Hanzo's Death, I'm Tearing Down the Umbrella! [Two-in-One]

Although Aburame Ryoma had used the secret Insect Evil Folk Tool Technique to interfere with their senses, Shisui had memorized the direction Danzo had fled. The fastest one running now had to be Danzo.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Danzo was both shocked and furious.

He hadn't expected the Akatsuki to be so powerful. He'd thought that with Amegakure as an ally, dealing with the Akatsuki would be easy.

But Hanzo was useless!

Since they were in Amegakure, Hanzo hadn't allowed Danzo to bring in more of his subordinates. Danzo still had men he could control, but they were hiding farther out in the village. Now, he was rushing toward them.

Danzo no longer bothered hiding his intentions. He tore off his bandages, revealing his Sharingan.

He had reached the forest. If he ran a little farther, he'd meet up with his subordinates.

Suddenly, though, he felt immense pressure behind him. He looked back and saw a rapidly spinning green light hurtling toward him. The trees behind him were destroyed outright; nothing could stop that light.

"Summoning Technique!"

Danzo immediately used the Summoning Technique.

A massive figure appeared in front of him, taking the hit from the Yasakani Magatama.

The Yasakani Magatama struck Baku in the head, badly injuring him. He had barely appeared before his summoning was automatically undone, sending him back.

Danzo tried to use the smoke from the summoning's end to escape underground.

But Shisui had already reached him. He cut through the smoke and slashed straight at Danzo.

With his Sharingan activated, Danzo managed to react somewhat, but the short blade still cut through the skin on his chest, nearly reaching his organs.

"You bastard, you really mean to kill me!"

Danzo clutched his chest and glared at Shisui in anger.

Before, he could have explained Shisui's attack by saying there had been other Akatsuki members present. But now, Shisui was alone, and he'd shown no mercy.

Wasn't Shisui supposed to have been sent by Hiruzen to spy on the Akatsuki?

Or had the Uchiha Clan sent him, intending for him to make contact with Uchiha Madara?

Shisui didn't answer. Looking at the Sharingan in Danzo's eye, he felt nothing but fury. This was the Konoha High Command!

"Whoosh!"

He Body Flickered forward again.

Shisui was going to bury Danzo here.

But suddenly, space twisted in front of Danzo, and Obito emerged from it.

"Enough. Leave this one to me..."

Obito clearly had his own reasons for wanting to control Danzo.

But Shisui ignored him and swung his blade at him.

Obito's pupils contracted, and his body automatically turned intangible.

Shisui passed straight through him and slashed Danzo, cutting off his head.

"You're disobeying my orders?"

Obito's voice was dark, and he was clearly furious that Shisui hadn't stopped and had killed Danzo.

"This man stole the eyes of my clan members."

"If you really are Uchiha Madara, you should want him dead even more than I do."

Shisui stared coldly at Obito.

If Obito hadn't turned intangible just now, Shisui would have cut him down too.

Many of the conflicts between the Uchiha and Konoha had been stirred up by Danzo. Once Shisui confirmed this, he came to hate him with all his heart.

He believed Danzo was the one who had caused the discord between the village and the Uchiha.

A man like that had to die!

Chapter 56: Hanzo's Death, I'm Tearing Down the Umbrella! [Two-in-One]

"He'll be very useful to our plans. He can help the Akatsuki get information about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki more easily."

Obito wasn't intimidated. He confronted Shisui directly.

He could tell that Shisui cared deeply about both Konoha and the Uchiha, so he didn't mention targeting Konoha. Instead, he brought up the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Controlling Danzo could greatly help them capture the Nine-Tails.

"So this is Uchiha Madara?"

"What a disappointment!"

Shisui showed no intention of backing down.

He mocked Obito outright.

He had clearly always doubted that the man in front of him was really Uchiha Madara. And with Danzo already dealt with, the only threat left was this supposed Uchiha Madara.

If he dealt with him too, then after defecting, the only enemies he'd have to handle would be the remaining members of the Akatsuki.

Obito could also sense the faint killing intent coming from Shisui. He didn't hold back either, resting his right hand on the long sword at his waist, ready to strike at any moment.

"Cough, cough!"

Suddenly, someone behind them coughed.

They both turned at once and saw Danzo, gravely wounded by Shisui's slash to the chest.

"Izanagi!"

Shisui's eyes filled with rage.

He remembered Uchiha Gin's warning.

He also saw that the Sharingan in Danzo's eye had turned gray and lifeless.

Just as Shisui was about to attack again and kill Danzo, Obito appeared beside him first and placed his right hand on Danzo.

"Damn it!"

Shisui cursed inwardly.

He knew it was no longer a good time to attack. If Uchiha Madara wanted to escape, there was no way Shisui could stop him.

"Hm?"

Obito was startled.

He felt a Cursed Seal spreading rapidly from the spot where his right hand touched Danzo.

It was Danzo's Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal.

"Don't underestimate my Will of Fire!"

Danzo roared.

Even if he died, he wouldn't let anyone else get his information. He had already prepared the Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing Technique, planning to take both of them down with him.

But even Sasuke, who had only just awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, couldn't stop that technique. It was even less effective against Obito, who easily broke free.

Obito also noticed Danzo's little trick. He squeezed hard with his right hand, shattering Danzo's shoulder blade. The pain made it impossible for Danzo to control his chakra steadily, so he couldn't activate the Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing Technique he'd prepared to take them all down.

In the original story, Danzo had used the Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing Technique to destroy Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan first, and only then his own body. But now, he hadn't placed the seal on himself in advance; he needed to activate the technique himself.

So he couldn't release it in time. Obito took the opportunity to knock Danzo unconscious.

"This is the last time. Don't let it happen again!"

Obito warned Shisui.

He'd known Shisui might be rebellious, but he hadn't expected him to show such blatant disrespect.

However, he wasn't certain he could kill Shisui, and he still wanted Shisui to work for him and help gather the Tailed Beasts. So he chose not to fall out with him.

Then Obito grabbed Danzo and went straight into the Kamui Dimension.

"This is bad!"

Shisui was extremely anxious.

He could tell Danzo still seemed loyal to Konoha. No matter what, he couldn't ignore Danzo's final shout about the Will of Fire.

He felt that now was a good chance to send back word that Uchiha Madara had captured Danzo, so he turned around and headed for the chaos in Amegakure.

He slipped into a room and created a Shadow Clone, sending it off to deliver the information.

He didn't think White Zetsu could keep him under watch every moment. He only needed one brief opening—just enough time to make a Shadow Clone and use the Transformation Technique!

Amegakure was in ruins.

Hanzo had managed to kill Asura Path despite his serious injuries, but the Preta Path had caught him in the end.

The Preta Path had him locked in a firm hold, steadily draining his chakra and leaving him unable to fight back.

"It's over."

Deva Path walked up to Hanzo and spoke coldly.

"Hmph. I never thought I'd end up like this!"

"What exactly are you after? Revenge? Or do you want to start an even bigger war?"

Hanzo had accepted his fate.

He really wanted to know what the Akatsuki would do next.

"Peace. From the first day the Akatsuki was founded, our goal has been peace—from the Land of Rain to the entire Ninja World."

Deva Path Pain wasn't in a hurry to kill Hanzo. He answered his question.

"Hahaha!"

"Peace?"

"What a childish idea. I've lived through so many years, and so-called peace has only ever lasted for a time. As long as there are conflicts of interest, war will never end."

"I was once called the Demigod of the Shinobi World, yet I could only protect the Land of Rain. Even then, I could only prevent large-scale, open warfare. In secret, the people of the Five Great Villages fought all over the Land of Rain. As long as a single human remains alive, war will never end!"

Hanzo laughed until tears came to his eyes.

He'd once been arrogant, but after suffering setbacks at the hands of the Five Great Villages, he'd given up on that. All he could do was protect this tiny patch of land in the Land of Rain.

But Hanzo soon stopped laughing.

He saw the Naraka Path rebuild Asura Path, then restore him to life.

"That one isn't human. He's a puppet?"

Hanzo stared in disbelief.

But he'd fought puppet masters from Sunagakure. Puppets couldn't possibly do this—the body was just like that of a living person!

"This is Pain, the power of a god!"

"You can't do it because you're too weak. I am a god, and a god's power can put an end to war."

Deva Path was very satisfied by Hanzo's shocked expression.

How could anyone believe without witnessing a miracle? When he controlled the Nine-Tails, the true god would descend.

"Rest in hell."

Deva Path no longer hesitated. He raised his hand and fired a nail from between his fingers, piercing Hanzo's head and killing him.

The fighting in Amegakure had also ended. Sasori and Kakuzu had already dealt with most of Hanzo's trusted subordinates. Some of the remaining shinobi had fled, while others had stayed.

Outside Amegakure, members of the Akatsuki's outer ranks were waiting to kill any shinobi who tried to escape. Still, Nagato figured a few might slip through.

"The other ninja villages will turn against the Akatsuki now."

"The operation to capture the Tailed Beasts will probably be more difficult from here on."

Nagato felt a little helpless.

He had already made his move ahead of schedule, but he hadn't expected Danzo's arrival from Konoha to put Hanzo on guard so soon.