"Ahhh… it hurts! My head hurts so much!"
The invisible Yin Release chakra seeped in, but Izayoi didn't feel a thing.
Because just like those ninjutsu techniques that were blown apart by Shinra Tensei, the chakra hadn't even entered Izayoi's body before it was repelled and dispersed by a formless rule-based power—leaving the caster with a severe backlash.
The miserable screaming came from Yamanaka Kaze, who had been hiding in the shadows, waiting for a one-hit kill opportunity. His plan was to seize Izayoi's body and retrieve the Rinnegan for Lord Danzō.
Izayoi's gaze pierced the darkness. Watching Yamanaka Kaze roll on the ground clutching his head, eyes bulging from the pain, Izayoi was silent for a moment, then muttered in his hometown dialect, "Dumbass."
Using mental-type Yin Release techniques on an Ōtsutsuki—especially one who had awakened an ultimate dōjutsu—was basically asking to die.
Aside from taijutsu and rule-type powers, the Ōtsutsuki clan had inhuman levels of resistance across the board.
And this was just a red-grade Ōtsutsuki bloodline.
If it were a pure-blooded alien Ōtsutsuki, their resistance could outright negate ninjutsu, and even kekkei mōra or god-level genjutsu techniques.
Just that alone would be enough to make 99% of ninja feel despair.
"Continue. Use wide-range tactics."
No one paid attention to Yamanaka Kaze's pitiful screams.
In the darkness, Shimura Danzō's voice echoed.
His voice blended into the Wind Release technique. If Izayoi didn't have the Tenseigan and the Kagura Shingan, he wouldn't have been able to locate him at all.
"Fire Style: Hiding in Ash!"
A small crack opened in the barrier. Four Root members formed hand seals and blew thick clouds of ash into the barrier, instantly turning the interior into a gray haze.
Before the barrier fully closed, the four of them bit down hard, and a spark ignited the ash inside like a lit fuse. A massive orange-red flame erupted, about to trigger a devastating explosion.
"Shinra Tensei."
The repulsive force storm once again blasted away the ash and flames, violently striking the barrier.
This time, the force of the shockwave was astonishing.
The barrier ballooned like an overinflated tire, severely distorted.
Though it didn't rupture due to its toughness, the four casters saw it pushing toward them.
Even though they had cast it themselves, the flames on the barrier didn't differentiate friend from foe.
Before they could dispel it, the barrier slammed into them.
"Ahhh—!"
With a chorus of screams, the Four Violet Flames Formation vanished instantly. The repulsive shockwave blasted outward, shattering the stone bridge and kicking up dense clouds of dust.
The already dim underground base was plunged into pitch darkness, not even a hand visible in front of one's face.
Izayoi, who had been about to increase the pressure and test the Four Violet Flames Formation's limit, paused slightly.
Looking down at the four charred corpses beneath the broken bridge, he shook his head and muttered softly, "What a waste... premium leeks, all of them."
Just as he spoke, his eyes lit up as if he saw something.
Without hesitation, Izayoi unleashed another repulsive force shockwave, blasting away invisible, microscopic nano-level poison bugs.
The moment he landed, all kinds of colored ninjutsu came flying at him from every direction again.
But once again, none even touched Izayoi—instantly dispersed by his merciless repulsion.
The Root members clearly realized the strength of this ability. They no longer tried to trap Izayoi in a barrier and instead used Earth Release to turn the ground into a swamp, launching all sorts of long-range ninjutsu to force Izayoi to repeatedly use that power—for intelligence gathering, on Danzō's orders.
"Why haven't the other squads arrived yet? Didn't you pass on my command?"
In the darkness, Shimura Danzō glanced at the slightly-recovered Yamanaka Kaze and questioned him.
"I informed everyone. If they're not here yet, they've likely encountered enemies," Yamanaka Kaze said, holding his aching head. "Earlier, I sensed several chakra signatures—probably his subordinates. But their chakra isn't that strong. Unless they're picking them off one by one, they shouldn't be able to handle even one squad."
At those words, Danzō's expression eased a little.
Then he turned to Aburame Torune, who had failed multiple sneak attacks. "Torune, have you figured it out?"
"Yes, Lord Danzō."
Aburame Torune nodded. "This man's technique is extremely unique and powerful. It can repel and disperse all ninjutsu, and the cooldown is very short. But it does have a flaw—when he wants to release a powerful repulsion, he needs to charge up briefly, and a green aura appears around him during that phase."
"If it's used back-to-back, the second blast—assuming there are no structures nearby—basically becomes an enhanced version of Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. If you have strong physical defenses, you might be able to tank the second hit."
"He seems aware of this too, so he rarely uses it consecutively, preferring to hover in place or charge up in the air. That's when he's most vulnerable, but…"
Torune paused.
Yamanaka Kaze picked up where he left off, staring at Izayoi who was being 'suppressed' by firepower. "But his Yin Release chakra is extremely strong. The Yamanaka clan's secret techniques don't work on him—probably the same with genjutsu. If we want to force an opening, we have to stop both his charge-up and his instant-cast. That's just not possible."
"And," Torune added, "my bugs told me—his chakra reserves are enormous. A war of attrition to drain him is probably unrealistic."
"Flight, integrated offense and defense, and seemingly unlimited usage of that jutsu… plus the technique that summons a giant beast—so this is the power of the Rinnegan?"
Danzō looked at Izayoi with eyes full of greed and hunger. "The most supreme of the Three Great Dōjutsu… surely these aren't its only powers."
Looks like he'd have to step in personally.
Danzō had already formed a plan in his mind.
Without hesitation, he unwrapped the bandage over his right eye and removed the seal covering the Sharingan-equipped arm. He gave a few signal hand gestures to Yamanaka Kaze and Aburame Torune.
The two nodded immediately and vanished with Body Flicker.
Meanwhile, Izayoi, who was playing turn-based combat with Root members—you attack, I repel, you attack again, I repel again—was in an exceptionally good mood.
Because every so often, a blue or green light beam would fly in from somewhere, pierce through all obstacles, and enter his body.
Sometimes, even purple beams appeared.
Every time one entered, a system notification rang in his head, and Izayoi would unhesitatingly disassemble the entry into points.
The points kept rising. Sometimes it was a random double-digit or triple-digit jump, and even four-digit increases.
From Danzō and the others' perspective, Izayoi was being suppressed by their firepower, forced to passively stand still and trade stamina.
But from Izayoi's perspective, the Root members were all precious treasures. He couldn't bring himself to hit them too hard.
If they accidentally killed themselves, Izayoi would genuinely feel heartbroken—like suffering a massive wallet bleed when you're broke.
If Kado was the world's top tycoon, then in Izayoi's eyes, Root was a jackpot of points.
Thanks to Danzō's high standards, every Root member started at green-level entries as chunin, up to blue-level jōnin, and even some with purple bloodline limit traits.
And very few had just one trait—most started with two or three.
On the outside, it took Izayoi's human puppets several kills to drop one green entry.
But killing Root members? Every two people basically guaranteed a green or blue trait, or even a double-drop.
He'd never seen such a high drop rate since getting the talent trait system.
In that moment, Izayoi felt a little teary-eyed.
His good days… had finally arrived.
The anxiety over leveling too slowly and getting outpaced or surpassed in Shippuden, with aliens arriving and the Shinobi World edging into the era of kekkei mōra and god-level jutsu… had finally been cured.