Chapter 453

"Want to talk?"

Upon hearing the Third Hokage's words, Dong Shilang did not immediately refuse, but instead turned his gaze toward Tuanzang, who was behind the Third Hokage.

This old man, as soon as the Third Hokage showed up, immediately hid at his side, and just a moment ago was still urging the Third Hokage to fight me.

Now seeing the situation turn bad, he has quietly shifted his feet, apparently… planning to flee?

"Tuanzang Elder, where do you plan to go?" Watching his actions, Dong Shilang snorted: "The matter isn't over yet, and you want to leave?"

"We can talk, but first kill the bastard who killed Shisui!"

Looking at the Third Hokage, Dong Shilang is not in a hurry now; he has seized absolute initiative, and he has plenty of time to wrangle with the Third Hokage.

"Tuanzang…"

Hearing Dong Shilang's request, the Third Hokage's eyes twitched involuntarily, his gaze sweeping over Tuanzang, then he took a deep breath and said:

"Tuanzang… you… harmed fellow villagers, stole others' bloodline limits, sowed discord between the village leadership and the Uchiha clan; I now, in the name of the Hokage, declare the removal of all your duties… and…"

And what? The Third Hokage ultimately couldn't say it, instead painfully closing his eyes and issuing an order to the ANBU behind him.

"Kakashi, take your men and detain Elder Tuanzang!" After giving the order, he pondered a bit, his tone somewhat hesitant, saying: "If they resist, kill them on the spot!"

After saying that, the Third Hokage seemed to have his vitality drained in an instant, his whole person becoming extraordinarily aged.

Things have come to this point; besides pushing everything onto Tuanzang, he has no other recourse, but to say that his childhood companions share only a relationship of interest would also be inaccurate.

"Rizhan… you!"

Glancing at the Third Hokage, Tuanzang's face turned deathly pale; he very much wanted to say that Dong Shilang's words were not trustworthy, that the other party was merely deceiving you.

But after looking at the First and Second Hokage standing before him, he realized he couldn't change Sarutobi's mind.

From the moment the opponent summoned the First Hokage, his fate was already sealed.

"Damn… as long as you give me a little more time, Shisui's Separate Heaven God can be unleashed!"

Feeling the eye technique still cooling in his eye sockets, a thought arose in Tuanzang's mind.

"Elder Tuanzang… please cooperate!"

Bringing Yamato and another subordinate, Kakashi stepped forward a few steps, staring warily at Shimura Tuanzang, ready to respond to any counterattack at any moment.

This 'Shinobi of Darkness' is not the type to surrender meekly!

"Hmph… want this old man to surrender and await death!"

"Dream on!"

With a disdainful cold snort, Tuanzang's silhouette turned into a blur, rushing toward the Uchiha and the First Hokage's position opposite them.

"Yamato!"

Calling out to his companion nearby, the foresighted Kakashi, with a swish, drew the ninja sword from his back and blocked in front of Tuanzang.

"Wood Release: Diamond Wood!"

Yamato moved extremely quickly; at Kakashi's call, he immediately clasped his hands, generating a large number of wooden obstacles in front of Tuanzang to help Kakashi intercept him.

And Kakashi, the ninja sword in his hand, had already slashed toward Tuanzang.

"Trivial trick!"

"Wind Release: Vacuum Chain Wave!"

Taking a deep breath, Tuanzang had already prepared his seals before making his decision; he opened his mouth and exhaled, sending out thin wind blades from his mouth.

Not only did it disrupt Kakashi's attack rhythm and destroy Yamato's Diamond Wood, but many wind blades also sliced toward the direction where the Uchiha were.

"Death throes!"

The Sharingan in his eyes rotating, Dong Shilang's gaze swept over Tuanzang; with a thought, the First Hokage clad in red armor stepped forward, blocking these Wind Release attacks.

Boom! Boom! A few low, muffled sounds rang out; the First Hokage didn't even use ninjutsu, directly using his chakra-filled hands to neutralize Tuanzang's attack.

And that wasn't all; his hands likewise clasped together, beginning to activate his ability.

Sprouts began to break through the ground beneath his feet, rapidly sprouting and growing into waist-thick vines that swarmed toward Tuanzang.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, Tuanzang's face darkened; besides cursing aloud, he had no other recourse, as the First Hokage's assault had already reached him.

Not only him, but even the Third Hokage and others behind him all had their faces grow grim.

A First Hokage capable of using Wood Release is not something an ordinary person can handle.

Especially Kushina; her chakra seemed to have undergone some abnormal fluctuations, and the Nine-Tails aura on her body had considerably subsided.

"No good, these vines are too hard to deal with!"

Constantly shifting position within the First Hokage's Wood Release to dodge attacks coming from all directions, Tuanzang glanced at the distance between himself and Dong Shilang, then formed seals with his hands.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Large Sphere!"

A wind sphere several meters in diameter shot toward Dong Shilang's direction.

And Tuanzang himself followed behind that wind sphere, continuing to charge forward.

Swish!

A light sound came from behind Tuanzang.

"This is…"

The highly tense Danzo sensed something odd behind him and threw several shuriken backward.

No… it's ahead…

Before he could catch his breath, a figure in blue lamellar armor appeared again before him.

Smack!

Just as he was about to block, the vines at his side whipped like a whip and lashed at him.

This was a front-and-rear pincer strike; before he could decide how to block, a sandbag‑sized fist kept looming larger in his sight.

Boom!

A spray of fresh blood jetted from Tuan Zang's mouth, followed by several blood-stained teeth flying everywhere. Before Tuan Zang could recover from his dizziness, the First Generation's Wood Release bound him tightly from head to toe.

"Distance enough~"

Looking at Dong Shilang, who was just over twenty meters away, and the Second and First Generations not far beside him, black curse markings began to appear on Tuan Zang's body.

"It's the Li Four Symbols Seal!"

A cry of surprise rang out; Jiu Xinnai, skilled in sealing techniques, had been monitoring the battlefield's changes. Seeing the curse markings appear on Tuan Zang's body, her face suddenly changed.

"Withdraw quickly, this seal's affected range reaches two to three hundred meters; if we don't withdraw now, it'll be too late!"

The Li Four Symbols Seal is a mutual-destruction sealing technique; once activated, anything within a radius of nearly three hundred meters around the user will be sealed away by this ninjutsu.

Although the user will eventually die, the power of this ninjutsu is undoubted.