Naruto: Born Gifted in Konoha

Saitama set his jaw, slowly stepping back.

His left leg moved stiffly, clearly uncoordinated.

Although Saitama had consciously avoided putting too much pressure on his left leg during the earlier battle, the fracture had nonetheless worsened.

When exerting force, he couldn't completely avoid putting pressure on his left leg.

No extra expressions appeared on Saitama's face as he silently shifted his left leg.

But this detail still caught the eyes of several Root ninjas. As experienced fighters, they instantly noticed something was off with Saitama.

From these small clues, they directly deduced Saitama's current condition.

[Secret Jutsu - Parasitic Bugs]

Saitama saw it clearly—the Root member who had already been identified as belonging to the Aburame clan manipulated swarms of insects, commanding them to form an overwhelming curtain descending straight toward him.

Shwip! Shwip! Saitama kept dodging while remaining alert for attacks from the other enemies.

If this were Saitama in perfect condition, he wouldn't be evading so clumsily; instead, he'd coat his entire body in Chidori Current and charge at his foes.

However, Saitama's current chakra reserves were nowhere near sufficient to afford such extravagance!

The parasitic bugs followed Saitama's movements relentlessly, persistently encircling him without pause—clearly determined to never give up pursuit.

Saitama knew that when facing an Aburame ninja, the best strategy was to attack the ninja's body directly — otherwise the bugs would never stop coming.

But how easy was that said than done! Glancing at the three other shinobi shielding the Aburame clan Root ninja behind them, helplessness crept into Saitama's heart.

Bang! A fist smashed into the ground beneath Saitama. He was sent flying backward midair, his Sharingan activated to its peak.

Swish! Another wind blade sliced toward him. In midair, Saitama angled his blade sideways, lightning bursting forth from the sword's edge.

[Lightning Release - Chidori Blade]

With one swing, he shattered the incoming wind blade.

[Eight Trigrams - Seventy-Two Palms]

As soon as his right foot touched the ground, sounds erupted from behind him—he hadn't even landed before an enemy had somehow circled around behind.

A sharp inhale!

"Still...must I resort to this?" Saitama took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

In that moment, time seemed to slow as an ominous aura spread through Saitama's body, blue-white chakra swirling in thin streams around him.

[Susanoo]

Opening his eyes again, the tomoe in Saitama's eyes were gone, replaced by a more ancient-looking and complex pattern.

Pounding! The enemy's Eight Trigrams palm strikes struck the skeletal frame, but caused no damage whatsoever to Saitama.

"Hmm?!"

The attackers recoiled, quickly pulling away from Saitama. Their intelligence records did contain information about this particular jutsu, and they knew well how deadly this technique could be.

Snap! The ribs of the Susanoo surrounded and enclosed Saitama, blocking the enemy's attacks.

Puh! Blood burst from Saitama's mouth, dripping down his chin to the ground.

"This...is Susanoo?" Danzo, seeing it for the first time himself, showed visible shock on his face.

He tightened his grip on his cane with his left hand, eyes locked unwaveringly on the skeletal frame surrounding Saitama.

Saitama's face turned deathly pale. He forcefully activated Susanoo again, and the pain in his eyes made everything seem blurred and unfocused, creating an unreal distortion.

He didn't have much chakra left. Saitama knew he had to finish this quickly, especially with Danzo still a threat nearby.

Certainly, he didn't think he could kill Danzo in his current state. His immediate goal was simply to rely on Susanoo to escape from here.

This time, Susanoo only manifested its ribcage structure, but the chakra consumption remained enormous. His ocular energy continued to drain rapidly.

Looking around cautiously, Saitama saw four Root ninja on high alert, as well as Danzo carefully observing him.

Hmph! Saitama knew he had no choice but to go all out. Gritting his teeth, he began channeling chakra into further materializing his Susanoo.

Hiss! Blue-white energy spiraled around the skeletal frame, continuously extending upward.

In an instant, Susanoo's arms formed—a fire blade in the left hand, and a lightning sword in the right!

Yet Saitama himself suffered greatly while maintaining this level of Susanoo. His complexion turned grayish white, and a deathly pallor appeared on his forehead.

He was summoning Susanoo purely through sheer willpower, driving his already weakened body past its breaking point.

"I'll kill you all!" Saitama glared at those enemies, shadows flickering in his eyes.

Whoosh! Though Susanoo possessed an enormous body, its speed defied expectations. Disregarding his own life force, Saitama fully activated Susanoo.

At the same time, he surged the last of his chakra into his legs, propelling himself forward at blinding speed.

At this point, Saitama couldn't afford to hold back anymore. Without Susanoo, he was sure the Root ninjas would finish him off, leaving Danzo to claim victory without ever raising a hand.

This wasn't the outcome he wanted. Even if it meant overextending his life force, he would escape from here—or even kill these enemies before him!

Encased within Susanoo, Saitama lunged forward in an instant, closing the gap between him and his enemies.

The blue blade flashed as he aimed for the ninja using Earth Release, who stood at the forefront of the formation.

The enemy knew full well how hard it would be to dodge Saitama's current attacks. He swiftly sidestepped Susanoo's lightning blade.

ZAP! The lightning sword slashed across the ground, its electric-blue currents spreading violently, just like Lightning Release: Electrification Technique.

"Scatter!"

Before Danzo could speak, the four Root ninjas scattered, taking positions surrounding Saitama.

[Secret Arts – Quadruple-Polarity Restraint]

As soon as the enemy landed, they instantly formed Ninja Seals, lines of black incantations flowing from their bodies to spread across the ground.

In an instant, the four corners were connected by dense rows of runes.

"Emerge!"

All four enemies shouted together as their voices rang out simultaneously.

The originally ground-bound black symbols suddenly came alive, their color turning yellow before leaping into midair. They formed a massive enclosing formation, wrapping tightly around both Saitama and his Susanoo.

"This is a secret technique from Root," Danzo remarked slowly, watching Saitama struggle under the restraints, his expression unchanged save for the faintest lift of his eyelids. "It can temporarily restrain even the Tailed Beasts. There's no need to waste your strength."

From the moment the battle began, he hadn't moved much. But now, he slowly approached Saitama who was trapped in bindings.

"Damn it!" Saitama desperately tried to twist his body, but found that his mind willing didn't translate into action—his body remained completely unresponsive.

Although the Susanoo responded to his mental commands, no matter how hard he struggled and directed its movements, he couldn't break free from the enemy's ninjutsu.

He could only manage the faintest waver in its stance.

"You must be badly injured too! I don't think prolonging this will put you at a disadvantage!"

Danzo stood five meters away from the Susanoo, just at the outer edge of the binding technique's range.

Leaning on his cane with his left hand, his eyes burned with intense desire.

The way he stared at the Susanoo resembled someone already claiming ownership over it.

After struggling fruitlessly for a while, Saitama stopped resisting and simply stood there motionless, as if giving up entirely.

"Already surrendering?" Danzo thought to himself, making no move and simply watching Saitama.

After all, Saitama had an external skeleton protecting him, and they were helpless against it—for now.

Looking at Saitama's condition, however, Danzo figured he couldn't maintain that jutsu for much longer either.

"Danzo, is this truly how you protect Konoha?"

Saitama frowned, his left eye tightly shut while his right fixedly glared at Danzo not far away.

"Hehe! On the path of protecting Konoha, no one has the right to question my methods! You may represent the visible light of Konoha, but I am the deeply buried root beneath the soil! Any minor sacrifices are insignificant!"

Danzo laughed as if hearing an amusing joke, his mouth twisting along with the wound on his jaw, his voice rasping as he spoke to Saitama.

"I have bled for Konoha. I have taken blades for the village. Yet you still treat me like this, Lord Danzo?"

Saitama remained expressionless, as the pattern in his right Mangekyou deepened further.

"Uchiha have no right to speak like this! Your entire bloodline is rebellion incarnate. Peace in Konoha demands the removal of your kind!"

Frowning, Danzo wondered what Saitama was trying to gain by speaking now—was he stalling? Did he expect someone to rescue him or hiding an ace up his sleeve?

After thinking it through, Danzo decided Saitama's words were nothing more than desperate last words, because even he himself wouldn't have any hope of turning around under these circumstances!

"Then die, Saitama Uchiha! Konoha will not forget you—let your death serve the village's glory!"

Danzo glanced at the fading Susanoo, knowing time was up.

As soon as he finished speaking, four ninja responsible for restraining Saitama simultaneously formed hand seals.

The once-dormant talismans suddenly flared to life, their glow intensifying rapidly.

[Secret Arts – Binding Strangulation]

Sealing runes wrapped around the Susanoo began to burn with intense heat, flashing continuously with radiant light.

Hiss! White smoke steadily rose from the skeletal frame, while Saitama inside quietly observed everything happening around him.

Swish! After holding on for several tense minutes, the Susanoo finally collapsed, transforming into streams of blue-white chakra energy that vanished around Saitama.

"Kill him!"

Several Root Ninjas' eyes lit up. Without the Susanoo's protection, Saitama before them now was nothing more than a sitting duck.

"Almost there!"

Saitama sensed a flicker of anxiety rising from deep within his right eye as he stared into the murderous intent blazing in his enemy's gaze, silently assessing his own physical state.

Deprived of their original target—Susanoo—the countless runes now turned toward Saitama's true form.

Saitama made no move to evade, allowing the runes to crawl up from the ground, climbing his legs and spreading across his body.

In an instant, Saitama was rooted to the spot!

"This pair of eyes shall be mine!"

Danzo watched as the immobilized Saitama approached and slowly stepped forward.

At that moment, Saitama looked pale and weak, blood steadily dripping from the corner of his mouth—utterly pitiful.

Clang!

Danzo's cane halted just inches from Saitama's face.

"The only worth of the Uchiha is to serve Konoha's peace with whatever scraps of power they possess. Rest assured, I will treat your eyes well. In time, they will shine brilliantly!"

As he spoke, Danzo planted his cane into the ground and reached out his left hand toward Saitama's eyes.

The lone eye visible beneath his hood burned with unrestrained desire.

His hand loomed larger within Saitama's eye socket before swiftly closing in on the right one, sending a creeping chill radiating from the point of contact.

"Die already, Danzo!"

A smirk curled at the corner of Saitama's mouth, his right eye gleaming with mockery.

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