Naruto: Born Gifted in Konoha

But the electric current on the blade spread outward as a Chidori Current, covering an area with a radius of several meters.

Danzo landed elsewhere, positioning himself and several Root ninja into a formation surrounding Saitama.

Saitama stood inside his Susanoo, his weakened body hunched over, blood continuously flowing from his eyes and chest.

Especially the wound Danzo had just inflicted—a massive gash tore open Saitama's right chest. Through the wound, you could see straight inside.

Covering the injury with one hand, blood uncontrollably spurted between his fingers.

Thud! Saitama took one step forward, his Susanoo closely guarding him.

Just this single step proved excruciating; his body swayed like a candle flickering in the wind, about to go out at any second.

Danzo observed Saitama—who, despite his current state, still refused to give up and kept trying to fight—and furrowed his brows.

"What keeps driving you? Is it the hope of staying alive?"

Danzo formed hand seals while thinking inwardly.

[Wind Release - Vacuum Wave]

He tilted his head back and inhaled sharply through his chest, then exhaled a transparent stream of air from his mouth.

Though merely a gust of air, it moved incredibly fast, piercing through the atmosphere with a sharp screech.

Hiss! The technique struck the skeleton frame of Susanoo, tearing a hole in the chakra currents around it—but only briefly, as the energy quickly regenerated. Clearly ineffective.

[Earth Release - Yellow Spring Swamp]

One of the Root Ninja slammed both hands onto the ground. Instantly, the earth beneath Saitama's feet transformed into a muddy swamp.

Huff! Saitama struggled to open his right eye. He appeared too weak to retaliate, just letting the enemy strike without resistance.

He stood firm atop the swamp, expressionless, eyes locked coldly onto Danzo.

[Wind Release - Blade of Wind]

Again, several more transparent blades slashed against the Susanoo, yet failed to harm Saitama directly. All they did was further drain his stamina.

Blood splattered! Enduring the attack, Saitama spat out another mouthful of blood. Maintaining the Susanoo form always required immense concentration.

The situation seemed decided now—though Saitama had activated Susanoo, he lacked the strength to press forward, left only with the ability to defend.

Meanwhile, Danzo and the other shinobi couldn't break through Saitama's defenses yet, so they focused instead on wearing him down.

Still, victory increasingly leaned toward Danzo and his men—they were uninjured, fully rested, and the longer this dragged on, the weaker Saitama became.

"You can only hide behind your turtle shell, huh? Saitama Uchiha."

Observing the current scene, Danzo mocked aloud.

His shadowy gaze continuously studied Saitama's expression, hoping to determine the limit of his endurance.

Yet no matter how hard he looked, Saitama seemed about to collapse any second—yet still he stood there, staring right back at them.

"Sir, something's happening!"

The Byakugan Ninja suddenly called out to Danzo. A close-combat specialist who had been unable to do anything against Saitama, he had remained aside using his Byakugan to observe Saitama's condition all along.

But just now, he suddenly noticed a group of Stone Shinobi not far outside the barrier.

A large group was heading straight for their position.

Danzo looked at Saitama and motioned toward the other ninja.

"Stone Shinobi are approaching. About a hundred in total. That must be Kitsuchi's domain!"

He was very familiar with intelligence about Kitsuchi, so he immediately recognized the chakra signature and confirmed the identity.

Frowning, Danzo knew they couldn't afford to delay any longer.

"What's wrong, my Lord Danzo?"

Although injured, Saitama still had his hearing intact. Naturally, he'd heard what the ninja said and spoke to Danzo.

"Damn it!" A cruel gleam flashed deep within Danzo's eyes. He raised his left hand to his mouth, bit down hard on it, then slammed both palms onto the ground.

[Summoning Jutsu - Meng Mo]

A puff of white smoke rose as a huge brown-yellow summon appeared before Saitama.

"Has it come to this already?" As soon as Saitama saw Danzo use the Summoning Jutsu, an ominous premonition arose in his mind.

As soon as Meng Mo appeared, following Danzo's command, it opened its enormous mouth directly at Saitama's Susanoo. Like an abyss devouring everything, irresistible suction pulled the Susanoo toward that gaping maw.

Saitama was powerless to resist. Even when he drove Susanoo's weapon into the swamp beneath him, both he and part of the mire were dragged toward Meng Mo's mouth.

A glint of triumph appeared in Danzo's eyes as he watched Saitama flying toward his summoned beast's mouth.

Clang! The Susanoo drove its sword into the ground, halting its momentum momentarily. Yet it continued to slowly inch toward Meng Mo.

Saitama's face turned pale. His right eye became dull as he looked at Danzo, standing beside Meng Mo, who was already certain of victory.

...

"Just ahead, Lord Kitsuchi!"

The Stone Shinobi troops arrived near the barrier. From here they could see inside, so they stopped their advance, observing cautiously.

"Is that the jutsu mentioned in our intelligence report?"

Kitsuchi looked at the blue-white skeleton structure inside the barrier as he spoke to those around him.

"Yes, Lord Kitsuchi." A nearby one-armed ninja glanced over, a trace of fear flickering deep in his eyes—he was a survivor from that previous camp.

"The other person looks familiar. That summon... I think I've heard something about it from my father."

Because of the distance, Kitsuchi hadn't immediately recognized Danzo.

"Are these Konoha ninja turning on each other?"

Another shinobi could hardly believe it, since he knew the one fighting Saitama didn't seem to be a Stone Shinobi.

"We don't yet know who that other one is. Surround them and don't let them escape!" At Kitsuchi's command, the forces behind him began encircling the purple barrier.

...

"Lord Danzo, the Stone Shinobi have arrived. If we don't leave soon, there might be danger!"

One ninja warned Danzo. At this time, Saitama was still struggling desperately as Meng Mo's consumption had scraped off a layer of land before him.

"Damn it!" Seeing that Meng Mo couldn't deal with Saitama for the moment, Danzo waved his hand and signaled the summon to retreat.

With a grim expression, he barked at the nearby ninja, "Hold off the Stone Shinobi. As soon as I finish this, we're pulling out!"

"Yes!"

The Byakugan Ninja and another shinobi turned around and left, clearly preparing to slow down the Stone shinobi.

But with the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier in place, the Stone shinobi wouldn't be able to enter for some time.

"What can I do now?" Saitama looked at the approaching Stone squad and realized he probably had no way out.

Even if he managed to escape from Danzo's grasp, his current condition made it impossible to shake off the pursuing Stone shinobi.

As he thought this, Meng Mo disappeared, taking the suction force along with himself. Saitama reached his limit—his Susanoo also vanished, dissolving into wisps of chakra flow that scattered into the air.

Letting out a ragged breath, Saitama staggered forward weakly.

A sharp whistle split the air before a transparent air blade sliced into Saitama, leaving a huge gash. He stumbled backward but didn't fall.

He looked toward where the jutsu was cast—Danzo stood there glaring at him with his lone Sharingan eye.

"Looks like you really have run out of strength!"

Danzo tested him with a remark before walking toward Saitama. At first, his pace was slow, then it gradually increased until he suddenly closed the distance.

Thud! In the end, Saitama couldn't hold on any longer—he collapsed onto the ground, several bleeding wounds spurting blood from his body.

Lying there, staring at the blue sky, Saitama felt a wave of cold calm wash over him. His mind went blank, completely empty now, and even his breathing grew labored.

His eyes shifted sideways slightly, seeing a pair of feet. He knew it was Danzo standing beside him.

"The eyes," Danzo said, kneeling down. With one hand, he reached toward Saitama's right eye, two fingers poised to pluck it straight out.

A greedy expression flashed in his eyes, like a big bad wolf facing off against a little white rabbit.

"Heh, as if I'd let you get away with that!"

Saitama's right eye shot open, revealing a mocking gaze, then instantly his left eye flared open too. The mesmerizing Mangekyou pattern bloomed once again within his pupil—a killing intent bursting forth aimed directly at Danzo just half a meter away.

[Amaterasu]. This was Saitama's final move—an all-or-nothing jutsu he gambled everything upon.

"Ahhh!" Caught completely off guard, Danzo couldn't dodge at such close range. He got hit again, immediately engulfed in black flames. Falling backward, he rolled violently on the ground, letting out wave after wave of agonized screams!

However, not long after, Danzo's screaming ceased. The body writhing on the ground dissolved into an illusionary shadow and vanished, leaving only the burning Amaterasu flames slowly flickering where he had fallen.

[Izanagi]. Saitama knew Danzo still had a few more uses of this jutsu left, so he never actually expected to kill Danzo so cleanly.

He simply wanted to mess up Danzo's composure and buy some time.

His eyes locked onto Danzo once more—Saitama had already steeled himself.

There was truly no escaping this time. But under no circumstances would he leave his eyes to that old thief Danzo. Not even a single bit of himself would he allow to remain behind. So once again, pushing both his life force and ocular power to their absolute limits, he unleashed what would likely be his final [Amaterasu]—the last flicker of his life.

"Goodbye, world!"

Saitama gazed at the drifting clouds above, which slowly morphed into the faces of people he knew. He smirked, as though saying his final goodbyes.

His left eye swept over his body—from his legs, up his torso, and finally to his arms.

Boom! Wherever that gaze landed burst into flames, as if soaked in gasoline.

In the blink of an eye, Saitama was consumed by the pitch-black flames of Amaterasu!

"It really hurts! Never thought I'd die from my own ninja arts."

"But there are still so many things left undone!"

"I wonder how Obā-san is doing lately? At her age, her health might be getting worse by the day."

"But with Shisui and the others around, I guess Obā-san won't be lacking for anything. And the clan has various benefits too."

"I suppose you could say I died in battle. Maybe my name will end up engraved on the Monument of Valor?"

"What about the Uchiha? Without me, will they just go back to their old ways?"

"I wonder if Shisui will be at least a little influenced by me, step up and lead the clan properly instead of cowering like a scared child."

"And Shizune… what a shame!"

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, yet he held onto that same faint smile, slowly closing his eyes.

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