[Why is it said that ordinary villains die from talking too much? Well, Danzo is a classic example.]
[It was clearly a situation that could have been resolved with a single sword strike, yet he insisted on continuously taunting and provoking Sasuke until he went berserk.]
[Of course, for Danzo, this battle was actually quite unfair. At this point in time, even if he could defeat Sasuke, he would soon discover that a new, stronger Sasuke would revive and appear before him again, far more monstrous than his Izanagi.]
'Hmm?'
When Itachi heard this, he immediately became tense.
There was no need to say more about Danzo being stupid, but what did the Sky Screen's subsequent words mean?
Sasuke could be resurrected after death? And it wasn't because of Izanagi?!
Was it because of the ancestor Indra's Chakra?
Then after revival, was that Sasuke still Sasuke… or Indra?
And what was the situation at that point in time? Did it mean that before the so-called point in time, if Sasuke died, he was just dead and could not be revived?
Other sharp-witted people also frowned.
What did the Sky Screen mean by this?
The future Sasuke couldn't be killed? And he could actually become stronger after dying?
Was there any fairness left in this world?!
On the screen, as if to confirm the screen's explanation, Danzo, after kicking Karin away, began to chatter endlessly.
"Why? Why was it necessary to save the life of such trash, Itachi?"
"Look, Itachi… at the pathetic state he's in. He's your… ultimate mistake… isn't he?"
As Danzo spoke, he slowly swung his sword. Meanwhile, Obito watching from afar, was about to activate Kamui, but before he could act, an anomaly occurred.
"Ahhh!!!"
Sasuke roared toward the sky, and a power so violent it reached the extreme erupted from within him!
Purple chakra surged out, instantly condensing into the third stage of Susano'o. The massive skeleton was clad in armor, holding a bow and arrow, standing majestically.
The sealing Jutsu that Danzo had placed was shattered inch by inch under the impact of this power, forcibly undone by Sasuke!
"To actually undo the seal… This Susano'o… is completely different from before!" Danzo was also blasted into the air by this power.
And while mid-air, he spat out Wind Release from his mouth, using the force of the air currents to continuously adjust his position, finally landing steadily on the bridge.
On the other side, Sasuke's Susano'o drew its bow and nocked an arrow, the tip pointing straight at Danzo.
Sasuke's Mangekyō also spun madly as he bellowed, "Die!"
The purple giant arrow tore through the air, carrying the momentum to destroy everything as it shot forth!
Danzo was terrified out of his wits. At the brink of life and death, the instinct to survive overwhelmed everything. From his severed arm, a sudden mutation erupted, and a thick vine grew madly, rapidly becoming a large tree that blocked in front of him!
BOOM!!
The purple giant arrow slammed into the large tree with a thunderous roar.
Although the tree was instantly pierced through, it also successfully altered the giant arrow's trajectory, making it graze past Danzo's shoulder and shatter a large stretch of bridge piers in the distance.
Danzo was covered in cold sweat, having narrowly escaped death.
Meanwhile, as soon as this Wood Release appeared, the various Shinobi World timelines exploded.
Although the screen had previously revealed that Danzo had transplanted Hashirama cells and possessed Wood Release, witnessing it with their own eyes was far more shocking than just hearing about it!
"Wood Release? This guy… actually knows Wood Release!"
The Kage-level figures of the major shinobi villages exclaimed in unison.
The signature Ninjutsu of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama! When it truly appeared on Danzo, the hidden implications were terrifying to contemplate.
Hashirama cells!
It was definitely this thing!
Many people immediately showed greed. Konoha seemed to have already figured out how to develop Wood Release through the cells of Hashirama.
After all, Danzo and the previously appeared Yamato were the best examples!
No, wait, there was also that guy Obito!
He had also used Wood Release to kill Shinobis from Kirigakure and had also transplanted Hashirama cells.
One person could be luck, two people could be an accident, but three people couldn't possibly all be coincidences, right?
However, if Obito's Hashirama cells were obtained from Madara, then where did Madara get them from?
Or was this guy Danzo… secretly cooperating with Madara all along?
---
[Konoha, Year 20. Hokage Office]
Tobirama's face was ashen. He had never expected that his disciple, who spoke endlessly of "for the sake of Konoha," would potentially cooperate with Madara in the future, conducting forbidden experiments to master the power of Wood Release.
This was no longer just a matter of forbidden experiments, but a betrayal of the Will of Fire!
Young Hiruzen stood to the side and cautiously reminded him, "Sensei, that is only one possibility in the future. Danzo is still the Danzo who can sacrifice everything for Konoha right now."
Hearing that, Tobirama was somewhat frustrated, "Of course I know, but this brat must be tempered more! From what we've seen till now, he doesn't even have the ability to assist you."
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
Tsunade sneered: "Old man, how much longer are you going to protect Danzo?"
Before Hiruzen could answer, she continued, "I'm really curious now, do you actually know what Danzo has been doing?!"
Hearing that, Hiruzen gave a bitter smile, "I indeed only knew about Yamato before. I didn't expect him to be so insane as to transplant the cells into himself as well."
He pondered for a moment, "Well… we have already recovered so many things from him, taking back one more arm is nothing. After all, it's all the village's resources."
"However, I am also quite curious how he is currently suppressing the Hashirama cells."
---
[Shimura clan grounds]
Danzo, under house arrest at home, suddenly felt his right eyelid twitch, and an ominous premonition surged over him.
Meanwhile, on the screen, the battle continued.
At this point, Karin had already discovered that Danzo had previously deactivated Izanagi and shouted from under the bridge to inform Sasuke.
Hearing this, Sasuke gritted his teeth and endured the severe pain caused by the backlash of the Mangekyō Sharingan, driving Susano'o to draw its bowstring fully once again.
Purple chakra arrows condensed into form, aimed at Danzo, who had temporarily released Izanagi.
"So you noticed, huh? But it's too late." Danzo's reaction was astonishingly fast. Almost at the same moment Susano'o's bowstring was fully drawn, his hands quickly formed hand seals, once again renewing Izanagi.
After these several rounds of exchanges, Danzo had deeply experienced the terror of Sasuke's Susano'o. Now that the chakra remaining in his body was pitifully little, and more than half of the Sharingan embedded in his right arm had been consumed. The confidence and complacency he had felt at the start of the battle had long since vanished, replaced by an unshakable anxiety.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Danzo suddenly bit his finger and slammed his palm onto the ground, and the massive summoning beast Baku appeared in response.
It opened its black-hole-like enormous mouth, spewing out a terrifying suction force, as if it wanted to swallow Sasuke and Susano'o together into its belly.
At the same time, Danzo's figure flashed behind Sasuke like a ghost, both hands quickly forming hand seals as he coldly shouted:
"Wind Style: Vacuum Blast Barrage!"
Several extremely sharp high-pressure wind blades tore through the air, howling from behind, forming a pincer attack together with Baku's suction force.
Under the dual pressure of Baku's terrifying traction and the deadly wind blades behind him, Sasuke's Susano'o showed a trace of delay, and the incomparably powerful Susano'o was unexpectedly torn open!
It looked as if Danzo's Vacuum Blast was about to pass through Susano'o's defense and slash Sasuke's real body!
But even at that critical moment, Sasuke remained calm in the face of danger.
He suddenly turned his head and, aiming at Baku's greedy, giant mouth, spat out an incredibly scorching, massive fireball: "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The roaring flames, aided by the powerful suction released by Baku itself, instantly expanded several times over and violently poured into Baku's throat.
"Awooo!!!" Baku let out a miserable howl, rolling and struggling in pain, then turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared.
Having broken free from Baku's restraint, Sasuke didn't hesitate to control the Susano'o and turn around to smash out a punch. The massive bone fist, carrying the force of thunder, slammed hard into Danzo, sending him flying like a broken sack.
However, at that critical moment when the outcome of the battle was about to be decided.
"Pff!!"
Sasuke suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body going limp as he half-knelt on the ground.
The side effects of overusing the Mangekyō Sharingan finally erupted. The severe headache felt as if it would tear his skull apart, his vision blurred sharply, and the Susano'o began to crumble inch by inch. The armor peeled off, the bow and arrow dispersed, and he could no longer maintain the state.
And on the opposite side, in the smoke and dust, Danzo's figure once again emerged unscathed, except that another eye on his right arm had closed forever.
He looked coldly at Sasuke, who was half-kneeling and gasping for breath, and a sinister smile rose at the corner of his mouth.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Location of Team 7]
Sakura looked at Sasuke on the screen, half-kneeling on the ground and spitting blood, and her heart suddenly tightened.
"Sasuke…" she murmured softly, her voice full of worry.
Naruto also frowned, staring at the "Sasuke" on the screen who had been beaten until he spat blood by Danzo, a complex emotion surging in his heart.
The future Sasuke, despite being so strong, was still forced to this point.
Sasuke himself frowned tightly, his eyes full of confusion.
"What's going on…" he muttered. "How exactly did I win then?"
The Susano'o had crumbled, the side effects of the Mangekyō Sharingan had erupted, and Danzo still had several Sharingan left unused.
No matter how he looked at it, he was at a severe disadvantage!
And at this moment, the battle on the screen finally reached its turning point.
In the continuous life-and-death clashes, Sasuke finally saw through the secret of Danzo's Izanagi. Each Sharingan that closed in sequence on his arm bought him a brief period of invincibility.
Sasuke understood clearly that as long as there were still open eyes on Danzo's right arm, any lethal attack would be rewritten. So, he forcibly endured the piercing agony brought by the side effects of the Mangekyō Sharingan and once again forcibly condensed what little chakra he had left!
The blood flowing from his left eye had already dyed half his cheek red, but because of the excessive consumption of ocular power, Susano'o had degraded from a mature armored giant back to its most primitive skeletal form, with a few semi-transparent purple ribs barely protecting his body.
At this point, Sasuke no longer attempted a one-hit kill. Instead, he changed tactics and began trading various low-level Ninjutsu with Danzo.
Fireballs, wind blades, Shuriken, Kunai… the two went back and forth on the broken bridge surface, sparks from colliding ninja tools interweaving with the smoke and dust of explosions.
Every move Sasuke made was carefully calculated, with the goal of consuming as much of Danzo's chakra as possible, forcing him to continuously use Izanagi and accelerating the consumption of the few remaining Sharingan on his right arm.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Finally, only the last Sharingan remained open on Danzo's right arm, coldly watching the impending endgame.
Now, both of them were at the end of their strength, gasping for breath, sweat mixed with blood dripping from their chins. In their gaze as they looked at each other, there was no more probing, only the resolve to kill.
"Just how many Uchiha did you kill to get that right arm?!" Sasuke's voice carried uncontrollable anger.
"It was Itachi who enabled me to get it!" Danzo bared his teeth, advancing instead of retreating.
"You made him do it!" Sasuke roared, pouring his last chakra into the Kusanagi sword, cold light gleaming.
The two of them simultaneously erupted with their remaining strength, charging desperately at each other.
Their footsteps shattered the broken stones on the bridge, kicking up dust.
And finally, the two figures crossed in an instant.
"Puchi!" x2
The muffled sounds of two blades piercing flesh rose almost simultaneously.
And after a deathly silence, the onlookers finally saw the scene on the screen.
Sasuke's Kusanagi sword had pierced through Danzo's chest, the tip emerging from his back; while the Kunai in Danzo's hand had also fiercely stabbed into Sasuke's side, blood flowing along the blade.
The two maintained the posture of having pierced each other, like two frozen statues.
After a brief stillness, a smile slowly appeared on Danzo's face.
"You were too impatient… my eye is still open!" He tilted his head slightly, indicating that the last Sharingan on his right arm was still rotating.
"I win. Did you think you've seen through Izanagi… foolish Uchiha brat!"
However, the Sky Screen had long since revealed the outcome of the battle, so people in the various Shinobi World timelines only wanted to know how Sasuke had reversed the situation.
Sure enough, Danzo's triumph lasted less than a second!
On the screen, the originally smiling Danzo suddenly trembled violently, his smile freezing instantly, replaced by unbelievable shock.
"Pff!!!"
A large mouthful of blood sprayed uncontrollably from his mouth, splattering onto Sasuke's clothes. Danzo's eyes shook violently, as if awakening from a dream!
The excruciating pain of his chest being pierced swept through his whole body; this pain was so real.
He slowly lowered his head, inch by inch, looking at his right arm.
That Sharingan, which he thought was still open, had actually closed!
It was Genjutsu!!
Danzo instantly realized; he had long since, without knowing it, fallen under Sasuke's Genjutsu!
When had it started?
Was it the moment their eyes last met?
Or even earlier, when Sasuke deliberately exposed a flaw?
He had no idea that the invincible duration of Izanagi had long since become ineffective under the deception of Genjutsu.
The moment he thought he had won was actually just a carefully woven dream!
The intense pain made Danzo unable to support himself any longer. His legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the broken ground, blood flowing from his chest and severed arm.
In front of the screen, countless spectators let out a long sigh, some even unconsciously patting their chests.
The scene just now had been simply too deceptive.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Location of Team 7]
Naruto let out a sigh of relief, patting his chest hard: "That scared me to death! I knew Sasuke wouldn't die so easily!"
Sakura burst into tears of joy. "Great!" Tears swirled in her eyes, but she smiled happier than anyone.
Kakashi's eyes flashed with a light of brilliance.
The Sharingan's Genjutsu had fooled Danzo!
Sasuke's combat awareness in the future could actually crush Danzo. He wondered just how many battles he had went through?
---
[Akatsuki's new base]
Itachi, who had been tense for a while, finally relaxed at this moment.
The hand hidden in his sleeve slowly loosened, the marks left by his nails on his palm faintly visible.
No one knew how much torment he had endured in that instant just now.
*****
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