Chapter 104: Danzō's Breakdown
Danzō had no idea that Hanzō had already regarded him as a threat just as dangerous as Akatsuki. In Danzō's mind, Hanzō had already lost most of Amegakure's elites and was no longer qualified to negotiate as an equal with Konoha. Once Akatsuki was dealt with, Danzō planned to threaten Hanzō into turning the Rain Village into a vassal of Konoha.
For now, though, Akatsuki remained the most immediate danger. Nagato, in particular, was the primary threat, and Hanzō was still needed to take him down—so Danzō continued pretending to view Hanzō as an ally.
But Nagato was in dire straits. Though the battle had only been going for a short time, every move he made consumed a massive amount of chakra. After using Super Shinra Tensei, not only had his reserves been cut drastically, but the still-developing Rinnegan began to show signs of instability—his control was weakening.
Nagato didn't regret it. As long as he could save Yahiko and Konan, he was willing to destroy his own body.
But he knew he was in trouble. He had no idea Danzō was present, but he did know Hanzō hadn't joined the fight yet—a worse battle was coming. When he saw Ishiro floating nearby and the Root members who had been pursuing Ishiro now absent, he grabbed Yahiko and Konan and hurled them toward Ishiro.
Ishiro was startled at first, but quickly understood. He soared to catch them and cast Light-Weight Boulder Technique on both.
By now, Root had started climbing the Earth Rampart again under Danzō's orders. Ishiro couldn't stay put—he was too close to the surface and might be hit by long-range attacks.
Holding Yahiko and Konan, he continued to ascend.
The two didn't struggle. They cooperated fully. After the earlier skirmish, they had clearly realized—they were liabilities. Their presence only held Nagato back.
As expected, once Ishiro evacuated them, Nagato stopped defending and began attacking with full force. Leveraging his Uzumaki vitality and the deadly chakra-absorbing black rods, he launched into brutal close combat.
Root wasn't familiar with the rods. In their first exchange, three to four were killed immediately. But Root adapted quickly. They avoided direct contact and prepared rescue tactics in advance.
While Nagato was stronger than them individually, he lacked experience. Without Shinra Tensei, his taijutsu advantage shrank. As more Root surrounded him, he began to lose ground.
Ishiro, observing from above, quickly noticed the flaw: Nagato had never trained in advanced kenjutsu or taijutsu. His strength came purely from monstrous physical stats.
Ishiro shouted, "Nagato! Don't stay surrounded—break out and hit the ones on the edges!"
Nagato understood instantly. He took some hits, burst out of the encirclement, and went after isolated ninjas.
It worked. Root's formation shattered as they scrambled to assist comrades. Nagato, learning quickly, avoided groupings and targeted the flanks.
In no time, he killed five or six more. Root's numbers dropped to around twenty.
Seeing this, Danzō finally lost patience. But rather than engage himself, he turned to Hanzō and growled:
"Hanzō, now! This 'Nagato' is drained and injured. His repulsion technique hasn't cooled down. It's time!"
Hanzō cursed internally. You just want to avoid sacrificing more of your men, so now you want to drag me in? Still, he couldn't afford to offend Danzō—not just yet.
He played along, stalling with excuses before reluctantly agreeing.
But in just that brief exchange, four more Root shinobi were killed, and Nagato was gaining momentum. Were it not for their insane loyalty to Danzō, they'd have already fled in fear.
Danzō snapped. He ordered his men to spread out and cast Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, a powerful B-rank jutsu.
Nagato, hearing the voice, knew a new major threat had entered. Seeing Hanzō standing nearby, he realized—the toughest battle was just beginning.
But by now, he had found his rhythm. Even without Shinra Tensei, he still had Body Flicker, massive chakra reserves, a powerful physique, and the Rinnegan's absorption ability.
The other Rinnegan techniques—like those of the Six Paths—were still beyond his grasp. Advanced ocular abilities were also out of reach. So as a Rinnegan user, he was still incomplete, placing him only mid-tier among Kage-level fighters.
Hanzō, at his peak, was among the strongest Kage-level ninja, but currently lacked the spirit or will to fight full force. Danzō was the same—cautious, calculating, and unwilling to risk his life.
Both were now hesitant fighters, held back by self-preservation. Against them, Nagato—who had accepted death—fought with complete abandon.
He charged at Danzō, black rod in hand, ignoring the ninjutsu forming in Danzō's hands, feinting an all-out suicide strike. Danzō was startled and backpedaled, edging toward Hanzō and calling for help.
Hanzō, meanwhile, used Body Flicker to flee, pretending he was preparing a big technique.
Nagato, seeing Danzō busy, turned on Hanzō. Hanzō, terrified, refused to engage directly—especially when he saw Danzō forming a massive A-rank Wind Jutsu, clearly hoping to hit both enemies.
And so, the three of them entered a ridiculous game of cat and mouse. Nagato chased both. Danzō tried to redirect Nagato toward Hanzō. Hanzō, in turn, tried to get Nagato to attack Danzō.
Strangely, fighting two Kage-level opponents felt easier to Nagato than fighting a mob of jōnin.
Ishiro, watching from above, found the scene bizarre. Something was off—all three seemed to be stalling.
Nagato's stalling made sense—he was waiting for Shinra Tensei's cooldown.
Danzō's logic was also sound—he had the most troops left. If everyone was exhausted, his subordinates could finish the job.
But Hanzō… why was he holding back too? He should've tried to draw Nagato into Root's ranks, not avoid the fight.
After thinking it over, Ishiro had a guess: Hanzō's playing dirty.
Grinning, he suddenly shouted, "Nagato! Work with Hanzō—take out Danzō's men first! They've all been poisoned by the salamander!"
Nagato blinked. Work with Hanzō? Will he cooperate?
But Ishiro hadn't said that for Nagato. It was for Danzō and Hanzō to hear.
His meaning was simple: Stop pretending to cooperate. Hanzō already betrayed you.
Sure enough, Danzō flinched. He leapt out of the fight and examined his men.
The Root agents, having heard Ishiro's shout, also checked their own status—and were horrified. They were poisoned. It was faint, but real. Chakra didn't help.
One Root shinobi tried an antidote—but it failed. "Danzō-sama, the poison isn't neutralized. The antidote only suppresses it."
Danzō snapped.
You snake, Hanzō. I wasn't going to betray you until the battle was over—but you start poisoning people mid-fight?!
He roared at Hanzō: "What is this? Do you want war with Konoha?!"
Hanzō cursed Ishiro. If you'd waited just a bit longer, my plan would've worked! The poison should've already taken effect, but Danzō's Wind Release had scattered much of it.
"I only targeted Akatsuki. I'll cure your men after we win." Hanzō lied.
Danzō didn't buy a word. "Then give me the antidote now!"
Hanzō refused—and they descended into bickering.
Ishiro hadn't exposed the poison out of pity for Root. He had to stop Nagato from getting poisoned too. As someone who fought Hanzō directly, Nagato would've inhaled the gas—his chakra just delayed the effects.
So Ishiro threw down four gas masks—one for himself, one each for Yahiko and Konan, and one for Nagato.
Nagato didn't hesitate. He caught the mask and put it on.
Now the situation was awkward.
Hanzō was effectively alone—he had some subordinates, but no one really feared them. Ishiro did care about them—but only because they were worth contribution points.
Nagato remained the most threatening figure, but now even he realized—I might not need to die after all.
And with Shinra Tensei almost off cooldown, he would soon return to full power.
Danzō had the largest force, with over ten Root elites left—most of them still alive. But the poison made everything uncertain.
In normal circumstances, Danzō wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice even half his jōnin for victory.
But this wasn't normal. Most of his elite force was already dead. If he lost these ten too, Hiruzen Sarutobi would crush him politically.
He couldn't afford it. Not this time.
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