The Vacuum Blade in Danzo's hand had taken countless lives.Today, it split open his own throat, his arteries, and his spine.
His head dangled from his neck, connected only by shreds of flesh.
Kato Dan's soul snapped back into his body.Relief instantly washed over his face.
Against someone like Danzo—one of Konoha's shadowy elders—the pressure had been crushing.The fight had pushed him to the edge.And now that it was over, he realized the problem:Danzo was dead.No one in the village could ever know it was by his hand.
Kato Dan turned toward the two ANBU and began weaving hand seals.It was not the time to clash openly with the village.The ANBU had to die.
Yako's heart tightened at the killing intent in Dan's eyes.He quickly raised his hand, ready to form the Self-Binding Curse Mark to reveal his identity as a spy from the Uzumaki clan.
But he only formed the first seal before stopping.The situation had shifted again.
Dan groaned."Ugh…!"
His Spirit Transformation Technique was abruptly cut off.
The Vacuum Blade pierced through his back and out his chest, before slowly dragging downward.Heart. Lungs. Spleen. Intestines. Kidneys.One by one, they were slashed open.
A massive wound tore across the left side of his torso.
Danzo's snarling face appeared beside Dan's ear.This time there was no calm, no control—only raw, violent fury.
Uchiha Kagami's precious Mangekyō Sharingan…One eye had been destroyed by Uchiha Madara.The other, within mere hours, was ruined in Kato Dan's hands!
Unforgivable!
"Kato Dan! How dare you strike at me!"
Blood spurted from Dan's gaping wound like a fountain, spilling into the downpour.
How?Danzo's neck had been nearly severed—yet he lived.Not even Tsunade could heal like this.
Dan gritted his teeth, forcing his failing body to complete the last seal—if he could just deliver the information—
But Danzo was too experienced to allow it.The Vacuum Blade slashed upward, severing Dan's left hand.
His hand hit the mud with a splash of blood.
"Dan!"
A Senju bodyguard screamed and instantly formed seals.
B saw it was a Summoning Technique, and fearing what beast might emerge, he struck first—forming his own seal.
The Senju clansman froze mid-motion.His hand tendons had been shredded by parasitic insects.
Yako seized the opening.With his opponent distracted, he rushed in and cut him down.
The battle flipped in an instant—from disadvantage to victory—then ended just as quickly.All three of Dan's allies lay dead in the rain.
Before Danzo could even speak, B said,"My lord! We'll handle the cleanup immediately!"
Seeing Danzo's twisted expression, Yako quickly bowed his head and joined B in his work.
The two piled the Senju guards' corpses together.As for Kato Dan, his body remained at Danzo's feet.That corpse was valuable—it would be dissected in secret, the mysteries of the Spirit Transformation Technique pried open.
Yako glanced at the body.The First Hokage's necklace still hung around Dan's neck.He didn't move.Neither did B.
And neither of them moved… because Danzo himself hadn't moved, standing motionless in the storm.
Yako's nerves stayed taut, wary that Danzo might silence them to erase witnesses.Unlike the original... Root operatives didn't have the Tongue-Curse Seal; they weren't under absolute control.However, Root were still his subordinates.The Anbu... children of a his wife then?
Even if they were, could he slaughter them at will?
He waited.Danzo didn't strike.
The rain poured down, as though the heavens wept for a fallen genius like Kato Dan.
He would live on in the memories of many shinobi, growing stronger in recollection.Years from now, a Senju might recall him and murmur,'If Dan were still alive, things would be different…'
That was the power of memory's filter.
Dan's forbidden technique was fearsome.But it left him half-paralyzed—once an enemy closed in, his jutsu became useless.
Yako silently weighed the gains.Securing the Senju clan's influence as a counterbalance against the leadership—that had been his goal. Now, it was largely accomplished.Dan had destroyed one of Danzo's eyes. His scheming bore fruit.
As for revealing himself to the Senju, even informing them…Yako recalled that Yellow Dog had already begun to suspect him. He abandoned the thought.Sympathy aside, survival mattered more.
His gaze slid toward Danzo, cautious.Orochimaru had granted Danzo unparalleled transplantation techniques.Yet even so, Danzo kept dying and reviving.It was like watching the original tale—Danzo falling again and again before Sasuke, using Sharingan as if they were Substitution Techniques.
B moved.Yako followed instantly.
B leaned close to Danzo and whispered,"My lord, for you to personally risk yourself in battle is too dangerous. In the future, allow us to fight for you.With a few more Root operatives and ANBU squads, much of this risk can be avoided."
Yako cursed him inwardly.'Shameless dog. Lick all you want, but why drag the rest of us down with you? You'll just lick us all to death, then keep the spoils for yourself.'
Danzo closed his dead-fish-gray eyes, face set in heavy lines."It isn't the danger that angers me. These two eyes… were my friend Kagami's dying bequest.For Konoha's sake, I have long been ready to die. But like Second Hokage-sensei, my death must carry weight.I will not die worthlessly. I must fall only in Konoha's darkest hour—as its final protector.
Pity Kagami. My friend's gift was wasted in a single night."
Yako's stomach twisted.Danzo… the "last protector of Konoha"?Did that mean so long as one villager remained alive, he believed he could not die?
Every battle ended the same—ANBU bleeding for intelligence, Danzo stepping in for the kill.Now it all made sense.He truly believed he would be the last to fall—for Konoha's sake.
B quickly added,"I believe Lord Kagami would be glad to see his eyes carry you through two life-or-death struggles."
Yako, a seasoned ANBU, showed no reaction. No matter what he heard, he would not flinch.
Danzo concluded,"Come. We return to the front camp. Seek out Orochimaru."
Would he transplant new Sharingan? Or replace them with his own eyes again?
B asked,"My lord, should we entrust Kato Dan's body to Orochimaru for research?"
Danzo shook his head."Kato Dan's death must remain an absolute secret. Orochimaru cannot know. He was Dan's classmate—and deeply tied to Tsunade.
If word leaks, Tsunade will sever ties with the village without hesitation.This is not yet the time for the Senju to break with us.At least… not until the Second Shinobi World War is over. Only then can we plan how to erase the Senju's lingering threat."
B's eyes flicked, subtly glancing toward Fox—was he worthy of such a dangerous secret?
Danzo turned toward him.
Yako's heart clenched. He spoke fast, desperate:"My lord Danzo! I have a plan—one that will erase all trace of Kato Dan's death!"
To survive while surrounded by monsters was too cruel.He had to stall, stall until the next full moon.Only then might he find room to maneuver.
Danzo's gaze swept up and down Fox, weighing him."Speak. Let's hear it."