Outside the barrier, Danzo Shimura wiped a layer of cold sweat from his forehead.
Danzo's Internal Monologue: I am afraid. The realization sickens me, but it is the truth. Jin has possessed this level of physical dominance since the Third War, yet he never revealed it. Not even during our confrontation in the Hokage's office. He purposefully absorbed my political attacks to feign weakness, waiting for this exact moment to slaughter my forces. What is his endgame? It no longer matters. I must drown him in bodies today, or he will be unstoppable.
Danzo turned to his elite Root lieutenants. "The mercenaries have failed to drain his chakra. It is your turn. Execute the target."
Torune Aburame and the other Root elites nodded slowly. Having undergone extreme psychological conditioning, they possessed no fear. They approached the barrier. The operatives maintaining the Four Violet Flames Formation briefly opened a small, localized gap, allowing the Root elites to enter before sealing it shut behind them.
"Engage," Torune ordered calmly.
The Root and Anbu forces surged forward, abandoning the cowardly mercenaries and attacking Jin with coordinated, lethal precision.
***
The Pressure Mounts
Inside the barrier, Jin began to feel the shift in momentum.
While he could effortlessly slaughter undisciplined mercenaries with basic taijutsu, the Anbu and Root operatives were elite, highly coordinated veterans. They attacked in structured formations, forcing Jin to begin weaving hand signs and expending chakra on elemental ninjutsu just to maintain his pace.
He quickly analyzed the enemy numbers.
Jin's Internal Monologue: Hiruzen and Danzo have committed significant resources. A full Anbu Battalion consists of three companies, each with twelve four-man squads. That is 144 Anbu operatives. Add in the fifteen Root squads—another 60 elites. They have deployed over 200 high-level shinobi. A pure physical battle of attrition is no longer efficient. They want to force me to use my Mangekyo? Very well. I will give them exactly what they want. I will show the Hokage the absolute terror of trying to overturn the board.
Jin stopped moving. He stood still amidst the incoming barrage of shuriken and elemental jutsu.
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun violently, bleeding together into a new, complex geometric pattern.
The Mangekyo Sharingan activated.
"Third Power: Susanoo!"
System Explanation: Susanoo is the ultimate defense and offense of the Uchiha, accessible only to those who have awakened the Mangekyo in both eyes. It manifests as a gigantic, humanoid avatar made of the user's materialized chakra that surrounds and protects them.
A blinding, blood-red light erupted from Jin's eyes. A massive, localized chakra shockwave blasted the incoming Anbu away. Faint black cursed seals spread across the ground beneath him.
Instantly, a skeletal ribcage of pitch-black chakra materialized around Jin, shielding him from the attacks.
"Insufficient," Jin muttered, feeling the massive drain on his optical chakra. "To truly shatter their morale, a skeletal manifestation is not enough."
He pushed more chakra into his eyes.
A massive black skull materialized above the ribcage, followed by arms and a spine. In seconds, a ten-meter-tall skeletal giant loomed over the battlefield.
"Still not enough. I need absolute despair."
Jin pushed through the burning pain in his optical nerves. The skeletal structure rapidly generated muscle and flesh made of black chakra. Finally, a thick layer of samurai-style armor materialized over the flesh.
The Black Susanoo now stood thirty meters tall, a towering god of destruction. In its massive hand, it manifested a colossal chakra katana.
Jin's Internal Monologue: This is the armored state. It is sufficient. Manifesting the Perfect Susanoo (a colossal, winged state) would be a waste of ocular stamina for these insects.
***
Absolute Despair
The battlefield fell utterly silent.
Ever since Madara Uchiha defected from the village decades ago, the Susanoo had been a myth. Now, faced with a thirty-meter-tall armored giant radiating suffocating malice, the morale of the Konoha forces evaporated.
"What... what is that?!" an Anbu operative stammered, dropping his sword.
"We can't fight a god! Run!"
Panic, absolute and unfiltered, gripped the Anbu. In this era, the god-like battles of Hashirama and Madara were history. The modern shinobi was not equipped to fight a towering chakra construct. Only the heavily brainwashed Root operatives maintained their formations, though even they trembled.
Outside the barrier, Danzo stared up at the black giant, his jaw slack. "Impossible... the Third Power is this monstrous?"
Inside the barrier, Jin did not hesitate.
He swung the Susanoo's massive katana horizontally.
BOOM!
The sheer kinetic force of the swing created a massive shockwave. The blade cleaved through the forest, instantly vaporizing dozens of shinobi. The strike did not stop there; the massive blade slammed into the Four Violet Flames Formation, shattering the A-rank barrier like fragile glass.
The battlefield was open.
Jin swung a second time. Another massive swathe of the forest was leveled, taking more Anbu and Root operatives with it. In just two swings, two-thirds of the enemy forces were dead.
With the barrier destroyed, the surviving Anbu and mercenaries fled into the night. The remaining Root operatives, however, blindly followed Danzo's prior orders and attacked. Their elemental jutsu splashed harmlessly against the Susanoo's armor. Jin simply stepped forward, crushing them under the giant's feet.
"It's over. The ambush is broken," Danzo muttered, stepping back into the shadows. Without a word to his dying subordinates, Danzo turned and fled.
Ten seconds later, Jin deactivated the Susanoo. He dropped to one knee, panting heavily. The strain of the Mangekyo had left thin trails of blood leaking from his eyes, and his chakra reserves had taken a massive hit.
However, his three-tomoe Sharingan snapped back on. He didn't bother pursuing the fleeing Anbu. He locked onto Danzo's fleeing chakra signature.
Jin activated his Body Flicker, closing the distance in seconds.
Danzo sensed him approaching and spun around, a kunai in hand. "Jin! Stop! I have your parents!"
Jin didn't slow down. He didn't negotiate. He activated his right Mangekyo.
"Susanoo's Divine Judgment (Susanoo-no-Mikoto)!"
Before Danzo could react, his physical body began to disintegrate, breaking apart like ash in the wind.