Born Evil

BOOM!!!

Gamabunta descended from the sky, pinning the Nine-Tailed Fox beneath his massive frame.

Having dealt with the mysterious masked man, the Fourth Hokage arrived on the battlefield!

"Lord Fourth!"

"Lord Hokage!"

"Minato... you've finally arrived."

The Third Hokage and the others, who had been struggling to hold back the Nine-Tails, finally managed to catch their breath.

The Fourth Hokage's brows were tightly knit, and not just because of the Nine-Tails beneath Gamabunta... with his keen field of vision, he spotted Rayquaza hovering above the Uchiha compound.

He also saw...

Shimura Danzō, clutched in the grasp of Rayquaza.

What on earth was happening here?

ROAR!!!

Just as he was thinking this, the Nine-Tails suddenly exerted its strength, throwing Gamabunta aside with a heaven-shaking roar!

Terrifying chakra began to accumulate within its maw...

The Fourth Hokage made a swift decision.

"Lord Third, there is a situation at the Uchiha compound; please go and handle it."

"I will take care of the Nine-Tails!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen turned his head sharply toward the Uchiha compound, and now that he had a moment, he sensed that powerful fluctuation of life.

Danzō had gone over there...

Could it be that he ignored his orders and clashed with the Uchiha?

Shimura Danzō had not falsely relayed the Third Hokage's orders; the Third had indeed sent him to keep an eye on the Police Force.

However, he had strictly forbidden Danzō from taking action against the Uchiha, insisting that everything be settled only after the Nine-Tails was subdued.

"I understand..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, asking one last question before turning away: "Minato, Biwako, she..."

The Fourth Hokage pressed his lips together and shook his head.

I see...

Gripping the Adamantine Staff tightly, Sarutobi Hiruzen moved quickly: "Minato, do not take unnecessary risks. I will return immediately after I resolve the situation over there!"

"Follow me!"

It was not that Sarutobi Hiruzen was being irresponsible by leaving the Nine-Tails to the Fourth Hokage without even leaving a few Anbu behind.

Rather, they understood the Fourth Hokage's combat style all too well; ordinary jonin remaining here would serve no purpose other than to drag him down.

In their eyes, the Fourth Hokage, with his Flying Thunder God technique, was invincible even when facing the Nine-Tails.

After all, the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God technique had surpassed even that of Tobirama Senju!

--

--

On the other side.

SWISH!!

Uchiha Sora threw his short blade, severing the arm of Shimura Danzō.

The severed limb fell to the ground, where two Sharingan eyes were still spinning eerily, alongside several marks that looked like stitched wounds... those were the Sharingan that had already been used.

Izanagi was indeed a nearly unsolvable ocular technique.

But Shimura Danzō was not a member of the Uchiha clan after all; his "invincible" duration was far too short, and his Izanagi limit could only be measured in minutes.

When killing Shimura Danzō for the second time, Uchiha Sora had seized the moment while Danzō was preoccupied with Fugaku's ocular technique, casting a genjutsu to make him believe he had already activated Izanagi.

Before he could react, Sora utilized the power of Rayquaza to unleash a genjutsu-infused Dragon Ascent.

Dragon Ascent possessed a "guaranteed hit" property, rendering Danzō's defensive seals useless. By the time he realized his mistake and tried to activate Izanagi again, it was already too late.

This was the gap in ocular power!

Shimura Danzō was a top-tier master of Wind Release; had he kept his distance from the start to summon Baku and utilize large-scale wind techniques, the battle would not have ended so easily.

To abandon one's greatest advantage and compete with an Uchiha in genjutsu...

Arrogance was the cause of Shimura Danzō's defeat!

Root ninjas threw themselves at Rayquaza one after another, desperate to rescue their commander, Shimura Danzō.

Uchiha Sora was not as gentle as Shisui; the Hyper Beam erupting from his fingertips slaughtered every last one of the Root ninjas!

When everything finally calmed, sweat had soaked Uchiha Sora's black hair, with a few slightly curled strands hanging over his forehead.

He lowered his palm, his five fingers charred black.

His technique involved taking a large-scale Hyper Beam and using his own body as a converter to split it into multiple, precise strikes.

Ninjas were notorious for high offense and low defense; an attack comparable to a Tailed Beast Bomb was simply an overflow of firepower.

Since this power was borrowed, Uchiha Sora had to use it with careful calculation.

As for sustaining some injuries because of it... that was completely irrelevant.

Swish!

Shisui flicked the blood off his blade. Upon seeing the Sharingan in Shimura Danzō's eye socket, his rage finally drove him to turn his blade against the Root ninjas.

"Sora... let me bear the sin of killing Shimura Danzō."

Uchiha Sora looked up, watching the Third Hokage and his party rushing toward them from the distance, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"I went to such great lengths to capture him alive, not so you could have your fun."

"I need to use him as a bargaining chip."

Shisui's expression darkened. "We've reached this point—do you really think the village will choose reconciliation just because you spared Danzō? Given Shimura Danzō's nature, letting him live is the greatest threat to our clan. Sora, don't play with fire!"

"You were the one who chose to oppose the village, and you've already killed so many Anbu ninjas... kill Danzō immediately, and let's defect from the village!"

Shisui still didn't realize those were Danzō's direct subordinates from Root, assuming they were Anbu ninjas instead.

At this moment, he had become the radical one, accusing Sora of being too conservative.

Uchiha Sora shook his head.

"Killing him is too simple..."

"It's nowhere near enough!"

His eyes held the deepest malice, whispering like a demon: "I want him to live, to watch everything he believes in be completely destroyed."

"If I kill him now, he'll still be able to enter the Memorial Stone with honor... that won't do."

"I want him to understand..."

"The sound of important things shattering isn't the soft thud of a head hitting the ground..."

"It's the roar that explodes within the heart!"

There was one more thing Uchiha Sora didn't mention.

According to his subsequent plans, the existence of Shimura Danzō was necessary.

Could there be anything more effective at weakening Konoha than keeping Shimura Danzō alive?

The damage Uchiha Obito caused to Konoha after painstakingly plotting the Nine-Tails Incident didn't even compare to a single whim of Shimura Danzō.

Nagato was a prime example; at the root of it all, Danzō was partially to blame.

"But..."

Shisui wanted to say something more.

"Shut up! My intellect is superior to yours; just listen!"

"...Oh."

Fugaku also noticed the Third Hokage and his group approaching. Today, he had taken more deep breaths than he had in the past year combined.

He walked up to Uchiha Sora: "I can only trust you now..."

"Leave the subsequent negotiations to you. Whatever decision you make, we will follow you!"

Fugaku lacked the resolve to make choices, but he still had the courage to see a path through to the bitter end.

If we die, we die. I'll bet that the village won't dare to engage in an all-out war with us at a time like this.

But...

What are we supposed to do after this...

Minato, I have failed your trust...

--

Swish, swish, swish—

"Danzō!!"

Seeing Shimura Danzō held captive, Utatane Koharu cried out in shock, shouting angrily, "Damn Uchiha... you really have rebelled! The Nine-Tails incident was your doing as well, wasn't it!"

"And to think the Fourth Hokage always called you comrades... you are evil by nature..."

"Koharu, calm down."

Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his staff to block Utatane Koharu, then looked toward the few surviving Anbu members at the edge of the battlefield.

His gaze turned grim as he shifted his focus to Fugaku and the others, finally landing on Uchiha Sora.

"Since you didn't choose to strike immediately, that means there is room for negotiation."

"How about you give this old man some time to understand the situation first?"

Uchiha Sora smiled faintly, sitting cross-legged atop the dragon's head, and gestured with his hand, "Please."