The snow fell thick and fast, and the north wind howled through the empty streets, covering heaven and earth in white.
A group of shadows moved against the storm, leaping across the uneven rooftops south of Tianyuancheng.
They wore black bodysuits with soft armor overtop and masks—clearly dressed like members of Konoha's Anbu.
Among them was an elderly man with hair half-gray. One of his eyes was sharply defined—black and white—while the other burned with a chilling crimson. Deep lines etched his wrinkled face, and beneath his black clothing, his right arm was completely missing.
This old man was none other than Danzo, who had escaped from Heiya gambling house.
After using Izanagi once again—even with seals—he had been unable to suppress the corruption spreading through his arm.
So he had made the decisive choice to abandon his right arm and retreat temporarily.
Thankfully, something had happened inside the gambling den. Orochimaru, Tsunade, and others hadn't pursued him, allowing him to escape easily.
The icy wind howled, and Danzo instinctively tightened his cloak.
At that moment, a surge of anger and sorrow gripped him.
So this is what it's come to—Danzo, afraid of the cold!
Suddenly, the only Sensor ninja among them spoke up, "My lord, someone ahead!"
Danzo lifted his gaze. In the distance, an old monk approached atop the snowy rooftops.
"Lord Danzo, please halt!"
As he spoke, the old monk formed a Buddhist seal, and instantly a vision of the Thousand-Armed Guanyin (a revered Buddhist deity of compassion) appeared behind him.
Danzo replied coldly, "A warrior-monk from Fire Temple! What are you doing here? Here to capture me on behalf of Konoha?"
Hisanobu shook his head. "Not at all. We're here to offer an alliance with Lord Danzo."
"Alliance?" Danzo frowned.
One of his subordinates suddenly turned toward three other directions. "Lord Danzo, powerful ninja are approaching from other directions too!"
"This is your idea of cooperation?"
Danzo shouted angrily, "Stop him!"
Before the words faded, three men from Danzo's group broke off and rushed toward Hisanobu, while the rest guarded Danzo as they fled in the opposite direction.
Hisanobu said, "Don't act rashly!"
But Danzo's subordinates charged anyway. Seeing this, Hisanobu could only shake his head helplessly.
Instantly, the golden image of Guanyin transformed into a wrathful Vajra deity (a wrathful manifestation of Buddha to subdue demons), unleashing hundreds upon thousands of fists. The Root ninja attempting to block it were sent flying backward.
All of his elite forces had been wiped out back at Heiya gambling house, and now Danzo no longer had capable subordinates left.
Still, those few moments of resistance allowed Danzo to escape far away.
Watching Danzo's retreating figure, Hisanobu sighed softly, muttering, "Why must it be this way?"
Just as Danzo's group leapt across a few more rooftops, one of his nearby ninja called out again, "Lord Danzo, look out!"
Before the voice finished echoing, a ninja appeared on the rooftop ahead—wearing a red forehead protector and with white war paint under his eyes.
Maketu stood on the eaves, his left hand gripping four-bladed claws, smiling faintly. "Danzo, won't you stay for a moment?"
Danzo glanced at Maketu, then said coldly, "Who are you people?"
Maketu shrugged casually. "We can either be your friend or your enemy—it's your choice!"
Uncertain yet, Danzo again dispatched three men to block Maketu and continued his retreat.
Maketu didn't pursue them either. As three Root ninjas charged toward him, he channeled sharp, wind-natured chakra into the four-bladed iron claw on his left hand.
The group ran a bit further when one of the subordinates reported again, "Lord Danzo, there's someone ahead!"
A samurai stood in their path, sword drawn.
Saito called out, "Lord Danzo, please stop here!"
Root ninjas surrounded Danzo, waiting for his command.
Danzo glanced at the vast expanse of land and then at his empty right sleeve. His expression darkened.
He ceased trying to flee and simply stood his ground.
Soon, Hisanobu arrived from the left, Maketu approached from behind, and Honji with white hair came from the right.
Hisanobu and the other three were merely jonin-level fighters. Back when he served as Hokage Deputy — or even earlier — he wouldn't have given them a second thought.
Yet after losing most of his elite subordinates at Heiya Gambling Den and sustaining serious injuries himself, facing these four now, Danzo actually felt a flicker of despair.
At that moment, Danzo suddenly sensed a powerful presence beside him.
Turning his head, he saw a samurai dressed in general's robes standing atop a nearby building.
"General Musashi?" Danzo exclaimed in disbelief.
Though unfamiliar with the others, he recognized General Musashi instantly — one of Fire Country's top three commanders, not only formidable in battle but also leading Fire Country's elite samurai regiment. They had fought together during The Third Great Ninja War.
General Musashi said, "Elder Danzo, it's been a long time."
Danzo remained silent for quite a while before slowly asking, "Have you come on behalf of the Daimyo?"
Musashi nodded. "Fire Country needs you!"
"I'm a rogue ninja from Konoha!" Danzo replied.
"You haven't betrayed Fire Country, have you?" Musashi countered.
Danzo's eyes flickered between shadow and light as he said, "I've always been loyal to Fire Country..."
Inside a cave near Tianyuancheng,
Tsunade and her companions sat around the campfire, snacking and chatting casually.
They were just regular city guards; of course they couldn't stop them. They leapt effortlessly across rooftops and slipped through the encirclement.
Since everyone had used up too much chakra and they had three injured members — Shisui, Black Hawk, and Shizune — they decided to rest temporarily near Tianyuancheng.
Surrounded by younger shinobi, the bandaged Black Hawk began recounting the battle at the Gambling Den.
"Shisui and I infiltrated the Gambling Den, but unfortunately they detected our disguise. We acted immediately — one used Fire Release and the other used..."
Before he could finish telling his heroic tale, someone interrupted, "Captain, skip that part! Tell us instead who used that technique that melted half the Gambling Den — and what was it exactly?"
"Yeah! Outside, those Root ninjas struggled without draining much of our chakra, but that move nearly sucked all four of us dry through the barrier!"
"If it weren't for that technique, how could Danzo's Wood Release possibly pierce our barrier?"
As they continued discussing, Aozora walked in.
He said he was relieving himself, but in truth, he had slipped outside to switch masks.
Aozora should not be maintained for too long, or else the false appearance may become permanent. Although he could revert back, his original features were naturally outstanding. If even a slight mistake occurred during transformation, leaving an imperfect look, wouldn't that be a shame?
Leaning in to catch some gossip from the Shadow Guard Team, Aozora was met only with praise for himself. He pushed up his sunglasses, waved at his fans, and then walked into the cave.
Deep inside the cave, lit torches cast dim light. But it posed no obstacle for Aozora.
Inside the cave lay two patients—Shizune and Shisui.
Shizune's spinal nerves had been damaged—Tsunade had repaired them, but she remained temporarily paralyzed.
Shisui, however, had remained unconscious until now.
Seeing Aozora walk in wearing sunglasses, Tsunade arched an eyebrow and mocked, "Hmph! You still have to act cool here?"
Aozora shook his head slightly before turning toward Shisui and asking, "What exactly happened to him?"
Tsunade's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this. "My earlier examination was a bit rough—he truly has no injuries, yet his vitality has been greatly depleted. Normally, young ninja recover quickly after injury by relying on strong vitality, but he shows no sign of that."
After a brief pause, Tsunade continued, "Try convincing him to use his *Mangekyo Sharingan* less often—it's a demon's eye, mighty but with great cost!"
Aozora nodded, then replied, "I can't convince him."
Tsunade thought about the Uchiha clan's stubborn nature and nodded in agreement.
Aozora asked, "Will you continue searching for Danzo?"
Tsunade answered, "The old man said we'll search around here."
Aozora nodded and then said, "With Shisui in this condition, staying will only slow you down—I'll take him first."
Tsunade had no objection, but her nearby attendant Shizune asked, "You haven't revealed your identity yet. How can we trust you?"
In the gambling den, she and Black Hawk had focused almost entirely on their opponents and weren't clear about Aozora's performance.
Thinking for a moment, Aozora pushed his sunglasses up onto his forehead and activated his *Three Tomoe*.
"Will these eyes prove my identity enough?"
Tsunade wore a knowing expression as she said, "So you're his senior? The Uchiha do protect their geniuses well!"
At this, her voice grew slightly melancholic.
If only the Senju had protected their own prodigies like that back then—maybe Nawaki wouldn't have died!
"Senior?"
Aozora considered briefly and then nodded.
Although I'm young, I'm knowledgeable, I cook for him, help him get ready for work, and secretly protect him—shouldn't that make me worthy of being called his senior?
Seeing this, Shizune sweetly greeted, "Uncle, nice to meet you! Please keep protecting Shisui well!"
She had already woken during Orochimaru's attack and witnessed a giant snake approaching—only for Shisui to grab her and pull her out of danger.
Tsunade noticed something off with her aide but didn't pay much attention.
She brought up another topic, "I won't go back on our bet. Think about what you want to learn first—I'll come find you once we return to the village. Oh, are you called Uchiha Lunfa?"
Aozora laughed it off, saying, "Just come to Shisui's house when you arrive."
After spending the night in the cave, Tsunade sent Aozora to escort Shisui back to the village the next day under the pretense of hiring him, while the others continued searching the nearby area for traces of Danzo.
However, an official cover-up soon ensured that any faint clues Danzo had left were wiped out completely.
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