After their initial shock, the Third Hokage, Nara Shikaku, and the others hurried to Danzo's side.
Danzo's battered state was beyond anything they could have imagined. They couldn't fathom what had happened in that brief half-second.
Danzo lay motionless on the ground, like an animal without bones. They could only just make out that he was still alive.
Jiraiya gazed deeply at Ye Fan, his heart full of emotion.
The toddler who had once been barely half a meter tall had truly grown up.
Even his teacher of ten years couldn't see through Ye Fan's strength anymore.
A gentle breeze brushed his face, and a radiant smile spread across Jiraiya's lips.
By now, he was almost certain that Ye Fan was the Child of Prophecy spoken of by the Great Toad Sage.
Ye Fan was the one who could guide the shinobi world through change and truly bring it peace.
"For all these years, I've traveled through many countries, crossing countless mountains and rivers, all to find someone who could bring peace to the entire shinobi world."
"Never did I expect that, in the end, I'd find someone who had left our own Konoha."
Jiraiya recalled the first time he had met Ye Fan.
Back then, Ye Fan had been barely half a meter tall, and his voice had still been that of a tiny child.
Yet this little boy had crossed countless perilous places to meet him.
When Jiraiya first met Ye Fan and learned that he was from Konoha and all alone, he had been utterly astonished.
He couldn't imagine how a child like that had survived in a world so full of death.
Even then, Jiraiya had been certain that Ye Fan was no ordinary person. One day, he would soar like a dragon!
As memories flooded back, Jiraiya sighed. "Time really does fly. That little brat from back then can now stand on his own."
"Maybe—no, definitely! You'll surpass even the First Hokage and become the next God of Shinobi!"
"Once you can train in ninjutsu, you'll probably stand firmly at the pinnacle of the shinobi world!"
"I believe you'll bring about an era without war, when people can truly understand one another!"
"Jiraiya, was that move I just used cool or what? It was awesome, wasn't it?"
Ye Fan walked over to Jiraiya, who was standing there in a daze, and grinned.
When he spoke to Jiraiya, Ye Fan was like a completely different person from the one he'd been moments ago. There wasn't a trace of coldness on his face, only genuine joy.
"Not bad. You've got the same flair I had when I was young. But if we're talking about looks, you're nowhere near as handsome as I was!"
Ye Fan spread his hands helplessly. "Right, you were the most handsome when you were young!"
After a pause, he grinned mischievously. "If you were so handsome back then, how come you're still an old man without a wife? No one wanted you?"
"Ahem... I just don't want to get married. It's not that nobody wants me. The women who like me could circle the shinobi world!"
"Haha, so you're saying you've got a thousand choices but only want one? Is it someone you like who doesn't like you back?
"What do you think of Tsunade Senju, one of the Legendary Sannin? Why don't you marry her? If you two got married, I might even consider calling you my master."
Ye Fan grinned mischievously.
"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting!"
At the mention of Tsunade, Jiraiya smacked Ye Fan on the back of the head.
"What, you don't like Tsunade? If you don't, I'll marry her myself. Just so you know, I like older women. They're dependable!"
"You little brat, you're asking for it!"
Jiraiya scooped Ye Fan up and, just like when he was little, gave him a hard spanking.
Nara Shikaku and the others looked from Danzo, who lay like a puddle of mud, to Ye Fan getting spanked, their mouths twitching.
They felt they couldn't understand Ye Fan at all. They couldn't begin to guess what was going on in his head.
In battle, he was cold and merciless, like ancient ice buried beneath a thousand fathoms.
But when he was with Jiraiya, he was like an unruly little brat, completely without restraint.
The stark contrast left them bewildered. For a moment, they couldn't tell which side was the real Ye Fan.
The Third Hokage watched Jiraiya spank Ye Fan, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
Seeing Ye Fan like this swept away all his worries.
He no longer feared that Ye Fan might want to destroy Konoha.
Then the smile gradually faded from the Third Hokage's face.
"If I'd been firmer and more resolute back then, perhaps your parents wouldn't have had to die, and you wouldn't have spent your childhood living under other people's scorn."
Watching Ye Fan smile despite being spanked, the Third Hokage thought of another boy around his age.
"Naruto Uzumaki, like Ye Fan, you're someone I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, have failed..."
"I really haven't been much of a Hokage, have I?"
Bitterness filled the Third Hokage's face.
He felt that after all these years, he had failed to manage Konoha properly and had let down Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's dying request.
Once Nara Shikaku and the Fire Country's representative had recovered, they prepared to take Danzo back to Konoha and hand him over to Ibiki.
But!
Just as they reached out, an unexpected change occurred!
A powerful surge of Chakra suddenly burst from Danzo's hand.
That Chakra carried an indescribable quality, like life and vitality, before quickly withering away.
Feeling the strange Chakra, Jiraiya finally stopped spanking Ye Fan.
The Third Hokage also snapped out of his deep remorse and fixed his gaze on Danzo.
"Get back!" Sensing something was wrong, Nara Shikaku quickly pulled the Fire Country's representative away.
A flash of white light passed, and Danzo reappeared before them, unharmed and at the height of his power.
Seeing Danzo restored to perfect condition, everyone's faces changed. For a moment, none of them knew what had happened.
"T-this... How is this possible? Wasn't every bone in his body shattered by Ye Fan?!"
The Fire Country's representative stared blankly, his mind reeling.
The others looked just as shaken, their faces full of disbelief.
The Third Hokage and Jiraiya stared at Danzo, their brows furrowed.
The Third Hokage was the first to figure it out. He blurted out in shock, "Izanagi! You actually mastered the Uchiha Clan's forbidden technique, Izanagi!"
"Izanagi? That legendary forbidden technique that can turn the tide and transform all the damage you suffer into a dream?!" Nara Shikaku was aghast.
Jiraiya's expression grew grave as well. He had heard of the technique, but didn't know much about it.
Seeing it for the first time left him more serious than ever.
"To use Izanagi, you need Uchiha blood and have to sacrifice an eye, don't you? How can Danzo use it too?"
Jiraiya frowned deeply. "Could it be because of the First Hokage's cells? Did they let him use Izanagi?"
"That's right. That must be it. Hashirama's cells have astonishing vitality. They must be what sustain the use of Izanagi."
The Third Hokage spoke in a low voice as he reasoned it out.
They stared at the seal on Danzo's hand, their expressions grave.
By now, they were certain that more than one Sharingan had been implanted beneath the seal on Danzo's right arm—and there were probably quite a few of them!
The Third Hokage's gaze turned cold as he recalled that many bodies had been missing their eyes when the Uchiha Clan was wiped out.
He had assumed Uchiha Itachi had taken them. He never imagined Danzo had taken them instead!
Ye Fan, Jiraiya, the Third Hokage, Nara Shikaku, and the Fire Country's representative stood shoulder to shoulder, facing Danzo from a distance.
Neither side made a move, Ye Fan included.
Ye Fan didn't attack at once because he knew that after activating Izanagi, Danzo would be invincible for one minute.
For that minute, no matter what injuries he suffered, they would all be turned into a dream.
Danzo stared fixedly at Ye Fan, unable to put his shock into words.
He realized that Ye Fan knew far too many of his secrets.
Ye Fan knew he had implanted Hashirama Cells and Sharingan, and even knew about the forbidden technique Izanagi and how many Sharingan he had.
Danzo suddenly realized that he seemed to have no secrets from Ye Fan at all.
"Ye Fan, who are you? How do you know so many secrets?!"
Danzo couldn't make sense of it. He could rack his brain all he wanted and still find no answer.
These things should have been known only to him.
Besides, Ye Fan had been with Jiraiya all along. Where could he possibly have gotten this information?
"Ye Fan, could you be a god reincarnated? How else could you know so many of my secrets?!"
More than any of that, what he found truly inconceivable was Ye Fan's strength.
Ye Fan was only thirteen or fourteen. No matter how much of a genius he was, there was no way he should possess power of this caliber.
And yet, he did!
Danzo had seen plenty of Uchiha prodigies.
Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, for example, were geniuses found once in a generation among the Uchiha Clan.
But compared with Ye Fan, they seemed insignificant.
At the same age, Ye Fan had already displayed strength far beyond theirs!
And what he found even more incredible was that Shisui and Itachi owed much of their strength to their Sharingan.
Ye Fan, on the other hand, relied solely on his own body, without depending on any Kekkei Genkai!
After their brief exchange, Danzo had realized the difference between them. There was no way he could beat Ye Fan.
Even if he used up every Sharingan he had, he still wouldn't be a match for Ye Fan.
Danzo's mind raced as he searched for a way out.
"There's only one option left!"
Danzo decided to use the Genjutsu Kotoamatsukami.
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