bookbashuk Chapter 271 The Death of Danzo
Chapter 271 The Death of Danzo
Chapter 271 The Death of Danzo (Part Two)
At the border of the Land of Earth, Taiichi looked at the huge stone sphere not far away, but showed no intention of approaching it.
After waiting for a long time, seeing that there was still no movement, Taiyi was a little puzzled. Could it really be the end?
He created a shadow clone and, under its resentful gaze, ordered it to step forward and examine him.
But just as the shadow clone approached the stone sphere, a huge black sphere suddenly expanded out, instantly enveloping the shadow clone. Then it contracted violently, swallowing everything completely, leaving only a spherical crater.
Taiyi said that the old cunning fellow would not die so easily; he must still have a trick up his sleeve.
He created another shadow clone and had it check again. After confirming that there were no more traps, Taiyi stepped forward himself.
On the massive rocky hemisphere, a circular hole stood out starkly. Looking at the scene, Taiyi knew there was no need to fake it; it was clearly a scene of someone being attacked and killed by Iwagakure.
It's a bit of a pity that the Four Symbols Seal swallowed everything up, otherwise Taiichi would have loved to see what loot he could find on Danzo.
But it doesn't matter. Taiichi was in an extremely happy mood. The number one enemy hidden in his heart had finally been eliminated today. Taiichi had never felt so relaxed.
With Danzo's death, many things in Konoha's future will change. Orochimaru's defection, the Uchiha clan's massacre—he was involved in almost every major event that will affect Konoha's future.
Starting today, all of this will take a completely different and unknown turn.
Taiichi sheathed his short sword and, instead of using Flying Thunder God Technique to leave immediately, used Instantaneous Retreat towards the Land of Earth.
He wouldn't underestimate Konoha's scout ninjas. Danzo's death would surely cause a sensation, and the ninjas sent to investigate the cause of his death would definitely be the experts in this field in the village.
Even the slightest carelessness will allow them to find clues.
After running for more than an hour, using Earth Clone Technique multiple times to confuse his tracks, and even taking a bath in a small town, he finally used Flying Thunder God Technique to return to the Konoha camp in a densely populated area.
At this moment, in the Konoha camp, Taiichi's multiple shadow clones were busy in the medical camp. With their figures moving around and the busy crowd, no one noticed when Taiichi's main body appeared in the crowd and one of his clones disappeared.
Taiyi himself easily blended into the atmosphere of treating the wounded; there was simply too many people to save.
According to preliminary statistics, of the original more than 1,000 ninjas in the camp, nearly 500 died in this sneak attack, more than 200 were seriously injured, and almost everyone else was wounded.
The entire Western camp was completely destroyed, so Danzo really deserved to die.
What Taiyi needs to do now is to stabilize the injuries of these seriously wounded soldiers as soon as possible, because the camp is about to be moved. If it is delayed any longer, they will not be able to leave even if they want to, once Iwagakure has assembled its troops.
As the saying goes, what you fear most is what will happen. Just as Taiichi was preparing to seize the time to continue treatment, Mimura Yoru arrived at the medical camp.
He went directly to one of Taiyi's shadow clones and explained that he had come to find Taiyi's main body.
The shadow clone pointed him in the right direction, so he continued to focus on his healing work.
Mimura Yoru, who had walked up behind Taiichi, ignored Taiichi, who was still receiving treatment, and said directly, "Taiichi-kun, what's the situation here? We need to evacuate immediately, or it will be too late."
The light in Taiichi's hands suddenly brightened several times. A minute later, he withdrew his hands and turned to look at Mimura Yomi. "So fast? There are still half of the seriously injured people here who haven't been treated yet. If we transfer them now, there's basically no hope of saving them."
Although the words were light, the content was very heavy. Looking at the many companions lying on makeshift stretchers in the field, Mimura Yomi felt extremely sad.
But it's too late now. The later we leave, the greater the chance of being caught by Iwagakure.
"Taiichi-kun, is there really no other way?"
Taiyi looked at the people around him, their hopeful eyes, and sighed inwardly. He checked his own condition and the remaining chakra in the Yin Seal, and silently estimated that perhaps—it would be enough.
"I'll give it a try."
Taiyi arrived at an open space, bit his finger, and began to form hand seals.
Hai—Xu—You—Shen—Wei, the art of spiritual communication.
Amidst the white smoke, a slug over five meters tall appeared in the spot.
"Lord Taiyi, it's been a long time. You've never been able to communicate with me to this extent before!" The slug's gentle voice rang out in the room.
As everyone looked up at this colossal object, a light of hope rose in their eyes once more.
"Slug, please split apart. I need to treat all the seriously injured ninjas present."
Taiichi's words not only shocked everyone present, but even the slug was quite surprised.
"Lord Taiichi, this will put a lot of strain on you, and your chakra doesn't seem to be enough!"
Taiichi didn't say much, silently releasing the Yin Seal, his entire body filled with immense chakra. The slug's two tentacles extended from its head, staring intently at Taiichi for a long time, before finally splitting apart without uttering a word.
Small slugs, each about half a meter long, split off from the large slug and crawled straight towards the heavily injured and immobile Konoha ninja.
Immediately after the last slug was in place, the remaining slug, which was about a meter long, crawled onto Taiyi's back.
Taiyi also sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and quickly transformed his chakra into yang attribute chakra, which was then transmitted to the slug on his back. After passing through the slug, the chakra was distributed to each of the seriously injured people.
While treating so many ninjas, Taiichi felt that the chakra within the sealed space was like a dam that had been opened, with the water level decreasing at a visible speed.
More and more sweat was pouring from his forehead, which was not only a sign of a large depletion of chakra, but also a sign that his energy was about to run out.
Finally, after half an hour, when the chakra in the Yin Seal was completely depleted and his own chakra was also half exhausted, the treatment was finally over.
He swayed as he straightened up, and a hand supported Taichi from behind. He turned around and saw that it was Nonou.
Taiichi shook his head slightly at her to indicate that he was alright, then turned to look at Mimura Yomi, "It's alright, their injuries have stabilized, we can move them now."
Mimura Yoru gave him a deep look, bowed deeply to him, and immediately turned back to organize the troop withdrawal.
Taiichi finally breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against Nonou's chest, feeling the long-lost warmth, and remained silent for a long time.
"This was truly dangerous! If it weren't for Taiyi's heroic act, who knows how many people would be alive today!"
After a long silence, Nono sighed softly. This wasn't because she was being sentimental, but because it was the truth. If Taiichi hadn't stopped the Han's rampage in time, it would have been quite good if two or three out of ten of the Konoha ninja on the western front had returned.
"It's all Danzo's incompetence. As the commander, he was the first to run away, and he even took the Root members with him. He deserves to die a hundred times over."
Taiichi said bitterly that he would not tell anyone about Danzo's death, and even to Nono, he would keep this secret buried in his heart.
Nonou was slightly surprised to hear this. She had only just learned that Danzo had made such a move. As a result, Danzo's future days would probably be difficult. If he had been able to hold on a little longer and wait for Taichi to arrive, even if he had been defeated, it would have been better.
After all, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, but abandoning one's comrades and running away is a serious crime.
While Nono was still thinking about the aftermath of Danzo's escape, everyone in the camp finally made preparations. The ninjas went to investigate and guard the area, each performing their duties, and the team quickly retreated towards the Land of Grass.
"Commander Mimura, have you reported the situation here to the village?"
The unexpected question startled Mimura Yomi, and his face quickly fell.
Well, it's been so long, and they haven't even reported to the village yet. They'll need the village's support later, otherwise how will these remnants of the army withstand Iwagakure's subsequent attacks?
"Hurry up and write a report scroll, I'll send you back to the village directly using the Flying Thunder God Technique."
"Yes, yes, Taiichi, wait for me a moment, I'll go write it right away." After saying that, Mimura Yomi rushed out without looking back, leaving Taiichi shaking his head helplessly.
This was originally something Danzo and his staff should have been doing, but unfortunately they were all gone, and in the chaos, everyone neglected the important task of reporting.
Fortunately, Taichi was here, and with the help of the Flying Thunder God Technique, the delay wouldn't be too long. Otherwise, if Konoha still hadn't made a move after the team retreated to the Land of Grass, they would have had to temporarily abandon the interests of the Land of Grass.
In less than half an hour, an urgent military intelligence report was completed. To ensure the report's authenticity, Mimura Yoru had all the Jonin in the team sign it, so that the higher-ups wouldn't waste time due to any doubts.
Tai quickly glanced at the scroll and decisively signed his name on it.
This scene moved Mimura Yoru. After all, what was recorded in the scroll was not a glorious thing. Taiichi signed his name and took responsibility for it. As someone who came to rescue, he had no reason to do so.
"Taiyi, you—"
"No need to say more, Commander Mimura, I was just doing my part."
Taiyi put away the scroll and waved to everyone.
"I'll go ahead first, and I'll come back as soon as I hear any news from the village."
After saying that, he disappeared from the spot.
It was only around 3 a.m. when Taichi appeared at his home in Konoha, and the entire village was peaceful.
Taiyi didn't waste any time. He spread his wings and flew straight towards the Hokage Building. However, from a distance, Taiyi discovered that the Hokage Building was also completely dark.
It seems the previous battle went too smoothly; the Hokage no longer needs to work overtime or stay overnight in his office.
He turned his wings and flew in a different direction toward the Sarutobi clan's territory. He recognized the Third Hokage's house, and since no one was in the office, he would go directly to his home to find him.
Such an urgent battle report could not be delayed for even a moment; it had to be delivered to the Hokage immediately, even if the Hokage was in the process of creating a human.
Taiichi's figure descended from the sky, landing directly in the courtyard outside Hiruzen Sarutobi's bedroom.
Immediately, four masked members of the Dark Guard appeared in an instant, holding kunai, and surrounded Taiichi in a swastika pattern.
"Who dares to trespass on the Hokage's residence?" The leader of the cat-faced ANBU shouted, both to warn the intruder and to remind the Hokage inside.
If they hadn't seen the intruder remain motionless after landing, they would have already made their move.
"Matsushita Taichi, I have an urgent military report to the Hokage regarding the Western Front."
Taiyi also shouted loudly, dispelling the hostility of the Dark Division while explaining his purpose.
"It's Taiichi. Wait a moment, I'll be right out." Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice came from inside the house.
There was no annoyance at being woken up, nor a trace of impatience; his composure and strength revealed the demeanor of a Hokage.
Less than a minute later, the door opened from the inside, and Hiruzen Sarutobi walked out wearing a robe.
He waved for the four secret agents still surrounding Taiyi to step back, and said to Taiyi, "What's going on with the Western Front? Why are you here delivering intelligence?"
Taiichi didn't say much, and directly took out a scroll from his ninja tool bag and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took the scroll, unfolded it, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the handwriting. This report was not written by Danzo. He quickly read through the contents of the scroll.
I feel terrible. Damn Danzo, how could he do such a thing?
"Taiichi, is what happened in the scroll true?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, still clinging to a sliver of hope.
Tai nodded. "These are all based on my personal experience; they are true!"
"Immediately, summon the two elders to the Hokage Building for a meeting." Hiruzen Sarutobi gave the order directly to the Anbu, then turned to Taichi, "Taichi, you go to the Hokage Building too, and explain the details again later!"
"Yes." Taiichi accepted the order, and seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi had nothing more to say, he turned around and climbed over the wall to leave the Hokage's house.
In less than half an hour, the Hokage Building, which was originally pitch black, became brightly lit.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado were all in place.
Taichi is telling everyone everything he knows, from receiving a plea for help from Nono, to repelling the Iwa ninja attacking the medical camp, to supporting the western front, driving away the Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han, and finally discovering that Danzo has already led the Root members to evacuate ahead of schedule.
He recounted everything in detail, without adding a single subjective opinion.
The office fell silent as Mimura Yomi's report, combined with Taichi's dictation, was reeling from the sudden and devastating news.
But everyone understood that Danzo was completely finished this time. Forget about the Elders' Council; if he could return, all that awaited him was retribution. As for the final outcome, it all depended on what Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking.
The three people present were all cunning old foxes. From Taiichi's account, they knew Danzo's thoughts: he believed that things had come to this point, the camp was already in ruins, and he wanted to preserve his own strength first.
But reality is often ironic. Taichi's arrival resolved the crisis in the camp, but it pushed Danzo into the abyss.
"Hiruzen, the most urgent task is to resolve the issue of supporting the western front. We can discuss the rest when Danzo returns," Koharu Utatane said, smoothing things over and reminding everyone what was most pressing at the moment.
Taiichi watched silently from the side and clearly saw that the Third Hokage's expression relaxed for a moment after Koharu Utatane spoke.
Alas, the third generation has grown old and is no longer the same Oshio he once was.