The gang leader, realizing the overwhelming power of the ninjutsu unleashed by Danzo, understood he couldn't escape. Desperate, he once again grabbed two people and threw them toward Danzo while shouting for his underlings to charge alongside him.
"Everyone, attack together, or you will all die!"
"You've seen his strength; there's no escape for us. Our only option is to overwhelm him with numbers for a slim chance of survival!"
"Hmph, what a despicable and shameless guy."
Danzo swept his cane to knock aside the unfortunate souls thrown at him, coldly regarding the cannon fodder deceived into this situation, preparing to showcase his taijutsu skills.
Being able to effortlessly unleash a series of fluid moves with one hand to beat down Shisui and gouge out his eyes, Danzo's taijutsu was clearly of a high standard.
Moreover, he could control his power to spare these pitiful civilians' lives.
He charged into the crowd, kicking aside the first attacker, then swinging his left fist and his right cane to send those approaching him flying, moving through the crowd as if it were empty, exuding a presence reminiscent of Uchiha Madara facing the ninja alliance.
"Good opportunity! Water Release: Water Blade!"
The leader, lying in wait among the crowd, seized the moment as Danzo raised his cane to strike someone, releasing his ninjutsu.
A sharp water blade flew toward Danzo, clearly aiming to sever his arm.
"Foolish and laughable, Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu."
Such a crude tactic could hardly deceive Danzo; he quickly formed a hand seal with his free arm and unleashed a fireball.
Feeling the threat of death with the approaching fireball, the former ninja instinctively cast a ninjutsu before him.
"Water Release: Water Barrier!"
He successfully blocked Danzo's slightly diluted attack with his hastily cast ninjutsu.
Interesting; his awareness was decent—he must have seen battle before.
What a pity, though; he was too despicable, resorting to such ruthless means to survive.
Initially planning to spare him, there was clearly no need for that now.
"Zi—Si—Wu—Xu—"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Waves."
The vacuum waves casually unleashed were incredibly swift and had an astonishing range. The gang leader had no time to perform a body substitute technique, only able to watch as the transparent wind blades sliced through his body, severing him and the water ninjutsu together.
"Phht—bang, bang, bang."
Accompanied by the sound of blood spraying, everyone present quietly watched as the gang leader's pieces fell to the ground.
Nagato, meanwhile, had kindly covered Konan's eyes as the blood splattered.
Any aware vagabonds present saw Danzo drawing closer and were so scared they wet themselves, the smell of urine wafting through the air.
Looking down at this group from above, Danzo began his performance.
"Weren't you all shouting about the law of the jungle before? As adults, you shamelessly target children—it's truly laughable."
"It's because of filthy garbage like you that this world can never achieve true peace."
"Let this incident serve as a lesson for you; from now on, do more good deeds. Only in this way can you atone for the sins you've committed."
Hearing Danzo's words, the vagabonds on the ground, previously beaten down, immediately widened their eyes.
Oh? So I don't have to die? It seems my life is saved?
"Um, sir, are you... are you going to let us go?"
A slightly bolder vagabond tentatively asked.
"Yeah, get lost, but remember to take this garbage off the ground with you."
Danzo said, poking the pile of rubbish on the ground with his cane.
Everyone immediately understood, nodding and scrambling to clean up as Danzo instructed, leaving without looking back.
Watching the free extras who showcased his "great, glorious, and righteous" image complete their task from a distance, Danzo finally turned around, carefully examining the three small figures, revealing what he believed was a kind smile.
"Wow, what a handsome uncle." The three little ones simultaneously sighed inwardly upon seeing the half-exposed, unwrapped face of Danzo.
At this moment, Danzo was in his golden middle age, and unlike the original owner, who was consumed by inner ugliness in later years, his appearance was naturally handsome.
In the eyes of the three children, Danzo seemed to glow with golden light, extremely attractive.
After this rescue and fight, Danzo was warmly invited by the three to enter their secret base.
Finding a random stone to sit on, he pulled out a few delicate snacks from his pocket.
"Here, take some and eat."
Looking at the well-packaged treats before them, Yahiko and the others gulped hard but dared not reach for them.
Their long life of wandering had made them see the harshness of the world, and they could no longer easily trust the goodwill of others; after all, is there really a free lunch?
Danzo noticed their hesitance and did not press them.
Gently placing the snacks on the ground beside him, he then observed the three, who had just been soaked by rain, shivering in the cold wind.
"Children, do you have any firewood?"
"We don't…"
Trust was gradually building; there was no need to rush. Danzo nodded.
Using Fire Release ninjutsu and some firewood, he created a campfire. Danzo sat on one side while the three huddled together on the opposite side.
Seeing them whispering closely together, Danzo pretended not to see, simply tending to the fire.
Sometimes, opening the conversation himself might spoil things.
Eventually, Yahiko couldn't hold back anymore and had to speak first.
"Uncle, are you a ninja?"
"Yeah... that's right. I'm from the Hidden Leaf Village."
Danzo calmly stated his identity as a Leaf ninja.
Hearing that he was from the Leaf, the three kids were a bit surprised but did not show any special emotional reactions.
Especially Nagato; although his parents were mistakenly killed by Leaf ninjas, during this wandering life, the harm inflicted by those so-called Rain Village compatriots was actually deeper.
"Then why did you save us?"
"Why, why indeed? Perhaps I just didn't want to see children like you perish because of this war," Danzo said gently.
"Our first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, established the Hidden Leaf Village so that children could grow up healthy and not die because of war."
"And we in the Hidden Leaf have inherited the will of the first Hokage generation after generation."
"So, when I saw those scoundrels trying to harm you, I couldn't just stand by."
As Danzo fabricated this story, oh no, I mean, as he reassured them, he picked up the snacks from the ground and opened them.
He first took a piece for himself, ate it, and then dragged it over to offer it to the three children again.