Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan!

"Impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible!!"

Danzo's voice came out as a low roar.

It was filled with absurdity, and the fury of being thoroughly fooled.

How could it be a Wood Clone?

Could a Wood Clone unleash a technique on the scale of Flowering Tree Descent?

And what about that amount of Chakra—how could a Wood Clone achieve that?

Moreover!

From this morning when Yao left home, to the Chūnin Exams arena.

Then to being invited to Root!

His Root ninja had been monitoring Uchiha Yao the entire time, never once losing sight of him!

There was no time, no opportunity, to swap in a Wood Clone!

To put it bluntly, to obtain Uchiha Yao and ensure "Kotoamatsukami" was foolproof.

Danzo had racked his brains and planned for a long time, terrified of any slip-up.

It wasn't that Danzo was overly cautious; he had no choice.

Kotoamatsukami, though powerful, had a cooldown period of over a decade.

And Danzo was already seventy years old. In his remaining years, he only had this one chance to use it.

With such a precious trump card, how could Danzo not be extremely careful?

So from very early on, Root had intensified its surveillance of Yao.

Especially today, the monitoring was pushed to the utmost, ensuring every move Yao made was under control, eliminating any possibility of "switching the genuine for the fake."

Danzo had to confirm that the one standing before him was the real, unadulterated Uchiha Yao... the original body!

Not a clone!

But now...

The Uchiha Yao hit by Kotoamatsukami had turned into wood.

"A Wood Clone... it was just a Wood Clone... how could it be a Wood Clone? How could it be a Wood Clone?"

Danzo clutched his hollow, bleeding eye socket, his body trembling slightly—rage! Disappointment! Pain! Despair!

He couldn't accept it!

Days of painstaking scheming, all for nothing—Danzo burned with hatred!

"Heh..."

From not far away, Yao let out a light laugh: "Why is it impossible? My dear Lord Danzo!"

"These twelve years, with your Root monitoring me, did you really think I was completely unaware?"

"Especially this past month, you've been recording even how many times I've taken a shit, haven't you?"

Yao's tone carried a hint of mockery, but it made Danzo's heart sink further.

Danzo clutched his hollow eye socket in silence, which was as good as an admission.

Indeed!

For today!

Danzo had mobilized nearly every covert force he could, monitoring Uchiha Yao twenty-four hours a day.

"But what a pity!"

Yao's voice carried an undisguised lightness:

"All your scheming, your caution, your Kotoamatsukami... everything was within my expectations!"

"So, I split half my Chakra early on and created a Wood Clone convincing enough to pass as real!"

"This Wood Clone has existed for a long time!"

"Its sole purpose in being created was to guard against you!"

"No! That's not right!"

"To be precise, it was to guard against the Kotoamatsukami in your hands!"

"Today's events prove that my caution was justified!"

"You..."

Danzo suddenly lifted his head:

"You knew long ago that I possessed Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyo? And you knew the specific abilities of Kotoamatsukami?"

Danzo was somewhat incredulous.

Shisui's right Mangekyo eye was an absolute secret!

Aside from Uchiha Shisui himself, who was already "dead," no fourth person in this world should have known about it!

How did this brat from the Uchiha Clan come to learn of it?

"Heh heh..."

Yo laughed: "My dear Lord Danzo, the things I know far exceed your imagination!"

"To be honest!"

"Not only do I know you have Uchiha Shisui's right Mangekyo eye!"

"I also know where the left eye you failed to take before Shisui died... is!"

Danzo's entire body trembled, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

An obsession with Wood Release!

A craving for the Sharingan!

These had long been fused into Danzo's very soul; one could even say he was more stubborn and fanatical in this regard than Orochimaru.

So.

Back when he learned that Uchiha Shisui had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.

And possessed a coveted dojutsu like "Kotoamatsukami."

Danzo was overjoyed, then unhesitatingly planned the attack.

Unfortunately.

That attack was only half successful. Danzo obtained the right eye, while the left eye vanished without a trace.

This became one of the greatest regrets and obsessions in Danzo's heart!

Over the years.

He had never stopped searching in secret, yet he always came up empty-handed.

This Uchiha brat actually knew the whereabouts of the left eye?!

"Where is that Mangekyo...? Tell me quickly!"

Danzo's voice was hoarse and urgent, carrying an impatient edge.

This reaction from Danzo was entirely within Yo's expectations.

To a paranoid man who viewed the Sharingan as a collection piece.

The whereabouts of another Mangekyo held unparalleled temptation.

"Since you're about to die, I'll let you die with clarity!"

Yo smiled leisurely: "Back then, after you took his right eye, Uchiha Shisui fled with his crippled body."

"He didn't return to the clan. Instead, he found Uchiha Itachi."

"He entrusted his one remaining left eye to Itachi!"

"Then, after giving his final instructions, he threw himself into a river and died."

"In other words, Shisui's left Mangekyo eye has been in Uchiha Itachi's hands all these years."

"Uchiha... Itachi!!"

Danzo squeezed that name out through gritted teeth, carrying shock and rage.

That butcher who wiped out the clan!

That pawn he thought was completely under his control had actually concealed such important intelligence!

Shisui's left Mangekyo eye was actually in that spy's hands!

"Not only that!"

Yo's tone rose slightly, laced with amusement: "Uchiha Shisui's tragic death caused Uchiha Itachi... to successfully awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan!"

"Come to think of it, Lord Danzo, you really deserve credit for Itachi's achievements today!"

"Bastard! Uchiha Itachi... that scum! That traitor!"

Danzo's chest heaved violently, flames of rage blazing in his single eye:

"As expected! The evil Uchiha Clan has betrayal and concealment flowing in their blood from the bone! They're all untrustworthy wicked bastards!!"

Danzo growled while unwinding the bandages on his right arm.

"Though I don't know why you know all this!"

Danzo stared coldly at Yo, his tone dark and murderous: "But none of that matters anymore!"

"Today, I will rid Konoha of you, this menace!"

Pfft!

Before Danzo could finish his words, he suddenly felt a heart-wrenching, searing pain at his right shoulder.

He looked down in shock.

His right arm had been severed cleanly at the shoulder, detached from his body.

Yo appeared from nowhere, snatched the severed arm, and vanished.

The next instant.

Yo was back atop that thick vine, holding the bandaged severed arm in his hand.

"You...!!!"

Danzo clamped his left hand over the gushing wound on his right shoulder, both shocked and enraged.

This bastard had not only gouged out his right eye, but now even cut off his right arm.

Hateful! Utterly hateful!

Yo weighed the severed arm in his hand, a cold smirk curling at the corner of his mouth:

"Danzo, since I know you have Shisui's Mangekyo, and I'm fully aware of Kotoamatsukami's effects..."

"Then guess—do you think I also know that you've transplanted ten Sharingan onto this arm?"

Yo sliced open the bandages on the severed arm with a Kunai. On the pale skin, Sharingan were densely packed.

No more, no less—exactly ten. A sight that sent chills down the spine!