At the same time, among the Root ninja who frantically carried Danzo away, one happened to be quite skilled in medical ninjutsu. He was constantly trying to heal Danzo, but his medical ninjutsu seemed utterly useless.
Danzo continued to scream in agonizing pain, his face twisted. The Root ninja couldn't even imagine what kind of indescribable torment their Danzo-sama was enduring at this very moment.
Only Danzo himself knew for sure! His consciousness was almost completely consumed by the deep-seated, negative pain from the depths of his soul, feeling as if every inch of his being was being brutally torn apart. It made Danzo feel like he was just half a step from death.
Danzo, in his youth, had undergone training that included severe torture, enduring pain that most people couldn't fathom. But he swore! All that past pain combined wasn't even one-thousandth of the pain he was feeling now!
He screamed. He cried. He wanted to kneel and beg that inherently evil Uchiha brat for mercy! At this very moment, even if the other party demanded he become a "star slave" to be thoroughly ravaged by all the male members of the Uchiha clan, Danzo Shimura would agree without hesitation!!! If only he could control his body... he would absolutely do it!
The extreme despair and agony, where every second felt like a year, pushed Danzo to the brink of mental collapse. His entire consciousness was on the verge of being erased.
"Danzo-sama! Danzo-sama!! Danzo-sama!!!"
The frantic shouts from the Root ninja snapped Danzo back to his last shred of consciousness. Danzo's hands, no longer clutching his throbbing head, used his final bit of awareness to contort his fingers, his face a mask of agony.
Hare... Boar... Ram...
One of his Sharingan slowly lost its light.
Just then, with a "boom," Danzo, who had been screaming and clutching his head, suddenly burst into a huge ball of crimson flame! The inexplicable flames instantly enveloped Danzo's body, startling the surrounding Root ninja into quickly letting go. But one Root ninja was a little slow in releasing his grip and had his fingertips singed by the flames erupting from Danzo.
The bizarre flames eerily spread from his fingertips, rapidly engulfing the Root ninja's entire arm! They even bypassed his flesh, directly burning the Root ninja's soul! In an instant, the flames completely enveloped him. He met the exact same fate as Danzo!
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!" The burning pain, originating from both soul and body, caused the utterly unfortunate Root ninja to let out a piercing shriek. It was too late to try and extinguish the flames on his body, let alone the fact that these flames from hell couldn't be extinguished. The Root ninja's flesh shriveled up in the blink of an eye, his skin scorched black and carbonized by the inferno. His soul was cast into the Infinite Tsukuyomi of hell by the "Heavenly Retribution Flames" that had spread from Danzo!
This... was the Dojutsu of Uchiha Akainu's right eye! Merely being grazed by the "Heavenly Retribution Flames" caused instantaneous death of both soul and body. Much less Danzo, who was directly engulfed by the flames!
Danzo "died" even faster than that Root ninja. A distorted "charred corpse" now lay motionless on the ground, until the Izanagi jutsu activated once more. The "charred corpse's" flesh suddenly filled out, and a frantically gasping, twisted Danzo half-knelt on the ground. The "Heavenly Retribution Flames" also vanished.
Danzo panted heavily, his face filled with lingering terror, as if the deathly despair of countless innocent victims still lingered deep within his soul. Large beads of cold sweat constantly dripped down, his muscles trembled uncontrollably, and his pupils shook violently. Another of the numerous Sharingan on his right arm had closed.
"...Danzo-sama?!" A Root ninja's voice reached Danzo's ears, but he seemed not to hear. Danzo's teeth chattered uncontrollably. The soul-deep agony was now deeply etched into the furthest reaches of his memory. Countless rapid flashbacks flashed through his mind at every moment. Despair constantly pierced his fragile soul. Even Izanagi couldn't completely eradicate this psychological shadow.
But...
"At least... phew!" Danzo muttered hoarsely, "At least I'm alive... huh?!!!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Danzo's pupils suddenly constricted. His disbelieving gaze fixed on his own feet, where a bizarre, crimson flame inexplicably ignited out of nowhere! Danzo's breath hitched. He recognized this eerie fire. It was the same flame that had "killed" him just moments ago!
"How is this possible?!!!" His terrified scream showed that Danzo had completely lost his composure. The pain, piercing both flesh and soul, once again swept over him. The "Heavenly Retribution Flames" spread from his feet to his waist in an instant. In another blink, his entire body was once again engulfed in fire!
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" The burning sensation, reaching the deepest parts of his soul, triggered Danzo's Izanagi once again. His body restored, his face was a mask of panic. In just a few seconds, Danzo's twisted old face once again showed terror. The "Heavenly Retribution Flames" burned again!
"How can this be..."
"AAGHHH!!!"
Uchiha Akainu briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the eerie pattern of his Mangekyo Sharingan had dissipated, replaced by a pair of indifferent black eyes. Only the two streaks of crimson blood slowly trickling down his cheeks proved that he had just used his Mangekyo Dojutsu.
His right eye's ability, he now understood. It could unleash "Heavenly Retribution Flames" that incinerated the flesh and soul of villains into the depths of hell. The deeper the user's sins, the stronger the power of the Heavenly Retribution Flames. The flames would even carve an eternal brand into a part of the victim's soul; no matter where the victim's soul went, the Heavenly Retribution Flames would follow relentlessly, like a shadow.
And, similar to Uchiha Itachi's Amaterasu, these Heavenly Retribution Flames could not be extinguished by any means. If the victim had never committed evil in their life, the Heavenly Retribution Flames would transform into flames of salvation, capable of burning away all negative statuses from the victim, and could even allow their soul to ascend to heaven after death.
The only drawback was its extremely high chakra consumption. It was at least ten times the consumption of his left eye's "Eye of Judgment" Dojutsu! The toll on his physical stamina was also visibly significant.
Fortunately... Uchiha Akainu's stamina had always been a strong suit.
"Akainu... what kind of Dojutsu did you cast on Danzo-sama?"
Fugaku was completely stunned. He had been so careful to guard against Uchiha Akainu, constantly wary that he might suddenly snap and go wild. But he never expected Akainu to use the power of his Mangekyo Sharingan! This unforeseen situation had just occurred, and by the time Fugaku realized how bad it was, it was already happening, and he couldn't undo it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was also incredibly grim. Danzo's earlier piercing screams still faintly echoed in his ears. This gave him a whole new understanding of Uchiha Akainu's "stubborn" personality.
He gritted his teeth and asked, "Akainu... Danzo, is he still alive?"
"Who knows," Uchiha Akainu said indifferently. "The flames of absolute justice will forever burn away the evil of the ninja world."