From the top of the water tower three kilometers away, the wind howled, making Naruto's clothes flap loudly. He didn't move, his icy blue pupils reflecting the real-time footage transmitted back by Karsten's optical scope. The image was perfectly steady, without a single tremor.
On the bridge, the moment that old head exploded was faithfully recorded by the recording device Karsten carried, at a rate of several hundred frames per second. Scarlet blood, mixed with white brain tissue and bone fragments, formed an efficient and brutal picture.
Yakushi Kabuto's astonishment was real, and the daze of the two Root Ninja was also real.
Everything was as pre-planned.
Naruto gave no orders to pursue or deliver a finishing blow, casually shooting down the summoned hawk in the air.
He didn't even have Karsten shift his aim, simply waiting calmly, like a researcher patiently awaiting experimental results. He knew the real show had just begun.
"Political Commissar, target's vital signs have disappeared. Mission..." Karsten's cold, synthesized voice echoed in Naruto's mind, but before he finished, he cut himself off.
"...Anomaly detected! Spatial parameters are distorted!"
On the bridge, just as the two Root Ninja finally recovered from their shock and were about to unleash their fury on Yakushi Kabuto, a sudden change occurred.
Danzo's headless "corpse" lying on the ground suddenly swayed like a reflection in water. Its outline began to blur, its color rapidly faded, and it finally transformed into a void-like shadow, dissipating into the air without leaving any trace.
It was as if the fatal blow just now was merely a boring genjutsu.
The bloodstains on Yakushi Kabuto's face had not yet dried. He watched this illogical scene, his pupils constricting to the extreme. The two Root Ninja also stopped in their tracks, looking blankly at their unharmed master.
But what Naruto noticed was a deeper detail.
Although Danzo appeared completely unharmed, the bandages that had been tightly wrapped around his right arm were now scattered on the ground.
The true appearance of that arm was exposed to the air for the first time.
It was a pale, swollen, even somewhat sickly arm, completely different in skin tone from the rest of his body. Even more chilling was that from wrist to shoulder, a row of scarlet Sharingan was embedded in that arm.
Those eyes, like living things, were slowly rotating, emitting an ominous glow.
Among them, the one in the very center of the arm was now slowly closing, the three tomoe pattern in its eye rapidly dissipating, eventually becoming an ordinary gray eyeball that had lost all its luster.
At the top of the water tower, Karsten's recorder captured this scene and transmitted magnified high-definition images and energy analysis data to Naruto in real-time.
"Political Commissar, multiple unknown biological organs detected on the target's body surface. The recent death phenomenon was covered by an unrecorded reality-bending ability. All data has been recorded."
Naruto looked at the clear image transmitted by the scope, a flicker of understanding in his eyes.
So that's how it is.
Sacrificing the light of one eye to activate a one-time technique that blurs the boundaries between reality and illusion. Regardless of what damage the caster suffers, even death, physical recovery is possible, except for the eye consumed by the activation.
Is this your trump card, Danzo?
Expensive, but effective.
A forbidden jutsu powerful enough to secure absolute survival in any desperate situation.
"But it's such a waste to use it on you, and so many Sharingan..."
Naruto paused, his mind quickly connecting the cause and effect.
The instigator of the Uchiha clan massacre, treating the most elite bloodline family in a Village as a consumable resource for his own prolonged life... What a grand scheme.
Those warriors who should have shined on the battlefield are now like cheap ornaments, crudely embedded in an arm that doesn't belong to them, their only value being to block one fatal attack after another for a corrupt leech.
"Karsten, scan that arm and count how many 'eyes' are still on it." Naruto's voice echoed in his mind, calm and unruffled.
"Understood, Political Commissar. Scan complete. Excluding deactivated individuals, there are currently nine active biological organs on the target's right arm."
Nine.
Meaning, including the one just used, there were originally ten Sharingan on this arm, and counting his right eye, that makes eleven.
"So he has ten lives left..." Naruto murmured, his fingertips gently tapping on the cold railing, making a crisp sound.
Just have to kill him a few more times.
Yakushi Kabuto and the Root Ninja on the bridge had clearly not yet recovered from this surreal scene.
Danzo himself was deeply fearful of that long-range, undetectable fatal attack, and was cautiously scanning his surroundings with his single eye.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find him.
He instantly made a judgment: this was Orochimaru's conspiracy, a trap specifically set to test his trump card.
Orochimaru had indeed transplanted Hashirama cells and Sharingan into him, but he did not know the secret of Izanagi, a secret known to very few within the Uchiha clan itself.
And the Yakushi Kabuto before him was the executor.
"Orochimaru... he really raised a good dog!" Danzo's voice was hoarse, every word seemingly squeezed through his teeth.
Facing that hysterical rage, Yakushi Kabuto smiled instead.
He first chuckled softly, then his laughter grew louder and more pronounced. He raised his hand, wiping the blood from his face with the back of his hand, the gentle facade on his face completely shattered by this slightly deranged laughter, replaced by an expression mixed with confidence and delight.
This collaboration had shown him a whole new possibility.
Whether from the perspective of his personal revenge or the future of Orochimaru's faction, abandoning Danzo, that shrewd and potentially backstabbing "ally," and choosing to cooperate with that unfathomable young man was a sure-fire profitable deal.
"Do you like this surprise, Danzo?"
Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the last rays of the setting sun, making him look like a demon crawled out of hell.
"I hope the next time I see you, it's not at your funeral."
He paused, his smile growing even brighter.
"Of course, that's a blessing. I sincerely hope you can still have a funeral."
The confidence in his words came entirely from Uzumaki Naruto.
These words were like a slap, harshly striking Danzo's face.
"Kill him!"
Danzo issued a low, emotionless command.
The two Root Ninja reacted instantly, no longer hesitating in the slightest. They drew the short swords from their waists, the blades glinting coldly in the setting sun, and transformed into two black shadows, one on the left and one on the right, blocking all of Yakushi Kabuto's escape routes.
However, since Yakushi Kabuto dared to provoke him face-to-face, he naturally had a backup plan.
He stomped his foot, and his body tilted backward at an incredible angle, narrowly dodging the two throat-slitting short swords. At the same time, he quickly formed hand signs.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A half-human-high earth wall rose from the ground, temporarily blocking the pursuit of the two Root Ninja.
Taking advantage of this gap, Yakushi Kabuto did a backflip, landing steadily on the other end of the bridge, and without looking back, rushed towards the distant forest.
"Don't let him get away!" one Root Ninja roared, smashing through the earth wall with a punch, and the two chased relentlessly.
Yakushi Kabuto's figure flickered several times through the trees, simultaneously activating the Shadow Clone Jutsu, mixing multiple Shadow Clones with his real body, each Shadow Clone agile and ruthless.
Smoke bombs exploded, thick smoke billowed, making the scene even more chaotic.
After a struggle, the two Root Ninja finally, panting, dealt with all the Shadow Clones, but the area before them was empty, Yakushi Kabuto's real body had already vanished without a trace.
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