Shisui Uchiha—
the powerful shinobi who had earned the name Shisui of the Body Flicker on the Kirigakure battlefield—
moved.
Unseen phantoms slipped through the crowd. Shisui struck with the hilt of his blade, knocking Root operatives unconscious with surgical precision.
Even after choosing to act, he still couldn't bring himself to kill Konoha's shinobi.
Fugaku turned and saw it.
Shisui… even you couldn't hold back anymore…
Then there was only one option—
End this quickly.
Root had already been pushed to the edge simply from Uchiha Sora's massive-scale Fire Release. Now, with the entire Konoha Military Police Force committing fully to battle, Root's collapse came fast.
Their strength had never been equal.
Most of the village's shinobi were busy holding back the Nine-Tails. Danzō had only been able to restrain the Uchiha at the start because of his authority as the Hokage's advisor.
Of course, if Uchiha Sora hadn't summoned Rayquaza, and if Fugaku hadn't revealed the Mangekyō Sharingan, then Danzō truly did have the power to suppress the Uchiha.
In the chaos, however, two figures stood out as strangely composed.
Danzō Shimura.
And Uchiha Sora.
After unleashing a village-swallowing Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame, Sora seemed to enter a cooldown, standing atop the dragon's head and looking down at Danzō.
Danzō, however, barely spared him a glance.
His eyes were fixed on Fugaku.
In Danzō's internal ranking of threats, the Mangekyō Sharingan was absolute number one.
Until he understood Fugaku's Mangekyō ability, he could not afford a single reckless move.
In fact, he had already decided—
If Fugaku came too close, he would abandon Root without hesitation and flee first.
As for Uchiha Sora…
Hmph. Just a brat who got lucky and contracted a strong summon. Not worth fearing.
That serpent's form—and that vast life force…
Was it a great snake from Ryūchi Cave?
He'd ask Orochimaru later.
…
"Is it stacked?"
Sora spoke softly.
Rayquaza answered with a low, rumbling roar.
"Then unleash everything," Sora said. "I'll adjust the angle."
They had met less than ten minutes ago, yet under the sanctity of the Borrowing Contract, their intent aligned as if joined by a single mind.
Rayquaza arched its body slightly backward. The markings along its form flared with intense light.
It opened its massive jaws.
A brilliant golden sphere of energy formed inside—spinning, compressing, growing denser and denser until even the air warped around it.
You didn't need sensory ninjutsu to understand how terrifying it was.
Anyone with eyes could see it.
That posture—
Just moments ago, another colossal beast had demonstrated something similar.
"How is that possible…?! It can use a Tailed Beast Ball?!"
"No way! It isn't a tailed beast!"
"But this pressure…"
Fugaku, with the sharpest eyes in the field, judged the technique's destructive potential instantly.
"Everyone, scatter!!"
Damn it—your Fire Release was one thing… but our own people are still here! How can you use an attack at this scale?!
Uchiha Sora slowly raised his hand, shaping his fingers like a pistol pointed at Danzō Shimura.
Danzō's brow twitched. As a shinobi, he knew that feeling—
The instinct that screamed danger.
"Relax."
Sora's lips curled into a thin smile.
"It's not a Tailed Beast Ball…"
"It's just…"
Click—
Rayquaza swallowed the sphere in a single motion.
The violent power had nowhere else to explode.
It surged straight into Uchiha Sora.
A torrent of searing energy tore through his meridians. Fine cracks spread across his skin, and a deep red glow seeped from within them, steam rising off his body.
The pain stabbed at his brain—
And Sora felt nothing but exhilaration.
His fingertip remained aimed at Danzō.
"Trash that hides and festers in darkness… must find the light unbearable, huh?"
…
"Hyper Beam!"
—
—
WHOOM!!!
A pure white beam wrapped in vivid blue lightning slammed down from above with annihilating force. Wherever it passed—stone, wood, buildings—everything was ground into dust.
The Earth Release barriers Root threw up with all their strength were no sturdier than paper before a bullet.
Meaningless.
Danzō drew a sharp breath and spat it out.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
Invisible blades of wind cut toward the beam. The shriek of air pressure tore at the eardrums.
Bang!
No suspense.
The beam obliterated the wind blades.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!!"
Slashslashslashslashslash—!
A relentless storm of wind blades shredded the beam's outer lightning, bursting sparks into the air like scattered stars.
Uchiha Sora lifted his hand and braced himself, forcing more power into the attack.
WHOOM!
The beam surged forward like a red-hot blade cleaving through ice. The translucent outlines of the wind blades distorted—
Then vanished completely in a violent, screeching rupture.
Only then did Danzō realize the full severity of what he was facing.
But—
It was too late.
Slash—
The beam punched through Danzō Shimura's chest, leaving a fist-sized, charred wound.
It happened in a single heartbeat.
The residual tracks of energy in the air—along with the turbulent aftermath of shattered wind blades—proved this was not an illusion.
It was—
Absolute domination.
…
Thud.
Danzō's body tipped backward and crashed to the ground.
…
…
…
"Danzō-sama!!"
"You… you actually dared to kill the Hokage's advisor!!"
The shouts came from the handful of Anbu who had just arrived—those same ones from before.
Root operatives, aside from the sensory ninja, said nothing.
They were trained for this.
No matter what happened, they didn't panic. They didn't scream.
…
Even Fugaku—who had just declared he would kill Danzō to "purge the traitor"—stood frozen.
He really…
He really killed Danzō Shimura.
That man known as the Darkness of the Shinobi…
Was dead. Just like that.
…
Aboard Rayquaza, Uchiha Sora let out a long breath and lowered his hand.
"You think it's over, brat?"
An icy voice sounded behind him—
Along with a razor-sharp Vacuum Blade.
Slash!
A kunai infused with Wind Release chakra stabbed straight through Uchiha Sora's heart.
Sora turned his head, a mocking smile on his lips.
"Didn't the Second Hokage ever teach you that Shadow Clones are for gathering intel?"
"Using Izanagi like it's an extra life… that's extravagant."
!!!
Danzō's visible eye widened.
Even learning Fugaku possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan hadn't shaken him this badly.
Poof!
The "Sora" that had been pierced burst into smoke.
Failing to see through a Shadow Clone was normal—after all, the technique was created by the Second Hokage specifically to counter the Uchiha, and even the Sharingan couldn't distinguish it.
What truly rattled Danzō—
How did Sora know about Izanagi?
No—knowing the name wasn't the problem.
The problem was:
How did he know I used Izanagi?!
Poof!
Behind Danzō, Uchiha Sora leapt high and whipped a heavy roundhouse kick into his face, sending him crashing downward.
Midair, Danzō adjusted, preparing to restart the assault the instant he landed.
His gaze on Sora was pure killing intent.
He didn't notice a kunai firing in from his blind spot.
Flash—
The blade cut a bright arc, slicing through the bandages covering half of Danzō's face.
…
He clapped a hand over it instantly—
But in that fraction of a moment, even ordinary shinobi saw the crimson.
And the Uchiha saw far more.
Inside Danzō Shimura's eye socket was something that should not have existed.
That was—
A Sharingan.
Shisui bit down hard, his young face twisting as the three tomoe in his eyes spun at furious speed.
"You bastard…"
"What did you do to Grandfather Kagami?!"