Chapter 18: As Fierce as Fire

After listening to Danzō's proposal, Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "That does sound like a good idea..."

Danzō's expression shifted slightly. "Exactly! As long as we join forces, making Konoha reign supreme over the entire ninja world will be within our grasp!"

Naruto lowered his hand from his chin, his gaze becoming deeper. "Making Konoha reign supreme over the ninja world... Do you think that's enough?"

"Oh?" Danzō raised an eyebrow. "Could it be that you have an even grander plan?"

Naruto replied bluntly, "Of course I do. But you wouldn't understand because your vision and abilities are far too limited..."

Danzō's tone grew darker. "Abilities aside, why do you claim my vision is lacking?"

Naruto countered, "Let me ask you this—where were you and the Root when Pain attacked the village?"

Danzō defended himself, "For the future of the ninja world, proper patience and concealment are necessary. For Root to step into the light, it requires the right opportunity. With Tsunade's Slug Techniques, the village wouldn't have been completely destroyed. Those sacrifices were temporary. Once I take the position of Hokage, Konoha will enter a new era of prosperity."

He then shifted the topic. "Speaking of which, why did the Pain incident happen in the first place? Isn't it because of Jiraiya's naivety and Tsunade's indulgence? If I had been in power, Pain would never have been born, and the Akatsuki would never have risen!"

"Root's way is to nip all risks to the village's development in the bud! Tell me, where exactly is my vision lacking?"

Naruto said solemnly, "Along with the risks you eliminate, you also kill hope."

Danzō chuckled. "Hope? You want me to place the future in something as intangible as that?"

Naruto replied coldly, "Calling it intangible is exactly where your narrow-mindedness lies. Flowers wither in soil devoid of hope. Even if they manage to survive, they grow covered in poisonous thorns..."

"Danzō, you keep claiming that Pain wouldn't have been born and the Akatsuki wouldn't have risen under your watch. But the early Akatsuki was a righteous organization. It was your secret interference that caused Nagato to lose his faith, turning him into Pain and twisting the Akatsuki's ideals..."

"That's right. The one truly responsible for the village's destruction isn't Jiraiya-sensei or Tsunade-baa-chan. It's your so-called 'dark Root doctrine.'"

"In the end, you're just using the pretense of protecting the village to satisfy your own ambitions!"

"Danzō, you are unworthy of being Hokage!"

Danzō clenched his fist tightly, his aged face filled with cold fury. "So, you're refusing my proposal?"

Naruto smirked. "Baka~. With so many paths ahead, why would I choose a dead end?"

Danzō's voice dropped dangerously low. "Then leave behind your Nine-Tails and Rinnegan, and become the stepping stone for my ascent!"

During their conversation, Danzō had been gathering an unprecedented amount of chakra, preparing to unleash a move even more powerful than the ones he used against Sasuke.

After forming a series of hand seals, Danzō suddenly clasped his hands tightly in front of his chest.

—*Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!*

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Saplings broke through the earth's surface, growing into towering trees within seconds...

"The Wood Release of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju—the power that ended the Warring States Era and even suppressed the Nine-Tails! Uzumaki Naruto, bow before this power!!"

"Ughhhhhh...!!" Danzō's forehead bulged with veins as his clasped hands trembled violently. He poured all his chakra into the trees, driving them to strangle Naruto!

Observing from the sidelines, Orochimaru murmured to himself, "Using both Izanagi and Wood Release simultaneously... the chakra consumption is unimaginable. It seems Danzō has concluded that ordinary ninjutsu won't suffice against the current Naruto. After failing to negotiate, he's decided to stake everything on this gamble. Now then, Naruto, how will you respond?"

The forest erupted into chaos, shaking the earth as it advanced!

"Wood Release, huh? Perfect. There's a technique I've been wanting to try..."

Naruto's lips curled into a smile as he formed hand seals in front of his chest, taking a deep breath.

—*Sage Art: Fire Release: Great Blaze Annihilation!*

Whoosh!

A thin pillar of fire shot from Naruto's mouth, extending ten meters before erupting into a massive inferno that blocked the advancing forest. The heat was so intense it evaporated the snow in the air!

Danzō was stunned. "You've got to be kidding me! He used Fire Release to suppress my Wood Release!?"

Naruto thought to himself, "I've seen Wood Release ten times stronger than this. If you wanted to surprise me, you should've at least used 'Flower Tree World.'"

Poof!

In a puff of white smoke, Naruto's shadow clone appeared in midair at the boundary between fire and wood. The clone's hand buzzed with spinning wind blades as it hurled them downward!

—*Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!*

Boom!

The violent winds merged with the blazing flames, completely consuming the forest. The approaching wave of fire sent Danzō into a panic!

"He even has the energy to use shadow clones and such a powerful Fire Release at the same time? But after this attack, his Sage Mode should run out!"

Sizzle!

Sure enough, the orange markings around Naruto's eyes gradually faded as his Sage Mode dissipated.

Danzō glanced at his right arm, where three Sharingan remained open.

"There's no time to waste. Now's my chance..."

He pulled out a vial of his own blood and used it to perform a summoning jutsu.

Poof!

Amid a cloud of smoke, the Baku appeared. It opened its massive mouth, sucking in the raging flames at the cost of its own life, and vanished with a scream!

Sssshhh!

Using the opening created by sacrificing his summoned beast, Danzō infused wind chakra into his shuriken and hurled them forward in rapid succession, using them as a diversion while charging at Naruto.

With his Rinnegan, Naruto's visual perception had far surpassed his former self. He easily tracked the trajectory of every Wind Release shuriken, dodging them nimbly. For those he couldn't avoid, he skillfully used kunai to deflect them through the holes in the shuriken.

Most importantly, he refrained from using *Shinra Tensei!* As long as he kept that technique in reserve, Danzō wouldn't dare approach recklessly to steal his eyes!

Frustrated by his failed attempts to bait Naruto into using his techniques, Danzō frowned and formed another set of seals.

—*Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!*

Whoosh!

A powerful gust of wind, sharp as a sickle, shot from Danzō's mouth, sweeping across the battlefield.

Naruto leaped into the air, his body horizontal as the wind narrowly grazed his back!

Danzō's eyes hardened as he slammed his right hand onto the ground.

—*Wood Release: Violent Spear Technique!*

Boom!

Sharp wooden spikes erupted from the ground directly beneath Naruto!

"!" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.

Poof! A substitution jutsu activated, and the wooden spikes pierced a log instead. Naruto landed safely five meters away.

At the same time, his second shadow clone, which had been storing Sage Chakra, dispelled itself, allowing Naruto to re-enter Sage Mode!

"Tch! What a troublesome brat. But if I calculate correctly, my right eye's ability should be ready to activate by now..."

[Note: In this timeline, Danzō didn't use Kotoamatsukami on the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, so its cooldown time has been shortened.]

Danzō calculated in his mind as he glanced at his right arm to check the remaining time for Izanagi.

To his shock, he saw that the number of open Sharingan hadn't changed—it was still three!

"Impossible! It was three just now, so why is it still three!?"

Hiss!

Danzō drew a sharp breath, realizing a catastrophic truth.

Could it be... that Izanagi hadn't activated!?

Unbeknownst to him, his excessive use of Wood Release beyond his capacity had drained his chakra to the point where it fell below the threshold required to activate Izanagi!

Naruto's eyes gleamed as a smirk spread across his face.

Danzō panicked. "No!"

Swish!

In the next instant, Naruto teleported directly in front of Danzō using the Flying Raijin mark he'd left on him earlier. His left hand traced a swift arc.

Slash! Accompanied by a spray of blood, Danzō's right eye was forcibly gouged from its socket...!!

"Ughhhhhh...!!" Danzō screamed in agony, clutching his bleeding eye as he staggered backward!

Crack! Crack! Crack!!

To make matters worse, the arm implanted with Hashirama's cells began to lose control...

Orochimaru sighed. "Danzō is finished. The gap in strength is now painfully clear. At this point, Naruto-kun has already surpassed the level of a Hokage..."