On the screen, there was a moment of absolute silence.
Obito and Karin respectively ran toward the rear, leaving the battlefield to Sasuke and Danzo.
The two stood on the bridge more than ten meters apart, staring coldly at each other.
The wind howled, whipping their robes and adding a touch of grim tension to the impending decisive battle.
Danzo slowly unwound the bandages wrapped around his right arm, and together with the metal arm guard they fell to the ground with a light thud.
At the same time, he broke the silence on the bridge with an icy tone: "Perfect! Sasuke, and Madara too—I'll be taking your Sharingan as well!"
When the last layer of bandages fell away, the pale, ghastly right arm Danzo revealed was shockingly embedded with ten Sharingan!
The skin of the arm itself was grayish-white, covered with suture marks, like a piece of cloth pieced together. That was the aftereffect of Hashirama cell transplantation, and also the price Danzo had paid for power.
Although the people of the Shinobi World had seen this scene before, witnessing it again still felt shocking.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Shimura clan grounds]
Danzo sat on the wooden porch at home, his single eye staring at that white arm on the screen, his expression gloomy.
Those ten Sharingan were obtained by trading precious resources with Orochimaru, and were his most prized assets!
But now, all of these things had been taken away by that bastard Hiruzen!
Damn it, wasn't he just relying on being the Hokage?
One day, he would take back everything that belonged to him.
Meanwhile, on the screen—
Danzo quickly formed the hand seals for Izanagi, Chakra surging within him, and then he suddenly lunged forward, swinging his right fist fiercely toward Sasuke.
The wind from his punch whistled, tearing through the air and emitting a sharp, piercing sound.
But just as his fist was a few centimeters from Sasuke's abdomen, it couldn't advance any further and stopped in mid-air.
Under Danzo's astonished gaze, a purple energy skeleton enveloped Sasuke's entire body, and the first stage of Susano'o gradually took form in front of him, blocking his full-force punch.
Seeing this, Danzo couldn't help taking a few steps back, but he didn't have time to notice his left side, and was tightly gripped by Susano'o's skeletal arm.
Although it was still only half-body, the sense of oppression emitted by the giant already made him sigh with emotion.
"So this is the Susano'o?"
At this moment, Sasuke was in no hurry to deal the fatal blow. Instead, he chose to keep tightening the skeletal arm, and then asked:
"Is it true that Uchiha Itachi eliminated my clan by order of the Elders?"
Seeing Danzo avoid answering, the Mangekyō Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes suddenly dilated, his fury almost erupting from his eye sockets.
"I'm going to ask you one more time!"
"Is it true that Uchiha Itachi eliminated my clan by order of the Elders?!"
Danzo, tightly clamped by the Susano'o with no hope of breaking free, gritted his teeth:
"I… I didn't think he was that kind of man."
"Damn Itachi… I see he revealed everything to you before he died. As I thought… it seems that you are truly special."
"So it was all true…?" Stimulated by this, Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan trembled continuously, and the Susano'o also entered its second stage, growing muscles and skin.
---
[Konoha, Year 52. Uchiha clan grounds]
Every Uchiha present looked disgusted; of course it was true, and even before anyone officially gave the order, your brother had already acted impatiently.
What a good dog for the Konoha Elders!
They also didn't understand why Sasuke was the only one special in Itachi's heart, while he could ruthlessly kill his parents and his childhood sweetheart.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Location of Team 7]
The young Sasuke truly did not understand his future self's thoughts!
Why had he actually gone to avenge Itachi?
What kind of joke was this!
Could it be that before dying, Itachi had secretly used Kotoamatsukami on him?
On the screen—
"Self-sacrifice… that's what epitomizes a Shinobi! Never seeing the light of day. Toiling in the shadows. It is as it was in the past. That is what a true Shinobi is!"
"It describes not just Itachi, countless other Shinobi have died the same way."
"This world cannot be all glory and brightness. It is because of people like him that the world can maintain peace!"
"People like you who misunderstood Itachi's intentions, couldn't possibly understand! Still… for Itachi to reveal such a secret to you makes him a traitor to the Leaf…"
Before Danzo could finish speaking, Sasuke, unable to endure it any longer, exerted force with his right hand, and the Susano'o crushed Danzo, turning him into a pool of blood.
"Don't you dare talk about Itachi again!"
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
Hiruzen sat on the sofa, pipe in hand, smoke curling upward.
What Danzo said certainly had merit. The world was not simply black and white, and many shinobi truly contributed silently to Konoha.
Especially those shinobi carrying out secret missions in ANBU, in Root, and on the borders. Their names would not be remembered, and their sacrifices would be hard to write into history, but they truly were the cornerstones of Konoha.
Hiruzen understood Danzo's meaning and acknowledged the reasoning.
But Danzo's methods were too extreme. One could even say he only talked about it and didn't do it himself. When Pain invaded the village, he actually stood by and watched, hiding the Root underground and not sending out a single shinobi.
He spoke endlessly of doing things for Konoha, but when Konoha was blown into ruins, where was he? Hiding in an underground room, waiting for Tsunade and Naruto to go die.
This really was not the conduct of a qualified possessor of the Will of Fire!
However, Danzo really had been too careless. Even with Izanagi, did he not treat his life as life at all? He was so easily caught in Sasuke's grasp.
Meanwhile, on the screen—
"You're right. Then let us proceed to a battle of the eyes." Sasuke's pupils dilated in shock; he hadn't expected Danzo's voice to come from behind him.
Danzo gripped a Kunai tightly in his hand. And without the slightest hesitation, he poured all his strength into it and fiercely stabbed at the Susano'o skeleton!
Clang!!!
A metallic clash so harsh it made one's teeth ache shook everyone's eardrums through the screen!
The moment it touched the Susano'o, the Kunai made of refined steel shattered inch by inch, fragments scattering everywhere!
And on the Susano'o's surface, not even a scratch was left!
Sasuke reacted quickly, the Susano'o's massive skeletal arm tearing through the air and slamming down mercilessly toward the close-at-hand Danzo.
However, Danzo's figure appeared again on top of the bridge's stone pillar in the blink of an eye, like a cockroach that could not be killed.
Everyone in the Shinobi World was shocked. Earlier they had only seen Danzo stab Susano'o with that Kunai, but had not seen the result. Now that they saw the result, they could only say that Danzo's actions really were laughable.
---
[Konoha, Year one. High platform outside the village]
Madara looked at Sasuke's Susano'o on the screen and shook his head slightly. Sasuke's Susano'o was still in the second stage, with only the skeleton, not even armor had grown yet, but it was more than enough to block a Kunai.
"This kid Danzo, is there something wrong with his head? Even if he doesn't recognize Susano'o, there's no need to test it with a Kunai, right?" Madara turned to look at Tobirama. "Is this the level of your disciple?"
Tobirama stood not far away, expressionless, but the corner of his eye twitched almost imperceptibly.
He didn't even know who this kid was right now, but as his future disciple, being mocked like this by Madara still made him lose face.
But he did not refute it, because what Madara said was the truth. This kid's performance really was embarrassing.
Using a Kunai to stab Susano'o—even a Genin wouldn't do something like that.
How did this kid become his disciple with that kind of brain?
---
[Konoha, Year 20. Hokage Office]
Tobirama's face darkened.
He hadn't expected that, as his disciple, Danzo hadn't even figured out the Susano'o!
How could he fight an Uchiha like this?
Perhaps he had lived for too long and his brain had rusted.
---
[Konoha, Year 60]
[Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Office]
Onoki saw this scene on the screen and couldn't help but lament: "This guy Danzo… what kind of idiot is he?"
"Stabbing Susano'o with a Kunai?! Does he think Susano'o is made of tofu?! If Madara knew an Uchiha was being treated as an opponent by such an idiot, he would probably be so angry that he'd crawl out of his coffin!"
---
[Kumogakure, Raikage's Office]
Bee pointed at the screen, almost choking with laughter. "Yo big bro, look, that old guy really is… hahahahaha!" He couldn't even finish his sentence.
A's mouth also twitched, his face full of disdain.
"Hmph! Stupid guy wasting chakra! To deal with an Uchiha, you should use the strongest Lightning Release and blast him head-on!" Although he spoke dismissively, the look in A's eyes as he regarded Sasuke on the screen became a bit more serious.
This thing, Susano'o, really didn't look easy to deal with. If he himself had to face this, he felt he would be somewhat countered.
---
[Kirigakure, Mizukage's Office]
Mei gently covered her mouth with her hand, but her eyes were full of astonishment.
"This… really is… a rather unique tactic."
Ao, Chojuro, and the others were even more dumbfounded.
---
[Sunagakure, Kazekage's Office]
Chiyo and Rasa looked at the scene of Danzo being crushed on the screen, their brows tightly furrowed.
They seemed to be thinking about whether there was any deep meaning in Danzo's move. Was he testing the Susano'o's defensive power? Or deliberately wasting uses of Izanagi?
But after thinking it over again and again, they ultimately shook their heads helplessly.
They truly couldn't understand Danzo's thought process.
In the end, Rasa's face twitched hard.
"…Idiot!"
---
[Akatsuki's new base]
Itachi looked at Danzo chattering endlessly on the screen, his brows furrowing slightly. Danzo talked a bit too much. Even before dying, he still had to say useless nonsense.
Beside him, Kakuzu curled his lip: "What a waste! The market price of a refined steel Kunai is… with that one move of his, he lost at least 500 ryo. Truly stupid!"
His voice was full of heartache, as if he was the one who bought the Kunai.
[To be honest, Danzo's disadvantage was that he was not of the Uchiha clan. When an Uchiha activates Izanagi, they can extend the invincibility duration to ten minutes, but Danzo had no Uchiha bloodline, so he could only maintain it for one minute.]
[During this one minute, any attack he received was completely ineffective. So, once Izanagi was activated, the progress bar would keep moving forward and could not be stopped. So Danzo had no need at all to waste stamina dodging attacks; not dodging was more meaningful.]
[But unfortunately, he was too arrogant. He treated this ability as truly invincible, and ultimately committed the sin of pride.]
On the screen—
"Amaterasu!"
Along with Sasuke's low shout, black flames once again surged out from his Mangekyo Sharingan, precisely lunging toward Danzo.
Amaterasu swallowed Danzo's figure without any suspense. But at this point in time, Danzo was invincible. So, under the cover of Izanagi, he once again shifted positions.
The next second, a faint sound of cutting through the air came from behind Sasuke.
Danzo's figure emerged like a ghost, and a Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets whistled out; the wind bullets tearing through the air, heading straight for Sasuke's back.
Although Karin let out a scream to warn him from afar, and Sasuke instinctively twisted aside to dodge, his arm was still grazed by a wind blade, and blood immediately splashed out.
Sasuke endured the pain and leaped into the air, biting his finger in midair and rapidly forming hand seals. A hawk appeared in response, spreading its wings and diving down, while Sasuke landed steadily on the hawk's back.
"You've inherited Itachi's techniques. Brothers with the same ability. Yet, what your eyes perceive is so different."
"The truth about Itachi isn't important to you. You direct your hatred at whomever you can lay your hands on. You make the sacrifice of the Uchiha Clan meaningless." At this moment, Danzo was still constantly using words to disrupt Sasuke's mind.
"You have no right to talk about the Uchiha!" Sasuke roared in fury, controlling the hawk and diving down toward Danzo.
But Danzo didn't take him seriously. He started forming hand seals with both hands, "Wind Style: Vacuum Blast!"
Sasuke twisted aside to dodge the oncoming attack, and drew his Kusanagi sword, slashing fiercely at Danzo.
But the wind blades had stirred up shattered stones, blocking Sasuke's line of sight.
Honestly, Danzo truly deserved to be Konoha's Wind Release master. At this moment, several Wind Release shuriken were continuously thrown from his hands, each attack vicious and ruthless, with bizarre angles.
But Sasuke's reactions were equally fast. With the Kusanagi sword in hand, he caught one Wind Release shuriken, then used it to knock another shuriken away.
The collision produced dazzling sparks, while stones shattered, and dust filled the air.
But soon Danzo seemed to seize a opening in Sasuke's movements and had just grabbed Sasuke's throat.
However, at that very moment, one of the Wind Release shuriken Sasuke had cleverly knocked away earlier, was being retrieved by the giant hawk in its beak, and spun back silently from behind Danzo like a boomerang.
With a "puchi," it precisely severed Danzo's right arm!
Sasuke took the opportunity to swing his Kusanagi sword; a flash of cold light, and Danzo's upper body was cut in half at the waist.
But the corpse quickly turned to nothingness. Danzo had once again consumed a Sharingan and reformed his body atop a high stone pillar of the bridge frame.
"It's useless."
Danzo looked down from above, his voice full of smugness.
Seeing how troublesome Danzo was to deal with, a trace of resolve flashed through Sasuke's eyes. Several black crows silently flew from his sleeve, soundlessly circling behind Danzo, then with a "poof" turned into white smoke, and what appeared from the smoke, was none other than the figure of Uchiha Itachi!
"Itachi?" Danzo's mind was shaken, and he instinctively looked at those red eyes.
Sasuke took this opportunity to close in from behind, the Kusanagi sword in his hand stabbing straight toward Danzo's heart.
However, just as he was about to succeed, Sasuke suddenly found his whole body stiff and unable to move.
"I commend you for placing me under Genjutsu. However… I was aware of your Genjutsu long ago. It is a far cry from Itachi's masterful Tsukuyomi, in which he freely manipulated time."
It turned out that when Danzo had gripped Sasuke's neck earlier, he had secretly carved the formula of a sealing Jutsu onto Sasuke's body.
"Sasuke!"
Seeing Sasuke in trouble, Karin rushed forward desperately to support him, but Danzo didn't even turn his head, kicking her away with one foot.
Karin crashed heavily to the ground, her glasses shattering, and blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.
Danzo then glanced at Obito, who was quietly watching from afar, calculating in his heart to save Chakra to deal with that real threat.
After all, the Uchiha brat before him, in his view, was nothing but a turtle in a jar.
So he released Izanagi and slowly drew the sword inserted in the sealing Jutsu out of Sasuke's body.
Sasuke groaned in Pain, blood gushing from the wound, but the flames of hatred still burned in his eyes, staring fixedly at Danzo.
*****
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister