Mangekyo, Awaken!!!

Just as Fugaku successfully snatched Ikezu back, a conspiratorial smile suddenly appeared on the face of the Sand Shinobi, who had originally seemed flustered.

"Pfft—"

Along with the sound of tearing flesh.

A sharp blade suddenly protruded from Ikezu's chest, piercing through both of them in one stroke.

It turned out that ever since Ikezu had been captured by the enemy, someone had tampered with her body.

It was an extremely tiny Micro Puppet, originally meant for close-fitting protection.

But the cunning enemy had put it on Ikezu backward, just to see whether they could catch Fugaku off guard.

Without a doubt, this Sand Shinobi had succeeded, but he would ultimately have to pay for his actions.

"Ikezu, don't talk. Hurry, don't you know medical Ninjutsu? Stop the bleeding, quickly!!!" Fugaku said anxiously, tears pouring from his eyes without pause.

As an Elite Jonin, how could he not know that unless Tsunade arrived, such injuries were beyond saving.

Likewise, Ikezu, who knew a little medical Ninjutsu herself, understood her condition perfectly well.

Her liver had ruptured in several places, she was struggling to breathe, and even more fatally, the Sand Shinobi had long since planted a deadly poison within her body.

She could not hold on much longer.

Already somewhat delirious, Ikezu heard Fugaku's trembling voice. She struggled to raise her head, looked at him gently, and said in broken phrases:

"Don't be sad. I... I may not be able to stay with you any longer, but I..."

"Will always... love you."

At that moment, the poison planted in her body by the Sand Shinobi finally erupted completely.

For a time, Ikezu felt as though all the blood in her body had begun to boil.

Pain, fear, helplessness, regret—these negative emotions completely filled her mind.

The agony before death had utterly muddled her consciousness.

Ikezu stared blankly at Fugaku for a while, then suddenly threw back her head and sprayed blood all over his face before falling completely silent.

Fugaku held her and stared blankly for a moment. Then he lowered his head and gave the woman he loved one final, deep kiss.

Then, he gently laid down Ikezu's corpse, turned around, and rose to his feet!

The Sand Shinobi had been watching him smugly, but then he felt an overwhelming killing intent surge from Fugaku's body.

That killing intent was so powerful that he seemed to see what he would look like at the moment of his death.

Several minutes passed before he finally jolted awake from the illusion.

"Was that Genjutsu? No, that doesn't seem right. My Chakra isn't disrupted." Covered in sweat, he stared at the man before him in terror.

The Three-Tomoe pattern in Fugaku's eyes had somehow completely changed.

In its place was a pattern resembling a windmill, with three pitch-black dots surrounding it.

Although this Sand Shinobi had never seen those eyes in person, he had heard the legends surrounding them.

The source of those legends was Madara Uchiha, the mighty expert who had once dominated the Shinobi World.

And those eyes possessed a uniquely beautiful name.

"Mangekyo."

Several kilometers away from Fugaku and the others' battlefield, a group of shinobi clad in Black Cloaks and Strange Masks hurried toward them.

"Remember, the lives of the others do not matter, but Sama Danzo specifically ordered us to bring Kyosuke Uchiha back alive." The leading Anbu emphasized in a low voice.

"Yes." The other Anbu answered quietly.

"Kyosuke Uchiha... What kind of charm do you have, to make Sama Danzo value you so highly?" The Anbu pondered endlessly.

After all, Root had never lacked "genius" shinobi, yet he had never seen Danzo give any particular genius special treatment.

That was why he was so curious.

"I'll be seeing you soon. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Don't be afraid. Even if he has awakened those legendary eyes, with his injuries, he cannot possibly be a match for me." The Sand Shinobi suppressed his fear and tried to encourage himself.

Though he said that, the fear lingering in his heart did not fade. Instead, it grew heavier and heavier.

Just as his mind was about to collapse, his teammate finally managed to free himself from the mud.

"Phew." The relieved Sand Shinobi was about to join forces with his companion, but what happened next made him stare in bewilderment.

Because just as the Sand Shinobi who had struggled free returned to the battlefield, Fugaku, who had remained motionless all this time, suddenly turned and glanced at him.

Then that Sand Shinobi died.

His death was incredibly sudden and utterly silent.

Although he could tell from Fugaku's state that he must have used some kind of Genjutsu to kill his companion.

But... that had been a Jonin. He had just died like that?!!

At that moment, this Sand Shinobi was finally completely crushed by fear.

The mission, his duty to the village—he no longer cared about any of it.

He only wanted to run, as far away as possible.

And that was exactly what he did. Though terrified, his body, trained over many years, still obeyed the command of his will.

Chakra erupted beneath his feet, and the Sand Shinobi leaped onto a tree. Taking advantage of the terrain, he vanished in the blink of an eye.

He maintained that all-out burst for a full five minutes.

Only when stabbing pains began coursing through his body did he finally slow down.

By then, his emotions had gradually calmed, and he even had the mood to mock Fugaku. "Hmph, what bullshit Mangekyo? Didn't I still get away?"

Mocking Fugaku alone did not satisfy him, so he mocked Madara Uchiha as well. "I don't think these eyes are anything special. That Madara Uchiha was probably nothing more than a man with an undeserved reputation."

After snorting smugly a few times, the Sand Shinobi began considering how exactly he should report back.

But a figure that suddenly appeared behind him instantly jolted him awake from his pleasant fantasy.

That figure was none other than Fugaku, who had somehow appeared behind him!!!

"Ah!!!" The Sand Shinobi screamed, then endured the pain and erupted with all his strength again, fleeing rapidly into the distance.

After running for several more minutes, he could not help but look back.

What met his eyes were still Fugaku's eyes, brimming with killing intent.

Terrified, he could only accelerate again in a futile attempt to shake off his enemy.

But no matter how hard he tried, Fugaku continued appearing before him like a nightmare.

Hiding, concealing himself, transforming, disguising himself—he tried every method, yet he still could not escape Fugaku's pursuit.

Every time he turned around, he would inevitably see Fugaku's eyes, the eyes that filled him with such profound terror.

"Ah!!!" The Sand Shinobi finally collapsed to the ground. Overwhelmed by terror, tears and snot streamed down his face, even flowing straight into his mouth.

Yet he seemed completely unaware of it. He could only stare at the demon before him and scream in terror.

Just as his mind was about to collapse, an unexpected turn appeared.

A Sand Shinobi squad of around five people suddenly appeared before him.

Moreover, every one of them possessed Jonin-level strength. After a fierce battle, they successfully drove that demon back.

Seeing this, the Sand Shinobi finally regained a little of his senses. Just as he was about to thank them, he discovered in shock—

The same pattern as Fugaku's had suddenly appeared in his companions' eyes.

And the muscles on their faces began to twist and shift without end until... they finally turned into the face of that demon.

The Sand Shinobi stared blankly for a while. Then, after letting out a shriek sharp enough to pierce eardrums, he collapsed to the ground.

He had been scared to death by Fugaku!!!