Chapter 16: Danzo Shimura

On the battlefield against Iwagakure, Konoha gathered 3,000 heavily armed ninjas.

Meanwhile, on Iwagakure's side, 5,000 ninjas assembled, their red uniforms blending with the arid desert soil.

'At least they listened to my advice,' thought Danzo with satisfaction as he observed the Iwa coalition.

But he then let out a sigh of resignation, recalling the other Anbu Root operative he had to sacrifice to deliver another message to Iwagakure.

All of this is that bastard Orochimaru's fault and his dirty tricks, he still remembers how he nearly had a heart attack upon hearing the report, a small error in information sent the original plan to cooperate with Kumo and Iwa straight to hell.

But that's fine, no problem, since Orochimaru can't be eliminated for now, another potential threat will be dealt with, Minato Namikaze.

He was a totem imposed by Hiruzen to control the Jinchuriki, all that marriage nonsense is just an excuse to keep the Nine-Tails under his filthy grasp, so Minato must be eliminated and his own totem planted in his place.

Furthermore, if the Raikage manages to kill Orochimaru that would be spectacular, but it's likely that cunning snake will escape with its tail between its legs first, so there's not much hope.

At that moment, Tsunade, Kushina, Minato, Shikaku Nara, and Danzo stood at the forefront of the army, engaged in discussion.

Pov Danzo ~

"Minato, you must protect Kushina, that's the safest option and you can escape with your Hiraishin no Jutsu if things get complicated," said Tsunade, concerned.

"Tsunade-sama, I believe I am better suited to fight on this battlefield, there are no obstacles to hinder me and the Iwa ninjas cannot react as quickly as the Kumogakure ones," said Minato, trying to persuade her.

"The boy is right, besides, Tsunade, have you forgotten why I'm here?" I said, interrupting this cow-chested girl before she could reject Minato.

A shiver ran down my spine, 'What's happening… could she be reading my mind?' I thought nervously, 'Wait, am I nervous?'

"It's still very risky, Minato, you were designated by Orochimaru as Kushina's guardian, have you forgotten?" Tsunade said, placing her hands on her hips with a frown.

"Well, Orochimaru-sama trusts me, otherwise he wouldn't have given me this..." Minato said, pointing to a group of ninjas holding scrolls from which they continuously pulled out kunai.

"What is this, Minato?" Tsunade asked, confused.

"They're the kunai I use with my Hiraishin no Jutsu, they have the seal that allows me to teleport," Minato explained.

"With this, I have the confidence to face thousands of enemy troops, especially the Iwagakure ninjas," Minato said confidently, which put a smile on my face, let's see how long his confidence lasts.

"Minato, I think you should listen to Tsunade-sama," Kushina said, stepping in.

"There's no need for further discussion, since Orochimaru himself has so much confidence then there's no need to interfere with his plans, I will take care of the Jinchuriki," I said, "supporting" Minato, whose eyes lit up.

"That's right, please, Tsunade-sama, let me try, I promise not to disappoint you," Minato said.

"Sigh, so what's the plan?" Tsunade finally relented.

"You just have to throw those into the air around the battlefield and I'll take care of everything," Minato said, pointing to the three-pronged kunai.

"It seems the enemy is advancing, Minato," Tsunade said, nodding toward him.

At that moment, the atmosphere grew tense as the Iwagakure army quickly advanced toward them.

"800 meters… 600 meters… 400 meters… 80 meters!" reported the ninjas in charge of throwing the kunai as high as possible.

'Hehehe…' I laughed to myself.

"Get ready, we'll throw the kunai when they're fifty meters away!" shouted the leader in charge, but suddenly, the Iwa ninjas stopped.

"Doton: Infinite Maze!" Over 5,000 Iwa ninjas shouted in unison.

Suddenly, thick walls rose from the earth, towering above our heads, the massive walls stood over a hundred meters tall.

The ninjas on our sides were blocked by the walls, and only a long corridor stretched out ahead of us.

"Tch, quickly, climb the walls, we can't stay trapped here!" Tsunade shouted as she ran up the walls, trying to reach the top.

Tsunade had barely made it halfway up the wall when a new order echoed from the Iwa ninjas' side.

"Doton: Sealed Dome!"

The maze was covered by a thick rock ceiling, trapping us completely inside the labyrinth.

Tsunade raised her fist and struck the rock ceiling, causing an explosion and leaving a crater in the rock, but it repaired itself immediately, as if nothing had happened.

Tsunade raised her fist once more and kept hitting continuously until creating a two-meter-deep crater, but as she did so, the surrounding rock tightened, almost trapping her without even a glimpse of sunlight.

Tsunade could only return to the ground to regroup with the others, upon landing, she noticed the appearance of several torches along the corridor, dimly lighting the dark environment.

"Tsk, this is a double-edged sword, although it allows us to see in the dark, it also helps the enemy..." Tsunade cursed.

"Everyone, stay alert, we don't know what kind of traps might be here," Tsunade said, clearly irritated.

"Ahhh!" Suddenly, a Genin behind them sank into the earth.

"Huh…" And then a Chunin was impaled by stone stakes.

"Form a tight circle, quickly!" Tsunade ordered, and we all gathered into a circle.

We waited for a while, and nothing happened, after a long time, some Genin and Chunin began to relax.

"I think they left, maybe they realized it was Tsunade-sama and Minato-sama, so they decided to flee like scared dogs, haha!" said a Genin, laughing out loud.

"Shut up!.." Tsunade reprimanded him, but she couldn't finish as the foolish Genin sank into the ground, the hole immediately filling up after he disappeared.

Tsunade clenched her fists, holding back her frustration as silence returned to the corridor.

The remaining ninjas maintained their positions, their breaths tense, the echo of footsteps and whispers filling the environment.

"Tsunade-sama, they're coming from your left!" Hiashi Hyuga suddenly shouted, Tsunade jumped to avoid the attack, but another Genin, unable to react in time, was instantly impaled.

Blood spilled from his body, staining the ground, a miserable but fitting end for a ninja, may he rest in peace, all for Konoha.

"Minato-sama, below you!" Hiashi shouted once more, causing Minato to react and move away while holding Kushina.

The situation turned into a disaster as, one by one, the less capable ninjas began losing their lives within the labyrinth.

Even Jounin fell amidst the sudden attacks, sometimes by a giant rock appearing at the end of the corridor, or someone falling into a pit trap, or earth bullets shooting out from the walls.

The chaos was complete, only the teams with Hyuga members fared better, the Hyuga used their Byakugan to guide others toward their comrades.

However, once the Iwa ninjas noticed the problem, they focused their attacks on the Hyuga, gradually taking them down.

They also kept changing the maze's layout whenever possible, sometimes even sealing off entire corridors.

Minato threw his kunai in all directions to create more escape routes, but to his disappointment, the kunai were swallowed by the earth as if they had never existed.

When we reached an intersection, I took the opportunity to position myself in his blind spot, grabbing Kushina and kicking Minato away.

"Minato, to your left!" I shouted while holding the unconscious Kushina in my arms, having knocked her out to avoid any trouble.

Minato reacted, confused, as the wall beside him moved, separating him from the group.

"Kushina!" Minato yelled, watching as Danzo disappeared with her on the other side of the wall.

Tsunade quickly turned upon hearing the shout. "What happened?" she asked, looking at me confused.

"He was ambushed by the enemy, but he managed to throw me the Jinchuriki, it seems she fainted," I said, shrugging.

Tsunade frowned and approached to take the Jinchuriki from me. "What are you doing? I said I'd protect her, Minato entrusted her to me!" I said, annoyed at her attitude.

"I don't care what you're planning, I'm in charge of this front, you must follow my orders, now hand over Kushina!" Tsunade said, her cow tits jiggling, fuck, why are they so big?

"Tch, you'll regret this!" I said as I handed over the Jinchuriki, having already removed all the Hiraishin seals and destroyed the kunai she had.

"Danzo, I'm the commander!" she responded with that annoying attitude.

...

Meanwhile, Minato was running for his life, the wall of earth behind him continued to cover the corridor, chasing him like a nightmare.

"I'm about to die, and I haven't even seen the shadow of my enemy!" Minato growled in frustration.

Kaboom!!

Dozens of explosions echoed as suddenly, the ceiling above me collapsed, and a familiar figure appeared amidst the dust and falling debris.

"O-Orochimaru-sama..?" Minato murmured, confused, wasn't he supposed to be fighting the ninjas of Kumo?

"Oh, Minato, it seems you're in trouble," Orochimaru said, brushing off the dust as he glanced behind Minato.

"Well, I have it under control, hehe.." Minato said, scratching his head.

"More importantly, Orochimaru-sama, weren't you fighting the Kumogakure ninjas?" Minato asked.

"That's correct, but the battle is already over, you'll get the details later, for now, let me handle what's behind you," Orochimaru said as he walked toward the advancing wall of earth.

"Mokuton: Root Growth!" Massive roots burst from the ground, embedding themselves into the walls and tearing apart the Iwa ninjas within.

This forced them out of the walls, and their ongoing jutsu were disrupted as well.

"What the hell is this?!" shouted one of the Iwagakure ninjas as he was violently ejected from the earth wall.

"It's Mokuton!" exclaimed another ninja in surprise.

"Stop trembling like fools!" barked an Iwa Jounin, his harsh tone trying to bring order to the chaos. "It's Orochimaru! Don't underestimate that snake, but he's not invincible, hold your formation and attack together."

Orochimaru smiled and began forming hand seals at a speed nearly imperceptible to the Iwagakure ninjas.

"Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Orochimaru released a thick mist, which quickly enveloped even the adjacent corridors.

"Kenjutsu: Phantom Dance!" After reciting these words, Orochimaru moved around, leaving behind residual images like a ghost.

"Ahh!" The Iwagakure ninjas let out pitiful screams throughout the corridor, falling one by one to the ground.

Orochimaru delivered a hard blow with the hilt of his sword to the last Iwa ninja, causing him to collapse, then he approached them and used Predator, but he didn't devour them, only stored them.

Pov Orochimaru ~

I mounted the ink bird, soaring through the skies of Iwagakure, despite the arid environment, there was a certain beauty to this place, the vast valleys and red plateaus made it a stunning location, though more for admiring from afar than for living in.

It reminds me of the Grand Canyon in Colorado, which I visited in my previous life after graduating from university.

But I couldn't continue appreciating nature's beauty, with a bad feeling, I crossed the last arid mountains on my path and saw a large plain, in the center stood a strange giant structure of earth and rock.

I flew over the structure, analyzing it, from the outside, it looked like a giant cube made of dirt and gravel, activating the Byakugan, I saw its interior, it appeared to be a strange labyrinth with walls that moved constantly, altering the topography.

But it didn't seem designed merely to confuse Konoha's ninjas, it was as if it pushed them toward ambush points, like predators waiting for their prey to fall into the trap, I can't use a Bijudama in this situation as it would damage my allies.

After observing for a while, I decided to take action, I jumped from the ink bird and began forming hand seals.

"Ninjutsu: Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Suddenly, thousands of clones of myself appeared around me, falling toward the labyrinth's ceiling.

"Raiton: Three Fingers Piercing!" Each of my clones, including myself, began concentrating chakra into us fingers, small electrical arcs surging from our arms.

Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!

Dozens of explosions echoed as we broke through the labyrinth, letting sunlight flood inside, I dusted myself off as I emerged from the impact site.

"Orochimaru, is that you!" Tsunade said happy to see me arrive as she ran towards me, carrying Kushina.

The Byakugan was still active behind my mask, allowing me to quickly assess the situation, the corridors were filled with hidden traps, and the walls moved erratically to isolate and eliminate Konoha's ninjas one by one.

I deactivated the Byakugan and removed my mask, storing it with Predator, Tsunade's face was smeared with sweat and dirt, but her eyes gleamed with a hint of relief.

"Tsunade, it seems I arrived just in time," I replied calmly, then used my thumb to wipe her cheek.

"Hmph, I'm not a child and yes, I suppose you arrived on time," Tsunade said with a slight pout before turning serious.

"They have us trapped in this damned labyrinth, they've been using the walls and traps to take us down little by little, so far, we've lost too many men."

"Additionally, Minato got separated from the group… and Kushina lost consciousness amidst the chaos," Tsunade spoke quickly as she carried the redhead, whose breathing was irregular but stable.

"Danzo was with us, but we lost him when the walls shifted," she added with a tone of suspicion.

"I understand, I'm here now, so relax, leave everything to me, just stay close and make sure to protect Kushina, don't let the enemy get to her," I said as I put the mask back on.

"Hm, understood, but be careful, they come out of nowhere and don't even show their faces, otherwise, I'd have already turned them into minced meat!" Tsunade said angrily.

"Get back!" I shouted as hundreds of needles landed where we had been moments ago.

"Mokuton: Root Growth!" I began flushing out the rats from their hiding spots, this was the plan I formulated after analyzing the labyrinth.

The Iwa ninjas emerged from the walls, alert, holding kunai, swords, and various ninja weapons in their hands.

"Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

"Raiton: Lightning Armor!"

"Kenjutsu: Phantom Dance!"

Forming seals at lightning speed, I cast three jutsu in succession, amidst the mist, I held my Murasame sword and disappeared from my position, reappearing beside the Iwa ninjas.

Moving like a ghost, the Iwa ninjas fell to the ground with bleeding wounds, only to die moments later from brain death or cardiac arrest.

"Hiashi, guide Tsunade through the mist and follow me!" I said, holding my sword and running toward the next hunting zone.

...

The labyrinth filled with mist, and the Iwagakure ninjas began losing their advantage, the reason I decided to use mist was to take full advantage of the Byakugan's power.

The Hyuga clan members assigned to this battlefield used their Byakugan to guide others, turning the tide against the Iwa ninjas, who were forced to abandon the walls and face Konoha head-on.

"Raiton: Multiple Lightning Beast Pursuit!" With this jutsu, lightning beasts appeared in front of me, wreaking havoc on the Iwa ninjas.

Iwagakure primarily uses earth-style techniques, which are weak against lightning, so the beasts tore through their defenses, slaughtering them.

I consumed all the enemies who were killed, occasionally spotting my clones destroying enemy ambush zones and using Predator on them, though they didn't devour the bodies.

Most of the time, they simply incapacitated the enemies and stored them with Predator, the situation completely reversed, and the hunters became the hunted, forcing the Iwa ninjas into retreat.

"Doton: Hiding Like a Mole!" The Iwa ninjas decided to flee and burrow underground, everyone who could use the jutsu did so, disappearing into the depths.

With the sound of flesh being torn, I killed the last Iwa ninja on the surface, using my Byakugan, I saw how they fled underground, also noticing Hiashi's gaze trying to see through my mask.

'His instincts are very sharp, it's almost as if he has the Byakugan too, and that's the Raikage's secret jutsu..?' Hiashi wondered.

"Doton: Multiple Giant Earthworms!" Suddenly, ten enormous earthworms emerged before me.

I used Arc of Embodiment to create ten Cannibalism Seals and threw them at the worms, the seals integrated into their bodies, disappearing.

This seal has the quality of absorbing the same material where it is used, if applied to a sword, it can absorb iron to repair itself, if placed on an earthworm, it will absorb earth.

I must admit that the seals on the seven swords used by the Mist Swordsmen are very convenient, one of my theories about their origin is that they were created by the Uzumaki, who were neighbors to Kirigakure.

However, I have a more plausible theory that they were created by the Sage of the Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, who possessed the Creation of All Things ability.

That ability differs from my Arc of Embodiment, I must know the composition and underlying logic of my creations, but the Sage's ability doesn't require that, it imbues logic into his creations without the user needing any understanding.

It's like reality manipulation to create whatever you desire, this theory arises because if it weren't so, why aren't there more swords or elements using these seals from the Uzumaki? In any case, I lack sufficient information, so it's just a theory.

The other clones did the same upon seeing the Iwa ninjas flee underground, this was another countermeasure I had prepared, simulating what could happen in this situation.

The giant worms burrowed into the earth and pursued the Iwa ninjas deep below, who felt a rumbling and a sense of danger overwhelming them.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The thousands of giant worms tore through the Iwa ninjas underground, forcing them to emerge once more.

But this didn't save them, the worms leaped from the ground, opening their terrifying rocky mouths, their howls of misery echoing throughout the labyrinth.

While all this was happening, I encountered a bearded man with red hair and a large headdress consisting of a three-pronged crest shaped like a crown with a golden ring on the left tip of his head.

He also wore a prominent piece of black armor that ran across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, with a magenta kimono underneath and ninja sandals.

He became alert the moment he saw me, activating his chakra cloak with a piercing gaze.

'The Jinchuriki of the Four-Tails..'

I immediately prepared for a tough battle, activating the lightning armor and the Eight-Tails' cloak.

"Four-Tails Jinchuriki, I'm going to take you seriously, prepare yourself!" I said, slightly excited, it's always thrilling to fight Jinchuriki.

"Raiton: Devastating Fist!" I said, concentrating chakra into my fist, a small adaptation of the Hell Stab, sacrificing penetration power but ensuring it hurts like hell.

Boom!

A sonic boom erupted as I struck the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, sending him crashing directly into the wall at the end of the corridor, leaving a massive crater around him.

The Jinchuriki then fell to the ground without moving a muscle. "Oi.. you didn't kick the bucket, did you..?" I murmured, watching as the man remained still even after waiting for a while.

After a few minutes, I lost my patience and cautiously approached to avoid falling into a trap, even preparing the Body Replacement Jutsu just in case.

"He's.. he's on the verge of death.." I said after feeling his pulse, the man had blood pouring from every orifice.

"Then.. Predator!" I decided to take advantage of the bug and devoured him.

[ Analyzing… analysis complete ]

[ Affinities [Fire (Duplicate)] [Earth (Duplicate)] Acquired ]

[ Ninjutsu [Rock Dome] [Earth Wall] [Earth Javelin] [Great Fireball] [Piercing Flame] [Infinite Maze] Acquired ]

[ Racial Abilities [Extreme Heat Resistance (Duplicate)] [Lava] [Bijuu Bomb] [Chakra Conversion] Acquired ]

[ Jinchuriki Techniques [Chakra Cloak] Acquired ]

[ Four-Tails Chakra [Yonbi] Acquired ]

[ Human Mimicry [Rōshi] Acquired ]

[ Special Mimicry [Yonbi] Acquired ]

"???" Several question marks appeared over my head, but then I remembered his origin story in the canon.

Rōshi embarked on a journey after the Third Ninja War to master the Four-Tails' abilities, where he learned the Lava Release, but that shouldn't be happening yet.

"What the hell is this guy doing here?" I wondered, confused, but then I found an interesting jutsu.

"Infinite Maze, so it was powered by the Four-Tails' chakra, it seems he could activate the chakra cloak somehow and used its chakra to support this technique's formation.." I speculated based on the clues I had.

'By the way, this Jutsu is very effective and seems specifically aimed at ninjas with high mobility like Minato or for fighting against large armies,' I thought, appreciating the jutsu, it seems suspiciously useful for dealing with this situation.

"Sigh, it doesn't matter, Onoki is an old fox anyway.." I murmured when I heard someone approaching behind me, causing me to stand alert.

But I relaxed when I saw one of my clones dragging a red bundle on his back, the red bundle being Han, the Jinchuriki of the Five-Tails.

"That was surprisingly easy," my clone said, tossing the bundle into the air, I used Predator and caught him mid-flight, devouring him.

[ Analyzing… analysis complete ]

[ Affinities [Water] [Fire] Acquired ]

[ Ninjutsu [Pressurized Explosion] [Corrosive Mist] [Great Waterfall] [Explosive Flame] [Infinite Maze (Duplicate)] [Earth Wall] [Earth Bullets] [Earth Dragon] Acquired ]

[ Racial Abilities [Steam] [Chakra Conversion] [Bijuu Bomb] Acquired ]

[ Jinchuriki Techniques [Chakra Cloak] [Partial Transformation] Acquired ]

[ Five-Tails Chakra [Kokuō] Acquired ]

[ Human Mimicry [Han] Acquired ]

[ Special Mimicry [Kokuō] Acquired ]

"The Jinchuriki of Iwagakure are too weak.." I sighed, looking at the pitiful results, not even developing his steam armor.

Although it no longer feels as hot to me now that I possess the lightning armor, so I don't care too much.

"Orochimaru, what was that you just used, and also, is that Kumogakure's lightning armor?" Tsunade asked after approaching me, even though there was a lot of mist, she had seen enough.

"I'll tell you when we return to the village, it's better not to discuss it here," I responded, glancing at the Iwa ninjas still trying to escape from the earthworms.

"I see," Tsunade nodded.

"Well, now comes the most terrifying part of all.." I said, turning toward the Konoha ninjas behind me, several prisoners were still writhing, trapped by snakes.

"Paperwork.." Tsunade groaned, recalling the last time she had to deal with it, a shiver running down her spine.