Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

The Root ninjas loudly rebuked those blocking their way, preparing to fight Hozuki Suigetsu one-on-many.

"Kid? Are all the guys in Konoha this arrogant?"

Hozuki Suigetsu grinned, revealing his sharp, shark-like teeth.

Whether it's Sasuke or Naruto, although Hozuki Suigetsu is their comrade, he dislikes their behavior.

Deep within them lay a pride that was incomprehensible to ordinary people, but unfortunately, that pride was exactly what Hozuki Suigetsu could understand.

The pride of being a "genius" stems from their immense strength, which naturally allows them to approach others with a higher status.

Ordinary people naturally wouldn't resent a genius looking down on them.

However, Hozuki Suigetsu loathed looking up to Naruto and Sasuke—but Naruto and Sasuke were indeed powerful enough that Hozuki Suigetsu, an equally proud man, had to accept their condescension.

But the "roots" before them might also be the "geniuses" carefully selected by Danzo Shimura.

But those who don't even have the right to show their true faces, those who kowtow to Danzo, their leader—have no right to be proud.

"Stop looking down on us, you filthy earthworms!"

Hozuki Suigetsu unfurled the sealing scroll in his hand. Inside the scroll were two sealing techniques with the character "封" (seal) written in black ink.

The first sealing technique was broken by Hozuki Suigetsu, and a strange greatsword covered in barbs with a terrifying mouth at its tip appeared in Hozuki Suigetsu's hand.

"That weapon is a ninja sword from Kirigakure—stop him!"

The Root ninjas shouted.

Ninjutsu, ninja tools... all ranged attacks were directed at Hozuki Suigetsu.

However, these attacks ultimately failed to hit Hozuki Suigetsu.

Manda's massive body swiftly moved in front of Hozuki Suigetsu, blocking the attack for him.

"Aren't you planning to use Manda to deal with Danzo?"

With the help of Manda, Hozuki Suigetsu, who smoothly and effortlessly liquefied his sword Samehada with his body using the Water Transformation Technique, looked at Sasuke.

"No need, I'm fine on my own."

Sasuke didn't turn his head; his attention remained focused on Danzo.

It was this pride that made Sasuke's words not a boast, but a declaration of his strength.

A powerful force that Hozuki Suigetsu could not refute and had to admit defeat.

But the more this happened, the harder it became for Hozuki Suigetsu to accept the gap between himself and Sasuke and Naruto.

Because he was also a genius—

Because of his older brother Hozuki Mangetsu, Hozuki Suigetsu, who had a special affection for the seven famous ninja swords of Kirigakure since childhood, was hailed as a sword-wielding genius just like his brother, who was skilled in using the seven Kirigakure ninja swords, when he was only a few years old.

He certainly lives up to that title.

Having witnessed Kisame Hoshigaki and the Samehada sword in their "Samehada Fusion Form" during Naruto's battle with Kisame, Suigetsu Hozuki was able to create his own unique fusion of man and sword by relying on the characteristics of his Hozuki clan's secret technique, the Water Transformation Technique.

After fusing with Samehada, Hozuki Suigetsu was no longer the lean and wiry figure he once was. Instead, through liquefaction, he used the Great Water Arm Technique, which was originally only used to strengthen his arms, to evenly distribute and apply it to all parts of his body, thus reshaping himself into a tall and muscular physique.

"That means there's no way to take his ninja sword during the fight!"

The Root ninjas looked at Hozuki Suigetsu, who seemed like a completely different person, and found his current state troublesome.

A ninja sword user who enters the Samehada fusion form is a "humanoid sword with a fighting spirit," possessing both the ninjutsu characteristics of the ninja sword user and Samehada's chakra absorption and sensory abilities.

Samehada allows users to replenish their chakra by absorbing the enemy's chakra, enabling them to fight tirelessly!

"But having lost his ninja sword, he is not necessarily able to gain an absolute advantage over us when he is unarmed."

Within the "roots," someone shared their insights.

Like Kisame Hoshigaki, after fusing with Samehada, he would use Water Release: Great Exploding Water Wave to pull enemies into a giant water prison barrier. Combined with Summoning Jutsu and other Water Release ninjutsu, he would place enemies in a real "ocean" and force them to fight him.

Hozuki Suigetsu could not possibly achieve that level of skill.

"Defeat him as soon as possible!"

The members of "Root" immediately made a judgment: even if Hozuki Suigetsu absorbed his chakra in the initial exchange, Hozuki Suigetsu's disadvantage of being unarmed would soon become apparent.

The initial sacrifices among comrades are enough to subdue it!

They made no attempt to conceal their underestimation of Hozuki Suigetsu.

Instead, they were even more wary of the legendary Sannin, Orochimaru's summoning beast, Manda.

However, Hozuki Suigetsu is by no means weak. It's just that his experience of being imprisoned by Orochimaru for many years has shaped his somewhat timid personality. But Hozuki Suigetsu's "timidity" is mostly only reflected in his incessantly talking mouth.

He was born in Kirigakure, a village where the strong prey on the weak and where the theory of elitism prevails. Kirigakure's Blood Mist policy is keen on selecting ninjas who surpass the elite by having elites kill each other.

He surpassed the elite.

—Besides the vague title of a genius with a knife, he was also hailed as a "prodigy who is a reincarnation of a demon".

Hozuki Suigetsu, who could still be called a "genius" under the oppressive policy, was not comparable to those guys like "Root" who were only recruited by Danzo because of some special skill or secret technique!

The second seal on the sealed scroll began to loosen.

Hozuki Suigetsu, who had fused Samehada with himself and was now unarmed, now possessed a second ninja sword!

The sacrifices made by "Root" in their battle with Hozuki Suigetsu came sooner than expected.

The "Root" that launched the first attack on Hozuki Suigetsu had its head cleanly sliced ​​off by Hozuki Suigetsu's ninja sword.

The head, hovering in the air, spun in a clean arc.

A ninja sword that can slice off a ninja's head so cleanly is rare.

Among them, the Broken Sword - Executioner's Blade, one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Hidden Mist, happens to meet the criteria.

Hozuki Suigetsu possesses two Kirigakure ninja swords.

"Next, I'll let you self-righteous trash from Konoha experience firsthand the terrifying power of the Hidden Mist Ninja Swords!"

Hozuki Suigetsu held the Executioner's Blade in front of him, and he actually managed to hold back the Root members all by himself.

On the other side, with the location of Hozuki Suigetsu and Manda serving as the dividing line—

—Shimura Danzo also rushed to Sasuke's side.

"As expected—you, who possess the Mangekyou Sharingan, have also gained such power!"

The crisp sound of the kunai in his hand, which had been enhanced with wind release to increase its penetrating power, breaking as it was blocked reached Danzo's ears.

The entity that broke the kunai in Danzo's hand was the third power awakened after activating the Mangekyou Sharingan—the Susanoo, which materializes one's own chakra.

Chapter 87 Transcribing the Seal

With the Mangekyou Sharingan aiming in sync, the giant purple arrow shot from the Susanoo controlled by Sasuke struck Shimura Danzo's body with pinpoint accuracy.

With a single arrow, Danzo was pierced through the chest by the arrow formed from chakra, and pinned to death in front of Sasuke.

However, Sasuke did not relax his vigilance despite Danzo's death.

This is because Sasuke has experienced Danzo's death five times in a short period of time.

However, Danzo would "come back to life" right before Sasuke's eyes every time!

Sasuke, who killed Danzo five times, knew best that this "resurrection" appearing on Danzo was not a smokescreen.

It is not a clone technique, not a substitution technique, not a body-flickering technique... nor is it a space-time ninjutsu or a genjutsu.

Under the watchful gaze of the Uchiha clan's powerful eyes, known as the Mangekyou Sharingan, no ninjutsu in the world can escape the fate of being exposed.

Sasuke was able to assert without hesitation that the Shimura Danzo he killed time and time again was the true form.

But every time he kills Danzo Shimura, he is able to be completely resurrected elsewhere.

Even surpassing the "Impure World Reincarnation" which only allows the soul to remain in the world, Danzo achieved the simultaneous resurrection of both the soul and the body!

Based on Sasuke's previous experience, Danzo will be resurrected once again after his fifth death.

As expected, Danzo's body, who had died for the fifth time, seemed to have never existed—

—In the next instant, the resurrected Danzo unleashed a powerful Wind Release attack on Sasuke!

Wind Escape·Vacuum Jade!

A highly compressed whirlwind shot out from Danzo's mouth, striking directly at the Susanoo protecting Sasuke.

The two collided, and although the Vacuum Ball failed to break through Susanoo's defense, its powerful impact still caused Sasuke to stagger back a step.

Even so, Sasuke still experienced a fleeting moment of distraction in order to stabilize his body.

For a powerful ninja, such an opening is extremely deadly, allowing the enemy to decisively turn the tide of battle and achieve final victory.

Sasuke naturally understood this principle as well. His Sharingan was closely watching Danzo's movements. Once Danzo seized the opportunity at this moment, all of Sasuke's previous advantages would vanish and become meaningless.

However, Sasuke was surprised to find that Danzo stood still after using Vacuum Ball, wasting the moment when Sasuke was distracted.

What is Danzo Shimura thinking?

However, even though the Mangekyou Sharingan can perceive the most subtle chakra flows in the world, it is not powerful enough to see into people's hearts.

Thoughts are always the most secretive thing in the world. Only Danzo himself knows why he gave up the chance to turn the tide of the battle.

"This shouldn't be your last life, right? Don't you still have five Sharingan eyes open on your right hand?"

But words can always capture a thought in a person's mind. Sasuke did not continue his intense attack, but simply maintained the materialization of Susanoo and confronted Danzo.

Because he didn't know Danzo's thoughts, Sasuke wanted to influence Danzo's next decision by proactively revealing that he had seen through the principle behind Danzo's "resurrection".

Danzo was not surprised that Sasuke had discovered and deduced the secret of the "Izanagi" part.

A ninja is someone who fights for their life while simultaneously analyzing intelligence; only those who can do this can truly be called ninjas.

However, knowing information about ninjutsu and using that information to counter ninjutsu are two different skills.

There are many ninjas who possess both of these talents, but few can utilize them to their fullest potential.

In Danzo's long life of more than seventy years, such rare geniuses were few and far between.

Danzo Shimura did not respond to Sasuke's words.

He merely squinted his left eye at Sasuke, who was radiating a large amount of chakra.

As his battle with Sasuke intensified, the chakra that swirled around Sasuke's body was no longer the incomplete purple skeleton with only half a rib at the beginning.