There was no escaping it.
Pssht!
Two colossal fingers of Susanoo drove straight through Danzō's chest.
Just before that moment, his right eye had closed.
Perhaps he had considered relying on his final Izanagi to rewrite reality, but the little chakra he had left couldn't sustain even a single minute of activation.
Neither Senju Haruto nor Uchiha Itachi had been within the range of his expectations—they were far stronger than he had imagined.
In the clash against them, even without using a forbidden technique like Izanagi, his chakra had been consumed at a rapid, unavoidable pace.
And yet, when Itachi's Susanoo pierced his body, Danzō regained a strange calm.
His life had, without a doubt, been dedicated entirely to Konoha.
And without question, he had inherited Lord Senju Tobirama's ideals—becoming the root buried deep underground, feeding Konoha the nourishment it needed to grow.
In his ears, he once again heard Sarutobi Hiruzen's words:
"I am the Konoha that basks in the sunlight, while you are the root buried deep in the earth. Light and darkness—without either, the world cannot function."
"Konoha's darkness…"
Splurt!
Danzō coughed up a mouthful of blood, splattering Itachi's Susanoo. His gaze shifted toward Senju Haruto, who was watching him closely with his Byakugan.
"Kotoamatsukami…"
His breathing became ragged. Even forcing himself to slow it down, the severity of his injuries made it impossible.
The toxins from the Jar of Venom Technique seeped deeper into his body, adding another layer of agony beyond the wound tearing through him.
"You want Lord Hashirama's cells, don't you?"
Danzō's mind raced. He suddenly realized—Kotoamatsukami's cooldown period was over a decade. But with Lord Hashirama's cells, it could be shortened to mere hours.
If Haruto's cells carried the same effect, Haruto might not have chosen to kill him, but instead used Kotoamatsukami to take control of him.
It wasn't that Haruto wouldn't do it—he simply couldn't.
Half-closing his eyes, Danzō understood Haruto's plan.
Killing him was not only about eliminating an enemy—it was also about taking Hashirama's cells.
Even if he had inherited Lord Hashirama's chakra and Wood Release, that didn't make him the true Hashirama.
If Haruto acquired both Kotoamatsukami and Hashirama's cells, he might use that combined power to control Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"I won't let you succeed…"
Danzō forced the words out from his throat. His mind connected the thought to the Bloody Mist of Kirigakure.
He would never allow Haruto to turn Konoha into another Bloody Mist.
More importantly, he couldn't let Haruto gain the ability to control Hiruzen.
This assassination—Haruto's will alone—it had nothing to do with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Danzō knew Hiruzen's importance better than anyone, and he knew his own importance just as well.
"And you… Uchiha Itachi…"
"If you can betray me, then you can betray Hiruzen. And even the village itself…"
In that moment, his mind became clearer than it had ever been, his will unshakably firm.
He would not hesitate like during the Lightning Country coup, where he wavered in order to survive.
Never again.
But no matter what, the Haruto before him was only a Wood Release clone. Killing it meant nothing.
His target had to be Itachi.
"At the very least, before I die, I'll take you with me!"
Danzō sucked in a cold breath, then roared like a wild beast, unleashing his final trump card.
"Reverse Four Symbols Sealing!"
He grabbed hold of Susanoo right in front of him, preventing it from escaping the sealing range.
A spray of pitch-black blood burst from his body, and the pre-etched sealing formula began to swell, expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye into a sphere that engulfed himself, Itachi, and the Susanoo.
"The Four Symbols Seal…"
Itachi's brow furrowed. He hadn't expected Danzō to use such a technique in his final moments.
Once swallowed by it, there would be no escape from the complete sealing.
At the crucial instant, Itachi used a substitution technique, swapping himself with Haruto's wooden clone.
Haruto understood at once, controlling the wooden clone to clamp tightly onto Danzō so he couldn't move.
In the final moment of the seal, Danzō saw Itachi retreat beyond its range—but had no chance to pursue.
Still…
Hashirama's last remaining cells—Haruto would never have them.
"Sarutobi… Hiruzen…"
Murmuring the name, the Four Symbols Seal consumed Danzō, along with all the poison and the wooden clone within its range.
"Lord Danzō…"
Aburame Torune fell to his knees with a heavy thud. He could never have imagined that this would be Danzō's end.
And he wasn't the only one. Every Root operative present stood frozen in place.
Lord Danzō…
Dead?
"Lord Danzō…"
Countless Root shinobi silently mouthed the name, stunned to their core.
A disciple of Lord Tobirama Senju, a veteran of countless battles, the founder of the Root division—now killed by Senju Haruto and Uchiha Itachi.
And the former… was only a clone.
"Sealed, then." Haruto stared at the empty ground, murmuring to himself.
If he could have obtained Hashirama's final cells, it might have been of some use to his real body.
But since his true self had never shown interest in Danzō's arm, it meant he wasn't concerned about it at all.
"Danzō…" Itachi's eyes lingered on the empty ground. "At the moment of death… he saw himself clearly."
"Maybe." Haruto shrugged, deactivating his Byakugan.
Throughout the entire exchange, he had been verifying everything with it.
Danzō was dead. Completely.
Itachi's emotions were complicated. He knew Danzō had committed countless dishonorable acts, yet his heart had always been for the village.
As a Konoha leader, Danzō had tirelessly removed potential threats from the shadows, bearing the darkness so Konoha could stand in the light.
"All right. With Danzō dead, I should dispel this clone and report to my real body."
Haruto glanced around. Because of the Jar of Venom Technique, none of the shinobi present had made a move.
Or perhaps they were still too shocked by Danzō's death to think about what came next.
In any case, Danzō was a senior figure in Konoha—his death would quickly reach Koharu, Homura, and even the Feudal Lord's ears.
And as his killers, both Haruto and Itachi might set off a chain of events.
"But the ones most affected will likely be the Uchiha clan."
Haruto looked at Itachi again, his voice low.
"I'll need you to keep them in check until my true self returns."