Whoosh—
Tsukikage landed his strike but didn't retreat. Gritting his teeth against the agony, he silently tore out his Yachihoko Mangekyō Sharingan.
His face contorted, veins bulging on his forehead. His right eye went dark, his brain trembling under waves of unbearable pain. Thick blood oozed from his fingers.
Gasping, Tsukikage didn't hesitate. He stored the Yachihoko Mangekyō and jammed Shisui's Kotoamatsukami Mangekyō into his empty right socket.
The eye's neural pathways, sustained by chakra, fused with the Mangekyō's universal connectors.
The Uchiha gaped, mouths open, eyes wide, as if feeling Tsukikage's heart-piercing pain themselves.
Izumi's heart clenched.
The Root operatives, witnessing this, felt their scalps tingle. This man swapped eyes without hesitation or a sound—a ruthless figure rare even among Root.
Tsukikage opened his eyes, vision shifting from blurry to clear. The pain lingered but dulled. The Kotoamatsukami Mangekyō settled in his socket, trembling slightly, regaining its spark.
"Brother…" Tamao watched Tsukikage's pained silhouette, his ferocity intensifying. He kicked Danzō's body aside.
Tsukikage scanned the Root operatives in the trees. He'd expended seventy percent of his Yachihoko Mangekyō's Yin Release Chakra to control the hundred elite Root members in the forest.
Even without the Yachihoko now, the seals remained unbreakable without external aid.
Among the Root, the eight disguised Uchiha Police Force members stood, faces pale under their masks. Watching the scene below, their hearts raced, emotions surging.
On the way here, Tsukikage hadn't explained his goal. He aimed to do one thing for the Uchiha before leaving Konoha: assassinate Danzō and reclaim what belonged to the clan!
Moments ago, except for Tamao, even Izumi thought Tsukikage was mad. Assassinating the Hokage's advisor—a feat even the Uchiha's rebellious leaders wouldn't dare dream, nor the elite jōnin of the other four great ninja villages.
Even with his Mangekyō, Tsukikage couldn't possibly succeed!
Yet the scene before them proved otherwise. Tsukikage exploited the chaos, infiltrating the Root teams undetected, and executed a decapitation strike.
Aside from Tamao, no one believed he could lead them this far.
"He… actually did it," Minamikaze muttered, stunned, on the branch. Reflexively, he drew his katana, realizing he'd regained control of his body.
The other Uchiha noticed too, glancing toward the clan grounds where the screams were fading.
There was no going back. Their clan was gone.
Grief, desolation, and endless pain erupted in their minds. Their ocular power surged under the torment.
"Damn Konoha's leaders!!"
"If Shisui hadn't died, the Uchiha wouldn't have fallen to this!"
Having lost everything, they'd follow Tsukikage, who'd brought them here, and unleash their rage on the true culprit!
Even the usually gentle Izumi felt the same. They drew their katanas, guarding Tsukikage, silently awaiting the perfect moment to strike.
Tsukikage's gaze shifted to Danzō's corpse. Assessing his condition, he noted his Yachihoko Mangekyō had only ten percent of its Yin Release Chakra left.
Ten percent had been used to control the nine clansmen initially, and another ten percent was carried by his Shadow Clone to implant a seal in Uchiha Mikoto at the clan leader's mansion.
Though he'd gained Kotoamatsukami, his chakra was nearly depleted. He needed to end this quickly, conserving strength for his escape.
But the battle wasn't over!
Whoosh—
Danzō staggered back, gasping for breath but choking, his left eye trembling as it fixed on the two before him, life fading.
The second his heart was pierced, Danzō died.
But in Tsukikage's Mangekyō, he saw Danzō's lips curl into a cold smirk before death.
As the other Uchiha thought the fight was won, Danzō's black robe slid off, revealing his bandaged right arm. His index and middle fingers were raised, forming an incomplete seal.
The white bandages unraveled, and under the moonlight, the Uchiha saw a three-tomoe Sharingan embedded in Danzō's hand, slowly closing—an eerie sight.
"Shimura Danzō had another Sharingan, and that eye technique… it feels familiar yet sinister," Minamikaze, glasses glinting, said, shocked, looking at Tsukikage.
An ominous feeling rose in him.
Suddenly, Tsukikage's right Kotoamatsukami Mangekyō vanished without warning, and Danzō's corpse, leaning against a tree, disappeared as if erased from a blackboard.
Danzō reappeared five meters away, his right socket bearing the Kotoamatsukami Mangekyō, as if Tsukikage had never taken it.
Before Tsukikage struck, Danzō's hidden right hand had formed a seal, using the Uchiha's forbidden technique: Izanagi .
It forcibly altered unfavorable outcomes—being branded by Yachihoko, dying, and losing his Mangekyō.
For the next minute, Danzō could bend reality, undoing any disadvantage.
This was the forbidden technique—Izanagi!
The Root operatives in the trees sighed in relief, while the Uchiha tensed.
"Youngster, a piece of advice: next life, don't talk during an assassination," Danzō tnaunted. He stepped forward, shattering the ground, unleashing a gale at Tamao.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
Whoosh—
The wind roared, kicking up dust. Tamao was caught in a storm's eye, razor-sharp gusts shredding his armor, slicing his skin with countless cuts. The immense pressure crushed his organs.
Splatter—
Tamao spat blood, plunging his katana into the ground, trying to endure the Wind Release with sheer physical strength. But the gale's force hurled him back, crashing through trees, collapsing to the ground.
The forest was ravaged, trees felled by the wind.
Izumi, heart racing, activated her three-tomoe Sharingan, deftly dodging the gale's aftermath. She leaped to the ground, dragging the unconscious, gravely injured Tamao to safety.
The other Uchiha scattered, evading the oppressive Wind Release.
Looking back at the devastated forest, they gasped, unable to breathe.
Danzō, having dealt with the nuisances, appeared before Tsukikage, greedily clawing at his left eye socket.
Danzō's counterattack was instantaneous, faster than Tsukikage and Tamao's coordinated strike. He aimed not only to kill this inherently evil Uchiha but to seize his Mangekyō!
His subordinates' lack of reaction confirmed Tsukikage's Mangekyō ability. Such a dangerous power belonged in Konoha's hands—under his control.
Danzō accepted it gladly!
Clang—
His right eye glowed red, the shuriken-patterned Kotoamatsukami spinning. Yin Release Chakra poured into Tsukikage's mind through eye contact.
The tide turned in an instant.
(End of Chapter)