Chapter 201: Sasuke's Crisis
Danzō was dead. Slain by one of the "Uchiha remnants" he had so despised and manipulated.
In life, he had conspired against the Uchiha, his greed for their eyes leading directly to the clan's extermination. His death at the hands of Uchiha Sasuke was a karmic full circle. All his ambitions, his grand designs for Konoha, evaporated with his final breath.
He was, as the saying went, a man unseen, a man reviled, a man with blood-soaked hands. He was the root festering in the darkness beneath the village's sunny leaves. Was he evil? By any standard measure, yes. His arms were a gallery of stolen eyes, his right socket housed Shisui's stolen power and unfulfilled will. He was a detestable butcher; the light never touched him. He was a symbol of blood and shadow.
Yet, he was also the foundation in the unseen places, the rotten root that believed it was necessary to support the tree. A tree without roots is no tree at all. For peace, for Konoha, he had killed—both the guilty and the innocent. It was impossible to judge him in simple terms of right and wrong. The facts were laid bare; they could not be undone. He had acted, and Konoha had, in its way, prospered.
Perhaps subjective evaluation did not apply to him. Or perhaps he needed no evaluation. He had walked his own path, striving for a peace and a justice that only made sense in the darkness.
Now, Shimura Danzō was finally, truly dead. The stolen Sharingan on his arm could no longer save him. He had schemed for a lifetime, his thirst for power leading him down a bloody path, all while believing he was dedicating his entire existence to Konoha. In the end, he had briefly held the title of Hokage, yet his dying thought was, 'I never truly became Hokage, did I?' Why? Perhaps because he felt he had never truly been accepted, never truly given his all for the village in the light. His twisted sincerity, in the end, was still for Konoha.
'You are the leaves, basking in the sun. I am the root, growing in the darkness.' — Shimura Danzō.
***
With Danzō's death confirmed, Sasuke allowed the Susano'o to dissipate. A wave of relief washed over him, so potent it was almost dizzying.
Danzō had been far more difficult than he had anticipated. He was grateful for the intelligence Ren had provided; knowing the old man's abilities in advance had been crucial. He was also grateful for the small vial of potion, synthesized from the Philosopher's Stone, that Ren had given to each member of the Eagle team for emergencies. He never thought he'd need it, but Danzō's final gambit—sacrificing Shisui's Mangekyō for one last Izanagi—had pushed him to his absolute limit. His chakra was spent, his body broken. Only the potion's sudden restoration of his energy had allowed him to secure the victory.
Tch. To be saved by this in the end, Sasuke thought, looking down at Danzō's broken form. A strange, cathartic feeling settled in his chest. "This feeling... I've never had it before," he whispered to the corpse. "The feeling of a defiled Uchiha being purified. The feeling of the Uchiha being cleansed from this corrupt shinobi world..."
He shook his head. "Enough. Danzō is dead. It's time to leave this place." He then frowned. "But it seems I failed part of the mission."
Ren had instructed him to retrieve Danzō's right arm and his right eye. However, the right arm had mutated into a grotesque tree during the battle, consumed by the uncontrollable First Hokage's cells. And Danzō's right eye... Sasuke now understood. The final Izanagi had been cast using the Mangekyō in that eye. It was now inert, a worthless, blind orb. There was nothing left to collect.
The potion's effects were remarkable. In just a few breaths, his injuries had vanished, and his chakra reserves felt full, even brimming. Aside from his torn and bloodied clothes, no one would guess he had just been on the verge of death.
"I'll rendezvous with the others. But first..." His gaze, now sharp and clear, turned toward the remaining Root ninja still locked in combat with Suigetsu and Jugo. A cold killing intent flared within him.
He took a step forward.
And then it happened.
A sudden wave of dizziness. Then, a sharp, stabbing pain behind his eyes, so intense he instinctively clapped his hands over them. When the pain subsided, his vision was... blurred. The world had lost its sharp definition.
Damn it... my vision... it's blurry... Is this a side effect of overusing my ocular power? Could it be...?
Ren's warning echoed in his mind: 'Excessive use of the Mangekyō's abilities will cause your eyesight to deteriorate. It will fade, until eventually... you go blind.'
The symptoms were a perfect match.
No... It's impossible! I can't go blind! Absolutely not! a voice screamed inside him. Ren uses his Mangekyō all the time, and he's not blind! There must be a way to cure this! I have to get to him, now! I have to find out what to do!
The prospect was a devastating blow. It wasn't just the loss of his combat power; the very idea of losing his sight was unacceptable. In his panic, his thoughts immediately turned to Ren. Over time, he had come to subconsciously rely on his older brother. Now, in this crisis, Ren was his first and only thought for a solution.
Shaking his head to clear the fear, Sasuke's expression hardened with resolve. He could not afford to delay. Lightning chakra crackled around the Kusanagi sword as he drew it. His blurred vision fixed on the remaining Root operatives. They were an obstacle between him and the answers he desperately needed.
He would clear this path. Immediately.
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