"Impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible!!"
Danzo's voice broke into a furious growl.
His voice was filled with disbelief—and the rage of someone who had been utterly made a fool of.
How could it be a Wood Clone?
Could a Wood Clone really perform a jutsu on the scale of Advent of a World of Flowering Trees?
And that amount of chakra—how could a Wood Clone possibly manage it?
And besides!
From the moment Yao left home that morning, to the Chunin Ninja Exams arena,
and then to when he was brought to Root,
the Root ninja under Danzo's command had watched Uchiha Yao the entire time. Uchiha Yao had never once slipped out of their sight!
He hadn't had the time—or the opportunity—to switch places with a Wood Clone!
It was no exaggeration to say that, to get Uchiha Yao and ensure Kotoamatsukami worked without a hitch,
Danzo had spared no effort and planned everything out carefully, afraid that even the slightest thing might go wrong.
It was no wonder Danzo had been so cautious. He'd had no other choice.
Kotoamatsukami was powerful, but its cooldown lasted more than a decade.
And Danzo was already seventy. He had only one chance to use it in his lifetime.
How could he not be extremely careful with such a precious trump card?
That was why Root had stepped up its surveillance of Yao long ago.
Especially today. They had watched him more closely than ever, making sure every move he made was under their control and ruling out any possibility of a switch.
Danzo had to be certain that the one standing before him was the genuine Uchiha Yao... the real one!
Not a clone!
But now...
Uchiha Yao, who had been hit by Kotoamatsukami, had turned into wood.
"A Wood Clone... It was only a Wood Clone... How could it be a Wood Clone? How could it possibly be a Wood Clone?"
Danzo clutched the empty, bleeding eye socket as his body trembled slightly. Fury! Disappointment! Pain! Despair!
He couldn't accept it!
All those days of careful planning had come to nothing in an instant. Danzo was consumed with hatred!
"Heh..."
Yao chuckled from nearby. "Why couldn't it be, my dear Lord Danzo?"
"For these twelve years, you've had Root watching me. Did you really think... I knew nothing about it?"
"Especially this past month. You practically recorded every time I took a dump, didn't you?"
Yao's tone was teasing, but Danzo's heart sank further with every word.
Clutching his empty eye socket, Danzo remained silent. That was as good as an admission.
Indeed!
For today,
Danzo had mobilized almost every covert force at his disposal to keep Uchiha Yao under surveillance twenty-four hours a day.
"But what a shame!"
A hint of unconcealed cheer entered Yao's voice.
"All your plans, all your caution, even your Kotoamatsukami... I saw it all coming!"
"That's why I split off half my chakra early on and made a Wood Clone convincing enough to fool anyone!"
"That Wood Clone had been around for a long time!"
"I created him for one purpose alone: to guard against you!"
"No! That's not quite right!"
"More precisely, to guard against the Kotoamatsukami in your possession!"
"Today proved that I was right to be careful!"
"You..."
Danzo suddenly raised his head.
"You knew all along that I had Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō? And you knew exactly what Kotoamatsukami could do?"
Danzo could hardly believe it!
Shisui's right Mangekyō was an absolute secret!
Other than Uchiha Shisui himself, who had long been "dead," no one else in the world should have known!
How had this Uchiha clan brat found out?
"Heh..."
Yao smiled. "My dear Lord Danzo, I know far more than you can imagine!"
"To tell you the truth!"
"Not only do I know you have Uchiha Shisui's right Mangekyō!"
"I also know where the left eye you failed to take from Uchiha Shisui before he died... is!"
Danzo's whole body shuddered. His eye filled with disbelief.
His obsession with Wood Release!
His craving for the Sharingan!
They had long since become part of his soul. He might even have been more fixated and fanatical about them than Orochimaru.
So,
when he learned that Uchiha Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan
and possessed the coveted ocular technique, Kotoamatsukami,
Danzo had been overjoyed—and had planned the attack without hesitation.
Unfortunately,
the attack had only been half a success. Danzo had gotten the right eye, but the left had vanished without a trace.
That had become one of Danzo's greatest regrets—and obsessions!
All these years,
he had never stopped searching for it in secret, yet he had found nothing.
And this Uchiha brat knew where the left eye was?!
"Where is that Mangekyō... Tell me, now!"
Danzo's voice was hoarse and hurried, edged with desperation.
Yao had expected Danzo to react this way.
For a fanatic who treated the Sharingan like a collection,
the location of another Mangekyō was an irresistible temptation.
"Since you're about to die, I'll let you die knowing the truth!"
Yao smiled leisurely. "After you took Uchiha Shisui's right eye, he escaped with his battered body."
"He didn't return to the clan. Instead, he found Uchiha Itachi."
"He entrusted his only remaining left eye to Itachi!"
"Then, after telling him everything, he threw himself into the river."
"In other words, Shisui's left Mangekyō has been in Uchiha Itachi's possession all these years."
"Uchiha... Itachi!!"
Danzo forced the name through clenched teeth, his voice full of shock and fury.
That butcher who had massacred his clan!
That pawn Danzo had thought he completely controlled had kept such crucial information from him!
Shisui's left Mangekyō was in the hands of that spy!
"And that's not all!"
Yao's tone rose slightly, touched with amusement. "Uchiha Shisui's brutal death let Uchiha Itachi... awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"Come to think of it, Lord Danzo, you really did play a huge part in Uchiha Itachi's success!"
"Bastard! Uchiha Itachi... that disgrace! That traitor!"
Danzo's chest heaved, his one eye blazing with fury.
"Just as I thought! The evil Uchiha clan have betrayal and deceit running through their veins! They're all untrustworthy, wicked scum!!"
As he growled, Danzo began unwinding the bandages on his right arm.
"Though I don't know how you learned all this,"
Danzo stared coldly at Yao, his voice dark with murderous intent. "None of it matters anymore!"
"Today, I'll rid Konoha of a menace like you!"
Thwack!
Before Danzo could finish speaking, a searing pain suddenly tore through his right shoulder.
He looked down in shock.
His right arm had been severed cleanly at the shoulder, detached from his body.
Yao had appeared out of nowhere, seized the severed arm, and disappeared.
The next instant,
Yao was back atop the thick vine, holding the severed arm wrapped in bandages.
"You...!!!"
Danzo clamped his left hand over the spurting stump of his right shoulder, shocked and enraged.
That bastard had not only taken his right eye—now he'd cut off his right arm too.
Damn him! Damn him!
Yao weighed the severed arm in his hand, a cold smile tugging at his lips.
"Danzo, since I know you have Shisui's Mangekyō, and I even know exactly what Kotoamatsukami does..."
"Take a guess—do you think I also know that you've implanted ten Sharingan in this arm?"
Yao used a Kunai to cut through the bandages. The pale skin beneath was covered in Sharingan, packed close together.
Ten, no more and no less—enough to make one's skin crawl!
Before you continue