Chapter 48: Danzo, Old Dog — Look Who I Am!
"What?!"
Danzo froze in shock. He hadn't even had the chance to make a move against Su Li—and yet the man had come straight for him!
But before he could say another word—
Su Li's figure vanished.
By the time he reappeared, he was already behind Danzo, a kunai in hand aimed straight for the heart.
He's serious!
He's actually trying to kill me!
Realizing the danger, Danzo's instincts as a veteran Kage-level ninja kicked in.He spun around and raised his short sword just in time to block the strike.
"What a fast Body Flicker Technique...!"
His voice was low, trembling with anger and disbelief.
Even so, the sheer force behind Su Li's blow nearly overwhelmed him.His arms shook, his footing faltered—he could barely hold on.
"'Shining'? Don't get me wrong, Elder Danzo," Su Li said with a faint smile."I just took a random step."
The kunai was locked against Danzo's blade—so Su Li shifted his weight and lashed out with a leg sweep.
This time, he was even faster.
Danzo didn't have a chance to react.
Boom!
The kick smashed into his chest.Like the Root operative before him, Danzo was flung through the air and slammed into a stone pillar.Blood sprayed from his mouth.
"Oh? Still alive? As expected of Elder Danzo," Su Li remarked calmly, dusting his hands."Your life's as stubborn as a cockroach's."
It sounded like praise.But to Danzo, it was pure mockery.
"You... you're a master of taijutsu?" he hissed, clutching his ribs.
He could barely breathe. Several bones were definitely broken.He wouldn't last long if the fight continued like this.
Gritting his teeth, Danzo drew a knife—and stabbed it into his own chest.
The bandages wrapped around his right arm tore loose during the struggle,revealing the grotesque limb studded with multiple Sharingan.
One of them slowly closed.
Forbidden Technique — Izanagi!
A technique so powerful it bordered on divine:it could turn death itself into an illusion,allowing the user to rewrite reality for a brief time.
The price, of course, was blindness in the sacrificed Sharingan.
But Danzo's entire arm was covered in them.
In other words—he had nearly ten minutes of invincibility.
"Izanagi..."
Seeing Danzo's body knit itself back together, Su Li only sighed.He had expected this.
Izanagi wasn't perfect.If the difference in strength between two people was too vast,all it could do was delay the inevitable.
The next instant, Danzo appeared out of thin air,his sword flashing toward Su Li's throat.
He didn't know why Su Li wanted him dead—he only knew that if he didn't fight back, he would die.
"The speed's too slow," Su Li murmured. "And the power's too weak."
He raised one hand and caught the blade mid-swing, snapping it clean in half.
Then, without pausing, he flicked the broken shard straight into Danzo's neck—aiming to kill him a second time.
But Izanagi was still active.The blow passed, and Danzo revived once more.
"Wind Style: Wind Blade!"
His sword was broken, but Danzo refused to stop.Channeling wind chakra into his arm, he shaped a new edge of compressed air.
He wanted to use Izanagi's limited window to kill Su Li.But Su Li's sheer physical power left him no opening.
In the next heartbeat, Su Li disappeared again—and reappeared behind him.
Another brutal kick connected with Danzo's back,bending his body at an inhuman angle.
Crack!
His spine gave way.
Gasping in agony, Danzo forced himself upright—another Sharingan closed on his arm.
Su Li watched him with cold amusement.
"What's that look for? Still haven't realized the gap between us?"
Danzo spat blood. "Why... why are you trying to kill me? Are you betraying Konoha?!"
He could already tell.No matter what he did, he was hopelessly outmatched.
Su Li hadn't even used any special ability—just raw physical might and speed.
Still, Danzo couldn't bring himself to surrender.
"I am a Konoha elder! If you kill me, you and your master Jiraiya will be condemned as traitors to the Leaf!"
Su Li chuckled softly.
"Konoha's sinner? Heh... that's funny."
"What are you laughing at?!"
"It seems you still don't understand the situation," Su Li replied calmly."You're no longer a Konoha elder.
"You conspired with Orochimaru, sold Konoha's secrets, and plotted the Third Hokage's death.Your crimes are already well-documented.
"The other elders have seen the evidence. They've stripped you of your rank and title."
Su Li stepped closer, his voice low and unhurried.
"Konoha's sinner isn't me, Danzo.It's you.And even after your death, your name will stink for ten thousand years."
In truth, the original record of Konoha's collapse never directly linked Danzo to Orochimaru's plot.Kishimoto likely hadn't even conceived of Danzo's full character at that time.
But that didn't matter.
Whether Danzo had been involved or not was irrelevant.Because Su Li said he was.
The "evidence" was forged easily enough with Namikaze Minato's help.Given Danzo's secretive nature, any real proof would have been destroyed long ago.There was no need to find the truth—only to control the narrative.
The logic was airtight.
And Konoha's elders, grateful for Su Li's recent contributions to the village,had no reason to defend Danzo.
By now, he had already been abandoned.
"How... how can this be?!" Danzo's eyes bulged."Everything I did was for Konoha!"
Su Li looked down at him with quiet disdain.
"For Konoha? You can tell that to them. I'm not buying it."
He turned away slightly—and the two masked figures behind him stepped forward.
They removed their black hats and masks, revealing their faces.
"Heh... Danzo, old dog," one of them sneered."Take a good look. Guess who I am?"
The other smiled faintly."Long time no see, Lord Danzo."
Danzo's eyes went wide in horror."...?!"