Chapter 28: Assassination

"Dan is already dead."

When Itachi heard this news from Danzo, his body trembled, and his mind was shocked. He then raised his head, his Sharingan eyes glaring at Danzo.

Danzo didn't avoid Itachi's gaze, meeting it with a detached expression, "Dan brought this upon himself. No one could save him. He must have regretted it before he died, but unfortunately, he can only repent in the afterlife."

Itachi lowered his head again.

Is Uncle... really dead?

No, this is just Danzo's one-sided statement. That man... isn't so easy to kill.

Based on what Itachi currently knew about Dan, anyone who underestimated his uncle ended up paying a heavy price.

Wasn't the masked man the best example?

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a lot more relieved.

Danzo didn't know what Itachi was thinking. His expression hardened, and he began to reprimand the young man kneeling before him:

"Itachi, don't forget your original intention. You said you wanted to become strong enough to eliminate your own chaos, and that's why I let you join the Anbu. Dan is a person who will plunge you back into chaos, so whether he's dead or alive, you should stay away from him."

In Danzo's view, once Uchiha Dan was dealt with, Itachi would eventually return to his control.

"I understand, Danzo," Itachi slowly stood up and said calmly, "But after this matter is over, please at least hand over my uncle's remains to me so I can bring them back to the clan for burial."

"Fine, I promise you. The people I sent out should be back soon, considering the time," Danzo nodded slightly, agreeing to Itachi's request. He had planned to let Itachi see Dan's body with his own eyes, so Itachi would give up.

And so, the old man and the young man didn't say much more, waiting silently in the Root's base.

At this time, outside the Leaf Village, in a rarely visited forest.

After leaving the village, Dan, whether intentionally or unintentionally, ended up in this secluded place. If anyone wanted to harm him, now would be the best time.

Sure enough.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

A storm of kunai and shuriken came from behind and the side of Dan, crashing down on him.

Boom, boom, boom.

Several kunai hit Dan's tall body, the explosive tags tied to the kunai exploded, and the flames and smoke swallowed him.

"Did we succeed?"

"Don't let your guard down, it can't be that simple."

"Uchiha Dan might have already noticed us following him, be careful of any tricks."

As several voices sounded, four Root ninjas appeared from the forest. They didn't dare to be careless, cautiously approaching Dan.

A gust of wind blew, and the smoke dispersed.

Dan was standing in the same place, not only had he not fallen, but he also seemed unharmed.

The four Root members were taken aback. They had seen the intelligence and knew that Dan's body was very strong, but seeing him unscathed after such an attack was beyond their expectations.

Dan looked at the four Root ninjas of varying heights and weights in front of him, frowning slightly, somewhat displeased:

"Why are there only a few of you?"

What did he mean?

The four of them were stunned. We came to kill you, and you're complaining about the lack of people? Are you worried that you won't die, or are you looking down on us?

The four didn't bother arguing with Dan, silently spreading out and forming a semi-circle formation against Dan.

"Whatever, they're still from the Root, they should be worth more than regular ninjas."

Dan muttered to himself while removing his straw hat and cloak, hanging them on a nearby tree branch, not wanting to damage them during the fight.

Just as Samui had speculated, Dan's source of income over the years was acting as a bounty ninja every once in a while. He would hunt down some wanted rogue ninjas and collect the bounty at the exchange office.

At the same time, he accumulated some combat experience in the process. In terms of combat experience, Dan definitely couldn't compare to those elite ninjas who frequently carried out dangerous missions and fought on the battlefield. But at least, he hadn't become a complete idiot who couldn't fight.

His own strong defense also provided Dan with a large margin of error, preventing him from being killed by a single kunai.

He was running out of money recently. These Root ninjas had delivered themselves to his doorstep, so Dan decided to take advantage of the situation and deal with them here.

Just then, "Attack!" With a shout from one of the Root members, the four of them attacked Dan simultaneously.

But Dan's attack was faster.

His gaze was sharp, and as soon as his eyes met with one of the enemies in front of him, his black pupils suddenly turned into a three-tomoe Sharingan pattern.

That person had just finished forming a seal and was raising his hands to form a "viewfinder", aiming at Dan to launch a genjutsu - the Body Flicker Technique.

But he was preempted by Dan.

In an instant, that person's consciousness was pulled into the hell of the Sharingan's genjutsu, and rusty, thick iron nails nailed his body completely, causing him unbearable pain.

Tsukuyomi: Shackles and Nails Technique.

This is a type of binding genjutsu that can be launched without forming a seal, as long as you make eye contact with the enemy. It's one of the most powerful Sharingan genjutsus.

With a thud, that Root ninja from the Yamanaka clan fell to the ground, limp.

One down.

This was the first time in 24 years that Dan had revealed his Sharingan in front of others, and his first move was a lethal genjutsu.

However, the remaining Root ninjas remained expressionless, not scared at all.

Everyone knew that you absolutely couldn't fight one-on-one with an Uchiha.

But now it was four against one. Using the loss of one person to stall Uchiha Dan for one to two seconds could create a chance for their comrades to win.

This was the battle plan that Root had formulated long ago.

When Dan used genjutsu to deal with the first enemy, two Root ninjas, one on the left and one on the right, rushed to his front at the same time.

The one on the left was a big fat man, almost two meters tall, with a body like a meat mountain, the same weight as Dan. He roared, and his entire arm quickly swelled up, his fist becoming as big as a water tank, smashing towards Dan.

This was the Akimichi clan's Multi-Size Technique.

In contrast, the enemy on the right was much smaller, and his attack method was also very soft.

He didn't rely on strength to win, but instead moved with agile steps, striking Dan from an odd angle with a light palm strike.

This was the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist.

A combination of hard and soft, striking together, creating an immediate crisis.

Dan remained unfazed, completely ignoring the attack from the Hyuga Root member. He stomped on the ground, using his waist to drive the power of his entire body, and punched towards the Akimichi Root member.

Boom.

The two fists collided.

The seemingly powerful Akimichi Root member was actually pushed back several steps by Dan, finally stopping when he hit a large tree. His mask was shattered, and his face was filled with shock.

The Akimichi clan's Multi-Size Technique was a Yang Release ninjutsu that consumed a large amount of the user's excess calories to increase the user's strength and chakra, amplifying their strength several times over.

Even so, he still couldn't compete with Uchiha Dan in a head-on contest of strength.

This man was simply a muscle monster.

However, when the Akimichi Root member was pushed back by Dan, the attacker from the Hyuga clan seized the opportunity.

Puff, puff, puff.

Taking advantage of Dan's defenselessness, the white eyes under his mask easily saw through Dan's body's weak points. Then, with his five fingers together, he continuously struck.

All of his strikes hit Dan's pressure points.

...