A Fleeting Bloom

"Whew—"

Yinyue had landed his blow, but he did not retreat. Instead, he endured the pain, clenched his teeth, and silently removed his Eight Thousand Spears Kaleidoscope with his other hand.

His face twisted, veins bulging on his forehead.

His right eye went dark.

His brain trembled.

Unbearable pain far beyond what an ordinary person could withstand came in waves, and thick blood seeped from the fingers of his right hand.

Gasping for breath, Yinyue did not hesitate. He put away his Eight Thousand Spears Kaleidoscope and forced the Kotoamatsukami Kaleidoscope into his empty right eye socket.

The nerves inside the socket, sustained by Chakra, transformed into strands of circuitry and successfully connected with the Mangekyo, which possessed universally compatible pathways.

The Uchiha opened their mouths and widened their eyes, as if they could personally feel the heart-piercing pain Yinyue was suffering.

Izumi's heart clenched.

When the Root Organization members saw this scene, their scalps went numb. That man had not hesitated in the slightest when changing eyes, nor had he made a sound. Even in the Root Organization, there were few people ruthless enough to do that.

Yinyue opened his eyes. His right eye went from blurry to clear. The pain remained, but it had weakened considerably.

The Kotoamatsukami Kaleidoscope lay quietly in his eye socket, observing everything around him. It trembled slightly as it regained its vitality.

"Big brother..." Seeing Yinyue's back as he endured the pain alone, Tamao's murderous intent grew even stronger. He kicked Danzo away.

Yinyue swept his gaze over the Root members in the trees.

He had used seventy percent of the Yin Release Chakra in the Eight Thousand Spears Kaleidoscope to impose mental control on the hundred elite Root members in the forest.

Even though he no longer had the Eight Thousand Spears Kaleidoscope, once the mark had been planted, these puppets could not break free of the control without outside assistance.

Among the Root members were the eight Uchiha disguised as Military Police Force members.

At that moment, beneath their masks, their faces were deathly pale. As they witnessed what was happening below, their hearts suddenly began to race, and their blood surged with excitement.

On the way here.

Yinyue had not explained the purpose of this operation.

Before leaving Leaf Village, he wanted to do one thing for the Uchiha: assassinate Danzo and reclaim what belonged to the Uchiha!

Just moments ago.

Aside from Tamao, even Uchiha Izumi had thought Yinyue was insane.

Assassinating the Hokage Assistant!

This was something even the Uchiha Elders, who harbored rebellious intentions, had never dared to imagine or attempt!

Even the elite jonin of the other Four Great Shinobi Villages would never dream of assassinating this high-ranking figure, who was known as the Shinobi of Darkness of Leaf Village.

Even if Yinyue Captain activated the Mangekyo.

There was absolutely no way he could accomplish such a thing!

Yet the scene before them told them that Yinyue had taken advantage of the chaos, infiltrated the Root Organization's ranks with them without anyone noticing, and completed the decapitation strike.

Before this, aside from Tamao, no one believed Yinyue could lead them this far.

"He really... did it."

Nanfeng stood stunned in the tree. He instinctively drew his ninjato from behind, only to realize in shock that he had regained control of his body.

The other Uchiha also reacted.

They looked toward the Uchiha Clan Grounds. The cries and screams there were already nearing their end.

We can't go back.

The clan is gone.

Grief, desolation, and endless pain exploded in the minds of these Uchiha. Under the stimulation of their anguish, their Eye Power began to surge.

"Damn the Leaf Village Elders!"

"If Shisui hadn't died, how could the Uchiha have ended up like this?!"

Having lost everything, they would follow Yinyue, who had led them this far, and vent their fury on the true perpetrators!

At that moment, even Izumi, who was usually gentle and kind, thought the same way.

They drew their ninjato and stood guard around Yinyue, silently waiting for the best opportunity to strike.

Yinyue withdrew his gaze and looked at Danzo's corpse before him. After briefly analyzing its condition, he realized that only the final ten percent of Yin Release Chakra remained in his Eight Thousand Spears Kaleidoscope.

Aside from the ten percent he had first used to control nine clan members.

Another ten percent of Yin Release Chakra had been carried by Yinyue's Shadow Clone into the clan head's residence and planted inside Uchiha Mikoto's body.

Although he had replenished it with a Kotoamatsukami.

His Chakra was nearly exhausted.

Next, he had to end the battle quickly, conserve his strength, and prepare to flee.

But the battle was not over yet!

At that moment.

"Whew—"

Danzo staggered backward and tried to take a deep breath, but he choked instead. His left eye trembled as it stared at the two people before him, devoid of life.

The instant the ninjato pierced his heart.

Danzo died.

But in Yinyue's Mangekyo eye, Danzo's lips had curled upward slightly before his death, revealing a cold, sinister smile.

Just as the other Uchiha thought the situation was settled.

At that moment, the black robe on Danzo's corpse suddenly slid to the ground, revealing his bandage-wrapped right arm.

His index and middle fingers stood upright as he formed an incomplete hand seal with one hand.

The white bandages on his arm slipped off one loop at a time.

Under the moonlight, the other Uchiha were shocked to discover that Danzo's arm was like pale, withered wood. A Three-Tomoe Sharingan was embedded in the back of his hand, though it was slowly closing.

How horrifying!

"Shimura Danzō actually has another Sharingan. The ocular technique he activated... gives me a familiar yet bizarre feeling."

Nanfeng, wearing glasses, looked at Yinyue in astonishment.

An ominous premonition suddenly rose in his heart.

The Kotoamatsukami Kaleidoscope in Yinyue's right eye suddenly vanished without warning. Even Danzo's corpse, which had been leaning against the tree, strangely disappeared.

It was like a mark wiped off a blackboard.

Danzo appeared five meters away.

The Kotoamatsukami Kaleidoscope emerged in his empty right eye socket, as if Yinyue had never removed it.

Before Yinyue made his move.

Danzo's concealed right hand had already formed a seal with one hand and used the Uchiha Clan's forbidden technique, Izanagi.

He forcibly altered outcomes unfavorable to himself, such as being branded by Eight Thousand Spears, dying, and having his Mangekyo taken away.

During this period.

He had already died. Even if Yinyue took his Kotoamatsukami, he could no longer use that "strongest genjutsu" to alter Danzo's will.

For the next minute, Danzo could control the rules and alter anything unfavorable to himself.

This was the forbidden technique—Izanagi!

The Root Organization members in the trees all breathed sighs of relief, while the Uchiha tensed from head to toe.

"Young man, here's some advice: next time you're assassinating someone, don't waste your breath!"

Wind sprang beneath Danzo's feet. He stepped forward, shattering the ground, and spat out a powerful gust that swept toward Tamao.

Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!

Whoosh—

The gale howled.

Sand and dust rose in all directions.

Tamao seemed to have been caught in the eye of a storm. The fierce winds transformed into countless steel blades, frantically slicing through his armor and leaving a dense web of wounds across his skin. The enormous pressure also squeezed his internal organs.

Pff—

Tamao spat out a mouthful of blood and thrust his ninjato into the ground, trying to withstand the Wind Release with his body.

But his body was still swept up by the gale's tremendous force. He was blown backward, smashing through numerous trees in the forest before crashing to the ground.

Large swaths of the forest were cut down by the Wind Release.

Izumi's heart jolted. Having activated the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, she deftly evaded the gale that followed the Wind Release, leaped from the tree to the ground, and carried away the severely wounded, unconscious Tamao.

The Uchiha in the trees scattered one after another, avoiding the Wind Release that exerted immense pressure on them.

Boom—

Several Root Organization members who were unable to move watched helplessly as the Wind Release swept over them at its strongest. They did not even have time to scream before their flesh disintegrated in the sharp gale, exploding into clouds of blood mist.

The Uchiha who had evaded the Wind Release looked back at the devastated forest, their eyes wide as they struggled to breathe.

After dealing with the insignificant nuisances in his way, Danzo's figure appeared out of thin air before Yinyue. He greedily reached for Yinyue's left eye socket.

Danzo's counterattack was completed in an instant, even faster than Yinyue and Tamao had coordinated to kill him.

He not only wanted to kill this inherently evil Uchiha brat, but also take the other's Mangekyo!

His subordinates had not reacted at all.

It was certainly because of the other party's Mangekyo ability!

Such a dangerous ability should belong to Leaf Village. It could only be controlled by Leaf Village.

He would gladly take it!

At the same time.

Clang—

A red glow burst from Danzo's right eye as the shuriken-shaped pattern of the Kotoamatsukami rotated.

Silent Yin Release Chakra passed through their eye contact and was forcibly injected into Yinyue's mind.

The situation instantly reversed.