"Sometimes you must hurt in order to know, fall in order to grow, lose in order to gain."

  — Madara Uchiha, Naruto Shippuden

  --

  So he stalled.

  His voice rang out sharp and accusing.

  "Danzo!"

  "Are you colborating with a missing-nin? With the enemy of the vilge? Orochimaru? Do you realize what this means?"

  The old warhawk stiffened, his one good eye gring at Shisui. His Mangekyō Sharingan was gone. Blood still dripped from the ruined socket Otis had left him, staining the bandages he clutched against his face.

  Danzo's lips curled back in a snarl. His pride, already battered by Otis, twisted his features into something feral.

  "You speak as though you know everything, boy. But what has Konoha given me? What has it given any of us who bear the weight of its true survival?" His voice cracked, raw with venom. "I take what the Hokage is too weak to hold and I will do what must be done."

  He didn't deny it. Instead, his words dripped with poison. "Konoha has nothing left to offer"

  "Kukuku…" Orochimaru's ughter coiled through the chamber like a snake.

  Danzo ignored him, his eye locked on Shisui. "That boy—Otis—is mine. He is the key to everything. And since you've come here yourself, don't think of leaving alive. None of you will."

  Danzo's fingers twitched. That was all it took.

  Root descended and with that, chaos erupted.

  The two subordinates of Orochimaru struck first, their movements sharp and inhuman, bdes gleaming in the dim light. At the same time, Root operatives poured forward, weapons drawn, emotionless masks betraying nothing but intent to kill.

  Shisui's voice cracked like a whip.

  "Kids! Get back! Find cover, now!"

  Shisui didn't hesitate.

  The world blurred.

  He vanished.

  The Sharingan whirled in his eyes, three tomoe spinning into lethal crity. His body flickered—faster than the eye could follow, afterimages scattering around the battlefield.

  A murder of crows burst into existence, feathers bckening the air, wings beating, feathers scattering, blotting out sound and vision.

  Shisui's tanto cut clean through the throat of Orochimaru's first subordinate. Blood sprayed across the stone as the man colpsed in a heap.

  A root shinobi barely had time to react before a kunai darted toward his chest. He twisted, deflecting it with a hiss, but found himself face-to-face with Shisui's Sharingan, spinning, hypnotic.

  "Burn."

  A massive fireball roared from Shisui's lips, engulfing everyone in front of him. Three shinobi screamed as the fmes consumed them, their body twisting, skin bckening until nothing but charred husks hit the ground.

  The other Root operatives closed in, but they weren't fighting some average jōnin.

  Shisui moved like a phantom, his bde fshing, his genjutsu weaving illusions into their eyes. A kunai ssh that should have pierced his neck instead cut through an afterimage. A strike aimed for his spine met nothing but smoke as crows scattered.

  Each counterattack was precise. Deadly. One Root fell, throat slit. Another convulsed as a shuriken buried into his temple.

  Then—

  The bear.

  The great white beast barreled through the wreckage, its snowy fur stained red. Its jaws snapped down, biting a Root shinobi in half, spraying gore across the stones. With a savage swing, it flung another into the wall, bones shattering on impact. The beast roared, and the ground trembled. It had learned to harness chakra—its cws sliced everything in their path.

  The children watched in stunned silence, their hiding pce trembling as the ground shook from the bear's attacks.

  Sayuri gritted her teeth. "Damn it… I can't just sit here."

  Then—

  One of Shisui's kunai spun through the air, a perfect strike, aimed directly at the second of Orochimaru's subordinates. The man was cornered, his body was already failing, blood dripping from earlier cuts. Death was inevitable—

  Until pale hands shot out, catching the bde.

  Clink.

  The kunai's tip hovered just above his throat—then froze. Two pale, serpentine hands gripped the weapon firmly, holding it midair.

  Orochimaru.

  He stepped forward with an eerie grace. His eyes gleamed with unnatural hunger as he looked at Shisui.

  "My, my," he said, his tongue snaking out to taste the air. "You truly live up to the name… Shisui of the Body Flicker. What a specimen you would make."

  A low chuckle slid from his lips as his gaze shifted to Sayuri and Sasuke. "I wonder… which one will scream first?"

  Shisui's grip on his tanto tightened. "Stay away from them."

  The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

  Shisui moved, his body already flickering into motion, faster than breath.

  The ringing csh of steel echoed in the ruined chamber as a kunai veered off course, sparks bursting in the dim light. Shisui staggered back a step, his bde still raised,

  The snake sannin remained eerily calm, his pale face twisted into hungry amusement. His golden eyes gleamed as he raised a hand, a smear of his own blood streaked across his wrist.

  "My, my," he whispered, voice low and silken. His tongue slipped out to taste the blood. "So feisty."

  Shisui narrowed his eyes, adjusting his stance. The wound was shallow—just a graze on Orochimaru's wrist.

  The room fell silent for a heartbeat. Both men poised, eyes locked.

  No one dared move. Even the Root.

  Danzo remained lurking in the back while all this happened like a vulture. His good eye narrowed, studying Shisui. He had no intention of fighting Shisui head-on. The old vulture knew his limits. He was no match for the Uchiha prodigy. Instead, he hid behind the swarm of Root shinobi. As always, Danzo pyed the coward—commanding from the shadows while others bled for him.

  "Do it," he hissed coldly.

  Root operatives stepped forward, weapons gleaming, faces emotionless.

  But Sayuri, Sasuke, Hinata—were already pinned in pce. Not by the Root. Not by Danzo.

  By Orochimaru.

  The Sannin's killing intent spilled into the chamber like a tide of poison, suffocating and inescapable. It pressed against every lung, every vein, every heartbeat.

  Sayuri, Sasuke, and Hinata staggered under the weight of it. Their legs trembled, rooted to the stone floor. Sweat beaded on their foreheads as their bodies screamed to run, but their instincts betrayed them—paralyzed, prey caught in the gre of a predator.

  In the back, Naruto crouched low, hidden behind a broken pilr. Even he wasn't immune to the pressure. His own legs shook, and his hands clenched the ground.

  Danzo's voice cut through, harsh and commanding. "From the back. Surround them!"

  --

  (A/N)

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