Because there was no prior preparation, the moment Qingming turned to face Danzo, he had no time to activate a powerful enough genjutsu to control him immediately.
And it was during this brief delay that Danzo seized his opportunity.
Almost instantly, he deduced Qingming's intentions and, without hesitation, played one of his trump cards.
Danzo sheathed his sword, formed hand seals, and swiftly unleashed a genjutsu—Darkness Technique!
This high-difficulty, A-rank genjutsu was designed for medium to close-range combat and primarily worked by eliminating the opponent's vision.
The very nature of this technique revealed its extraordinary effectiveness against the Uchiha clan, who relied heavily on the Sharingan in combat.
In fact, this jutsu was originally created by Senju Hashirama specifically to counter Uchiha Madara's Sharingan.
Now, Danzo used it with a similar purpose—to neutralize Qingming.
Once Danzo suspected that Qingming might have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, he had deliberately prepared this technique as a trump card.
For a long time, he had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to deploy it.
Unfortunately, either the timing wasn't right, or he didn't have a chance to act.
Now, finally, his chance had come.
Without hesitation, Danzo executed the technique.
And sure enough, Qingming fell for it.
The moment Qingming froze, his body immobilized as he was engulfed by the genjutsu, Danzo stepped forward without hesitation, his sword slicing straight for Qingming's neck.
On the other hand, Qingming instantly realized something was wrong as soon as he saw Danzo's reaction.
He wanted to retreat immediately, relying on the reflexive boost provided by the Mangekyo Sharingan.
However, the Darkness Technique was specifically designed to counter the Sharingan, leaving no such loopholes.
Its hand-seal sequence was deceptively simple, allowing it to be executed almost instantly once mastered.
Given that Danzo had painstakingly prepared this as his ace against Qingming, he wouldn't have taken any shortcuts in mastering it.
Thus, the technique worked flawlessly, leaving Qingming little time to react.
In an instant, all light was stripped from his vision. Darkness, like a shroud, descended upon him, dragging him into a seemingly infinite abyss.
In that moment, the world around him vanished entirely, leaving Qingming feeling as though he were the only person left in existence.
But he knew it was merely an illusion.
After all, Danzo was still standing just a short distance ahead, possibly deliberating on how to kill him.
As this thought crossed his mind, Qingming suddenly felt a chill at his neck, as though death itself were only a breath away.
Without hesitation, Qingming leapt backward.
However, deprived of his vision, even something as simple as walking on water using chakra caused him to falter slightly.
It wasn't because he lacked precise chakra control, but rather because of the insecurity that came with being unable to see.
Vision, often taken for granted, only becomes truly valued once it is gone.
Even though Qingming knew the blindness was temporary, he couldn't completely suppress the subconscious unease.
As a result, his movements became noticeably less fluid.
Against an ordinary ninja, this minor decline wouldn't have mattered. Qingming could've stalled long enough to break free from the genjutsu's effects.
But against someone of Danzo's caliber, it was an obvious opening.
And indeed, Danzo quickly capitalized on it.
After Qingming narrowly dodged his first strike, Danzo wasn't discouraged—in fact, he became even more excited.
The reason was simple: he had spotted Qingming's hesitation.
Without wasting a moment, Danzo swung his blade again, this time targeting Qingming's chest.
Once again, Qingming narrowly avoided the attack, relying solely on his instincts.
However, this time, Danzo's blade came even closer to him.
Realizing the situation couldn't continue, Qingming made a decisive choice. Just as Danzo lunged with his third strike, Qingming unleashed the ultimate power of his Mangekyo Sharingan—Susano'o.
From an outside perspective, Danzo saw Qingming standing before him, and his short sword flashed like lightning, thrusting straight for Qingming's heart.
When Qingming failed to dodge in time, a triumphant grin spread across Danzo's face.
But that grin lasted less than half a second before freezing entirely.
Why?
Because in Danzo's field of view, a silver-white skeletal figure suddenly emerged around Qingming's body.
The blade struck the skeletal armor, producing a sharp metallic clang but failing to inflict any damage—not to the armor, and certainly not to Qingming within.
Not only that, but the enormous skeletal figure forced Danzo to retreat several steps, eventually landing nearly twenty meters away from Qingming.
At this distance, Qingming's vision was likely to recover before Danzo could close in again.
And indeed, moments later, Qingming's sight returned.
Now freed from the effects of the genjutsu, Qingming glanced at Danzo in the distance but didn't immediately launch an attack.
Instead, enduring the immense physical strain caused by Susano'o, he began channeling more chakra to push the power of the technique to its second and third stages.
A massive surge of chakra erupted from within him.
The skeletal figure around him grew muscles, sinews, and a fleshy outer layer, forming a far more lifelike humanoid figure.
This was the second stage of Susano'o, the strongest form Qingming could previously achieve before his Mangekyo Sharingan surpassed the 30,000/50,000 evolution threshold.
But now, having exceeded that milestone, Qingming could unleash an even greater power by advancing to the third stage.
"Haah!"
With a mighty shout, Qingming released even more chakra.
The translucent figure now donned an imposing set of armor resembling that of an ancient general. Its defensive capabilities skyrocketed.
The sheer presence of the completed third-stage Susano'o radiated a powerful pressure, causing the surrounding water to sink visibly under its force.
As Qingming endured the searing pain spreading throughout his body, his lips twitched slightly.
"As expected, every power comes with its price," he thought.
Susano'o didn't just carry the risk of blindness—it subjected the user to immense physical torment during its activation.
Fortunately, Qingming's constitution was already at 21 points. Otherwise, he might've suffered catastrophic injuries like Uchiha Itachi, who had to rely on medication just to prolong his life.
After taking a moment to adjust, Qingming turned his gaze to Danzo.
By now, Danzo had retreated even further away.
However, thanks to the enhanced perception granted by the Mangekyo Sharingan, Qingming could clearly make out the expression on Danzo's face.
Despite the fear hidden deep in his eyes, Danzo still gazed at Qingming's Susano'o with an unmistakable look of greed.
It was evident that, even now, Danzo harbored ambitions to take Qingming's power for himself.
Unfortunately for him, in the face of absolute strength, no amount of schemes could change the outcome.
Without hesitation, Qingming activated one of the second-stage Susano'o's unique abilities—Yasaka Magatama!
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