Chapter – 689 In the Blink of an Eye

Somewhere in the Land of Hot Springs.

A middle-aged man with black hair and a distinct cross-shaped scar on his chin sat inside a small, dark cave, absentmindedly chewing on tough meat and contemplating something. This middle-aged man is none other than Shimura Danzō, who has been hiding in this cave to rest for a while. After rumors about him spread throughout the Shinobi World, he has been pursued and attacked countless times. His current situation is no different from a stray dog; he has nowhere to go.

However, he isn't concerned about this at all. What worries him more is, "I don't understand... why is Amatsukami completely silent? They ought to have made some kind of movement after hearing all those rumors about me, but I haven't seen or heard anything about Amatsukami since that day at the volcano."

This question has been haunting him, making him feel more and more puzzled.

Initially, Danzō thought that the female Homusubi of the Amatsukami must have the same intentions as him. She must also be eager to absorb the visual prowess of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan so that her own Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan can evolve to a higher level of Dojutsu. As such, he was quite confident that rumors about the problem in his soul and about his weakness would draw out Homusubi.

However, he has been waiting for weeks for her to appear, thinking that she will definitely come. However, it turns out that Amatsukami made no movement. Heck, Homusubi didn't even appear in the Shinobi World for the past few months. It's as if Danzō's guess was completely off the point. It's as if she isn't interested in his pair of Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan at all.

You must know that the effect of the rumors is so potent that even small shinobi villages such as Kusagakure and Takigakure, as well as some small mercenary organizations, are out to kill him. Yet, Amatsukami has shown no interest at all. This lack of movement couldn't help but make Danzō more suspicious and inexplicably doubtful. "Is it possible that Homusubi still doesn't believe in the rumors and is doubtful about this whole problem in the soul? But Homusubi was present there during the ritual; she should have noticed something. So, she should definitely believe in the rumors, right? Or maybe not? But if that's the case, then how do I make her believe it? How do I convince her that currently, I am weak, and she can kill me easily?"

Just when Danzō was trying to figure out how to fool Homusubi, suddenly, his senses tingled, and his eyes turned towards the entrance of the cave. 

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! 

As Danzō looked outside, he noticed that several shinobi had appeared and surrounded the cave.

Intending to check the identity of the people trying to kill him this time, Danzō quickly finished up the tough meat, then slowly walked towards the entrance of the cave. After walking out, he found that the people surrounding the cave were none other than Konoha Anbu.

Moving his gaze and looking at each one of them, Danzō quickly recognized two people, 'Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi...!' and thought to himself, 'It seems Sarutobi has transferred Kakashi to Team Rō... Well, at least Uchiha Shisui is not here; his presence would have made things rather troublesome.' Although each one of them was wearing Anbu masks, Danzō was able to recognize them at first glance, especially those with iconic silver hair.

While Danzō was observing Kakashi, Itachi, and the rest of Team Rō, the members of Team Rō were also observing Danzō.

The first thing they noticed about him was that he looked quite young and vigorous compared to the frail old man appearance that he used to maintain in Konoha. Secondly, he was giving off a very malicious vibe that not everyone, but the keen ones, was able to sense. Kakashi, being one of the keen ones, pointed his Kunai at Danzō and said, "The target is in front of us… Execute him!"

Danzō's eyes flashed. He quickly shook his head in panic and tried to reason, "Wait… wait… You people are from Konoha, right? Please save me… I don't want to die… I am not Danzō, I am not him. Why should I have to die?" The Anbu members quirked their eyebrows, thinking of the rumors circulating throughout the shinobi world about how Danzō's body hosts multiple souls. After pondering a little, Kakashi questioned, "If you are not him, then who are you?"

Danzō immediately replied, "I am… Katsuki… Uzumaki Katsuki… I am innocent, and I have nothing to do with him… please… please don't kill me!"

Kakashi replied, "I see, you are a remnant of the Uzumaki that Danzō used in his ritual… well, in that case, be obedient and come with us…" Danzō, aka 'Katsuki,' questioned, "How do I know you people won't kill me?"

Kakashi shrugged, "Regardless of what you know or think, if you are obedient, you won't be killed, but if not, then we'll execute you… Believe if you want to, don't believe if you don't want to…"

"In that case…"  muttered Danzō, "I'll be on my own…" and then disappeared from his position in the blink of an eye.

Not so surprised, Kakashi immediately instructed, "Use plan F…" and then he too disappeared from his position. At the same time, the other members of Team Rō started to chase after Danzō.

While running, Danzō looked back from time to time and noticed that the Konoha Anbu, including Kakashi, were closely following him. Seeing them desperately chase after him, he suddenly had a brilliant idea!

Having been part of the senior management of Konoha and also serving as the temporary Hokage for a few months, Danzō is aware of the agreement between Konoha and Amatsukami. So, he feels that he can use these Anbu members to convince Homusubi. If he were to suffer at the hands of these Anbu, then no doubt, Homusubi should believe that currently, he is extremely weak. And this is the perfect time to take advantage!

With such a plan in his mind, Danzō nodded to himself. And just as he was about to act on it, several Kunai were shot at him by one of the Anbu following him. Danzō sensed the Kunai coming towards him, he turned his head, and was about to avoid them, that's when it happened.

Before he could take a single step to dodge anything, all he saw was a strange red world. At the same moment, a silver flash appeared in front of him out of nowhere, and the next thing he knew, he was feeling a sharp pain coming from his chest.

Drip…

"What?" Unable to figure out what just happened in that blink of an eye, Danzō looked down and noticed an arm covered in lightning running through his chest… and three black tomoe spinning in the scarlet pair of eyes of another Anbu…

"Cough…!"

.

.

Read up to Chapter - 945 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations