"So, so amazing! Even Danzo isn't a match for Jonin Seiki Shimaseki!"
"Such a battle spectacle—can they really just be jonin?"
Yet among these amazed reactions, some critical voices emerged.
"This Seiki Shimaseki doesn't even understand respect for seniors!"
"Exactly. Danzo-sama was clearly holding back, yet he kept pressing the attack relentlessly. That's completely unacceptable!"
Hearing the surrounding murmurs, Seiki slightly furrowed his brows.
Truthfully, Seiki might've overlooked Danzo's age.
If he really injured or crippled Danzo, he'd be on his knees in no time—pleading with Danzo not to die!
"I understand now!" Danzo flung away the kunai in his hand, eyeing Seiki with wary eyes. "When I threw that kunai and engaged you in close combat initially, I planted a seal on you—you marked me with the Flying Thunder God as well!"
That little brat planned this from the start—he just waited for the perfect moment to strike.
Shimaseki smiled elegantly. "Remembering to reciprocate when receiving a gift is good manners."
Danzo's gaze turned ominous. Was this an insult toward his lack of etiquette?
"Hmph! Don't get cocky—it's not over yet!"
[Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!]
The hurricane consisted of countless tiny wind blades, sweeping across the sky, cutting through even airborne dust particles.
[Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!]
After completing the seals in one second, Seiki slapped the ground, causing the earth to instantly rise up forming a stone wall blocking the storm's advance.
Rip!
Although the wall blocked momentarily, it quickly got destroyed by the hurricane, turning into a flurry of rock shards and dust.
However, during the momentary visual obstruction provided by the earthen barrier, Seiki used [Earth Path: Underground Projection Technique] to quietly arrive beneath Danzo's crotch.
[Konoha Secret Transmission Taijutsu Ultimate Art – One Thousand Years of Death!]
Hearing the technique name Seiki intentionally announced, Danzo instinctively clenched his behind. If wounded by such a move, what authority would he have left as battlefield commander?
Without thinking, Danzo reflexively stabbed backward, only piercing empty air.
"Oh no—I fell for it!" Danzo immediately realized, but it was already too late.
Just as he turned around, he saw Seiki holding a kunai slicing toward him. Danzo quickly ducked his head, leaving Seiki to give him the classic 'bald spot' haircut.
This mighty appearance, paired with Danzo's cold, serious expression, caused numerous watching ninja to burst into laughter again.
Though unsure what exactly they were laughing at, the cool sensation on his scalp still made Danzo flush with humiliation. Under normal circumstances, how could someone with his combat experience possibly fall for such a trick? Yet this brat constantly defied conventional patterns.
Who in their right mind uses such a cheap trick like 'One Thousand Years of Death' to ambush an old pro like him?
Seiki felt somewhat helpless as well. At this point in history, Danzo stood at the peak of his life—extremely powerful in every aspect, practically without any obvious weaknesses.
Certainly, even so, he wasn't without countermeasures. The problem lay elsewhere: this was merely a "test," not a fight to the death.
If I don't go all out, beating Danzo will be impossible—and even holding him to a draw will be tough. And drawing the match still allows the opponent to spin it however they like, claiming he couldn't even beat a largely-restrained Danzo.
But if he went all out, he couldn't control the intensity. If he accidentally injured Danzō, it would inevitably become an excuse for people like Tatsuma Aburame to attack him again, claiming he used excessive force even against his own comrades.
Let's be real—this was never going to be a fair fight from the start.
"So I have to win without seriously injuring Danzō, which means I must make good use of one of his weaknesses!"
"But there's only one shot. Before that, I need to rattle his mind a bit more!"
As Danzō attacked with a stormy look on his face, Seiki dodged and fired back with taunts, "By the way, Elder Danzō, I forgot to mention something to you."
"To strengthen the alliance between Konoha and Sunagakure, Kazekage-sama and I discussed a marriage arrangement. On Konoha's side would be you, and on Sunagakure's side would be Elder Chiyo."
"Sacrifices must be made for Konoha! Besides, Elder Chiyo was once known as the Flower of Shinobi. By that standard, it'd actually be Elder Chiyo making the sacrifice!"
Hearing Seiki's words, Danzō felt like his composure was about to explode.
What did this brat mean? Was he implying Danzō was ugly? Back in his day, Danzō had been known far and wide as a handsome man… Wait, no, that wasn't the point here!
"You damn fool! Do you know what you're saying?"
Seiki looked innocent. "I do know, don't I? I'm just showing concern for you!"
Danzō angrily replied, "You don't need to worry about my affairs!"
"How could that be? You're my respected senior..." Seiki suddenly feigned shock, looking at Danzō with fearful eyes. "Could that rumor actually be true?"
Despite suspecting Seiki had an agenda, Danzō still couldn't help himself and asked, "What rumor?"
Seiki lowered his voice. "The one about your desire for something more than friendship with Hokage-sama! Huh, no wonder Hokage-sama fathered Asuma at 42—it was originally to dispel your fantasies!"
Danzō almost spat out a mouthful of blood, trembling with rage. "Don't lump me together with that old lecher! He's just plain lecherous… Wait, what do you mean by 'my desire for him'…"
"This is the moment!" Seiki instantly formed a hand seal.
[Genjutsu: Mind Reflection!]
Suddenly everything turned into a misty fog, but Danzō didn't panic. Instead, he calmed down from his agitated state.
"Genjutsu? So this was your goal in provoking me? Hmph, ridiculous!" Danzō thought contemptuously. He wasn't some weak-minded useless ninja.
Just a little illusion—I'll shatter it in a heartbeat!
But at that moment, he saw the scene within the illusion.
It was his most vivid memory!
They were surrounded by Kinkaku and Ginkaku's elite forces, and someone needed to serve as bait.
At this sight, Danzō instinctively said, "I'll be the bait!"
Immediately, several people looked at him in disbelief.
Danzō ignored their stares and felt a surge of pride watching the stunned Hiruzen.
"This time, it's finally this old man's turn to become Hokage... Wait, why did I refer to myself like that just now..." As Danzo was thinking this, he suddenly heard The Second say, "Alright, Danzo, you'll be the decoy. We're pulling out!"
Danzo: Σ(°Д°;
"No!!"
In the outside world, Danzo let out a despairing and shrill scream.
"Elder Danzo, wake up!"
Brought back to reality by Seiki's voice, Danzo groggily opened his eyes and saw Seiki holding a kunai to his neck with an apologetic expression.
All around him were curious stares and hushed murmurs.
"Is Elder Danzo's mind really this fragile? From that sound, I feel like he's about to cry!"
"Yeah, he sounded extremely wronged!"
"Jonin Seiki is truly gentle. He really went out of his way to fight Elder Danzo for so long before using genjutsu—to preserve his dignity!"
Hearing those words, Danzo was so furious he spat up blood and fainted dead away.
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