Hokage Rock, Konohagakure.
With countless White Zetsu wiped out during the chaos, Black Zetsu was forced to take matters into his own hands. He led a small squad of surviving Zetsu to Konoha to gather intel.
After all, the Gedo Statue was the outer shell of the Ten-Tails, and the Ten-Tails itself was the true form of the God Tree. Both the Hashirama cells and the God Tree shared a common origin.
That's why every White Zetsu could naturally use Wood Release.
Madara had believed that White Zetsu were artificial beings grown from Hashirama's cells in the Gedo Statue.
In truth, these Zetsu were ancient humans who had been trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi and later extracted by Black Zetsu—repurposed as Kaguya's army.
All part of Black Zetsu's long con.
Now, peeking his head out from the face of Hokage Rock, Black Zetsu silently observed the raging battle between Uchiha Fugaku and the Nine-Tails.
One man. One beast. Blow for blow, evenly matched.
The distance made it hard to see exactly what was happening in the village plaza, but with the chaos in full swing, Black Zetsu figured sending a couple of White Zetsu into the fray wouldn't hurt. They could blend into the confusion, gather firsthand intel, and be gone before anyone noticed.
After all, despite their stupidity, White Zetsu excelled in stealth and transformation—among the best in the shinobi world.
As long as they didn't reveal themselves, it should've been safe.
So he sent a few in.
And then… silence. Not a single one came back.
Black Zetsu: (一`一)
Who the hell is targeting me?!
A few hours earlier — before Kushina and Minato were reanimated.
While the battlefield raged, Uchiha Itachi's physical clone—currently transformed into Orochimaru—was quietly coasting through the chaos, doing the absolute minimum.
He kept Edo Minato's power output at its lowest, making the Fourth Hokage appear evenly matched with Kakashi.
Every so often, he'd toss out a casual Water Style jutsu just to harass Hiruzen.
Then, when Hiruzen started to feel confident—BAM! He'd suddenly boost Minato's power to full throttle, delivering a crushing blow.
From Hiruzen's perspective, he thought Itachi, Kakashi, and himself were working together against Danzo and Orochimaru—three against two.
In reality?
It was Itachi, "Orochimaru," Edo Minato, and Danzo—all ganging up on him.
Four against one.
And Itachi was having the time of his life.
But then his system alerted him: White Zetsu were closing in.
To Itachi, their chakra was absurdly conspicuous—like fireflies in a pitch-black night. Impossible to miss.
So, the instant Kushina activated her Adamantine Sealing Chains, "Orochimaru" used space-time ninjutsu to vanish from the field.
He effortlessly captured the two Zetsu attempting to sneak in.
Then came the interrogation.
One look, one answer.
Right person. Wrong plan.
White Zetsu spilled everything—fast and clean.
Still wearing the Orochimaru disguise, Itachi rubbed his chin.
So Black Zetsu really is sending in cannon fodder. Thinks I can't wipe them all out, huh?
He glanced at the Flying Thunder God seal Danzo had branded on his body. With a pained expression, he sliced off the marked flesh, blood gushing out.
He threw the severed chunk onto the ground and began layering seal after seal—barriers, traps, contingencies—all waiting for Danzo to teleport in.
Bait laid, he grabbed the two Zetsu, preparing to go into hiding.
But then—something strange happened.
He felt… something new in his body.
Itachi (still disguised as Orochimaru): (一`一)
Did my cells just… change?
A new sensation stirred inside him—as if he'd unlocked a Kekkei Genkai.
Earth + Water… could this be… Wood Style?
Worth a test.
"Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique!" Orochimaru clapped his hands together.
A full-sized wooden house erupted from the ground.
"...What the hell?!"
He stood there, dumbfounded.
I really awakened Wood Release… just like that?
Then Itachi thought of Mystique from Western comics.
Her ability to alter her body's size, density, structure—even replicate voices and genders—came from full cellular control.
Kekkei Genkai are… essentially just that. Cellular structure. If I can rewrite mine… can I replicate any bloodline I absorb?
If I fused all the bloodlines together, could I awaken the legendary Kekkei Mora? Could I become like the Sage of Six Paths—or even Kaguya herself?
Only one way to find out. After tonight's battle… it's experiment time.
...
BOOM!
The ground erupted as Danzo finally activated his Flying Thunder God seal—teleporting away just before Minato's Rasengan could hit.
The seal Itachi had carved off flared to life within the waiting formation.
Danzo materialized inside the barrier trap.
At that moment, the pre-arranged Four Limbs Weighting Seal latched onto his arms and legs.
Itachi, still in Orochimaru's form, blitzed forward and ripped out Danzo's right eye in one swift motion.
"AAARGH!" Danzo screamed in agony. Caught completely off guard, he could only watch as the Mangekyō Sharingan was snatched from his socket.
Before he could retaliate, he realized—his chakra was already sealed.
"Sealing technique…?" he muttered, horrified.
In the very next instant—his entire right arm disappeared.
"Damn you, Orochimaru! You backstabbing snake! Why are you doing this?!" Danzo snarled, hatred burning in his eyes.
Itachi finally dropped the act.
"Sorry," he said, shifting back to his true form. "I'm not Orochimaru. I'm Uchiha Itachi."
Then, right in front of Danzo's face, he placed:
Hashirama's severed right arm,
The Mangekyō Sharingan taken from Kakashi's Kamui eye,
And Shisui's eye,
into a large jar of preservation fluid and sealed it.
Danzo could only seethe in impotent rage.
Danzo had always been cold-blooded, ruthless, and obsessively paranoid. Constantly preaching that "a shinobi must sacrifice himself for the greater good," yet when the time came, he never could.
He believed he alone could protect Konoha.
He purged his enemies, crushed dissent, and built Root into a machine of fear and obedience.
People like Sakumo Hatake? Just collateral damage. Stepping stones on Danzo's path to power.
He trusted no one. He tolerated no risks. Every major move had to be executed by his own hand.
Like when he used Kotoamatsukami to seize control of Yin-Kurama the moment Minato unsealed it.
Or when he stole Shisui's eye, not believing Shisui could handle Fugaku.
Or when he partnered with Orochimaru to research Hashirama's cells and the Sharingan—implanting a genetically modified Hashirama arm and secretly experimenting with Izanagi, the forbidden Uchiha technique.
But no one in the shinobi world understood Izanagi better than Itachi.
And now, with Danzo's limbs sealed by the suppression tags, he couldn't activate Izanagi even if he tried.
Add in the loss of Shisui's eye, and Danzo had become completely helpless.
"You... you can't be Itachi!" Danzo shrieked, eyes bulging in disbelief.
God, this world is so damn fake. No one believes the truth anymore.
Itachi sighed—then transformed his appearance again.
Short black hair. Orange single-eye mask. A long black cloak with a high collar.
He now looked exactly like Tobi.
"You're right," he said mockingly. "I'm not Uchiha Itachi."
"I'm the mastermind of the Nine-Tails attack."
He smiled behind the mask.
"Well, Danzo? Is this version more satisfying?"
Danzo looked up at him—mask, cloak, and all—his eyes filled with sheer dread.