Kurotsuchi demanded, her voice betraying a hint of trepidation.
All nine Iwagakure Ninja, including the Kamizuru Female Ninja, wore solemn expressions. Being cornered by Danzo Shimura of Konoha Village in a desolate tomb was, by any measure, an extremely dire situation.
Kurotsuchi stood at the forefront of the group, slightly boosting their morale.
No matter how unreasonable Konoha's Ninja were, they wouldn't dare lay a hand on Kurotsuchi, would they? She was the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, after all. The Iwagakure Ninja felt a wave of anxiety.
Danzo, still in his usual attire of a black haori, a moon-colored inner garment, a bandaged right eye, and leaning on a walking stick, felt confident of victory. He stepped forward.
He first looked at the Kamizuru Female Ninja, who held the 'First' scroll, then spoke with immense authority.
"That Female Ninja stole something from Konoha Village..."
He paused.
As he spoke, he observed the nine Iwagakure Ninja other than Kurotsuchi. He didn't see anyone playing dumb to hide their strength. With himself, he had thirty Ninja, while they only had ten. There was no need to even fight; they would have to accept this silent loss.
Kill Kurotsuchi here? He thought if she didn't know her place, killing her would be acceptable.
The old man's thoughts were a bit slow. Before he could fully process them, Kurotsuchi, just five paces away, attacked decisively.
Kurotsuchi moved incredibly fast, shifting her weight forward. Her two shapely, strong legs pushed off the ground, and her body, like a nimble leopard, shot out like lightning. Then, her right hand formed a claw, and with a blank expression, she aimed directly for Danzo's right eye socket and struck!
Damn it!
We haven't even finished talking, why are you attacking? Don't you Iwagakure Village people have any martial ethics?
Danzo's left eye stared intently at Kurotsuchi. Her move was sharp and lethal, with a clear objective. This strike reminded him of Nii Yugito, the Jinchuriki from Raikage Village; both displayed the same chilling killing intent.
Kurotsuchi's fingers were slender, and her fingernails were painted with shiny black nail polish.
As her fingers drew closer to his eye, Danzo used all his strength to snap his head back.
His brain reacted, but just as the Third Hokage's abilities in'strength,''speed,' and 'precision' had drastically declined, time was a Ninja's greatest enemy. His once agile movements had become a struggle, and his aging body could no longer respond effectively.
He felt Kurotsuchi's fingers pierce the bandage on his face, then directly enter his eye socket. With a hook of her finger, a slight twist, she severed the optic nerve, then grabbed his eyeball and effortlessly yanked it out!
His right eyeball was swiftly removed by Kurotsuchi.
"Ah!—" Danzo cried out in pain. He had completely underestimated this inexperienced girl, who not only dared to attack him but delivered a soul-piercing blow right from the start!
His body hurt, but his heart hurt even more.
The Mangekyo Sharingan he had forcibly taken from Uchiha Shisui was directly gouged out!
This scene of eye-gouging seemed no different from the past, except that before, he was the one gouging out eyes, and now he was the one whose eyes were being gouged out.
The actions of both were similar: using lightning-fast speed to forcibly seize the enemy's eyes.
Danzo's heart was filled with rage. He was truly a case of 'hunting geese all day only to have his own eyes pecked out by a goose.'
If he were facing a formidable enemy like the Third Tsuchikage, anticipating a high-risk battle, he would certainly have already released the seals on his arm that prevented detection by the Byakugan, or even used Izanagi in advance to nullify all subsequent adverse effects.
The problem was, he had absolutely not anticipated Kurotsuchi attacking him, and so decisively. Now, let alone Izanagi, he hadn't even unsealed the Sharingan on his arm.
To deal with a mere Kurotsuchi, he originally had no intention of using Izanagi. With only eleven Sharingan in total, each one used was one less, and by no measure was it worth wasting on such a junior.
Yet, this time, he had unexpectedly fallen into a trap.
He hated Kurotsuchi to death.
This must have been premeditated! That was his first thought.
Kill all these people and reclaim the Mangekyo Sharingan! That was his second thought!
Seeing Kurotsuchi place the Sharingan into a pre-prepared container, he became even more convinced of his earlier thought: this was a conspiracy targeting him! Which of his trusted subordinates leaked the information? Was it Orochimaru? Was it Uchiha Itachi? Or was it Uchiha Shisui, whose body had never been found?
He had committed too many bad deeds and had enemies everywhere, making it genuinely difficult to pinpoint a suspect at the moment.
Things happened too fast; even the Root Ninja hadn't anticipated such a turn of events.
In the blink of an eye, Kurotsuchi of Iwagakure Village dug out Lord Danzo's eye? Was Lord Danzo's constantly covered eye a good eye? If it was a good eye, why cover it?
The Root Ninja were full of questions.
The Iwagakure Ninja also looked stunned, not understanding why Kurotsuchi suddenly attacked. Couldn't they have talked it out? It was just a Kamizuru Clan's Secret Technique of insect control; was it really worth this?
"Kill them!" Danzo roared, immediately unleashing his most proficient Wind Release Ninjutsu.
"Vacuum Renkuudan!"
The not-so-spacious tomb chamber was engulfed by a hurricane. The Kibichu were instantly torn to shreds. The scythe-like rotating Wind Release blades cut the outermost Iwagakure Ninja, who was on guard duty, into minced meat, and with undiminished force, slashed haphazardly at Kurotsuchi and the other Ninja.
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