In an instant, Amaterasu erupted.
Jet-black flames carrying a heat capable of incinerating all things clung fiercely to the Gedo Statue's shell, igniting and burning wildly.
The Gedo Statue clutched its face with both hands, letting out a wretched roar toward the sky as if it truly possessed consciousness, writhing in agony.
The soul-devouring dragon, its main body severely wounded, instantly dissipated without a trace.
"That's the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Danzo's eyes widened sharply, never having expected that Uchiha Fugaku would conceal such a terrifying technique!
"As expected of the wicked Uchiha Clan!"
His expression darkened as he thought to himself.
Fortunately, he had forced Fugaku to reveal his trump card this time; otherwise, he would have been caught in a fatal disadvantage when targeting him in the future.
These were the same eyes as that Madara Uchiha.
As a disciple of Senju Tobirama, deeply influenced by Tobirama's attitude toward the Uchiha, even though his close friend Kagami Uchiha was among his peers, he understood better than anyone the terrifying power contained within the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"No, Konohagakure absolutely cannot tolerate the existence of such power."
Danzo's killing intent surged violently.
Fugaku had already become a severe threat to his position, and moreover, he knew the other had long coveted the position of Hokage.
He stared intently at Fugaku's eyes, his gaze gradually tinged with an unmistakable greed.
He wanted to claim these Mangekyō Sharingan for himself.
Fugaku pressed his left hand against his injured right arm, enduring the intense pain as his gaze slowly shifted.
And the direction he looked toward was precisely Danzo's hiding place.
The pitch-black flames of Amaterasu followed the trajectory of his gaze, scorching their way forward!
Danzo's expression changed abruptly, and he took a sudden step back, grabbing a nearby Root ninja and forcibly using him as a shield.
In the next moment, Amaterasu landed on that ninja.
A piercing, agonized scream instantly echoed through the valley.
The Root ninja helplessly collapsed, rolling on the ground, desperately trying to extinguish the flames. But Amaterasu was an inextinguishable fire, and all his struggles were in vain.
A ferocious expression appeared on Fugaku's face. Clenching his teeth, he once again pursued Danzo's figure.
His long-hidden secret was now exposed, and after being repeatedly schemed against, he was now going all out.
Amaterasu continued to spread.
Danzo, cunning to the extreme, repeatedly pushed the Root ninja around him forward to take the brunt of the attack.
One by one, the Root ninja were consumed by the black flames, turning to ash.
But Amaterasu was inherently extremely difficult to evade. In a moment of carelessness, Danzo's right arm was instantly touched by the black flames, which rapidly engulfed his entire body.
"Ah!"
Danzo let out a cry of agony, crashing heavily to the ground as he rolled and struggled frantically.
Fugaku suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, dropping to one knee.
"Ugh!"
He raised his left hand, pressing it tightly against his intensely painful eye, letting out a groan of suffering.
He had never used the Mangekyō so frequently before and had never imagined the toll Amaterasu would take on his body to this extent.
Yet when he looked up and saw Danzo writhing in agony within the flames, a ruthless glint still flashed in his eyes.
If he could eliminate Danzo, this trip to the Land of Rain would not have been in vain.
It was worth it.
However, in the next moment, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
Danzo, consumed by the black flames, began to gradually fade and disappear.
Not far away, Danzo's unharmed figure reappeared.
Izanagi!
Danzo's face darkened as he raised his left hand and lightly brushed over a spot on his right arm, where he had secretly hidden a Sharingan he had collected.
But just now, to evade Amaterasu, it had been completely destroyed.
He looked up at Fugaku, his killing intent undisguised in his eyes.
"Damn you, Fugaku! Damn you, Uchiha!"
Fugaku's heart tightened as he stared intently at Danzo, filled with apprehension.
He had never imagined that anyone could escape from Amaterasu.
He didn't consider Izanagi—it was a Forbidden Technique of the Uchiha, known to very few, and only those with the Sharingan could perform it.
He simply assumed Danzo had used some bizarre Ninjutsu to narrowly evade Amaterasu.
In reality, Danzo had hidden the Sharingan beneath the sleeve of his right arm, deceiving him.
The two stood facing each other, each wary of the other.
Fugaku had just forcibly activated his Mangekyō, and the backlash erupted, causing excruciating pain throughout his body, making it almost impossible to stand steady.
Danzo, terrified by Amaterasu, feared the other might look at him again and dared not act rashly.
Almost simultaneously, both abruptly retreated, rapidly putting distance between them and hiding behind separate large rocks.
Danzo: "..."
Fugaku: "..."
Meanwhile, the Gedo Statue continued to roar madly.
It was the husk of the Ten-Tails, and Amaterasu was one of the few forces that could truly harm it.
Through the black rods, the statue frantically drained Nagato's Chakra.
Nagato trembled violently, his body being slowly drained dry.
Fortunately, he was from the Uzumaki clan, born with immense Chakra reserves, or he would have already been reduced to an empty shell.
Even so, the color rapidly drained from his face.
Through the connection of the black rods, he faintly sensed that the Gedo Statue was facing a mortal threat.
Barely conscious, Nagato weakly raised his hand:
"Almighty Push!"
An invisible Repulsive Force erupted, a shockwave sweeping out and crashing violently into the Amaterasu flames on the Gedo Statue.
The black flames burned everything, yet under the absolute Repulsive Force of the Rinnegan, they shattered and vanished.
After dispelling Amaterasu, the Gedo Statue gradually quieted down, its massive arms slowly lowering.
The black rods connecting Nagato and the statue began to fall apart, disintegrate, and dissipate.
The connection between the Gedo Statue and Nagato was forcibly severed, and with a loud roar, it transformed into billowing smoke and completely disappeared.
Nagato's eyes rolled back, and he could no longer hold on, collapsing straight backward.
"Nagato!"
Yahiko and Konan, dragging their heavily injured bodies, stumbled over.
They lifted him from either side, carefully checking him over before letting out a slight sigh of relief.
"Thankfully, he's just unconscious, no life-threatening danger," Yahiko whispered.
Konan looked up, her eyes dazed. "What do we do now?"
Yes, what now?
Yahiko fell silent.
He looked around—corpses littered the ground, black flames spread in the distance, and farther away, two Summoning Beasts still battled relentlessly.
A deep sense of helplessness washed over him.
"We're too weak, far too weak."
He sighed softly.
In their current state, they could barely tend to their own injuries, let alone break through with an unconscious Nagato.
Their only hope now rested with the two Konohagakure shinobi.
Especially that shinobi named Shinji, who was Tsunade's student.
Perhaps, out of respect for their teacher Jiraiya, he might lend them a hand.
At the farthest edge of the battlefield.
Thick and eerie Black Water erupted violently from Shinji's body, spreading like a massive black wave that instantly swallowed both the Salamander and Hanzo.
Wherever the Black Water passed, everything sizzled with the sound of decomposition. Even the dark purple Poison Mist lingering in the air was forcibly devoured and absorbed by the Black Water.
Alarm bells rang loudly in Hanzo's mind.
Although he was fighting Shinji, he had been keeping an eye on the movements of the others.
He had seen it all—the colossal demon statue, the pink qi dragon, and the black flames that incinerated everything.
And now, the Black Water released by Shinji also made him sense a deadly threat.
The subordinates he had brought were already completely wiped out, and his initial thoughts of retreat grew even stronger.
Now was the perfect time to withdraw.
"Retreat!"
Hanzo made the decision instantly, turning and retreating without hesitation.
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "LegendaryTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!