"Hmph!"
A chilling frost rapidly spread from the tip of Kazuki's blade, instantly condensing into a thick white mist of ice. In an instant, the freezing mist engulfed a 100-meter radius.
The Root ANBU, still in the midst of casting their jutsu, had no time to halt their hand seals. A bone-chilling cold swept over them, numbing their senses.
"Hiss…!" Shimura Danzo inhaled sharply as he took in the sight before him, fear flashing in his eyes.
"What is this...? Ice Release Ninjutsu?" Danzo, lurking behind his subordinates, speculated in shock.
"How does Kazuki know this technique? Ice Release is a Kekkei Genkai only found in the Land of Water, or perhaps in the distant Land of Snow…!"
The sheer power of the Daiguren Hyōrinmaru Kazuki had unleashed sent a ripple of alarm through Danzo's heart.
But this was no time for contemplation.
The world around him had turned into a frozen wasteland. Wherever the ice mist spread, an eerie blue frost crystallized over every surface.
His Root operatives, caught in the freezing onslaught, had no time to react. One by one, they were engulfed, their bodies encased in glacial prisons. In mere moments, they had become nothing more than lifeless ice sculptures.
A frigid wind howled through the night.
Crack!
The frozen figures shattered, fragments of ice scattering across the ground.
Danzo's heart pounded. Every last one of his subordinates had been wiped out in a single move.
In his mind, only one thought remained—
Escape!
Without hesitation, he turned on his heel and sprinted away at full speed.
Yet, just as he made his move—
Crack!
A numbing cold surged through the ground beneath his feet. His legs stiffened, his movements dulled, as if he had stepped into a pit of quicksand.
"You—!"
Before Danzo could finish his words, the creeping frost had already overtaken him. Ice spread up his legs, climbing rapidly across his body.
Within moments, his entire form was frozen mid-run—an icy effigy locked in place.
Ding!
From afar, a kunai soared through the air—
Thunk!
It struck the frozen Danzo square in the back.
Immediately, fractures spread from the point of impact, webbing outwards toward his limbs.
Crack… Crack…
The ice sculpture shattered into fragments, Danzo's frozen remains crumbling into a pile of crystalline shards.
"...Dead?"
Kazuki narrowed his eyes, stepping toward the spot where Danzo had fallen.
But the moment his gaze landed on the remains—
They vanished.
An illusion…
Kazuki's expression darkened.
He instantly realized the truth.
Among the Sharingan eyes Danzo had seized during the Uchiha Massacre, he had undoubtedly gathered more from other sources, transplanting them into his arm enhanced with Hashirama's cells.
And just now—
He had used Izanagi.
The ultimate genjutsu.
Upon activation, the user records their state through their Sharingan. For the duration of the jutsu, any injury—including death—can be rewritten, restoring them to their recorded state. The cost? The sacrificed Sharingan would go blind forever.
A technique so powerful, yet so costly, that it had long been deemed a forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha Clan.
Though Danzo possessed fewer Sharingan than in the original timeline, faced with imminent death, he had chosen to sacrifice one to escape.
"Tch… Just a pathetic rat scurrying away," Kazuki muttered with disdain.
With a flick of his wrist, he sheathed Daiguren Hyōrinmaru.
Although Danzo managed to escape tonight,
pursuing him now would be inconvenient.
However, tonight's events will not simply be brushed aside—
the fox's tail has already been exposed.
How could he let this opportunity slip away?
Kazuki glanced toward the Hokage Rock in the distance.
The Hokage's office was still brightly lit,
a faint smile playing on his lips as he imagined the chaos unfolding within.
At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen was likely in Danzo's office,
struggling to control the mess that had just erupted.
"Hey, old man!
Are you seriously telling me this is just going to be left alone?"
"Hmph! If I hadn't been here tonight,
the Scroll of Seals would've already been stolen!"
"These people were from the Foundation—Danzo's men, and the Shimura clan.
I didn't expect them to be after the Scroll of Seals as well…
They even knocked out Naruto, the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki!"
"Hey! Old man, are you deaf or just senile? Answer me already!"
CRACK!
Tsunade slammed her palm onto Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk,
the impact shaking the room with an earth-shattering sound.
The force alone seemed enough to send the Third Hokage reeling.
At that moment, the Anbu standing behind Tsunade—
members of Konoha's Second Assassination Squad under Kazuki's command—
all felt a chill run down their spines.
Half an hour ago,
they had viewed this newly assigned "connected household"—
someone who had joined Anbu only through their captain's recommendation—
with skepticism.
But in battle…
The sheer power that erupted from them was overwhelming.
What had started as an evenly matched fight
turned into a one-sided massacre within minutes.
Before their stunned eyes,
this "connected household" became a force of nature.
One arrow—an enemy's head burst apart.
One punch—ribs shattered like twigs.
A feathered chain—an unseen death slicing through the dark.
A relentless killing machine walking among them.
The Anbu swallowed hard.
Among their ranks,
only their captain, Mink, had ever displayed such devastating strength.
Not even Captain Yamato—Tenzō, the current Anbu Commander—could compare.
This kind of power wasn't just impressive…
It was unrivaled in all of Konoha.
And yet,
this overwhelming force belonged merely to Mink's guard?
The realization sent another wave of unease through them.
This guard… was too hardcore.
Even after the battle ended,
they were still reeling from what they had witnessed.
Then, before they could fully process it,
they were immediately led by Tsunade to the Hokage's office.
Now, standing before Sarutobi Hiruzen,
they finally saw the masked figure reveal her face—
Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin.
In that instant, all their lingering doubts vanished.
Of course.
A ninja of such monstrous strength appearing out of nowhere?
No, this wasn't some unknown anomaly—this was Tsunade-sama herself.
The rumors had been true: Tsunade had recently returned to Konoha.
They just hadn't expected to see her in action like this.
A collective sigh of relief swept through the Anbu.
Well, that explained everything.
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