As the incantation was spoken, the long blade in Uchiha Ran's hand shattered inch by inch, dissolving into a thin, drifting mist.
Danzo's side immediately went on full alert.
They feared that Ran was about to launch some kind of surprise attack. No one knew what kind of ability he truly possessed, and although Root had the numerical advantage, protecting Danzo's safety was their absolute priority.
Yet they waited.
And waited.
Until the mist completely dissipated—
And nothing happened.
Uchiha Ran spread his hands, an amused smile on his face.
"What are you all waiting for?"
"Attack!"
No one knew who shouted first, but the Root ninja finally moved. They flashed forward like lightning, blades stabbing straight toward Uchiha Ran.
Naturally, "Uchiha Ran" didn't stand there waiting to die. He immediately engaged them, clashing with the Root ninja at close range.
"Kyōka Suigetsu really is an incredible ability."
More than ten meters away, the real Uchiha Ran calmly observed as the Root ninja fought fiercely against empty air.
Activating Kyōka Suigetsu in advance had been the correct decision.
Kyōka Suigetsu possessed the power of complete hypnosis, capable of freely manipulating a target's perception of the outside world—appearance, shape, weight, touch, even smell.
Just like now.
Ran had performed the release right in front of everyone, then fabricated a completely false "self" out of nothing.
In Danzo's and Root's eyes, "Uchiha Ran" was real—he even had chakra fluctuations.
But in truth, there was nothing there at all.
It was just air.
The real Uchiha Ran had already slipped away to the side long ago.
As for where this blade came from—this involved Ran's unique ability.
That ability had only truly awakened last year, and its origin traced back to a novel setting he had once created before transmigrating.
Yes.
Before coming to this world, Ran had been a shut-in novelist.
He had been brainstorming a new story, designing a cheat ability for his protagonist—and somehow, during that process, he transmigrated, bringing the cheat with him.
The cheat had only one function:
To collect the power of "recognition", and then replicate it.
Simply put, Ran wrote a novel about Shinigami and circulated it among the Uchiha children. Once they had read it enough—once concepts like Shinigami, Zanpakutō, Aizen, and Kyōka Suigetsu were firmly established in their minds—Ran could gather that accumulated "recognition" and reproduce Kyōka Suigetsu itself.
Of course, a perfect replication was impossible.
The ability had awakened recently, and the amount of recognition he could gather was extremely limited.
As a result, what he replicated was a heavily weakened version of Kyōka Suigetsu—usable only twice before being completely destroyed.
Tonight was the second use.
Which meant—
Kyōka Suigetsu was gone.
Fortunately, that didn't matter anymore.
The groundwork had already been laid.
Ignoring the "battlefield" not far away, Uchiha Ran calmly took a small detour and walked straight toward Danzo.
Danzo was completely unaware of his presence, his gaze still locked onto the distant "enemy."
Ran's eyes fixed on Danzo's right eye.
Beneath the bandages—
Was Kotoamatsukami, the prize he had schemed for all this time.
"Thanks for personally delivering it to me," Ran whispered softly into Danzo's ear.
"Don't worry. This is only the beginning of revenge. We'll have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves."
Because Danzo was under hypnosis, he didn't hear a single word.
In the distance, "Uchiha Ran" suddenly broke free of the encirclement and charged straight toward Danzo.
His speed skyrocketed.
Danzo was startled.
Through observation, he had already confirmed that the opponent possessed an intangibility ability—one that rendered all attacks useless at will.
That meant both physical strikes and ninjutsu were ineffective.
Only one method remained.
Danzo clenched his teeth and violently tore off the bandages covering his right eye.
A crimson eye was revealed.
"I still have Hashirama's cells. Once the research is complete, I'll be able to use Kotoamatsukami again soon. Your intangibility will be mine!"
Danzo felt a surge of secret triumph.
But just as he prepared to activate Kotoamatsukami—
The opponent accelerated again.
At a speed Danzo couldn't even perceive, "Uchiha Ran" reached him and lightly brushed a hand across his right eye.
"AAAGH—!"
Danzo's scream tore through the night.
He leapt backward like a startled rabbit, retreating dozens of meters in a single breath. His right hand clutched his face as blood streamed between his fingers.
When he looked up again—
An eyeball had appeared in "Uchiha Ran's" hand.
"You… how did you…?"
"Shisui's eye is far too important to be in your possession,"
"Uchiha Ran" said with a smile as he placed the eye into a test tube filled with nutrient solution.
"I'll be taking this."
"Who… who are you really?!"
Danzo gritted his teeth, his voice cold with fury.
"Still can't figure it out?"
"The so-called 'Darkness of Konoha' is nothing special after all—failing to recognize even one of your own collaborators."
As he spoke, "Uchiha Ran's" body began to distort.
In the next moment, his appearance changed completely.
A spiral mask covered his face.
"It's you?!"
Danzo's left eye widened in shock.
He didn't know Obito. He didn't recognize the spiral mask.
But he knew one thing—
Aside from himself and Itachi, there had been a third party involved tonight.
He just hadn't expected that this person would dare target him—
Or that their goal would be Shisui's eye.
"That's right. It's me, Lord Danzo," the masked man said with a smile.
"Tonight's cooperation was quite pleasant. If there's a next time, remember to contact me again. You can ask Itachi for my information—he has it."
As he spoke, the masked man's body twisted and collapsed into a vortex, disappearing completely.
Throughout the entire process, neither Danzo nor the Root ninja attempted to stop him.
It wasn't that they didn't want to.
They simply couldn't.
That intangibility ability had left an indelible impression on everyone present.
They all knew—
There was no way to stop him tonight.
"Lord Danzo…"
Only now did the others rush back to his side, their expressions tense.
"Pursue him," Danzo gasped, his voice squeezed out between clenched teeth.
"He must not be allowed to leave Konoha under any circumstances!"
The Root ninja immediately scattered, beginning a full-scale search for the masked man.
---
Meanwhile, the true culprit—
Uchiha Ran—
Had already returned to the Shadow Space.
He smiled brightly as he faced the looks of concern and curiosity around him.
"The plan was a success."
He pulled out the test tube, displaying the eyeball inside.
He had never explained his plan to anyone—but it didn't matter.
Everyone present could tell at a glance—
This was a Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Little Ran," Izumi said, finally looking away from the test tube.
Her gaze locked onto him, unwavering.
"I want the truth. Tell me exactly what happened tonight."