Outside the Uchiha clan compound.
In the forest—
Uchiha Yu's shadow clone dissipated into thin air.
Earlier, he had remotely planted the Yasakani into Mikoto, and then came here to wait in ambush.
At Yu's most critical moment, the clone had formed the hand seals to activate Izanagi—
thus completing its final mission.
When the shadow clone vanished after the seals, it transmitted the feedback to Yu's real body, triggering the Yin Release chakra needed to fully unleash Izanagi.
The principle was similar to Naruto using shadow clones to charge Sage Mode, or to help execute the Rasengan.
Sensing the shift in reality,
Danzo's brow furrowed deeply. He exhaled sharply, his expression dark and ashen. Raising a trembling right hand to cover his now-hollow eye socket, he stared at Yu with his dull yellowed left eye, panting heavily, sweat pouring down his face.
With the second loss of Kotoamatsukami, the last trace of Yin chakra in Danzo's brain was instantly drained.
And having used so many ocular techniques, his mental state completely collapsed.
But Yu wasn't doing much better.
He was utterly exhausted—both eyes burning with searing pain. All he wanted was to collapse and sleep.
At this point, Yu couldn't even lift a blade, let alone finish Danzo off. He stood upright solely on sheer willpower.
This was the true duel between Sharingan users.
It could be explosive and spectacular, trading powerful visual techniques like fireworks—
Or it could be subtle and tactical, like two grandmasters playing shogi, where every move held deadly intent.
Unfortunately for Danzo… he was a terrible player.
In Yu's eyes, Danzo never should've tried playing the eye game with the Uchiha.
The Root operatives watching the battlefield from afar felt their hearts sink once again.
Lord Danzo... had lost.
Meanwhile, several of the Uchiha present felt like they were finally seeing the first light of dawn.
Though neither side could be sure—
Was the battle truly over?
Would there be another reversal?
Only Yu and Danzo knew the truth.
It was over.
Their clash had made a fair amount of noise—
The first wave of ANBU reinforcements would arrive in less than a minute.
Yu himself had no strength left to finish Danzo—
But behind him stood nine more Uchiha.
He turned slightly to glance back at the group supporting the injured Tamayo. With a calm gaze, he seemed to signal them—
a quiet command.
"Help big brother…"
Tamao, weak but resolute, pushed Izumi away.
As if jolted from a dream, Izumi passed Tamao to a nearby ally and instantly flashed forward toward Yu.
Now that they knew the truth about the clan's massacre, their view of Yu had completely changed.
Uchiha Minami and the six other Uchiha moved as well, scarlet Sharingan glowing in their eyes, three tomoe spinning wildly.
Burning with righteous fury, they gripped their ninja blades tight—
and pounced toward Danzo like hunting panthers.
Yu didn't control them—
because he wanted to see for himself what these people were made of.
Even if they didn't move,
Yasakani would have forced them to act.
But if that happened,
anyone who didn't raise their blade wouldn't be worth keeping alive after Danzo was dead.
To Yu's relief,
they passed the test.
These were all people Yu had carefully selected from among the younger generation of the Uchiha.
Though they weren't the most talented of the bunch, they were the most upright in character.
Yu never claimed to be a good person.
But he still hoped… to live in a world filled with good people.
After surviving the night of the clan's massacre, these Uchiha were bound to awaken their three-tomoe Sharingan.
Their ocular power would reach perfection.
As for Mangekyō—
That would be a little more difficult.
"Damn it…"
Danzo stared at the charging Uchiha, stumbling back a few steps.
But in his weakened state, his body refused to respond to his will.
Yu calmly pulled out a cylindrical container from his robes—
Inside, dozens upon dozens of Sharingan floated in liquid suspension.
He held it out in his palm, unhurried, and explained patiently:
"Danzo, everything you guessed was wrong.
Before coming here…
Only my right eye was a Mangekyō.
My left eye was swapped out for an ordinary three-tomoe.
And here—
I still have 99 more Sharingan."
A death blow to the heart!
Danzo's eyes bulged, fixed on the container.
His aged face contorted violently in shock and rage.
If only he could've survived this one night…
All those Sharingan…
would've been his—Shimura Danzo's!
But now wasn't the time for those thoughts.
Now, Danzo had to think about how to survive this situation.
From the dark woods around them—
rustling footsteps began to approach.
A large number of ninja were converging on the scene.
Danzo's clouded eyes looked past the treeline.
His heart eased ever so slightly.
Sarutobi's ANBU…
and some of Konoha's shinobi…
were nearly here.
If he could just hold on for another ten seconds—
he might be saved!
But just as that thought passed—
Minami and another Uchiha appeared right in front of Danzo, blades raised in a criss-cross,
slashing viciously at his chest.
Squelch—!
The crossed wounds tore open Danzo's chest, blood gushing out like a fountain, splattering across the faces of the furious Uchiha—
Only making them look even more feral.
"Die!!!"
Two more Uchiha leapt in from behind—
appearing on either side of Danzo.
Their blades sliced upward at an angle—
Flash of steel.
Danzo's arms were severed cleanly at the shoulders.
Of the six Uchiha attacking,
the last two slid low across the ground—
blades flashing as they sliced through Danzo's legs in perfect unison.
"Splat—!!"
Danzo's limbs were wracked with searing pain.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
But before he could fall, Minami and another Uchiha had already taken over the assault,
their two ninja blades slashing straight toward Danzo's throat in perfect unison.
Danzo stared at the approaching cold gleam of steel—
and let out a weak smile.
Because—
his life was finally saved.
Crack—!!
A loud creaking, like bark tearing and trees groaning, exploded into the air.
Danzo's body suddenly seemed to break free from some internal seal.
From his right arm, a towering tree erupted and rapidly grew,
coiling and expanding until it completely encased his entire body,
leaving only his aged face exposed.
The reversal came too suddenly.
Uchiha Minami and his companion were both shocked.
Their blades only struck the bark of the tree, unable to dig in deeper.
They were blown back by the sheer force of the massive tree bursting into the sky.
At that moment, Yu put away the Sharingan container.
He gently patted Izumi, who was supporting him, then withdrew his hand, signaling that he'd recovered a bit of strength.
"Let's go. There's no chance to kill him—for now."
Izumi snapped out of her daze and gave a small nod.
With that, the six enraged Uchiha were once again brought under the control of Yasaka-no-Magatama, returning to Yu's side.
Izumi's two squad members supported Tamao.
Tamao glanced weakly toward Danzo and blurted out:
"Danzo's mom is actually a giant tree?!"
The corners of the Uchiha's mouths twitched.
That outburst from Tamayo
snapped them all back to reality.
The sound of approaching footsteps in the forest was growing louder.
This—was the best window they'd have to escape Konoha.
Suddenly, Uchiha Minami noticed movement beside him.
Turning his head, he was stunned.
"Captain Yu… What are you doing?"
He saw Yu, face blank and expressionless,
suddenly draw the ninja blade on his back
and step forward toward the tree-encased Danzo.
The rest of the Uchiha finally realized what was happening—
Yu had brought them back to his side not for retreat, but because he had recovered just enough strength… to kill Danzo himself!
"Captain, you have to run!"
"Captain Yu!"
"Leave us behind—just go! If you don't leave now, it'll be too late!"
The Uchiha shouted anxiously behind him.
But Yu didn't seem to hear them.
He raised his blade… and with all the strength he could muster—
he slowly, inch by inch, drove it into Danzo's chest, right at the heart.
Within the depression in the massive tree,
every inch the blade sank in, Danzo's face contorted in agony.
He coughed up blood with each thrust.
Yu's voice was cold as ice:
"Why the hell are you pretending in front of me?"
Danzo stared daggers at Yu, trembling with fury. As the blade reached the hilt,
his life force drained away completely.
Finally,
his old eyes closed.
His head drooped lifelessly,
like a withered tree.
The Uchiha were stunned.
Izumi replayed Yu's earlier words in her mind—
Didn't he just say… there was no chance?
Her beautiful eyes widened, confused,
as she stared at the man standing firm,
his back as steady as a mountain.
"Heh… heh heh…"
Tamao grinned, blood-smeared teeth showing as he laughed stupidly.
°°°
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