It was absolutely impossible for two Mangekyō Sharingan to have identical patterns.
Sōken was no exception.
Using Danzo's pupil as a mirror, Sōken saw the pattern in his eyes, shaped like a Six-Blade Windmill. It resembled Shisui's four-bladed pattern, except it had two extra blades, and the blades were longer and more slender, with a deeper curve.
"Pretty eyes, aren't they?"
A pleased smile appeared on Sōken's face.
But to Danzo, that smile was more loathsome than a demon's. Those scarlet Sharingan, patterned like a windmill with six blades, awakened memories he had long buried. The Uchiha... Had this evil power appeared once more?
He opened his mouth to shout,
but by the time he saw the earth-shattering change in Sōken's eyes, it was already too late.
"Welcome to my world."
The voice abruptly sounded in Danzo's ears, interrupting his thoughts. His eyes shifted slightly, and he realized he was no longer in the wrecked corridor of the Hokage Building. Instead, he stood in a scenic garden, complete with stone lanterns, a pond, a hill, and a bamboo grove...
Above him stretched an endless blue sky, and the boundless emptiness seemed capable of swallowing him whole.
This was fake.
Clearheaded, Danzo looked down at his unharmed body. A surge of humiliation flared within him at being underestimated. The Uchiha Clan's Genjutsu might be formidable, but there was no need to humiliate him like this, was there? Did Sōken really think he couldn't break this bizarre Genjutsu?
Well!
After trying several times, he had to admit that he really couldn't break this seemingly harmless Genjutsu.
Danzo surveyed the garden, which had no visible exit or path, and tried to figure out what kind of Genjutsu it was. It didn't seem to inflict direct harm, so it must be meant to trap people. Was it something like the Fox Heart Technique? No, that wasn't right. The Fox Heart Technique made people think they had entered a maze, forcing them to wander until they were exhausted.
In his current state, he couldn't even feel any control over his real body. So was this something like the Mist Servant Technique? Or the Place-That-Isn't? Neither seemed quite right...
"Hokage Assistant Danzo, don't you think this garden is missing something?"
The voice he'd heard earlier rang in his ears again.
In the blink of an eye, Danzo saw Uchiha Sōken sitting three or four steps away on a flat blue-gray stone in the grass. That detestable man wore a repulsive, mocking smile as he looked at him.
Sōken sat on the stone, relaxed and at ease.
He pointed down at the garden. "It has a hill, water, a bamboo grove, grass, stone lanterns, and a small shrine. But it lacks the beauty of flowering trees... So, please lend me a hand! How about helping me add a beautiful cherry tree?"
"Uchiha Sōken, what exactly are you up to?"
Danzo was on high alert as he watched Uchiha Sōken, wary of this unidentified Genjutsu... Huh? As Uchiha Sōken suddenly stood and walked toward him, he seemed to grow taller and taller for some reason. Danzo felt as if he were kneeling at Sōken's feet, looking up at his chin.
"Still haven't noticed? You're awfully slow, Hokage Assistant Danzo. You're skilled in Fuinjutsu too, so why haven't you realized that something's wrong with your condition?"
Sōken looked down at Danzo, whose lower body was buried in the earth, his smile growing ever more delighted!!!
He wasn't some mentally disturbed person who could only feel happiness at others' suffering. He simply enjoyed seeing Danzo suffer. At heart, he was still a good person who hated causing others pain!
On the battlefield, to make sure everyone was well and truly dead and wouldn't have to suffer while still alive, he kindly provided them with a complete cremation-and-ashes service!
As if waking from a deep dream,
Danzo finally noticed that he was buried in the ground.
But honestly, the old man wasn't worried. Not one bit. There was nothing to worry about. This was Uchiha Sōken's Genjutsu world, so anything could happen. In fact, it would have been strange if Uchiha Sōken hadn't done anything.
"Is that all you've got, Uchiha Sōken?"
Danzo looked up at Sōken with disdain.
"This is just the beginning, Hokage Assistant Danzo."
Sōken chuckled and pointed. "Look! It's already sprouting!"
A fresh green shoot pierced through the flesh of Danzo's left shoulder and began growing larger at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Argh!!!"
Danzo let out a bloodcurdling scream, despite not having made a sound when his right leg was smashed into a bloody pulp. The roots of the flowering tree burrowed into his body, wriggling in every direction like little snakes. Outside his body, roots as thick as pythons churned through the earth, coiling around him again and again, layer upon layer.
Before long, a towering cherry tree stood proudly in the garden, thousands of delicate pink buds covering its branches.
"Uchiha Sōken!! What... What have you... done?"
That was a good question.
What had Sōken done?
Looking down at Danzo, tangled in the dense roots and shriveled like a mummy baked dry, Sōken's eyes and brows brimmed with delight. "Let me tell you something. When every cherry blossom on this tree blooms, your death will be announced. All your spiritual energy will be drained and converted into nourishment to make me stronger."
Danzo struggled violently.
But he hadn't been able to break free before, and now the dense roots had him bound tight. All his struggles were futile. This was the Mangekyō Sharingan technique of Sōken's. Unless someone possessed ocular or spiritual power on par with—or greater than—Sōken's, there was no escaping this Genjutsu called [Konohanasakuya].
Konohanasakuya—
This was one of the two ocular techniques Sōken had awakened upon gaining the Mangekyō. Rather than a Genjutsu-type ocular technique, it was more like a Yin Release technique. Just as Sōken had said, this technique caused a towering cherry tree to grow from its target. As the blossoms bloomed, it continuously drained the target's spiritual energy... This was no longer a Genjutsu in the ordinary sense. It had reached the realm where Genjutsu became reality. This was—
Yin Release,
a Yin Release ocular technique.
Sōken bent down, leaned close to Danzo, and said with a smile:
"But don't worry. I won't kill you right now. After all, you're Lord Danzo, the Hokage Assistant. Picking a fight with you and finding an excuse to trade blows is no problem, but killing you before there's enough evidence to ruin your reputation would bring me a great deal of trouble... Of course, I won't let you stay alive and keep causing me trouble, either."
"This tree's blossoms... will leave a few for you. You can cling to life for another month or two, then die peacefully of old age. By then... your death won't have any direct connection to me."
"Snap!"
Sōken snapped his fingers. The buds across the tree began to bloom in a blaze of color, while a small cluster in the corner remained quietly closed!
Before you continue