Spoils of War
It failed.
Shimura Danzō never expected that his long-planned attack, "Kotoamatsukami," would fail to be successfully executed and would be dodged by Sakura Haruno.
The old man froze on the spot.
The smug look on his face hadn't faded before it froze, his smile vanished, and his expression became a strange, ambiguous one, like a comical statue.
"Why...?"
Danzo spoke with difficulty, his voice dry, unpleasant, and extremely bitter.
Izanagi was suppressed, but it was still within Danzo's acceptable range. After all, this Ninjutsu was just a defensive Genjutsu, and Danzo did not expect to rely on it to defeat Sakura Haruno, who could quickly Body Flicker Technique.
When facing a powerful enemy, using a life-saving Ninjutsu first was merely a choice made based on his long-standing habit of caution. However, Danzo never imagined that he would be forced by Sakura Haruno Izanagi couldn't even activate Izanagi.
Even so, Danzo remained calm and composed, instead using it as bait to lure Sakura Haruno into attacking. The moment his hands were severed, he prepared to activate Shisui's Mangekyō Secret Technique — Kotoamatsukami.
The technique called "Kotoamatsukami" is said to be the strongest Genjutsu in the history of the Shinobi World. Its effect is to implant the Genjutsu into the enemy's brain the moment the Mangekyō Sharingan makes eye contact with the enemy, thereby completely changing a person's thoughts.
This is Danzo's true trump card!
This was also his true reliance on his confidence to take advantage of Sakura Haruno and subdue her.
Compared to binding the body and tongue with Cursed Seal and brainwashing the mind through prolonged imprisonment, this powerful Genjutsu is undoubtedly much more convenient, faster, and more reliable.
In Shimura Danzō's plan, the perfect moment for him to strike was the instant when Sakura Haruno, having severed his hands, relaxed her guard due to her certainty of victory.
In the instant their eyes met, he seized the opportunity to unleash his Kotoamatsukami, which Sakura Haruno had no chance of dodging!
But why...?
Why was Sakura Haruno on guard, as if she knew he had this trick up his sleeve?
"How... were you able to dodge that attack?!"
The old man's wrinkles twitched, his eyes widened in anger, and he asked incredulously.
"Is yours Kotoamatsukami?" The girl's calm voice came from behind him. She accurately pronounced the name of the Genjutsu, which Danzo's last shred of hope.
"If I'm prepared, dodging this move shouldn't be too difficult for me. It's just that you've captured Shisui's eyes, which is a waste of his talent."
Danzo a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and suppressing the distorted expression and complex emotions on his face. However, cold sweat kept pouring down his face—from the pain of his severed wrist, and even more so from the extreme disappointment in his heart.
"Where did you get this information?"
He just wanted to know who had leaked his intelligence, causing the operation to fail!
"Hiruzen Sarutobi?" Before Sakura Haruno could answer, Danzo began to guess to himself, "No, impossible."
The image of the Third Hokage first flashed through his mind, but he immediately dismissed the thought. The Third Kotoamatsukami falling into his hands—so if the Third had known, he would have already stormed Root and taken back the Sharingan.
Root his trusted confidants knew this secret, and they were always under strict control, making it impossible for them to reveal such information to Sakura Haruno.
"Uchiha Itachi... is that him?"
The question was phrased as an interrogative sentence, but Danzo's tone was very certain. Eliminating the impossible options, the answer became easy to guess.
"Instead of worrying about such things," Sakura Haruno said coldly, "You'd be better off worrying about yourself!"
Danzo did indeed tell Sakura Haruno, just as the previous Tsukuyomi was nearing its end. Itachi's reminder played a crucial role in this battle, and Sakura must repay this debt...
How could she possibly repay such a huge favor? The Ice Release Girl felt a real headache coming on.
However, she remained expressionless, her left hand holding the ice blade tightly against Danzo's neck, the cold edge warning him not to move, while her right hand took the opportunity to reach over and touch the old man's right eye socket.
The girl's cool touch lingered on her Sharingan.
"What do you want to do, Sakura Haruno!" Danzo's eyes widened as he felt the slender, white fingers resting on the spot. He almost jumped out of his skin and screamed in terror!
"It's too dangerous for someone like you to have the Mangekyō Sharingan, which can unleash the power of Kotoamatsukami," Sakura Haruno said calmly.
"So, I'm taking it."
As mentioned earlier, Sakura Haruno did not intend to kill Danzo here; the reason for not killing Danzo was not only because Danzo and his Root were still useful at this Genin world was about to be thrown into turmoil - this was only a secondary reason, but mainly because Danzo, Sakura Haruno vaguely felt that handing him over to the right person to deal with was the best choice.
But that doesn't mean she won't do anything to Danzo.
Cutting off his hand was merely a minor punishment; after all, such a smooth wound could be easily repaired even on Earth in his previous life, and in the world of Hokage, a skilled Medical Ninjutsu could solve the problem. Taking away the Mangekyou Mangekyō from his eye was a truly devastating blow to Danzo.
Sakura Haruno acted without the slightest hesitation.
Before Danzo anything or make any response, that slender white hand exerted force, its fingertips piercing into the old man's eye socket and gouging out a bloody eyeball!
Shimura Danzō felt a cool sensation on his eyelid, followed by a sharp pain, and his right eye went completely black!
"Bastard...!" he cried out in pain, cursing instinctively, but he was powerless to resist and could only watch helplessly as Sakura Haruno took Shisui's eyes away!
Then, a sharp pain suddenly shot through the back of his neck as if he had been struck hard with a chop to the neck. The old man's eyes rolled back, and he immediately fainted.
Sakura Haruno watched Danzo, and only after confirming that he had truly passed out did she look away.
Looking around the cave, there was no one else still conscious except for Sakura Haruno.
It's finally over.
Sakura let out a long sigh of relief, her tense shoulders immediately relaxing; however, her headache soon returned.
"Tsk..." She frowned as she looked at the wet eyeball in her hand.
"What should we do with this thing?"
Shisui's Sharingan is certainly a good thing. It's just a little too good. Sakura suddenly felt the round ball in her palm getting a little hot!
The ability to manipulate other people's Kotoamatsukami —this kind of Ninjutsu is far too sensitive; no one would want someone else to possess Ninjutsu.
Even if the other person is someone very close to you...
Putting yourself in his shoes, imagine if Sasuke mastered Kotoamatsukami. Sakura Haruno would feel awkward around him. Even though she knew he wouldn't hurt her, who knew what thoughts might suddenly arise?
What if... right? You can't force people's thoughts. Otherwise, it wouldn't be her, Sakura Haruno!
Sasuke won't do... Naruto won't do either! Sometimes, those with simple minds are more destructive...
Sakura shook her head vigorously, trying to shake off the strange thoughts in her mind.
"Tch... What are you thinking?" the girl muttered to herself. "It's not like they got Shisui's Sharingan!"
On the other hand, if she were to actually equip herself with the Sharingan, could she control herself and use it improperly?
For someone whose combat power is already extremely high, using the Kotoamatsukami Art on enemies wouldn't be very effective. It's definitely more cost-effective to use it to change the minds of those close to her! Perhaps... Kotoamatsukami could even use it on herself?
"Troublesome," she said, biting her lower lip.
"What a troublesome thing!"
(P. S. I didn't expect May Day to come so soon... I'll try to get through it by June 1st this afternoon.)