Izanami

"Hah... I've finally controlled him. Using Kotoamatsukami to take control of an Uchiha with a Mangekyo isn't a bad trade."

"It's just a pity that this eye of Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami doesn't last very long... If I'd gotten the other eye back then, things might have been more favorable."

Danzō slowly came to a halt, his expression relaxing. This particular Kotoamatsukami of Shisui's had a cooldown of only half a year, and the time it could control others was also reduced to about a month.

Moreover, Uchiha Itachi was also an Uchiha with a Mangekyo, so the duration would likely be halved again. But regardless, for at least a week or two, Itachi definitely wouldn't be able to break free from Kotoamatsukami.

"Hmph... Since you've already awakened the Mangekyo, I'll have you take care of the Uchiha Clan!"

The strength of Uchiha Clan shinobi was almost entirely in their Sharingan. Faced with a higher-level Sharingan, they had virtually no power to resist.

In the original story, just Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi working together nearly wiped out the entire Uchiha Clan, largely because the Mangekyo Sharingan suppressed ordinary Sharingan.

Otherwise, if those Uchiha were replaced by other shinobi of equal strength, even with Obito and Itachi joining forces, they could at most inflict heavy damage—never annihilate them.

This was also why Shimura Danzō, both in the original story and now, wanted to use Itachi to eliminate the Uchiha Clan. A Mangekyo Uchiha was truly a standard dimensionality reduction strike against ordinary Uchiha.

But just as Shimura Danzō was basking in his triumph, Uchiha Itachi, who had been standing dazed and seemingly under his control, suddenly lifted his head and reached out without warning.

"Gwaah!!"

With a scream, Danzō stumbled back, clutching his right eye, his face twisted in pain. The Kotoamatsukami Mangekyo that had been in his eye socket was now in Uchiha Itachi's hand.

At the same time, one of Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan slowly dimmed, turning a pale white.

"Izanagi?! You used that secret technique from the very start?!"

Danzō asked in disbelief. As mentioned before, Izanagi had to be activated in advance. Using it wrong would waste a Sharingan outright, let alone the fact that Itachi had used a Mangekyo.

Using a Mangekyo for Izanagi was already a waste, and doing so before the battle even turned unfavorable—if he was that cautious, even if an Uchiha had eyes all over his body, he couldn't afford that kind of consumption!

"This isn't Izanagi—it's Izanami!"

Itachi said coldly to Danzō:

"Originally, I planned to get my hands on Shisui's Mangekyo and then use it to cast Izanami on you, to make you truly see your own heart. But in the end, I ended up using Izanami on myself!"

"Heh... As expected of the wicked Uchiha, even having a jutsu like this."

Danzō covered his eye and spoke coldly. The next second, his figure flashed back, fleeing without any regard for pride.

Izanami was a genjutsu developed by a genius of the Uchiha Clan in the past, specifically designed to counter Izanagi.

Because Izanagi was such a convenient "continue coin," the Uchiha Clan once waged a great war over this jutsu, fighting to steal each other's Sharingan and turn them into their own coins.

That war left the entire Uchiha Clan severely weakened. It wasn't until Izanami emerged, specifically countering Izanagi, that the chaos was resolved.

An opponent caught in Izanami's genjutsu would be trapped in their own memories, entering an infinite cycle of reincarnation. To break free from Izanami, they had to accept their true fate and sincerely repent—in a way, this was also a genjutsu specifically designed to counter Kotoamatsukami.

No matter how strong the mental imprint Kotoamatsukami imposed, it could be slowly worn down in an endless cycle of genjutsu reincarnation, let alone Danzō's weakened, short-duration version.

But Itachi wasn't in great shape either. Originally, he had planned to take Shisui's Mangekyo and use it to cast Izanami on Danzō—before that, he hadn't known the true ability of Shisui's Mangekyo, severely underestimating the situation.

As a result, he used his own Mangekyo to cast Izanami. Though he escaped the fate of being brainwashed by Kotoamatsukami, losing one Mangekyo had a huge impact on his combat power.

For one, having just awakened the Mangekyo and losing an eye immediately, Itachi's Susanoo would inevitably drop drastically in power, possibly even becoming difficult to use.

The Susanoo jutsu could only be obtained when an Uchiha had both eyes and awakened the Mangekyo. But once acquired, it left a mark in their bloodline. Even if they later lost an eye or went completely blind, they could still use it.

However, the power gap between a one-eyed Susanoo and a two-eyed Susanoo was enormous. Using Susanoo while completely blind was theoretically possible, but an Uchiha lacking sufficient strength definitely couldn't pull it off.

Itachi was exceptionally talented, but he was only thirteen or fourteen. His chakra reserves and physical endurance weren't that strong. In his current state, whether he could use Susanoo at all was a big question mark.

Moreover, after being struck by Kotoamatsukami and then Izanami in succession—two of the most supreme genjutsu—Itachi's mind was nearly mush. He truly had no strength left.

That was why, when Danzō turned and fled, Itachi hesitated for a moment and ultimately didn't pursue him.

On one hand, his own condition was poor, and he had already obtained Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyo, roughly achieving his goal.

On the other hand, Danzō was still the leader of Root. If Itachi killed him, the conflict and battle between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan would become truly unavoidable.

As for using Izanami to completely change Danzō's mind, after obtaining the Kotoamatsukami Sharingan, Itachi had already changed his own plan.

Though it was somewhat unfair to Uchiha Shisui, the power of Kotoamatsukami was simply too great. It could even help mediate the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha in the future. Itachi really couldn't bear to sacrifice that eye.

"Rather than using this eye of yours to avenge you, it's better to borrow Kotoamatsukami's power to let Konoha and the Uchiha coexist peacefully!"

"Shisui, if you were still alive, you would agree with me, wouldn't you!"

The expression on Itachi's face shifted repeatedly. Finally, he made up his mind and put away that Kotoamatsukami eye.