Born Evil

Boom!!!

Gamabunta dropped from the sky, landing on top of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Namikaze Minato, having dealt with the mysterious man, arrived on the battlefield!

"Lord Fourth!"

"Lord Hokage!"

"Minato... you're finally here."

The Third Hokage and the others had been struggling to hold back the Nine-Tails. Now they could finally catch their breath.

Minato's brow furrowed. It wasn't just because of the Nine-Tails beneath Gamabunta... With his excellent vantage point, he had spotted Rayquaza above the Uchiha Compound.

He had also seen...

Shimura Danzō, held in Rayquaza's grasp.

What was going on?

Roar!!!

Just as he was thinking, the Nine-Tails suddenly heaved Gamabunta off and let out a thunderous roar!

Terrifying chakra gathered in its mouth...

Minato made a quick decision.

"Lord Third, something's happening at the Uchiha Compound. Please go deal with it."

"I'll take care of the Nine-Tails!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen abruptly turned toward the Uchiha Compound. With a moment to spare, he sensed the powerful life force there.

Danzō had gone over there...

Had he ignored my orders and clashed with the Uchiha?

Shimura Danzō hadn't falsely claimed to be acting on Sarutobi Hiruzen's orders. The Third Hokage really had sent him to keep an eye on the Police Force.

But he had also strictly forbidden Danzō from attacking the Uchiha. They would deal with everything else after subduing the Nine-Tails.

"Understood..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, then turned to leave. Before he went, he asked, "Minato, Biwako..."

Minato pressed his lips together and shook his head.

I see...

Gripping the Adamantine Staff tightly, Sarutobi Hiruzen hurried off. "Minato, don't take any risks. I'll come back as soon as I've dealt with the situation over there!"

"Come with me!"

It wasn't that Sarutobi Hiruzen was shirking his responsibility by leaving the Nine-Tails to Minato and not even leaving a few Anbu behind.

They knew Minato's fighting style well. Ordinary jonin would only get in his way; they wouldn't be of any help.

In their eyes, Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique meant that even against the Nine-Tails, he could hold his own.

Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique had even surpassed Senju Tobirama's!

On the other side.

Whoosh!!

Uchiha Sora threw a short blade, severing Shimura Danzō's arm.

The severed arm hit the ground. Two Sharingan in it rolled eerily, and several spots that looked like stitched-up wounds were visible nearby... Those were Sharingan that had already been used.

Izanagi was indeed an almost invincible dōjutsu.

But Shimura Danzō wasn't an Uchiha. His "invincibility" lasted far too briefly; Izanagi's duration could only be measured in minutes.

When he killed Danzō for the second time, Sora took advantage of Danzō's focus on Fugaku's genjutsu and caught him off guard with one of his own, making Danzō believe he'd already activated Izanagi.

Before Danzō could realize the truth, Sora harnessed Rayquaza's power and used a genjutsu version of Dragon Ascent.

Dragon Ascent had an "unerring" property. Danzō's defensive Cursed Seal was useless. By the time he realized what was happening and tried to use Izanagi again, it was too late.

That was the difference in ocular power!

Shimura Danzō was a top-tier Wind Release master. If he'd started by creating distance, summoning Baku, and using wide-area Wind Release, the battle wouldn't have ended so easily.

He'd thrown away his greatest advantage and tried to outmatch an Uchiha in genjutsu...

Arrogance was Shimura Danzō's undoing!

Root shinobi rushed at Rayquaza one after another, trying to rescue their leader.

Uchiha Sora wasn't as gentle as Shisui. Hyper Beam burst from his fingertips, killing every Root shinobi!

Once everything had quieted down, sweat soaked Sora's black hair, and a few slightly curled locks hung over his forehead.

He lowered his hand. All five fingers were charred black.

What he'd done was use his own body as a converter to split an enormous Hyper Beam into multiple precise attacks.

Shinobi were known for their high attack and low defense. An attack like a Tailed Beast Ball was pure overkill.

Sora had to use the power he'd borrowed sparingly.

As for getting hurt in the process... It didn't matter at all.

Whoosh!

Shisui flicked the blood from his blade. When he saw the Sharingan in Shimura Danzō's eye socket, his fury finally drove him to turn his blade against the Root shinobi.

"Sora... Let me take responsibility for killing Shimura Danzō."

Sora looked up at the Third Hokage and the others rushing toward them in the distance, and smiled faintly.

"I went to all this trouble to capture him, not to let you have your fun."

"I need him as a bargaining chip."

Shisui's expression darkened. "After all this, do you really think the village will reconcile with us just because you spare Danzō? Given Shimura Danzō's nature, keeping him alive is the greatest threat to our clan. Sora, don't play with fire!"

"You're the one who chose to oppose the village, and you've killed so many Anbu! Kill Danzō now, and let's defect!"

Shisui still didn't know they were Danzō's personal Root shinobi. He'd thought they were Anbu.

At a time like this, he was the radical one, accusing Sora of being too cautious.

Uchiha Sora shook his head.

"Killing him would be too easy..."

"Not nearly enough!"

His eyes held the deepest malice. He whispered like a demon, "I want him alive, watching everything he believes in crumble to dust."

"If we kill him now, he'll still be able to enter the Memorial Stone with his honor intact... That won't do."

"I want him to understand..."

"The sound of something precious breaking isn't the soft thud of a head hitting the ground..."

"It's a thunderclap exploding inside your heart!"

There was one more thing Uchiha Sora hadn't said.

According to his plans, Shimura Danzō's existence was necessary.

Was there anything that could weaken Konoha more than keeping Shimura Danzō alive?

Uchiha Obito had worked so hard to scheme his way through the Nine-Tails' attack, yet the damage he did to Konoha was nothing compared to what Shimura Danzō could cause on a whim.

Nagato was a good example. Ultimately, Danzō was partly to blame for what happened to him.

"But..."

Shisui started to say something else.

"Shut up! I'm smarter than you, so just listen!"

"...Oh."

Fugaku had also noticed the Third Hokage and the others approaching. He'd taken more deep breaths today than he had all year.

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

"I'll leave the negotiations to you. Whatever you decide, we'll follow you!"

Fugaku lacked the resolve to make a choice, but he had the courage to see things through once he'd chosen a path.

So be it. We'd die if we had to. I'd bet the village wouldn't dare start a fight with us right now.

But...

What were we supposed to do after this...

Minato, I'm sorry I betrayed your trust...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

"Danzō!!"

Seeing Shimura Danzō captured, Utatane Koharu cried out in shock, then shouted furiously, "Damn Uchiha... So you really did betray us! You were behind the Nine-Tails, too, weren't you?"

"And all this time, the Fourth Hokage kept saying you were comrades... You were born evil..."

"Koharu, calm down."

Sarutobi Hiruzen held Utatane Koharu back with his staff and looked toward the edge of the battlefield, where a few Anbu were still alive.

His gaze turned dark as he looked at Fugaku and the others, then settled on Uchiha Sora.

"Since you didn't attack us right away, that means there's room to talk."

"How about giving this old man some time to understand what happened?"

Uchiha Sora smiled faintly, sat cross-legged atop Rayquaza's head, and raised a hand. "Please."