Kotoamatsukami... Activated!!!

The Root member codenamed "Fu" was named Yamanaka Fu. He was a branch-family member of the Yamanaka Clan, skilled in the clan's secret mental techniques!

Taking advantage of the opening while Uchiha Yao controlled the forest and cleared out the others, Yamanaka Fu formed a specific hand seal:

Mind Body Switch Technique!

This powerful Secret Technique allowed its user's spirit to invade another person's body and control their movements.

On a chaotic battlefield, this attack was extremely difficult to detect and startlingly sudden, often leaving enemies unable to defend themselves.

Just as expected!

Yao's movements suddenly froze, his eyes went blank, and he completely lost control of his body.

"Now's my chance!"

Danzo's eyes flashed. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

Chakra burst beneath his feet, and in an instant he rushed in front of the rigidly upright Yao.

"Kid, compared to me, you're still far too green!"

Danzo sneered. His right hand curled like a hook, cloaked in dark Curse Seal chakra, and pressed toward Yao's chest.

Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal: Seal!

Dark Curse Seal markings surged from Danzo's palm like living things and swiftly spread over Yao's entire body.

They locked down the flow of chakra inside Yao, completely suppressing it!

Yao shuddered slightly.

Then the powerful sealing force pinned him firmly in place. He couldn't move, or even blink.

"Hmph!"

Looking at Uchiha Yao, who had been thoroughly subdued, Danzo finally wore a sinister smile of absolute control.

To confirm whether this Yao was a Wood Clone or the real thing, he had spared no expense, using so many Root shinobi.

It was no exaggeration to say that Root had suffered heavy losses in this battle.

But as long as he obtained Uchiha Yao, every sacrifice would be worth it!

Uchiha Yao alone was worth hundreds or even thousands of elite shinobi.

Danzo unwound the thick bandages that had always covered his right eye.

Beneath them was a scarlet Sharingan marked with three black tomoe.

Seeing it, Yao's face filled with shock, anger, and disbelief. Then he began struggling wildly.

He seemed utterly astonished that Danzo possessed a Sharingan.

"Stop struggling, kid... Everything you have will belong to Konoha! To me!"

Danzo's voice was hoarse, brimming with greed and fervor. The scarlet Three Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly.

The three tomoe connected, transforming into an intricate, unusual pattern like a four-pointed pinwheel.

Evil! Powerful!

Its heart-stirring ocular power burst forth without restraint!

"Kotoamatsukami!"

Danzo declared in a low voice.

He had paid such a heavy price and used Uchiha Sasuke to lure Yao here for one purpose: Kotoamatsukami.

He would use this most powerful Illusion Technique to turn Uchiha Yao into his servant—or, rather... his tool!

Buzz!

The most powerful Illusion Technique, capable of twisting reality and rewriting the will!

It surged toward Yao's soul in an irresistible flood.

Like a vast, dark tsunami, Kotoamatsukami instantly submerged Yao's consciousness.

The light in Yao's eyes quickly faded, like glass being washed clean, until they were blank and numb.

A moment later,

the emptiness and numbness gave way to reverence, submission, and obedience.

Danzo watched Yao's eyes closely and saw the change he had been expecting.

Even Danzo, whose will was as hard as iron and stone, could barely contain his excitement and elation.

"Good... Excellent!"

Danzo immediately formed a one-handed seal and pressed his palm against Yao's chest.

"Release!"

The Curse Seal markings receded like the tide, retreating into Danzo's palm.

Yao was free again.

But he made no attempt to attack or escape.

Instead, he lowered his head slightly, adopted a humble posture, and spoke respectfully:

"Lord Danzo!"

At the sight of this, the last trace of doubt in Danzo's heart vanished.

He couldn't help throwing his head back and laughing triumphantly:

"Ha ha ha! Good! Good! Good! The heavens have favored me!"

Danzo looked down at Yao as though admiring a perfect tool, a perfect weapon made just for him.

"From today on, you will be a tool in my hands!"

"With your power, I'll clear away every obstacle!"

"Danzō's weak era must end! The position of Hokage should rightfully be mine now!"

"Once I become Hokage, I'll reform Konoha. I might even unite the shinobi world! Ha ha..."

Danzo was completely caught up in the joy of wielding this power and imagining the future, his words brimming with self-satisfaction.

It was as though he could already see himself ruling over the shinobi world.

And who could blame him?

When he was young, he had hesitated for just a moment and fallen behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, losing his chance at the position of Hokage.

After that, Hiruzen Sarutobi had kept him under his thumb for a full forty years. Forty years! How many forty-year stretches did a person get in life?

Today!

At the age of seventy, his dream was finally about to come true.

How could Danzo not be elated?

Whoosh!

Just as Danzo's emotions were surging, a shadow suddenly appeared, slipping in from the blind spot in his vision.

Before Danzo could react, an excruciating, bone-piercing pain exploded from his right eye socket.

The pain was so fierce and sudden that Danzo couldn't immediately understand what had happened.

"Gah!!!"

Danzo screamed. Warm liquid ran down his cheek.

He staggered backward, his right hand instinctively covering his right eye.

His fingers found only a bloody, hollow cavity.

"My eye..."

Shocked and furious, Danzo looked ahead. Yao was still kneeling there.

But there was a problem.

Just a few steps away, another Yao was standing on a vine.

This Yao wore a mocking expression. There wasn't the slightest trace of respect or submission on his face.

And that wasn't all.

In his hand, this Yao was holding a scarlet Sharingan.

It was Uchiha Shisui's eye—the Kotoamatsukami eye that Danzo had hidden away for years and regarded as one of his greatest trump cards!

The few remaining Root shinobi stared in stunned disbelief, barely able to believe what was happening before their eyes.

Another Uchiha Yao?

How was that possible?

So which one was the real one? Or was Uchiha Yao's body a clone?

Danzo's one remaining eye was wide and bloodshot. It brimmed with pain and disbelief.

And with fury at having been thoroughly toyed with—and... madness:

"You... You weren't controlled?! Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I don't believe it!"

Yao casually flicked the blood from his fingertips and put the Mangekyō Sharingan into a bottle.

"This Mangekyō Sharingan of Uchiha Shisui's really does come with a powerful ocular technique: Kotoamatsukami!"

Standing on the vine, Yao lightly weighed the bottle in his hand:

"Silent and imperceptible, it rewrites the will. It's the pinnacle of Illusion Technique!"

Yao looked at Danzo with a faint smile, his tone playful. "So, Lord Danzo..."

"From beginning to end, how could I possibly dare to face you in person with my real body, you who are known as... the Darkness of Konoha?"

"What?!"

Danzo's pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately looked at the Uchiha Yao before him.

This Yao's flesh and skin rapidly lost their color and texture. His skin turned to wood grain, and his hair became branches and leaves.

Like a weathered clay statue, he revealed his true form: a lifelike wooden puppet!

Wood Clone!

It was a Wood Clone?!

The one who had faced off against him from beginning to end, used Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, and finally acted out a scene of submission right before his eyes...

had been nothing but a Wood Clone?