The mission assigned to Uchiha Douhuan was to head to the northwestern border region to wipe out spies from the Land of Earth.
After leaving the village, the three of them picked up speed and rushed toward the target area.
However, before they even reached the destination, figures wearing various masks closed in from all directions, surrounding the three of them in the blink of an eye.
"Anbu?" Uchiha Inabi muttered, his expression tightening as he looked at the newcomers' attire.
"No, not Anbu. It's Root," Uchiha Douhuan said calmly, drawing his long sword from behind his back. "Get ready for battle, though."
"Damn it! What is the village playing at? Are they really going to make a move against their own shinobi?" Uchiha Zaido said resentfully as he pulled out a kunai to prepare for the fight.
"Uchiha Douhuan, a rebellious element of the Uchiha clan. Today, old man Danzo is going to eliminate you, this unstable factor, for the sake of the village," Danzo's harsh voice rang out, but when Uchiha Douhuan looked around, he could not find any trace of Danzo.
"A rat hiding its head and tail, yet you dare spew such nonsense here," Uchiha Douhuan said dismissively.
"Uchiha Douhuan, drop your petty tricks. You want to force me to show myself because you intend to use the dōjutsu you stole from Uchiha Shisui on me, don't you? But unfortunately, Uchiha Shisui has already confessed everything. The village is fully aware of your plot to steal his dōjutsu and plan a rebellion. Will you surrender now?"
"Douhuan, what is he talking about?" Uchiha Inabi asked in confusion.
"Now is not the time for this," Uchiha Douhuan said, lightning crackling around his body amidst sharp, popping sounds. "Let's wipe out this bunch of rats first."
"Understood!" Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Zaido nodded. They pressed back-to-back with Uchiha Douhuan, forming a defensive stance, and formed hand seals in unison: "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Two imposing dragons of fire surged toward the surrounding Root army. The explosive heat wave instantly swallowed the foremost Root shinobi. Although the elites Danzo brought this time to ambush Uchiha Douhuan were formidable, both Inabi and Zaido were top talents of the Uchiha clan who had already awakened their two-tomoe sharingan. As for Uchiha Douhuan, his approach was far more direct: a full nine blue thunder orbs containing terrifying chakra formed in an instant, then rolled forward in different directions.
Lightning Release: Thunder Orb was the most basic of lightning release ninjutsu—one that even some Konoha genin with lightning affinity could easily master. Yet in Uchiha Douhuan's hands, it possessed such overwhelming might.
In the blink of an eye, a dozen Root shinobi were swallowed by the thunder orbs, leaving not even a trace of their bones. However, having been thoroughly brainwashed by Danzo, the Root shinobi lacked the slightest shred of individual will. The deaths of their comrades did not stop them; instead, they continued to charge fearlessly toward the three. At the same time, the Water and Wind Release shinobi among them began performing jutsu, intending to use elemental advantage to take down the trio.
"Killing Anbu shinobi, Uchiha Douhuan, are you trying to betray the village?" Danzo's voice rang out once more.
His answer was several thick bolts of lightning falling from the sky, striking precisely where the Root shinobi were clustered. The explosive electricity claimed more lives in an instant, while the wind and water techniques released by the Root were completely neutralized by six deep blue thunder orbs that Uchiha Douhuan had condensed to spin rapidly around the three of them.
"Still not planning to show yourself, Lord Danzo?" Uchiha Douhuan asked. "Or do you really think you can keep me here with just them?"
"Uchiha Douhuan, don't waste your breath. Thinking you can control me is a pipe dream," Danzo snorted coldly.
"Lord Danzo, don't you think you flatter yourself too much?" Uchiha Douhuan effortlessly executed ninjutsu after ninjutsu to harvest the lives of the Root shinobi while chuckling, "You are merely a rat that cannot bear the light, spending your days hiding in the sewers, liable to be discarded by Sarutobi Hiruzen at any moment. You are hardly worthy of a divine technique like Kotoamatsukami."
Just then, several massive trees shot into the sky, forming a gigantic hand in midair that descended toward the area where the three stood.
The previous attacks had merely been meant to drain the trio's chakra, while this true killing blow was Danzo's hidden trump card.
"Wood Release?" Uchiha Inabi's face drained of color. With the breadth of the Uchiha clan's knowledge, he naturally recognized the origin of such a technique.
The two instinctively attempted to block the descending giant hand with their own jutsu, but their attacks left not a scratch upon it.
At that moment, Uchiha Douhuan spoke softly: "Get behind me."
In an instant, the three-tomoe sharingan in Uchiha Douhuan's eyes spun at breakneck speed, transforming into the Mangekyō Sharingan. Pitch-black dōjutsu power poured from his eyes, enveloping the three before morphing into a colossal black warrior covered in pale blue cursed seals.
Uchiha Douhuan's dōjutsu power and explosive lightning-affinity chakra converged in the warrior's hands, forming a deep blue blade that sliced the descending wooden giant hand in two with a single slash.
"Elder Danzo, have you had your fun yet?" Uchiha Douhuan said coldly. "Do you know why I didn't use our Uchiha clan's ultimate power from the start? Because I plan to bury all of you right here."
As Uchiha Douhuan spoke, the sky above grew gloomy. The steam generated earlier by the clash of fire and water releases had formed heavy, sprawling storm clouds in the air. A massive amount of energy compressed within them continuously. Everyone on the scene looked up and felt only sheer terror. Though the Root shinobi essentially lacked anything resembling humanity, this sense of powerlessness in the face of nature's wrath was an instinct shared by every living creature.
"Lightning Release: Kirin!" Uchiha Douhuan softly called out the name of his jutsu. Following that, a faint flash of electricity flickered beneath the feet of everyone except the three at the center of the battlefield. The current was so slight that even an ordinary person would have felt only a mild sting, but at this moment, it had become the death warrant for everyone present.
A pale blue beast formed of thunder descended from the sky, and sheets of lightning instantly blanketed the entire area. Faced with this wrath of the heavens, the Root shinobi had nowhere to run. Only in one corner did a thick, multi-layered Wood Release wall rise, desperately trying to block the descending lightning through sheer volume.
Several minutes passed. The lightning faded completely, and a heavy rain began to fall, washing away the lingering scent of blood in the air.
In the corner where the wooden wall had risen, the final layer collapsed with a loud crash, revealing two figures. One masked man fell heavily to the ground, his hands still frozen in a hand seal. The other leaned heavily on a cane, his entire arm wrapped tightly in bandages pinned across his chest.
"Found you, Elder Danzo." Inside the Susanoo, Uchiha Douhuan broke into a brilliant smile.