Danzo And Hell's paradise prowess.

The next morning, I sent a wood clone to check if Danzō was present within the Root headquarters while I stayed back to focus on training.

Today's goal was mastering my third jutsu from the Wood Release advanced scroll—Great Binding Spear Tree. I had already perfected Great Forest Burial, so this one was the natural next step.

I summoned shadow clones beside me. They immediately joined the training effort. With multiple minds working together, progress would be faster.

By midday, my wood clone sent back a message—Danzō had arrived.

Without wasting a second, I used Mayfly and swiftly tunneled through the earth, arriving near Root's underground base. After confirming that Danzō was indeed in his private chamber, I dispersed my clone and silently observed.

Inside, Danzō's face was contorted with rage. He was yelling at one of his Root subordinates.

"You scouted the area in Kusagakure, didn't you?! You said there were three jōnin and several others. So how did that Senju brat complete the mission and return alive? He couldn't possibly have defeated all of them!"

The shinobi in front of him kept his head bowed low, not daring to respond.

"Leave," Danzō snapped.

The man bowed again and exited the chamber without a word.

Danzō grumbled, pacing in frustration. After a few minutes, he seemed to arrive at his own conclusion.

Tsunade must have followed the boy, he muttered to himself. She fought the jōnin while the kid dealt with the weaker ones... and maybe the Kusagakure shinobi helped too.

His plan had been simple. After I died, he would send elite Root agents to identify and eliminate those mysterious ninja, framing it as an A-rank follow-up mission. But now, not only had I survived—he didn't even know who those shinobi were.

While he processed his failure, I smirked from the shadows. His thoughts weren't hard to predict. And now, it was time to act.

I slowly emerged from the wall, stepping into his room.

Danzō turned the moment he sensed chakra movement. Without hesitation, he fired off Vacuum Bullets, dozens of them, screaming through the air.

But I calmly raised my hand, forming a triple-layered semi-wooden dome. The bullets clanged harmlessly off the barrier.

The dome sank back into the earth. Danzō narrowed his eyes and retreated cautiously. Then, when he saw me clearly, his expression twisted in disbelief.

He unsheathed a blade and coated it with high-pressure wind chakra—Vacuum Blade.

He was ready to fight. But I didn't move.

He studied me warily. After a moment, he finally asked the question I was waiting for.

"How did you get here, Ren Senju?"

I chuckled. "Danzō, don't be so nervous. If I wanted you dead... I could've killed you already."

His eyes narrowed with fury. In an instant, he flickered away—only to appear in a new part of the chamber.

But I was faster, easily predicting his movement trajectory. I flickered.

The moment he stopped moving, I was already behind him, kunai pressed to his throat.

"If you move," I said coldly, "you die."

The killing intent I released was real—sharp and suffocating. Danzō froze. His instincts screamed at him to fight, but his body wouldn't obey.

So you're finally realizing... it wasn't Tsunade. It was me. I killed those jōnin myself.

He understood. And for the first time, he lowered his chakra just slightly.

Satisfied, I flickered back to my original position. Danzō turned slowly, eyes unreadable.

"What do you want?" he asked.

I smiled. "Well, I haven't done anything to you. But you've already tried to get me killed. So tell me—why should I hold back?"

As I spoke, I released another wave of killing intent, subtle but clear.

Danzō's face hardened. "You can't kill me. I'm a shadow kage of the Leaf. By now, Root shinobi are already surrounding this room. You missed your window."

I laughed.

"Missed it? You really think I came here just to kill you?"

Before he could respond, I activated Hell's Paradise.

A flicker. His eyes glazed over. My chakra laced around his mind, planting a single unshakable thought deep in his subconscious:

The Senju Clan is a valuable asset to the village. You must protect them with your life—it is your duty as the man entrusted by Tobirama Senju.

With that, I also erased every trace of this encounter from his memory.

His body swayed slightly.

I used Mayfly again and vanished, just moments before the Root shinobi burst through the doors.

They looked around, confused.

Danzō blinked back to awareness, still holding his blade—wind chakra still crackling around it.

One of the shinobi asked, "Is everything alright, Danzō-sama?"

He stared down at the blade for a moment.

"…I was just practicing," he muttered. "You may leave."

Though confused, the Root ninja bowed and left without protest.

As the room cleared out, Danzō sat down, slowly sheathing his weapon. Somewhere deep in his mind, a new thought had taken root—to protect the Senju Clan. He didn't know where it came from, but he accepted it.

After all, Tobirama Senju had always been his guiding light.

Meanwhile, I had already returned to my training ground.

The entire encounter had taken less than ten minutes.

I once again summoned shadow clones and continued my training. My clones would share their progress the moment they dispersed. Until then, I would keep pushing forward.

Because I wasn't done yet—not even close.