Kotoamatsukami

"Wood Release: Violent Tree Spears!!"

Shimura Danzō rapidly formed hand seals with both hands, and then his noticeably pale right arm began to writhe strangely.

Thick branches extended from that right arm, twisting as they lashed toward Fugaku's Susanoo.

"Damn it!"

Fugaku's expression turned grave. He controlled Susanoo's arms and swung them fiercely, smashing aside each incoming branch.

But for every branch he knocked down, even more would coil toward him.

Before long, the entire semi-complete Susanoo had been completely wrapped in those branches.

Creak~~

The branches twisted unnaturally, tightening their grip around Susanoo.

Danzo seemed to want to defeat Fugaku this way.

"Amaterasu!!"

Mingyou arrived just then. Dense veins of blood spread across his right Mangekyō Sharingan as he fixed his gaze on the Dream Eater.

Black flames condensed in midair and rushed straight at Danzo.

"Nani~~ That is Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan ability."

Danzo's face changed drastically. He flicked his right hand slightly, severing and discarding the enormous root he had been controlling from his arm.

He hurriedly leaped backward.

Whoosh~~

The black flames failed to kill Danzo, but they landed directly atop the Dream Eater's head.

"Wuu~~"

The Dream Eater rolled wildly on the ground in pain, trying to extinguish the flames on its head.

But unfortunately, Amaterasu would never go out unless it burned its target to ashes.

Still not skilled enough?

Mingyou found it regrettable that he had failed to kill Danzo in one strike, but this was his first time controlling Amaterasu. It was only natural that he lacked proficiency.

Crack~~

Without Danzo's control, the roots became incredibly fragile. Under Susanoo's desperate struggle, they all shattered and scattered across the ground.

"Third Squad, Fourth Squad, deal with Uchiha Fuyue. No need to leave him alive."

Danzo shouted in a low voice, frowning slightly as he watched Fugaku break free.

"Yes!! Lord Danzo."

The other two Root squads had long been prepared. The instant Danzo gave the order, they sprang toward Fugaku.

"Water Release - Water Formation Wall!!"

"Earth Release - Falling Lid!!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!!"

For a time, all sorts of ninjutsu bombarded Fugaku's semi-complete Susanoo. The Root members did not care whether they worked; they only needed to delay Fugaku.

Bang~~

At the same time, the Dream Eater could no longer endure the searing black flames. It turned into a mass of white smoke and dissipated from the area.

Yet the black flames atop its head vanished along with it. Otherwise, even if it returned to its original dwelling through Space-Time Ninjutsu, Amaterasu would likely still burn it to ashes.

"Danzo! Your ambition will bury your miserable life."

Mingyou activated the Kamui in his right eye. As the space before him warped and rippled, he slipped into the void and vanished.

"I see. Uchiha Mingyou is stronger than Fugaku."

"Then... I can only use Shisui's eye."

Danzo stood motionless, his expression grave, but he had heightened his senses to their utmost limit.

After a brief moment of thought, he gathered Chakra into his right eye.

As long as Mingyou appeared anywhere around him, Danzo would activate his Mangekyō Sharingan ability without hesitation.

He would use Kotoamatsukami to control Mingyou and turn him into his slave forever.

Suddenly, the space behind Danzo twisted and rippled. Mingyou emerged halfway from the void, kunai in hand, and thrust toward Danzo's heart.

"Behind me?"

Danzo twisted around, his right Mangekyō Sharingan spinning rapidly as his gaze met Mingyou's.

This is bad.

Mingyou was shocked. He had not expected the old man's sensory abilities to be so masterful that he had been discovered the moment he appeared.

Buzz~~

Mingyou felt his mind tremble. Then the whole world began to spin, and his thoughts went blank.

In an instant, another scene appeared before his eyes.

It was a Root training base. In a small plaza, many children of five or six were sparring in pairs.

Mingyou was among them, practicing Taijutsu with his younger brother, Itachi.

Shimura Danzō stood at the edge of the plaza and gave the children an order.

They had to kill their opponent to earn the chance to survive.

"Mingyou, attack me. I am willing to offer my life so you can have a chance to live."

Itachi leaped back to widen the distance between them, gazing gently at Mingyou.

"No, Itachi. You are my younger brother. How could I let you die?"

Tears filled Mingyou's eyes as he shook his head again and again in refusal.

"Precisely because I am your younger brother, I am willing to give my life for you."

Itachi's gaze sharpened as he charged at Mingyou once more.

As the two exchanged blows again, Itachi suddenly rushed toward the kunai in Mingyou's hand.

Splurt~~

The kunai pierced Itachi's small body. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and in the end, he died in Mingyou's arms.

Because of this, Mingyou fell into guilt and anguish, numbing himself with training every day.

But during that period, Danzo sent people to plant the Tongue Root Cursed Seal on every surviving child.

Whether because time passed or because of the Tongue Root Cursed Seal,

Mingyou gradually forgot the pain of losing his brother and remained by Danzo's side.

While carrying out all kinds of dangerous missions for Danzo, Mingyou also gained Danzo's trust.

The gray-white scene shifted, and Mingyou's vision returned to the Uchiha Clan compound.

Danzo now stood quietly before him, looking at Mingyou with a hypocritical smile.

"Mingyou, go kill Uchiha Fuyue at once."

"Yes, Lord Danzo." Mingyou bowed in acknowledgment. With dull eyes, he gripped his kunai and slowly walked toward Fugaku.

But as Mingyou passed Danzo, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and the kunai in his hand slashed fiercely toward Danzo.

"Crescent Shadow Dance Slash!!"

Light burst from the kunai as a dazzling crescent-shaped blade arc cleaved toward Danzo.

"Aaah!!"

At such close range, Danzo had no way to evade. Caught completely off guard, he was sliced in half by the blade arc and let out a shrill scream.

But in the blink of an eye, the dismembered Danzo vanished from where he stood and reappeared unharmed ten meters away.

At the same time, the Mangekyō Sharingan in Danzo's right eye slowly closed and could no longer be opened.

Clearly, he had used Shisui's Mangekyō as Izanagi.

What a wasteful fool.

"Why? Why are you still conscious after being hit by Kotoamatsukami?"

Danzo panted heavily. Activating Kotoamatsukami and Izanagi in succession had consumed a great deal of his Chakra.

"Do not ask why. If you have to blame something, blame your terrible control of that eye. I saw through it at a glance."

"Itachi and I had never been close since childhood. There was no way the scene of brotherly affection you created could have happened."