The weight of the blossoms bent the branches. The cherry blossoms, having bloomed to their fullest, began to wither, and the light in Danzo's eyes gradually faded. He looked as though his soul had been ripped away. If not for his eyeballs still twitching on instinct, he could have been mistaken for a sun-dried corpse.
The mental energy that flowed back to him made up for the energy spent activating the Mangekyō Sharingan technique, [Konohanasakuya]. There was even a little left over, filling Sōken, who was also inside the genjutsu space, with an indescribable sense of pleasure!
Sōken flicked the few unopened buds remaining on the branch.
He looked at Danzo, wrapped up in tree roots like a dumpling,
and laughed with delight,
then slowly closed his eyes and dispelled the technique.
The tree's growth had seemed to take a long time, but in the real world, only an instant had passed. Sōken was still standing in front of Danzo. Seeing Danzo's vacant eyes, he stepped back. The sudden movement made blood spurt from the wound in his thigh, but the power of Yang Release gradually stopped the bleeding.
"Ah! That hurts!"
Sōken let out a rather unconvincing cry of pain.
Unfortunately, few people were there to play along. This wasn't the Uchiha's home turf, after all. Neither Shisui nor Fugaku Uchiha came over to banter with Sōken. Everyone's attention had been drawn to Danzo, who had silently collapsed to the ground, limp as a corpse.
"Danzo?!"
The Lord Third's eyes widened as he stared at Danzo on the ground in disbelief.
"Danzo? Someone, quick! Where are the Medical Ninja? Get over here, now! What are you dawdling for?" Mitokado Homura roared.
Torifu Akimichi couldn't sit still either. Whether or not he liked that obnoxious fellow, Danzo, was one thing. But if Danzo really died here and now... that would be an absolute disaster. If Hiruzen chose to go to war with the Uchiha, then they would inevitably be dragged into it too!
Yamanaka Inoichi formed hand seals.
He wasn't a Medical Ninja, but as a top-tier sensor, he could see Danzo's current condition. He pushed the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Secret Technique to its limits—he was practically stripping Danzo naked and taking a picture of him.
"How is he, Inoichi?"
"Hmm..."
Yamanaka Inoichi furrowed his brows, looking troubled.
Now it wasn't just Torifu Akimichi, who scratched his cheek in confusion. Even Nara Shikaku stared at Yamanaka Inoichi in astonishment. The two of them were close friends, two members of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio in their generation. They had known each other for years, yet they had rarely seen Yamanaka Inoichi this troubled.
Just then,
the Medical Ninja stationed at the Hokage Building rushed over at top speed.
A group of experts in white coats immediately surrounded Danzo and began examining him with Medical Ninjutsu, while also treating his obvious external injuries. As for Sōken, who was covered in blood and looked just as miserable... nobody gave him so much as a glance!
"Tsk!"
Sōken clicked his tongue.
With no energy left to fake another cry of pain, he simply walked a couple of steps away and leaned lazily against the wall, watching the Medical Ninja argue around Danzo.
Clearly, Yamanaka Inoichi wasn't the only one at a loss. These highly skilled, experienced Medical Ninja had also fallen into confusion. They each held their own opinions, and none could convince the others. Their argument grew so heated that the Lord Third, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and the others nearby were left with pounding headaches.
"Enough! Quiet! One of you, come out and tell me whether Danzo is alive or dead!"
Utatane Koharu was the first to blow up, silencing the Medical Ninja, who had been caught up in a frenzy over a condition they had never seen before.
The Medical Ninja exchanged glances. At last, the oldest among them stepped forward and replied respectfully, "Elder Utatane, Councilor Danzo is still alive. His breathing is weak, and he hasn't regained consciousness, but there's no doubt that Elder Danzo is still alive..."
"Then what are you arguing about?"
"Well, several colleagues and I have some disagreements about the cause of Elder Danzo's unconsciousness..."
"Fine, I understand. Don't bother telling me the technical details. I wouldn't understand them anyway. As long as Danzo is alive, that's enough. Get him to the hospital, quickly. Your job is to make sure he wakes up and recovers as soon as possible."
The Medical Ninja fell silent for a few seconds. They looked at one another. Clearly, none of them wanted to say something like "Elder Danzo has little chance of waking up" right now. If they got caught up in some unpredictable trouble because of it, they wouldn't even know where to begin complaining.
Not far away, diagonally across from them, Uchiha Sōken stood there covered in blood, watching.
There was no need to call for a nurse. Two of the younger Medical Ninja lifted Danzo onto a stretcher and took off running toward Konoha Hospital.
And so,
Danzo, sunk into a deep coma, was sent to Konoha Hospital.
After the Medical Ninja disappeared from view, the wrecked corridor fell silent once more. Aburame Ryoma had already broken off his fight with Shisui as soon as Danzo had fallen. Like Danzo's shadow, he had quietly followed the Medical Ninja to Konoha Hospital.
With one focal point gone, everyone's attention finally shifted to another.
The culprit who had caused Elder Danzo to fall into a coma.
"Why are you all looking at me? By the way, are there any Medical Ninja left? Councilor Danzo's Wind Style Technique is impressive! He nearly sliced my thigh right off." The culprit sighed and reached down to touch the bloody wound on his thigh. His face immediately twisted into an expression of intense pain.
His meaning was clear:
Don't think Danzo going to the hospital is such a big deal. He wasn't the only one who'd been badly hurt!
"Uchiha Sōken... If anything happens to Danzo..." The Lord Third stared at Sōken's feet, trying to come up with a couple of threats.
But—
"That old man Danzo is almost seventy. For all we know, he could slip while taking a piss one day and drown in the toilet. Whether he lives or dies has nothing to do with me. Besides, my clan's feud with Danzo isn't over yet!" Even the Lord Third couldn't make Sōken speak any more politely. He rudely cut him off.
With his Mangekyō Sharingan activated, Sōken could clearly sense his own power rising.
He now had all the confidence he needed to turn the tables and make threats himself.
"Lord Third, and all you clan heads, remember this: the Uchiha will always be the Uchiha of Konoha. But that doesn't mean we deserve to be bullied. Don't give me any of those damn excuses. You all know exactly what's going on."
"I don't care to dig up all the old grievances. But from now on, if you think the Uchiha will keep yielding in everything like we used to... then go ahead and see for yourselves whether the Uchiha have any backbone!"
The clan heads all fell silent. None of them wanted to make trouble for themselves now.
Until they figured out exactly how Danzo had fallen—until they understood what Sōken was capable of—no one was willing to risk provoking him. Even the Lord Third had returned to his usual mild expression. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had only been concerned about Danzo's condition; neither had demanded that Sōken explain himself.
That was the world of shinobi,
a world where the strong ruled.
Even rules would change their shape and bend to suit the strong when faced with sufficient power.
Before you continue