In the forest, two people were fighting.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Danzo Shimura’s hands surged with a bluish-white Chakra vortex, and wind blades tore through the air, flying towards the Sand Ninja nearby.
The Sand Ninja in front of him was a Puppet Master, manipulating three human puppets with Chakra threads.
Facing the incoming wind blades, the Puppet Master sneered, and as his ten fingers danced, the abdomens of the three puppets burst open, unleashing a torrent of dense, poisonous needles like a downpour.
Danzo Shimura’s pupils constricted, and the Wind Release shield rippled under the impact of the poisonous needles.
He quickly retreated, dodging the attack.
The poisonous needles landed on the ground, and a pungent, corrosive odor filled the air.
The Puppet Master seized the opportunity to control the puppets to form a triangular formation, and chains shot out from their joints, trapping Danzo in the center; the chains were coated with black venom, which dripped onto the ground, emitting plumes of white smoke.
"Petty tricks," Danzo growled, rapidly forming hand seals, and the Wind Release transformed into invisible blades, severing the chains.
However, the Puppet Master’s attacks were relentless, like a surging tide; the foremost puppet suddenly opened its chest cavity, revealing Exploding Tags stored inside.
Upon seeing this, Danzo quickly moved away from the Exploding Tag’s blast radius.
Seeing that he couldn't quickly defeat his opponent, the Puppet Master clearly became anxious.
The battle here had definitely exposed his location, and if he didn't kill the Konoha Ninja in front of him soon...
Once other Konoha Ninja arrived as reinforcements, he would be in danger.
After all, this was the Land of Fire's territory, so the battle had to be resolved quickly.
Thinking this, the Puppet Master frantically moved his ten fingers, controlling the remaining two puppets to attack.
Facing the Puppet Master's frenzied fighting style, Danzo's Wind Release offensive noticeably weakened, and cold sweat trickled down his face.
Suddenly, a cold glint flashed, and a poisoned steel needle precisely pierced his right arm.
Danzo’s expression changed, and he thought, "This isn't good," quickly pulling out the steel needle, from which thick, black blood flowed.
"Hahahahaha!" The Puppet Master cackled wildly, his eyes full of mockery, "Once you're poisoned by me, no one can survive!"
Danzo's arm turned purplish-blue at a visible rate.
Danzo knelt on one knee, his left hand tightly pressing his poisoned right arm, veins bulging on his forehead, his eyes filled with unwillingness.
Was he going to die here?
Damn it, he hadn't even become Hokage yet!
To die like this, he was truly unwilling...
Danzo could clearly feel his body gradually becoming cold, a symptom of the poisoning.
If Utatane Koharu were here, it would be good; perhaps there would still be a way.
However, in his current state, he probably wouldn't last until Koharu arrived.
Just at this critical moment, a sharp blade light streaked across the night sky.
Renye held his Tachi, his posture as agile as a leopard, and the blade gleamed with a cold light.
He stood in front of Danzo, saying without turning his head:
"Danzo, hold on."
With that, Renye's figure turned into an afterimage, charging towards the Puppet Master.
The Puppet Master's expression drastically changed; he hadn't expected the Konoha Ninja's reinforcements to be so fast and immediately controlled his puppets to launch a more ferocious attack.
Renye's crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, clearly capturing every subtle hand gesture of the Puppet Master.
When the sky-full of poisonous needles attacked again, his figure was like a phantom, easily dodging them.
"Oh, you're quite good with poison, aren't you?" Renye chuckled, and a kunai from his hand flew past the Puppet Master's ear.
The Puppet Master tilted his head to dodge, and at that moment, he realized with horror that Renye had already appeared close by, he didn't know when.
He hadn't expected the Body Flicker Technique of this Konoha Ninja to be so strong, so fast that he couldn't react at all!
A cold light flashed, and the Tachi, imbued with killing intent, slashed down.
The Puppet Master hastily turned sideways, and with the sound of tearing cloth, warm blood flowed from the wound on his abdomen.
He said with lingering fear, "That was close, you almost killed me!"
Seeing this, Renye sighed helplessly.
The 'beggar's version' truly wasn't as good as the original.
If it were the original Flying Thunder God Slash, this guy would have died long ago.
His Body Flicker Technique was still too slow; it seemed he still needed to practice it diligently before completely mastering the Flying Thunder God.
Just then, the Puppet Master suddenly felt something was wrong with his body.
"You... what did you do to me?!"
Only then did he realize that the Konoha Ninja in front of him also knew how to use poison.
Moreover, this poison was even more potent than what he had developed.
The Puppet Master instinctively reached for his Ninja pouch and took out an antidote pill.
He swallowed the antidote, then breathed a sigh of relief.
The antidote he had developed would definitely neutralize the poison in his body.
Just as the Puppet Master was reassuring himself, he suddenly discovered with horror that he was foaming at the mouth!
A gurgling sound came from his throat, and before his consciousness faded, he heard a cold voice.
"Your poison and antidote are too trashy."
Renye sheathed his Tachi, deactivated his Sharingan, and turned his gaze to Danzo, who was kneeling on the ground, his face ashen.
"Danzo, are you alright?"
Danzo Shimura struggled to lift his head, weakly saying, "Renye, I think I'm dying..."
He was truly so unwilling!
He hadn't even become Hokage, and he was going to die in a place like this.
After he died, the strong contenders for the Hokage position would only be Renye and Hiruzen.
They must be very happy to know that they've lost a competitor, right?
"After becoming Hokage, you must protect the Village well..." Danzo Shimura looked at Renye, his eyes full of pleading, "No matter whether you or Hiruzen become Hokage, you must protect the Village."
Since he couldn't become Hokage, then before he died, he would tell them how to become a qualified Hokage!
Hearing this, Renye was slightly taken aback.
The current Danzo truly loved the Village, completely different from the selfish, unscrupulous 'Pot King' of the future who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
"Uchiha Renye, promise me!" Danzo raised his voice, "If you two don't protect the Village well, I'll haunt you as a ghost... Mmm mmm."
"What are you mumbling about? Here, take your medicine."
Renye didn't wait for him to finish speaking, taking an antidote from his Ninja pouch and stuffing it into his mouth.
If he could create poison, he could naturally create an antidote.
He could easily neutralize the crude poison of a Sand Ninja Puppet Master.
"What did you give me?" Danzo Shimura looked horrified.
He was giving his last words perfectly fine, and then Renye suddenly stuffed a dark, lumpy thing into his mouth.
The thing melted instantly upon contact, and a bitter taste immediately spread through his mouth.
This guy wouldn't be giving him more poison because he thought he was dying too slowly, would he?
The more Danzo thought about it, the more he felt it was possible; this was truly something Renye would do.
After all, this guy had become increasingly evil these past few years...
As Danzo's mind raced, he suddenly realized his body no longer felt uncomfortable.
His previously stiff body gradually recovered, and the pain had significantly lessened.
"Hahahaha, I don't have to die!" Danzo laughed excitedly, looking up at the sky.
As he laughed, he recalled the scene of him giving his last words just now, and the smile on his face instantly froze.
He cautiously turned his head, only to see Renye looking at him with a half-smile.
Danzo: "..."
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