Hokage, I Choose Orochimaru, Ten Years to the Moon Chapter 38

Although Aburame Ryoma used the secret Insect Evil Folk Tool Technique to interfere with sensory perception, Shisui had memorized the direction in which Danzo fled; the one running the fastest at this moment was undoubtedly Danzo.

"Damn it, damn it!"

Danzo was both shocked and furious.

He had not expected the Akatsuki to be this powerful. He had originally assumed that by allying with Amegakure, dealing with the Akatsuki would be a simple matter.

But that trash Hanzo!

Because they were in Amegakure, Hanzo had not allowed many of Danzo's subordinates to enter. He still had men he could control, but they were all hiding in the outer reaches of Amegakure, and he was currently sprinting toward them.

At this point, Danzo stopped hiding; he tore off his bandages, revealing his Sharingan.

He had already reached the forest, and after running a bit further, he would be able to see the subordinates coming to meet him.

Suddenly, however, he felt immense pressure from behind. Turning his head, he saw a rapidly spinning green light rushing straight toward him. The trees behind him were obliterated instantly, unable to withstand the light at all.

"Summoning Technique!"

Danzo immediately deployed his Summoning Technique.

A massive figure blocked his path, taking the brunt of the Yasakani Magatama attack.

The Yasakani Magatama struck the Baku directly in the head, severely wounding it. Having barely appeared, it immediately dissipated and returned to its own dimension.

Danzo tried to use the smoke from the dispelling summoning to escape underground.

But Shisui had already reached him, cutting through the smoke and slashing his blade directly at Danzo's body.

Because he had activated his Sharingan, Danzo was able to react slightly, but the short blade still sliced through the skin of his chest, nearly reaching his internal organs.

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

Danzo clutched his chest, glaring at Shisui with fury.

He could have explained away Shisui's previous attack as a performance for the other Akatsuki members present, but now, with only Shisui here, the boy was showing no mercy.

Could it be that this guy wasn't sent by Hiruzen to infiltrate the Akatsuki as a spy?

Or was Shisui acting on behalf of the Uchiha Clan, with the goal of making contact with Uchiha Madara?

Shisui did not reply. Looking at that Sharingan on Danzo, he felt an overwhelming sense of rage. This was the high command of Konoha!!

"Whoosh!"

He used Body Flicker to lunge forward once more.

Shisui intended to bury Danzo right here.

But suddenly, the space in front of Danzo twisted, and Obito appeared from within it.

"That's enough, leave this guy to me..."

Obito wanted to control Danzo, clearly harboring his own ulterior motives.

But Shisui ignored him entirely, swinging his blade directly at him.

Obito's pupils contracted, his body automatically turning intangible.

Shisui passed straight through him and slashed at Danzo, decapitating him.

"You bastard, are you defying my orders!"

Obito's tone was dark, clearly furious that Shisui had not stopped and had killed Danzo instead.

"This man stole the eyes of my clansmen."

"If you truly are Uchiha Madara, you should want to kill him even more than I do."

Shisui stared at Obito with cold eyes.

If Obito hadn't turned intangible just now, he would have cut him down as well.

Much of the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha had been instigated by this Danzo. Once Shisui confirmed this, he grew to despise Danzo with a passion.

He believed it was Danzo who had caused the rift between the village and the Uchiha.

Such a man had to die!

"He has a significant role to play in the upcoming plans; he can help the Akatsuki obtain intelligence on the Nine-Tails jinchuriki more easily."

Obito did not flinch, confronting Shisui directly.

He could see that Shisui cared deeply about Konoha and the Uchiha, so he didn't speak of targeting Konoha, but rather of the Nine-Tails jinchuriki.

If he could control Danzo, it would be a great help in capturing the Nine-Tails.

"So this is Uchiha Madara?"

"How truly disappointing!"

Shisui did not back down in the slightest.

He retorted with cold sarcasm.

It was clear that he had always doubted the authenticity of the man before him claiming to be Uchiha Madara, and with Danzo now dealt with, the only remaining threat was this Uchiha Madara.

If he could finish him off as well, then the only enemies left to deal with after his defection would be the remaining members of the Akatsuki.

Obito also sensed the flickering killing intent radiating from Shisui, so he didn't stand on ceremony, resting his right hand on the long sword at his waist, ready to strike at any moment.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Suddenly, a coughing sound erupted from behind the two men.

Their gazes snapped toward the source, revealing Danzo, who had been gravely wounded by Shisui's slash to the chest.

"Izanagi!"

Shisui's eyes burned with fury.

He clearly remembered the instructions given by Uchiha Gin.

At the same time, he saw that the Sharingan on Danzo's body had turned dull and gray.

Just as Shisui prepared to strike again to kill Danzo, Obito appeared at Danzo's side in a flash, placing his right hand directly onto him.

"Damn it!"

Shisui cursed inwardly.

He knew that the moment for an attack had passed; if this Uchiha Madara wanted to escape, there was no way he could stop him.

"Hm?"

Obito was startled.

He discovered that a Cursed Seal was rapidly spreading from the spot where his right hand touched Danzo, crawling toward his own body.

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

"Don't you dare underestimate my Will of Fire!!"

Danzo roared.

Even in death, he would not leak information to others; he had already prepared the Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing Technique, intending to take both of these guys down with him.

However, this technique, which even Sasuke couldn't stop when he had just awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, was even less effective against Obito, who broke free with ease.

At the same time, Obito noticed Danzo's petty trick and squeezed his right hand with force, shattering Danzo's shoulder blade. The excruciating pain made it impossible for Danzo to maintain control over his chakra, and the Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing Technique he had prepared for mutual destruction failed to activate in time.

In the original plot, the Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing Technique was intended to erase Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, and only secondarily his body, but now, he hadn't yet placed the seal on his own body and needed to actively cast it to release it.

Therefore, there was no time to cast it, and Obito took the opportunity to knock Danzo unconscious.

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

Obito warned Shisui.

Although he knew Shisui might be treacherous, he hadn't expected him to be so disrespectful.

However, he didn't have absolute confidence in killing Shisui, and he still hoped this guy would work for him and help collect the Tailed Beast, so he chose not to turn hostile.

Then, Obito grabbed Danzo and vanished directly into the Kamui dimension.

"Things have become troublesome!"

Shisui felt extremely anxious.

He could see that Danzo's heart still belonged to Konoha; he couldn't simply ignore that final shout about the Will of Fire.

He felt that now was a suitable opportunity to pass on the news that Danzo had been captured by Uchiha Madara, so he turned around, preparing to head toward the chaotic Amegakure.

Slipping into a room, he immediately created a Shadow Clone and sent it off to deliver the intelligence.

He believed that White Zetsu couldn't track him every single second; as long as he had a split second to create a Shadow Clone and use a transformation technique, it would be enough!

Amegakure was in shambles.

Hanzo had managed to take down the Asura Path at the cost of severe injuries, but in the end, he was seized by the Preta Path.

Caught in a tight grip by the Preta Path, his chakra was continuously drained, leaving him without the strength to resist.

"It's over."

The Deva Path Pain walked up to Hanzo and said coldly.

"Hmph, I never expected to meet such an end!"

"What is your goal, anyway? Revenge? Or do you wish to ignite an even greater war?"

Hanzo resigned himself to his fate.

He was desperate to know what the Akatsuki planned to do next.

"Peace. From the very first day the Akatsuki was founded, it has been for the sake of peace—from the Land of Rain in the past to the entire shinobi world as it is now."

The Deva Path Pain was in no rush to kill Hanzo and answered his question.

"Hahaha!"

"Peace?"

"What a childish thought. I have lived for so many years, and so-called peace is merely temporary. As long as there are conflicts of interest, war can never be stopped."

"Back in my day, I was known as the Demigod of the Shinobi World, yet I could only protect the Land of Rain, and even then, I could only prevent large-scale frontal warfare. Behind the scenes, the five great villages were constantly fighting within the Land of Rain. As long as humans still exist, war will never cease!"

Hanzo was laughing so hard he was nearly in tears.

He had been incredibly arrogant in his youth, but after suffering setbacks at the hands of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, he had abandoned such notions, contenting himself with merely protecting his own small patch of land in the Land of Rain.

However, the smile vanished from Hanzo's face in an instant.

He watched as the Naraka Path fed the Asura Path into the furnace to be reforged, only to see it emerge fully resurrected.

"This guy... he isn't human. He's a puppet?"

Hanzo muttered in disbelief.

Yet, having crossed blades with puppeteers from Sunagakure, he knew puppets shouldn't possess such capabilities; the body looked and moved exactly like a living human being!

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

"You cannot achieve this because your strength is too meager. I am a god, and the power of a god can put an end to war."

The Deva Path was quite satisfied with the shock etched onto Hanzo's face.

Without displaying a few miracles, how could he expect to be convincing? When he finally controlled the Nine-Tails Tailed Beast, that would be the moment a true god descended.

"Rest in peace in hell!"

The Deva Path hesitated no longer. He raised his hand, and a black receiver shot from his fingertips, piercing straight through Hanzo's skull and ending his life.

The battle in Amegakure had also come to an end. Hanzo's trusted subordinates had long since been dealt with by Sasori and Kakuzu; of the remaining ninja, some had fled, while others stayed behind.

Outside Amegakure, peripheral members of the Akatsuki were stationed to hunt down any fleeing ninja, though Nagato figured there would still be a few who slipped through the net.

"The Akatsuki will be viewed as an enemy by the other hidden villages now."

"The upcoming operations to capture the Tailed Beast will likely be troublesome."

Nagato said with a hint of helplessness.

He had intended to strike early, but he hadn't expected Danzo from Konoha to intervene, which had caused Hanzo to prepare his defenses in advance.