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NAJ Chapter 53: And Danzō Died Again
🕑 Added 2025-06-28 21:52:30 +0000 UTCWhen Danzō hastily cast an incredulous glance toward the direction where Baku had been, all he could see was a massive wave of magma—surging like a tsunami—swallowing Baku’s enormous body whole.
It was as if a basin of boiling water had slammed into a mass of cotton. He watched, wide-eyed, as Baku’s massive form shriveled and deflated at a visible speed, as though all the air inside had been squeezed out.
Moments later, the scalding magma splashed onto the earth, igniting an inferno that spread violently across the ground.
Baku was gone—that was the undeniable truth before Danzō’s eyes.
He could clearly feel it—this wasn’t a case of Baku abruptly canceling the summoning technique at the last moment.
Which meant…
The terrifying heat of the magma had vaporized Baku’s body!
His summoning beast…
Was dead!!!
Just like he had 'killed' Danzō earlier, Uchiha Keizumi had now killed the summoning beast Baku! Only, Danzō had relied on the Uchiha clan’s Izanagi to rewrite reality, while the Dream Tapir had barely managed to let out a single agonized wail before dying in bitter regret on the spot!
The molten lava scattered across the earth suddenly converged into the shape of a human.
Uchiha Keizumi’s unscathed body reformed within Danzō’s field of vision.
And Danzō watched as the figure slowly turned around.
Blood trickled down from the corners of Danzō’s mouth—not from external wounds, but from how tightly he had clenched his jaw.
Yet under the minute-long effect of Izanagi, within the span of a single blink, it was as if nothing had happened at all.
“U! CHI! HA! KEI! ZU! MI!”
He was utterly consumed by rage!
…
Sarutobi Hiruzen’s heart grew heavier by the second, for he had already led a team to the area affected by the battle’s aftershocks.
He looked upon rows and rows of buildings devastated by Wind Release techniques…
He saw group after group of panicked Konoha civilians fleeing into the open streets to seek shelter…
He stared into the distance, at the ravaged ruins left in the wake of the conflict.
Sarutobi Hiruzen too—was furious beyond words.
He had never expected Danzō to be this irrational—to actually summon Baku right in the middle of the village. Worse yet, he had allowed his summoned beast to unleash such powerful jutsu within Konoha.
Was it all just to kill Uchiha Keizumi?
Were the Uchiha such a thorn in his side that he was willing to risk the lives of innocent civilians?
“To think he’d go this far…”
Just then, with a grim expression, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly froze.
Because he had just seen that sea of magma surge toward Baku.
And now, as the magma slowly receded—
Danzō’s summoning beast was nowhere to be seen.
“Could it be…” Hiruzen’s pupils contracted.
If things were truly as he suspected—
Then Uchiha Keizumi’s power would need to be reevaluated entirely.
…
Razor-sharp Wind Blades, sharp enough to slice through kunai, grazed Uchiha Keizumi’s cheek, while several thumb-sized wind bullets slammed into him at close range, blasting holes several centimeters deep into his body.
But Uchiha Keizumi didn’t resort to any flashy tricks. He simply countered with a single punch—driving his fist clean through Danzō’s chest.
The light in Danzō’s eyes slowly faded.
And yet, bizarrely, his 'corpse' slipped off Keizumi’s arm—and in the blink of an eye, the lifeless gaze regained clarity once more.
Danzō leapt backward to widen the distance. His right arm rapidly sprouted thick, sinewy vines that shot out violently toward Keizumi!
“So, after activating Izanagi, no matter how many times you die within a minute, it only counts as one death? I see…”
After 'killing' Danzō several times already, Uchiha Keizumi had a rough grasp of how Izanagi worked under the golden finger system.
He caught one of the incoming vines with a backward grab. Lava flared around his hand, instantly igniting the vine and turning it to charcoal in seconds.
“Wood Release: Toxic Bloom Field!”
But then—
The rest of the vines that hadn't touched Keizumi suddenly burst into vivid blossoms. As the searing hot air swept through the battlefield, countless flowers released a haze of pollen, dense enough to obscure vision like a light sandstorm. The toxic cloud spread rapidly in all directions.
Since Wood Release had already been revealed to Uchiha Keizumi, Danzō saw no need to hold back.
He pressed his palms together, his expression dark and full of hatred, then shouted sharply: “Wood Release: Tree Barrier Wall!”
Danzō slammed his right arm heavily against the ground—his entire limb transforming into tree matter and burrowing deep underground. Massive roots surged toward Keizumi’s position, bursting from the earth to weave together in rapid succession, forming a spherical cage.
Originally a defensive Wood Style technique, Danzō now repurposed it—
To trap Uchiha Keizumi.
Or rather…
To contain the rapidly spreading toxic pollen!
“Even if you possess something akin to the Hydrification Technique in the form of Lava Release—you’re not invincible, Uchiha Keizumi! Water Release… sealing techniques… they’re your weaknesses! And poison gas—that is surely your weakness too! This toxic pollen can dissolve internal organs!”
Danzō panted slightly. He had never believed that any ability in the shinobi world was truly unbeatable.
Even Uchiha Shisui, with his awakened Mangekyō Sharingan—hadn’t he still fallen for one of Danzō’s schemes? Forced into retreat, until he ultimately jumped off a cliff and took his own life?
As the Sharingan in Danzō’s right arm—its tomoe spinning in threes—gradually closed shut,
He turned his eyes toward the Tree Barrier Wall that had temporarily confined Uchiha Keizumi.
Another three-tomoe Sharingan had been lost.
The cost of tonight’s battle was growing unbearable.
Damn Uchiha brat…
Just die already!
…
“Danzō!”
“What the hell are you doing?!”
The furious roar came from behind, the rage in the voice completely unmasked as it grew louder and closer.
Danzō turned his aged, gloomy face to look—and saw Sarutobi Hiruzen, leading a large group of ANBU, rushing toward him.
Their aggressive approach made Danzō sneer coldly.
If that damn monkey hadn’t been sheltering and indulging Uchiha Keizumi all this time, letting that innately evil Uchiha brat grow unchecked, he would’ve taken care of Keizumi years ago.
Just then, Danzō noticed another group approaching from a different direction.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Fugaku…”
Because leading the second group was none other than Uchiha Fugaku, flanked by several Uchiha clan shinobi!
…
“Where’s Keizumi…” Fugaku stared into the ruined battlefield just ahead. All he saw was Shimura Danzō standing alone in the wreckage.
And from the other side, the Hokage and his team were also closing in.
But Uchiha Keizumi was nowhere to be seen.
A heaviness sank into Fugaku’s chest.
Even if Keizumi’s existence meant danger for his eldest son, Uchiha Itachi, the Uchiha clan simply could not afford to lose someone with such formidable strength.
“…Hmm?”
Suddenly, Fugaku—still weighed down by anxiety—watched with wide eyes as a strange wooden cage ahead of him erupted into flames out of nowhere. At the same time, he saw Danzō spin around in shock.
[—BOOM!!!]
A geyser of magma shot into the sky, shredding the Tree Barrier Wall to splinters in an instant. The poison-laced vines were already reduced to ashes.
Bathed in lava, Uchiha Keizumi burst forth like an arrow loosed from a bow—closing the distance to Danzō in the blink of an eye!
“Keizumi! Wait!!”
Fugaku cried out, alarmed. The Hokage and the others had already arrived—if Keizumi made a move now…
…
“Keizumi! Stop!” Sarutobi Hiruzen’s heart tensed at the same moment.
But he never expected—
Uchiha Keizumi, right before the Hokage’s eyes, would drive his searing lava-coated arm straight through Danzō’s back and out his chest!
Danzō’s eyes bulged wide, his neck locking up as he turned his head.
His disbelieving gaze fell on Keizumi’s profile.
The second transplanted Sharingan in his arm slowly faded into lifelessness.
“How many more eyes do you have for me to burn through?”
The whisper, low and deathly, slithered into Danzō’s ears like the voice of a Shinigami.
And for the first time—
He felt fear.
...
Sarutobi Hiruzen halted with a group of ANBU shinobi, stopping just over ten meters away from Uchiha Keizumi and Danzō.
At that moment, he was completely stunned.
He had rushed here with so many ANBU, and he was certain that Keizumi—with the exceptional dynamic vision of his Sharingan—could not possibly have failed to notice him.
He had even shouted at the top of his lungs just moments ago, telling Keizumi to 'wait'—trying to prevent the situation from escalating into full-blown violence.
Hiruzen was certain—absolutely believed—that Uchiha Keizumi had heard him before he drove his lava arm straight through Danzō’s torso.
And yet…
His presence as Hokage—and his direct order—seemed to hold no weight at all in Keizumi’s eyes.
“Stop Keizumi!”
Although Hiruzen was furious at Danzō’s recklessness, that didn’t mean he wanted him dead. Seeing Keizumi truly about to deliver a killing blow, he hastily issued a command to the ANBU.
Just as the ANBU were about to charge—
They saw something strange: Danzō, who had just been impaled by a molten arm and looked moments away from death, suddenly slipped free from what should have been a fatal blow.
Right before the eyes of all the Konoha shinobi present, the charred hole in Danzō’s chest vanished without a trace! Even the damaged fabric of his clothes had returned to pristine condition!
It was as if the harrowing moment just now had been nothing but an illusion.
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen froze for a second.
