Danzo's eyes widened in shock. Ikeizumi's speed was terrifying, and the scorching heat radiating from the magma arm burned his eyes and skin. The thick sulfurous scent filled his nostrils, and the sense of impending death grew stronger.
If he was touched…
He would die!
Throwing caution to the wind, Danzo rolled backward in a desperate, clumsy escape, tumbling several times before narrowly avoiding the attack.
"Lord Danzo!" a Root ninja shouted, making Danzo realize he hadn't fully escaped.
A sharp pain shot through his left ear. He gasped, smelling burnt flesh. Reaching up, he found his left ear was gone.
Looking up, Danzo saw Ikeizumi had broken free from the encirclement and leapt high into the air. His magma right arm began to visibly swell, like a volcano gathering terrifying power.
"Rookie, stay back."
The Anbu ninja watching the Jinchuriki Naruto, seeing this, abandoned all caution. He scooped Naruto up and fled at top speed, desperate to escape the danger zone.
Izumi's wide, panicked eyes instantly turned scarlet. Sensing the threat, she activated the three-tomoe Sharingan she had awakened at five years old, after witnessing her father's death at the Nine-Tails' hands. The spinning tomoe rapidly drained her chakra, draining the color from her face, but unleashed unprecedented ocular power.
She used this power to dodge.
Izumi trusted Ikeizumi wouldn't have told her to keep her distance without reason.
She chose to believe in her senior.
Below, two Root ninjas formed hand seals in perfect unison.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!" they shouted simultaneously.
Two massive torrents surged upward toward Ikeizumi.
"Melt Release: Great Eruption."
Ikeizumi's right arm, now larger than his entire body, crashed downward. The chakra-formed magma exploded like a volcanic eruption, forming a colossal magma fist that slammed toward the ground with unimaginable force.
Boom!
The collision of molten and water releases sent up clouds of scalding steam, thick with a pungent, toxic odor that spread wildly.
Though Ikeizumi's Molten Release resembled that of Old Purple from Iwagakure—both magma-based—the volcanic eruption-like impact was unique to Ikeizumi.
The two Root ninjas stared in shock as the giant magma fist evaporated their Water Release and continued crushing downward.
"Protect Lord Danzo!"
Boom!
One Root ninja grabbed Danzo and dodged quickly, but the other was half a step too slow. When the magma fist slammed into the earth, molten rock splashed over half his body.
"Aaaah!" The ninja's agonized scream drew everyone's attention.
Half his body seemed to have been erased as if wiped from existence.
The parts touched by magma were ablaze.
A massive crater appeared in the street, like a boiling pool of lava.
"This is… Uchiha Ikeizumi, the dual bloodline limit prodigy who rose to fame during the Third Great Ninja War, rivaling even Uchiha Shisui in renown—the Molten Beast of the Uchiha clan?"
The Anbu ninja holding Naruto coughed violently from the sulfurous fumes, drenched in cold sweat.
Thankfully, he had wisely chosen not to engage Ikeizumi in combat.
Otherwise, he wasn't sure he would have survived.
"Uchiha Ikeizumi!" Danzo's aged face darkened, veins bulging on his hand as he gripped his bandages tightly.
Danzo was not afraid of Ikeizumi. To him, this naturally "evil" Uchiha brat was just an inexperienced youth.
Now, Danzo hesitated whether to reveal his Sharingan in public.
Damn it…
If only he had brought more Root guards.
Ikeizumi's body landed atop magma hot enough to vaporize flesh. Yet, he was unaffected. Molten droplets dripped from him, burning smoky craters into the ground.
Far away in the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly sensed unusual commotion outside.
As he turned, a ninja pigeon flew in.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
He remembered clearly—the Anbu ninja assigned to observe and protect Naruto had summoned that very pigeon.
"Lord Hokage! Lord Hokage!" The pigeon spoke sharply, "Bad news! Uchiha Ikeizumi and Danzo Shimura are fighting! The Jinchuriki Uzumaki Naruto is caught in the crossfire!"
Hiruzen sprang to his feet.
"Danzo!" His expression darkened. "Didn't I just tell you not to provoke Ikeizumi?"
Knowing Danzo's hatred for the Uchiha and Ikeizumi's absolute justice, Hiruzen suspected Danzo had instigated this conflict.
But recalling Ikeizumi's unwavering sense of justice, near-perfect case-solving ability, and piercing insight…
Hiruzen hesitated.
This…
Wasn't right.
Shaking off the thought, Hiruzen knew the priority was to stop the fight immediately.
Otherwise, Ikeizumi's Molten Release could cause catastrophic damage.
He recalled Ikeizumi's terrifying feats during the Third Great Ninja War.
That volcanic power was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous forces in the ninja world.
"Take me there!"
Hiruzen ordered the pigeon, then called out, "Kakashi!"
In an instant, Kakashi appeared before him.
Hiruzen commanded, "Lead three Anbu squads and follow me to stop the conflict!"
"Yes, Lord Hokage," Kakashi nodded.
Meanwhile…
With a sharp "puchi!" sound, Ikeizumi's flowing magma arm easily pierced the chest of the second Root ninja.
A sharp slicing sound followed, instantly tearing the ninja's body in two.
Before blood could splash onto Ikeizumi, it vaporized from the intense heat.
A Wind Release: Wind Cutter technique, capable of slicing steel, carved a deep gash into Ikeizumi's chest.
Yet the molten magma quickly filled the wound.
"What exactly is this Molten Release…" Danzo's face darkened. He felt Ikeizumi's Molten Release resembled the Hozuki clan's Hydrification Technique.