Chapter 4: Danzo's Ambush

Uchiha Touhuan received orders to head to the northwestern border to mop up spies from the Land of Earth.

After leaving the village, the trio picked up their pace, rushing toward their destination. However, before they could even reach the site, figures wearing various masks emerged from all directions, surrounding them in the blink of an eye.

"Anbu?" Uchiha Inabi’s expression tightened as he observed the newcomers' attire.

"No, not Anbu. It’s Root." Uchiha Touhuan’s expression remained unchanged as he drew his long sword from his back. "Regardless, prepare for battle."

"Damn it! What is the village thinking? Are they actually attacking their own ninjas?" Uchiha Zaito complained indignantly while drawing a kunai to defend himself.

"Uchiha rebel, Uchiha Touhuan, today I shall purge this instability from the village," Danzo’s cold, sinister voice echoed, though Touhuan scanned the surroundings and could not spot him.

"A coward hiding in the shadows dares to spout such nonsense," Touhuan said disdainfully.

"Uchiha Touhuan, drop your petty tricks. You want to force me to show myself so you can use the ocular jutsu you stole from Uchiha Shisui on me, don't you? Unfortunately, Shisui has already confessed everything. The village is fully aware of your plot to steal his power and rebel. Will you surrender, or must I force you?"

"Touhuan, what is he talking about?" Inabi asked, confused.

"Now is not the time," Touhuan replied, his body wreathed in crackling electricity, accompanied by intermittent booms. "Let’s deal with these rats first."

"Understood!" Inabi and Zaito nodded, standing back-to-back with Touhuan, each forming hand seals: "Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"

Two massive fire dragons roared toward the encroaching Root army. The heat of the explosions instantly engulfed the leading Root ninjas. While the forces Danzo brought to assassinate Touhuan were elite, Inabi and Zaito were standouts of the Uchiha clan—geniuses who had already awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan. Touhuan’s counter-attack was even more direct: he instantly condensed nine blue lightning orbs brimming with terrifying chakra, crushing them toward the enemy in various directions.

Lightning Style: Lightning Orbs—a basic ninjutsu that even some low-ranking Konoha shinobi could master—wielded such devastating power in Touhuan’s hands.

In a flash, over a dozen Root ninjas were swallowed by the orbs, leaving no trace behind. Yet, brainwashed by Danzo, the Root operatives lacked any shred of individual will; their comrades' deaths did not halt their advance. They continued to charge fearlessly, while the Water and Wind style users among them began releasing their own jutsu, attempting to suppress the trio with elemental advantages.

"Killing Anbu ninjas—Uchiha Touhuan, do you intend to defect from the village?" Danzo’s voice rang out again.

His answer was a series of lightning strikes as thick as a man's thigh, descending from the sky and striking the gathered Root ninjas with pinpoint accuracy. The explosive lightning claimed more lives, while the Wind and Water jutsu launched by the Root were completely neutralized by six deep-blue lightning orbs Touhuan had condensed to spin rapidly around the trio.

"Still not planning to show yourself, Elder Danzo?" Touhuan asked. "Or do you truly believe they are enough to hold me here?"

"Uchiha Touhuan, don't waste your efforts. Your desire to control me is pure fantasy," Danzo snorted.

"Elder Danzo, don't you think you're overestimating yourself?" Touhuan asked with a faint smile, effortlessly cutting down Root ninjas with his jutsu. "You are nothing but a rat hiding from the light, spending your days in the sewers, ready to be discarded by Hiruzen Sarutobi at any moment. You are hardly worthy of a god-tier technique like Kotoamatsukami."

Just then, massive trees erupted from the earth, forming a giant hand in the air that descended upon the trio. The previous attacks had merely been a ruse to exhaust their chakra; this was Danzo’s true hidden trump card.

"Wood Style?" Inabi gasped in horror. With the Uchiha clan’s knowledge, they naturally recognized the origin of such a technique.

The two instinctively unleashed their own jutsu to block the descending hand, but their efforts left not a single mark upon it.

At this moment, Touhuan spoke softly: "Stand behind me."

In an instant, the three-tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, transforming into the Mangekyo Sharingan. Pitch-black ocular power surged forth, enveloping the three and manifesting into a colossal black warrior wreathed in pale blue cursed seals.

Touhuan’s ocular power and explosive lightning chakra converged in the warrior’s hand, forming a deep-blue longsword. With a single slash, he cleaved the massive wooden hand in two.

"Elder Danzo, have you had enough?" Touhuan asked coldly. "Do you know why I didn't use our clan's ultimate power from the start? Because I intend for all of you to be buried here."

As he spoke, the sky above turned gloomy. The steam generated by the clash of Fire and Water styles had formed vast storm clouds, within which immense energy compressed. Everyone present looked up, their faces filled with sheer terror. Even though the Root ninjas lacked humanity, the instinctual dread of facing the wrath of nature was universal.

"Lightning Style: Kirin!" Touhuan whispered the name of the technique. Following this, a flicker of electricity sparked beneath everyone’s feet—save for the trio at the center of the battlefield. The sparks were so faint that a normal person might only feel a slight sting, but at this moment, they had become death warrants for everyone present.

A colossal beast of lightning descended from the heavens. The sky-filling radiance instantly engulfed the entire area. Facing such celestial power, the Root ninjas had nowhere to run, save for one corner where layer upon layer of Wood Dome walls desperately tried to withstand the onslaught.

Minutes later, the thunder subsided, and a heavy rain began to fall, washing away the stench of blood that had permeated the air.

In the corner where the Wood Dome had stood, the final layer collapsed, revealing two figures. One masked man fell, his hand still locked in a sealing gesture. The other stood leaning on a cane, his arm wrapped in bandages hanging limply at his side.

"Found you, Elder Danzo." Uchiha Touhuan, inside the Susanoo, broke into a brilliant smile.