But Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tailed Beast's Jinchuriki, was well-versed in the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques and abilities.
She should have no power to forcibly attract others like this.
This was a new Kekkei Genkai!
"Yes, sir!"
At Danzo's command, the Root members swiftly mobilized.
Raj's eyes lit up at the sight.
'The Old Thief is sending his men away himself? Perfect!'
By severing his own arm and dispatching his forces to the periphery, Danzo had created an opportunity for Raj to extract him undetected.
The "Black Rat" sprang into action.
As the Amegakure ninja engaged, paper cranes suddenly soared in from the distance.
These cranes, sharp as shuriken, would have been harmless enough on their own, but each concealed an Exploding Tag.
"Watch out!"
"Exploding Tags! Everyone, be careful!"
Alarmed cries erupted as explosions rocked the area.
Hanzo's eyes narrowed.
He slammed his palm against the ground, instantly alerting Nagato, who yanked Yahiko back.
The moment they leaped away, flames
erupted from their former position. However, Paper Release techniques intercepted some of the blasts, buying Nagato and Yahiko precious time to retreat.
Seeing Nagato and Yahiko slip away, Danzo could barely restrain himself from giving chase.
This was a brand-new Kekkei Genkai - how could he let them escape?
Before Danzo could leap down the steep slope, a strange rat suddenly appeared within his sensory range.
To call it a rat would be inaccurate; it was more like a creature disguised as one.
Under normal circumstances, Danzo would have ignored it, simply ordering his subordinates to deal with it.
But he was alone here, and this was a battlefield.
Cautiously drawing the sword from his back, he struck first, slashing at the Black Rat before it could approach.
His strike was lightning-fast, the blade falling in the blink of an eye.
An ordinary Ninja Beast would never have dodged it.
But Raj was no ordinary Ninja Beast.
Not only did it evade the strike, it leaped onto the back of the blade in a flash.
Reacting instantly, Danzo flipped the sword, slamming the Black Rat toward the ground while simultaneously drawing a Kunai with his left hand and hurling it forward.
Yet in the next instant, the Black Rat accelerated with impossible speed, moving faster than the eye could track.
It seemed to teleport right in front of him, its claw striking his foot...
Then everything spun wildly.
When Danzo's vision cleared, he found himself in a mountain ravine, surrounded by dense forest.
'Flying Thunder God Technique? Impossible!'
Danzo's heart jolted, but his hands moved swiftly.
He instantly realized it was that rat - or rather, the village's Black Cat...
Meow!
A deep, feline growl echoed as the rat transformed into a cat.
Its size was similar to an ordinary cat, but its fur was extraordinarily lustrous, radiating a terrifying aura of oppression.
Danzo inhaled sharply, his first instinct to flee...
This was a primal, soul-crushing pressure - or perhaps, pure instinct.
Without hesitation, he turned to run, but Raj had already moved.
In an instant, the cat's figure materialized before Danzo, its speed leaving him no chance to escape.
Danzo immediately swung his blade to defend himself, but in the blink of an eye, a searing pain shot through his hand.
It felt like countless strikes from an invisible blade, delivered in a single breath.
"Aaaah!" he screamed in agony.
By the time he registered what had happened, his right hand had been reduced to a bloody, mangled mess by the cat's bizarre, bladed attacks.
Looking again, Danzo saw Raj standing on its hind legs in the distance, its front paws encased in ice, forming two icy blades.
True to his reputation, Danzo, despite his mangled right hand, completed a hand seal and unleashed a powerful gust of wind from his mouth.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
In his hands, the technique's power was amplified tenfold.
The gale uprooted massive trees, snapping their trunks like twigs.
Normally, Raj would have been forced to either evade or endure the blast.
This would have given Danzo the opportunity to summon reinforcements or escape.
But to his despair, Raj remained unfazed by the tempest, for it wielded the most terrifying Space-Time Ninjutsu: the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Slick!
The icy blades sliced through Danzo's legs, sending blood spraying.
His agonizing scream echoed for miles, alerting the Root ninja and Hanzo who were preparing to pursue him.
It was Danzo's scream!
"Impossible!"
Hanzo initially dismissed it as a hallucination, but when a second scream pierced the air, he recognized Danzo's voice.
The Darkness of the Ninja World was facing an unprecedented crisis.
"Lord..."
"Continue the pursuit."
Hanzo hesitated for only a moment before turning and rushing toward Danzo's location.
As the strongest ninja present, his speed was unmatched, making him the only one capable of covering such a distance in a short time.
'Danzo must not die!'
If he died, the relationship between Amegakure and Konoha would be shattered beyond repair.
No, not just the relationship.
War would follow!
Hanzo's mind was a whirlwind of confusion.
He couldn't fathom how anyone could threaten Danzo to the point where he couldn't even launch a signal flare, resorting instead to a desperate scream for help.
This was utterly absurd!
"Cat."
Danzo tried to shout the word "cat," but as soon as he uttered the sound, the cat's tail suddenly grew larger and swept horizontally, striking him under the chin from below.
Crack...
A sharp crack echoed as his jawbone shattered completely, rendering him unable to speak.
'Hanzo is here.'
In Sage Mode, Raj's sensory abilities were greatly enhanced.
He immediately sensed Hanzo's approach as the man turned around.
Once Hanzo closed the distance, Raj disengaged, leaping forward to stab Danzo through the heart with a single strike.
Then, he sprang back.
Fueled by Sage Chakra, Raj's Ice Release techniques were greatly amplified.
The ice blades on his claws were now sharper and harder than many ninja swords.
With another swift strike, he decapitated Danzo.
This wasn't out of cruelty.
Decapitation was a common Anbu method for destroying evidence, ensuring that enemy ninjas couldn't extract residual information from the corpse.
In the next instant, Raj transformed into his human form, deactivated the Flying Thunder God Technique seal on the body, and tossed down a pile of Exploding Tags before swiftly retreating in ninja fashion.
After he left...
Boom!
A thunderous explosion engulfed Danzo's corpse and severed head.
Raj had "conveniently" left a trail of bloody footprints in his wake.
Hanzo, who had just arrived on the scene, only caught a glimpse of a figure fleeing from the blast.
'Danzo is dead?'
That was too fast!
Hanzo was incredulous.
Even if he had wanted to eliminate Danzo, it would have taken far longer.
'Who is this person with such overwhelming power?'
But now was not the time for shock.
The enemy had clearly just finished off Danzo.
Given Danzo's capabilities, he must have wounded the attacker, perhaps even critically.