A sudden change occurred that no one had anticipated.
The Root Jonin who was first to have his leg blown off, slumped at the edge of the rubble, seemingly having lost his combat effectiveness and even being temporarily forgotten in the intense battle, suddenly revealed a cold light in his only exposed eye that erupted like a venomous snake awakening, his face twisted in apparent agony.
Among these Jonin, he was Danzo's most trusted subordinate, and he was the only one who knew Lord Danzo's trump card.
At this time, he had to cooperate with Lord Danzo.
Completely ignoring his severed leg that was gushing blood, he used his remaining intact leg and both hands to push off the ground, his body springing up as if a spring had been installed.
His speed was astonishingly fast, not at all like someone who was heavily injured.
The direction he lunged was not to flee the battlefield, but... straight towards Uchiha Rei, who was closest to him and besieging a Root Jonin, and... Uchiha Shisui, whom she had subconsciously protected slightly further behind her.
This legless Ninja was actually faking it! His previous heavy injury and collapse might have been half-true, but the power and killing intent erupting at this moment were definitely at the level of a Jonin!
His goal was clear: take hostage or kill the most vulnerable child in the opponent's team to create chaos, and even force Uchiha Shao Yu to submit.
"Shisui! Watch out!"
Uchiha Rei, being the closest, turned back in horror, intending to turn and block without a second thought.
But someone was even faster than her.
A hunched, cold figure appeared like a ghost and without warning behind the side of Uchiha Shao Yu's black Susanoo, almost touching the edge of the Susanoo energy skeleton! It was the "risen from the dead" and unscathed Danzo Shimura.
He appeared so abruptly, as if the person who had just been smashed into a pulp wasn't him at all.
Even more terrifying was that Uchiha Shao Yu's Mangekyo Sharingan and perception hadn't captured any sign of his appearance in advance.
Izanagi is indeed terrifying.
However, the secret technique scroll Uchiha Setsuna gave Sho U contained this move; he would practice it once he returned.
There was no expression on Danzo's face, only a cold, machine-like killing intent in his single eye.
As he appeared, his hands had already finished forming seals, giving no one time to react as his chest suddenly contracted and expanded.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
"Swish—!!!"
A highly compressed, refined to the extreme, and nearly invisible ultra-high-pressure Wind Release Chakra sphere, carrying a piercing whistle that tore through the air, was spat out from Danzo's mouth at a speed exceeding visual capture, aimed directly at the center of Uchiha Shao Yu's back inside the black Susanoo.
This strike was sinister! Ruthless! The timing was refined to the extreme.
Danzo had calculated it perfectly.
The Susanoo's defense was amazing, making it hard to break quickly with a frontal assault, and Uchiha Shao Yu possessed the Mangekyo with keen perception, making a frontal confrontation easy to fail.
Therefore, he utilized the abruptness and positional uncertainty of Izanagi's "resurrection," combined with the death-defying counterattack of his legless Ninja subordinate, to choose the most unexpected and likely-to-succeed sneak attack method.
This was a peak Wind Release strike at nearly zero distance, with highly concentrated power.
The current Danzo did not have the low IQ of someone who would stab a Susanoo with a Kunai decades later.
At this moment, whether in terms of combat power or combat intelligence, he was an absolute Kage-level expert; in terms of combat experience alone, even Uchiha Shao Yu could not compare to him.
Not to mention that Sho U was a fragile college student in his past life, even the Original Owner's combat experience definitely couldn't compare to an old geezer like Danzo, who had fought in countless battles on the battlefield for years.
But it didn't matter; for Sho U, this bit of combat experience couldn't make up for anything. No matter how strong Danzo's mechanics were, Sho U only needed to crush him with enough numerical stats.
The left fist deals high damage, and the right fist deals high damage.
In Danzo's view, Uchiha Shao Yu, unaware of the existence of "Izanagi," would think he was dead and thus slacken slightly while commanding his clansmen in the siege.
He even deliberately made the attack trajectory of the Vacuum Great Sphere seem aimed at the Susanoo, while the truly lethal penetration point was calculated based on the position where the gaps in the Susanoo's bones might align with the caster's body inside.
In a flash.
"Brother! Behind you!"
Shisui, who had been pushed down and protected by Uchiha Rei, happened to see the scene of Danzo appearing like a ghost behind the side of the Susanoo due to his angle, and the child's intuition made him let out a piercing scream.
Almost at the same time as Shisui's scream, Uchiha Shao Yu's Mangekyo Sharingan also captured the lethal Chakra fluctuation behind him.
Danzo's sneak attack was indeed unexpected, but Sho U had never truly let down his guard regarding the position where the "dead" Danzo had been; he had been waiting.
"Hmph!" Sho U snorted coldly, his eyes showing no panic, only calmness.
He didn't have time to fully turn or control the Susanoo to make a perfect defensive block because the speed of the Vacuum Great Sphere was too fast and the distance was too close.
But he wasn't completely unprepared either.
In a split second, Mangekyo pupil power and Chakra surged wildly.
The black Susanoo's massive skeletal body, at the critical moment, twisted half a point to the side in a way that nearly violated the laws of physics.
At the same time, the Chakra energy forming the Susanoo instantly thickened and solidified at the point of impact.
"Crack—!!!"
A tooth-aching sound of shattering rang out.
The highly condensed Vacuum Great Sphere slammed solidly into the rear rib position of the black Susanoo.
Although the defense of the fledgling Susanoo was amazing, the penetration and destructive power of Danzo's peak strike were no small matter, especially at such close range and aimed at a possible gap.
The pitch-black solid energy skeleton of the Susanoo's outer layer was forcibly blasted with a basin-sized pit, and spider-web-like cracks spread out from the center of the pit.
Although it wasn't completely pierced through, it was clearly heavily damaged, and the terrifying impact transmitted through the Susanoo, causing Uchiha Shao Yu's blood and qi to surge inside.
"As expected of Danzo at his peak... his Wind Release is indeed superb, and his timing is sinister enough."
Uchiha Shao Yu's gaze grew colder and colder.
He controlled the damaged Susanoo to slowly turn and face Danzo, whose face was grim and whose eyes held a trace of astonishment.
"Damn it, this evil brat actually blocked this blow."
With the sneak attack failing, Danzo had no choice; he could only face Uchiha Shao Yu in a direct battle next, but since that strike hadn't succeeded, he had no confidence for what was to come.
"Izanagi is quite useful."
Sho U's voice came through the Susanoo, carrying a hint of understanding and mockery.
"At the cost of permanent blindness in one Sharingan in exchange for a chance to resurrect within a short time... Danzo Shimura, you really make the most of these transplanted eyes."
What a waste.
Izanagi isn't just used as a simple revival coin; it's just that an old geezer like Danzo is quite skilled at wasting the eyes of our Uchiha Clan.
Danzo's pupils suddenly constricted; one of his greatest trump cards had actually been exposed by the opponent in a single word. This Uchiha brat knew more than he had imagined.
On the other side, the sudden attack by the legless Ninja was also successfully intercepted thanks to Shisui's scream, Uchiha Rei's desperate resistance, and the timely reinforcement of Uchiha Mikka; the legless Ninja was forced to his death by Rice Fire's blade.
Danzo's single eye stared fixedly at the damaged black skeletal giant and the young, cold face of Uchiha Shao Yu within it, his voice sounding like a cold wind blowing from the underworld.
"Brat of the Uchiha... I have truly underestimated you. Mangekyo... Susanoo... I didn't expect to see such power again after Uchiha Madara."
He paused, the killing intent in his tone almost solidifying.
"But, this is where it ends! Today, I will have your eyes! Along with all of your filthy Sharingan, they shall all become nourishment for the Root!"
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808