Izanagi—
The ultimate forbidden technique of the Uchiha clan.
One of Danzo's greatest trump cards.
And yet now, it was being treated with complete disdain by Raiden.
Danzo felt as though something inside him had been shattered. When a person's greatest pride is trampled without mercy, what follows is often madness.
"Do you even know what technique I'm using?! And yet you dare to call me half-baked?!"
"Once I find the weakness in your ability, I will kill you without hesitation!"
Danzo's face twisted with rage. The Root he had painstakingly built was already destroyed, his foundation reduced to nothing, and now even his ultimate technique was being belittled while his life hung by a thread—how could he not go mad?
"Find my weakness?"
Raiden paused slightly, finding the idea rather strange.
Did he even have a weakness?
He couldn't recall ever having one.
On the contrary—
Danzo's weakness was obvious.
Raiden raised a finger and pointed directly at him.
"You rely on the Sharingan in your arm to use that mental-based ability. Once all the eyes on your arm close, your technique will stop working."
"Isn't that what you'd call half-baked?"
Those words struck like a blade lodged in Danzo's throat, leaving him speechless.
Izanagi was powerful—
But it came at a cost.
Every use would permanently close one Sharingan. Once all the implanted eyes shut, the technique could no longer be activated.
"So what if you know my weakness?!"
Danzo's expression grew more ferocious, his bloodshot eyes bulging as rage consumed him.
"Before my technique fails, I can kill you!"
However—
Before he could even finish speaking—
Raiden appeared directly in front of him.
Raiden's gaze was indifferent, as though looking down upon something insignificant.
"Is that so… Your thinking is pitifully small."
"Even if your ability were complete… even if it improved several levels further…"
"You would still be nothing more than an ant."
Their eyes met.
The cold calculation in Danzo's eyes instantly gave way to boundless fear.
Within Raiden's calm, chilling gaze, it felt as though an entire hell existed—Danzo truly felt, for the first time, that he was nothing but a fragile insect.
"Damn it… is this a genjutsu?!"
His body trembled uncontrollably under that pressure, yet he still forced himself to speak.
"Careful your arrogance doesn't come back to bite you!"
"Is that so?"
Raiden's voice remained calm.
"I don't like boasting."
"The reason I didn't kill you with one strike earlier was because I suppressed all my strength. The following attempts weren't because I couldn't kill you, but because I thought you might be worth testing… it's been a long time since I stretched a bit."
"But unfortunately, you're only half-baked."
"You're not even worth the effort."
As he spoke, Raiden stepped closer to Danzo.
"Your ability is nothing more than temporarily borrowing the power of certain rules. To break it, there's no need to wait until all your Sharingan close—you only need to destroy the mental anchor tied to those rules."
He paused slightly.
"But that's too troublesome."
"I don't have the patience to search through endless rules just to locate your anchor."
"If I want to kill you…"
"I'll simply destroy the rules along with you."
Hearing those words, an indescribable fear filled Danzo's heart. Something deep within him kept repeating a single thought—
He could actually do it.
"No… I don't believe it!"
"You're underestimating me!"
With a roar born from desperation, Danzo tore away the bandage over his right eye.
A Sharingan appeared.
Uchiha Shisui's eye.
Within it—
The most powerful genjutsu:
Kotoamatsukami.
"If you're so strong… then serve me. Become my puppet!"
The Sharingan spun, its tomoe transforming into a Mangekyō.
The ultimate genjutsu was unleashed.
Danzo's final trump card.
"Ha! It worked!"
"Raiden, you were careless—completely defenseless!"
Danzo burst into laughter, confident that Raiden had fallen under Kotoamatsukami.
But—
Reality was far crueler than his expectations.
The moment the technique connected—
Danzo's expression froze.
Kotoamatsukami was still, at its core, a clash of spiritual power.
Yet when his consciousness reached Raiden—
It was like a drop of water falling into an endless universe.
It vanished—
Without even a ripple.
"How… is this possible?!"
"How can your spiritual power be this terrifying?!"
Only then did Danzo begin to understand what kind of existence he was facing.
In his perception, Raiden grew endlessly vast—
While he himself felt smaller and smaller.
Like a clueless insect staring into infinity.
"The ignorant are truly pitiful."
"Manipulating the mind is an interesting technique…"
"But your power is far too weak."
Too weak.
Hearing that evaluation, Danzo almost felt as if it were praise.
"No… I can't die here!"
"I'm still under Izanagi! How could I die to someone like you?!"
He roared desperately, clinging to the illusion of survival.
"There's nothing that's impossible."
Raiden replied calmly.
Then—
He clenched his fist.
Five fingers tightening into a single point.
"Danzo… you and your ability can disappear together."
"You should feel honored."
"At the very least… you made me throw a punch."
Raiden casually swung his fist.
In that instant—
Danzo felt space itself distort.
The laws of reality seemed to collapse around him.
"No!!"
With his ambition, his unwillingness, and his final scream—
Danzo was erased.
Izanagi—
Did nothing.
Danzo—
Dead.
"…The fly is finally gone."
Raiden's expression returned to its usual carefree indifference.
"Time to go back and get some sleep."
As his voice faded—
His figure vanished from Root's headquarters.