Danzo's Betrayal

"Leave Shisui to me. Do not look into his eyes."

After Ensei Uchiha issued this warning, he formed hand seals and unleashed the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, cutting off Black Zetsu's current path of retreat.

Seeing this, Kushina Uzumaki turned her gaze toward Danzō Shimura, who was being mauled by two puppets, and prepared to move in for a sealing.

However, as she drew closer, she caught the scent of a foul, unbearable rot.

"This is... corpse stench. Danzō, the body you're using for the Impure World Reincarnation must be nearing total decay."

Kushina quickly deduced Danzō's current state; how could a forbidden jutsu that summoned the dead from the underworld possibly be without side effects?

At that moment, Danzō, whose head had just been blown off by Zero Three—who bore the likeness of Hashirama Senju—was slowly regenerating.

Clearly, even without a head, Danzō's reanimated body could still hear Kushina's words.

"Has that Monkey already dispatched the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?"

Once his body had mostly repaired itself, Danzō leaped out of the encirclement of Zero One and Zero Three.

"Though they are merely likenesses, it is a stroke of fortune to be able to cross blades with these two."

Danzō remarked with a hint of sentimentality before summoning the Baku.

It was truly bizarre that a reanimated body, which lacked even blood, could still perform summoning jutsu.

Coordinating with the wind-style attacks of his summon, Danzō used ninjutsu to temporarily suppress his enemies, eventually standing alongside the Black Zetsu-controlled Shisui Uchiha.

On the other side, the Shadow Clone of Ensei Uchiha was already running low on ocular power.

The Shadow Clone technique, in essence, split the user's chakra in half.

However, the capacity for ocular power within a clone was limited, and Ensei's current strength relied eighty percent on the vast ocular power of his own Byakugan.

It was only natural that his clone could not defeat Shisui.

"So stinking! Danzō, can you get lost?"

Ensei frowned as he caught the scent of that putrid rot.

Although it was only a clone, such unpleasant memories would be transmitted back to his main body, and Ensei was already considering a retreat.

Yet, facing a schemer as deep as Black Zetsu, Ensei dared not dispel the clone rashly.

One had to remember that the chakra from a dispelled clone returned to the main body; heaven knew if Black Zetsu might have tampered with that chakra.

Though the possibility was slim, Ensei was unwilling to take the risk.

Therefore, he used the ocular power within the clone to protect himself, but this inevitably led to excessive consumption, making it difficult to take down his opponent in the short term.

But it mattered not; sensing a subtle fluctuation nearby, Ensei immediately abandoned the fight with Black Zetsu and used the Body Flicker Technique to distance himself.

The next moment, another Ensei Uchiha appeared nearby, accompanied by a small calico cat.

Appearing with him were four dazzling red light barriers and a large number of Uchiha clansmen.

Seeing this, Black Zetsu knew the opportunity for the day was lost and prepared to find a way to withdraw.

Unexpectedly, Danzō, who had been by his side, suddenly turned traitor.

Danzō pressed one hand against the pitch-black side of Shisui's body, and patterns resembling burning flames began to spread across Black Zetsu.

It was the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal; Danzō was quite proficient with this sealing technique.

In an instant, Black Zetsu was rendered completely immobile.

Seeing this, Ensei felt a stir in his heart and hurriedly shouted to Kushina: "Take this chance to seal Black Zetsu! Use your most powerful sealing jutsu!"

With that, Ensei took a white object from his robes and held it in his palm.

Hearing this, Kushina did not hesitate; enduring the stench emanating from Danzō, she went directly to Shisui's side.

Giving Danzō a strange look, Kushina gathered sealing marks in her hands and pressed them onto the sides of Shisui and Black Zetsu respectively.

These were two different seals; the one used on Black Zetsu was naturally the Four Symbols Seal. While not the strongest seal in existence, it was the most powerful one Kushina could execute instantly.

The seal used on Shisui was merely a jutsu to restrict his chakra and mobility.

Just as the seals were about to form, a massive surge of green chakra erupted from thin air, blowing away Danzō, who stood beside Shisui, as well as Kushina.

Simultaneously, a bone claw struck out at Kushina without mercy.

Facing such an attack, Kushina did not hesitate to activate her Tailed Beast chakra cloak, but at this critical juncture, a sensation of losing control over her body washed over her once more.

This time, however, it was not Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, but a wisp of black substance that had quietly infiltrated her body.

Noticing this, Ensei increased his vigilance against Black Zetsu; without Six Paths-level combat power, he would never provoke Black Zetsu again.

So that's how Black Zetsu's body can be used!

Just as Ensei marveled at this, the green Susanoo bone claw mercilessly pierced through Kushina's body, tearing away nearly half of her torso.

Watching the battle from the side, Ensei couldn't help but sigh.

"Izanagi... Release!"

Following Ensei's voice, the scene dissipated like an illusion, revealing two vastly different realities.

The original outcome had been that Kushina's sealing failed, and Black Zetsu had controlled Shisui to unleash the Susanoo, completing a counter-kill through a sneak attack.

However, the current situation was that Kushina Uzumaki had successfully sealed Shisui Uchiha and Black Zetsu.

Izanagi is the strongest genjutsu; its target is not the enemy, but the entire world itself!

"Don't get close to Black Zetsu..."

Just as Kushina Uzumaki prepared to further the sealing process, Ensei Uchiha suddenly spoke up to warn her.

Kushina Uzumaki was stunned by his words, then obediently retreated two steps, narrowly dodging a wisp of black thread that Black Zetsu had extended outward.

"Ensei Uchiha... we will meet again."

Black Zetsu's shadow-like body slid off Shisui Uchiha, sank into the ground, and vanished.

Ensei Uchiha utilized the penetrating vision of his Byakugan to secretly observe the area, but in the end, he found no traces whatsoever.

It was as if Black Zetsu had simply ceased to exist the moment he entered the earth.

But in reality, Black Zetsu possessed no space-time abilities; his talent for concealment was simply peerless.

Given that he had managed to escape right under the noses of both Hagoromo Otsutsuki and Hamura Otsutsuki, it was perfectly normal for him to be able to evade the detection of the Byakugan.

Meanwhile, Ensei Uchiha's main body at home used the malicious intent detection of the Zero-Two Model to highlight a presence with very faint malice in purple.

Although Black Zetsu had escaped, it was not without gains.

At the very least, it had been verified that ordinary sealing techniques were useless against Black Zetsu, and that the Nine-Tails' ability to discern good from evil was effective against him.

The Nine-Tails truly lived up to its reputation as the most unique of the Tailed Beasts.

As for Black Zetsu, the objectives of this trip had all been achieved; he had successfully gathered a portion of the intelligence on Ensei Uchiha.

In that sense, could this be considered a win-win?