The Tenseigan started from the Hyuga main family.

Maki, who was known for his composure, became incoherent and his pupils constricted when he saw the Wind Shadow Puppet appear. His speech even became intermittent and unclear.

"It was you! It must have been your Konoha that killed the Third Kazekage!"

A white-haired Sand Ninja, over fifty years old, suddenly shouted, his eyes filled with madness.

The Third Shinobi World War began with the Sand Village's assassination of the Third Kazekage by Konoha, which caused a great sensation in the shinobi world at the time.

Although the Sand Village leadership knew it was just to boost morale and hopefully achieve the effect of a desperate army winning, they almost never mentioned it again after the war began. However, many lower-ranking ninjas who were unaware of the truth still believed it and were extremely hostile to Konoha.

"Heh, I wasn't even born when your Kazekage died, so you can't blame me. Besides, human puppetry is a forbidden technique in your Sunagakure village, only Sasori of the Red Sand knows it, I don't understand it."

As Hyuga Zechen focused his mind, the puppets in the air spread their five fingers, condensing chakra orbs that were aimed at the Sand Ninja below.

Iron sand began to float around the Kazekage puppet's body, condensing into spears that also locked onto the Sand Ninja.

That's all for now. It's time to show you Sand Ninjas what my Puppet Mastery is all about.

Chapter 54 Annihilation

"Wait a moment……"

Sensing that things were getting out of control, Maki shouted loudly in an attempt to buy time.

However, hundreds of puppets high in the sky simultaneously controlled chakra orbs condensed in their palms and shot down, causing a series of explosions and huge tremors that instantly resounded throughout the entire valley.

Unlike Sasori, who prefers to manipulate numerous puppets to engage in close combat, the puppets modified by the Tenseigan are all endowed with a considerable level of intelligence. They can choose their attack methods according to different situations and do not require chakra threads for control, making them practically semi-automatic.

Most importantly, although Sasori left behind a large number of human puppets, nearly three hundred, once they are damaged, Hyuga Zechen does not have Sasori's skills to repair them. Each damaged puppet is one less to repair. Unless absolutely necessary, he should directly use the chakra orbs granted to the puppets by the Tenseigan to launch a long-range attack, directly carrying out a carpet bombing, and try to avoid damaging the human puppets as much as possible.

There is no enemy in this world that cannot be defeated by overwhelming firepower.

If so, then do it again.

As long as the Tenseigan remains activated, the endless barrage of firepower is enough to destroy any enemy.

Nearly three hundred puppets simultaneously unleashed chakra orbs of light, displaying power no less than that of a Tailed Beast Ball.

In just the first round of bombardment, the number of Sand Ninja surrounding Hyuga Zetsu was reduced by half.

"It's a really intense fight!"

The massive tremor was felt even by Danzo, who was several kilometers away.

After listening intently for a while, Danzo's lips curled up slightly.

Those people from Sunagakure are truly useless. Despite having an overwhelming numerical advantage, they still managed to cause such a commotion.

After his initial shock, Danzo immediately realized that even with the Konoha patrols and his own people covering it up, such a commotion would eventually draw the attention of Konoha's higher-ups.

Having just suffered an invasion that resulted in the loss of the Hokage, Konoha is on high alert. They must erase all traces and bring Hyuga Sawatatsu back to Root before the Konoha leadership arrives!

Thinking of this, Danzo waved his hand and took the lead, running swiftly at the front of the group, showing no signs of the old age he usually had to walk with a cane.

Danzo, running at near full speed, quickly covered the five-kilometer distance. However, upon entering the forest, the scene before him caused even a ruthless individual like Danzo to pause in surprise.

The entire forest had been almost completely flattened by the aftershocks of the battle, with huge craters scattered everywhere. Hundreds of elite Sand Ninja lay dead, their blood staining the earth crimson.

clack clack...

The puppet army, which blots out the sky, floats above the forest. Even Danzo can't help but feel a little scared!

"Hmm, Lord Danzo has arrived. Thanks to your mediation, I was able to wipe out all the Sand Ninja who had invaded Konoha in one fell swoop..."

Hinata Sawatatsu still stood in the same spot. As the only place that was not bombarded by the puppets, it became a small, protruding hill against the backdrop of the dense craters all around.

None of the Sand Ninja who had desperately rushed towards Hyuga Zechen survived. Even Maki, who was closest, fell more than ten feet away, his chest pierced by a spear formed from sand iron, pinned to the ground, his eyes still filled with disbelief.

"Hyuga Zetsu, I knew I wasn't wrong. You are clearly an ambitious schemer lurking in Konoha..."

Danzo, being a cunning old fox, only maintained his shock for a few breaths before regaining his composure and immediately slapping a huge accusation on Danzo.

However, Danzo's words are not entirely wrong. After all, Hyuga Sawatatsu possessed such great strength, yet he did not demonstrate it at all during the Konoha Crush plan, which is enough to explain a lot.

"So, Lord Danzo, are you ready to become a hero? Hmm, what if you discover that the Sand Village is unwilling to accept defeat and tries to invade Konoha again, only to be discovered by Lord Danzo, who then leads the Root to perish together with the invaders? How about that scenario?"

Hyuga Sawatatsu looked at Danzo, his smile gradually turning cruel.

"The Third Hokage sacrificed himself to protect the village. As the Root that he hid in the darkness, he should also have sacrificed himself and be engraved on the memorial stone, right?"

With a series of clicking sounds, the puppet army in the sky descended half a meter, creating an even greater sense of oppression.

"Hyuga Zechen, do you think you've already beaten me?"

Danzo stared intently at Hyuga Zetsu with his single eye, then suddenly forced a somewhat ferocious smile onto his face.

Footsteps sounded, and four Root members appeared from the edge of the forest, taking Hinata hostage and walking to Danzo's side.

"If you want to ensure your fiancée's safety, give up resisting and accept the root's curse seal. Otherwise..."

As if to increase his persuasiveness, Danzo swung his kunai forcefully, the blade slicing across Hinata's face, leaving not only a shallow wound but also cutting off a lock of her black hair.

"Tsk tsk, as expected of the Dark Lord of the Ninja World... Using such despicable means to threaten your fellow villagers, no wonder the Second Hokage chose to give the Hokage position to Hiruzen Sarutobi instead of you."

Seeing Danzo so openly using hostages to threaten people, Hyuga Sawatatsu shook his head and sighed.

"What do you know? Every ninja must sacrifice themselves to achieve their goal! If I hadn't been a second too slow back then and Hiruzen hadn't seized the opportunity, the position of Third Hokage would have been mine!"

Hinata Sawatatsu's words clearly struck a nerve with Danzo, making him unable to remain calm and causing his face to contort in a ferocious expression.

Countless times in the dead of night, Danzo would recall how his hesitation, a moment too slow than Hiruzen Sarutobi, led to the Hokage position falling to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"I'll say it one more time: give up resisting, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"

With eyes full of ferocity and cruelty, Danzo stabbed Hinata in the shoulder with a kunai, the blood spurting out immediately splattering onto Danzo's face.

The next moment, white mist rose up, the transformation jutsu disappeared, revealing the face of an unfamiliar female sound ninja.

"waste!"

Danzo slapped the nearest root with his backhand and then shouted.

"Everyone, charge! Death or life!"

Having lost Hinata as a hostage, Danzo realized that capturing Hyuga Sawatatsu alive was now a pipe dream. His only hope was to use the Root members as cannon fodder to hold off Hyuga Sawatatsu and cover his own escape.

Once back in Konoha, Danzo has plenty of ways to manipulate public opinion, link the Konoha collapse plan with Hyuga Zetsu, and incite the Konoha leadership to join forces to attack Hyuga Zetsu!

However, to Danzo's disbelief, after he gave the order, not only did none of the Root members appear, but even the four members who had originally held Hinata hostage stood motionless, as if they had not heard Danzo's command.

"How can you be so rude? Didn't you hear Lord Danzo's orders?"

As soon as Hyuga Zechen finished speaking, the sound of orderly footsteps rang out, and the Root members, who were extremely familiar to Danzo, walked out of the forest one by one.

"you……"

Danzo stood there, looking at the many Root members. He saw that the look in their eyes was completely unfamiliar, and the obedient demeanor of the past was nowhere to be seen.

Chapter 55 Repeated Torture

"Kotoamatsukami?"

Danzo believed that his brainwashing of the Root members was so meticulous that any slight wavering in their will would be directly eliminated, and with the aid of the cursed seal for control, it should be foolproof.

Aside from the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, Danzo could find no other reason for the collective betrayal of the Root members.

"How could Lord Danzo wrong me? Isn't Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan right in your right eye?"

Hinata Sawatatsu smiled faintly and asked in return.

Damn it, we should have eliminated all the members who knew the inside story from the beginning...

Danzo remained silent, gradually adjusting his position, leaning his back against a giant tree to avoid being attacked by the Root members around him.

"Lord Danzo, surrender now and you might still live..."

Upon hearing Hyuga Zechen repeat his words of persuasion, Danzo's gaze sharpened, and he loosened his grip, throwing his cane to the ground.

"It seems Lord Danzo hasn't given up yet and is determined to fight to the death. Let me guess, does his confidence come from the Mangekyou Sharingan in his right eye, the Wood Release cells in his body, or the ten Sharingan on his right arm? The Uchiha clan's forbidden technique, Izanagi, is not easy to deal with..."

Hearing Hyuga Zechen reveal all his trump cards in a strange tone, Danzo's face turned as black as ink, and he slashed his right forearm with his left hand.

Clang!

The bandage wrapped around his right hand and the metal seal beneath it shattered under the hand-blade attack, scattering fragments on the ground and revealing his pale arm, which had been transplanted with Hashirama cells, and the ten three-tomoe Sharingan eyes embedded in it.

As the arm swung, those Sharingan eyes rotated slightly, giving off a nauseating and uncomfortable feeling.

"Heh, Lord Danzo, after you die, I will definitely hang your body on the Hokage Rock so that all the Konoha ninjas and villagers can come and pay their respects."

Peeping into the bloodline limits and secret techniques of various ninja clans was one of the biggest taboos in Konoha, not to mention that Danzo transplanted cells from the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

Although the Senju clan has disappeared from Konoha, and even the only surviving member, Tsunade, did not inherit the name Senju, the first two Hokage who founded Konoha were from the Senju clan, and the prestige they accumulated is unimaginable.

Suffering from hemophobia, Tsunade had been away from Konoha for many years. After being persuaded by Jiraiya and Naruto to return to the village, she immediately and without hindrance took over as the Fifth Hokage. There were many reasons for this, such as Jiraiya's humility and Tsunade's status as the world's number one medical expert, saving countless ninja lives during the Fourth Shinobi World War.

However, it is undeniable that as the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, Tsunade carries the will of two generations of Hokage. Most ninjas and villagers sincerely hope that Tsunade can lead Konoha back to the pinnacle of the ninja world.

"Hmph, the dead can't talk!"

Danzo's gaze sharpened. After releasing the seal on his arm, Danzo formed hand seals, and a surge of wind-attribute chakra enveloped his body, granting him astonishing speed. He arrived in front of Hyuga Zechen almost instantly, and his right arm, inlaid with Sharingan, swung a punch toward Hyuga Zechen's chest.

boom!

Danzo, who was still swinging his fist, suddenly froze. A wall of iron sand rose up, completely blocking Danzo's view.

The Third Kazekage's Magnet Release?

Danzo's pupils contracted, and he abruptly retreated, avoiding the numerous iron sand spikes that had condensed on the iron sand wall.

Countless iron filings rose up again, swirling around the Wind Shadow Puppet, while the spot where Hyuga Zechen had been was now empty.

"Weren't you going to expose my actions? Why are you starting to hide your true colors now?"

Danzo took several steps back again, his wary gaze sweeping around as he tried to find Hinata Sawatatsu.

However, apart from the numerous puppets in mid-air and the corpses scattered on the ground, Danzo found nothing else.

"Heh, is it because you received the First Hokage's cells that your brain isn't working properly? If I wanted to kill you, why would I have to do it myself? As a ninja, you must make good use of all your abilities to complete the mission."

Hinata Sawatatsu's words echoed around Danzo, but the sound was erratic, sometimes in the east and sometimes in the west, making it difficult for Danzo, who was constantly turning around, to pinpoint the exact location.

A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall, and Hyuga Sawa Tatsumi had no interest in trying to see if the power of the Tenseigan could withstand Kotoamatsukami.

In addition, Danzo also inscribed the Reverse Four Symbols Seal in his body. Although everyone laughed at the sealing technique for only sealing a stone bridge in the end, it was because Obito Uchiha intervened and used the space-time ninjutsu Kamui to save Sasuke.