The Power of "God"

The secret chamber trembled.

Gravel and dust rained down from the ceiling, swirling into fine particles within the dim, yellow glow of the emergency lights.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, scorched matter, and a decay that seemed to emanate from the very soul.

Shimura Danzō stood in the center of the chamber, the loose black robe symbolizing his status as the leader of Root discarded, revealing the tight-fitting black combat gear beneath.

Yet, what drew the eye most was his exposed right arm—

From shoulder to wrist, it was wrapped in greyish-white bandages soaked in medicinal fluids.

But through the gaps in the bandages, one could clearly see...

Eyes, all tightly shut.

Scarlet Three Tomoe Sharingan.

Ten of them, exactly ten, embedded densely across that arm like a malicious curse.

They twitched slightly in the dim light, as if possessing their own wicked life.

Shimura Danzō's breathing was unnaturally steady; there was no fear in his single eye, only a cold, near-maniacal resolve.

He slowly raised his right arm, inlaid with the ten Sharingan.

The bandages loosened and fell away on their own, revealing skin that was pale with a deathly grey hue, covered in suture marks.

And those scarlet eyes began to open slowly.

Ten Three Tomoe Sharingan rotated in unison, locking onto the pale figure standing at the entrance.

"Uchiha Ryūha..." Shimura Danzō's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against dry bone.

"Is this your final trump card? Driving a monster that does not belong to this world to purge those who stand in your way?"

Ulquiorra Cifer watched him with calm, emerald-green pupils, showing no reaction to those ten evil eyes.

He merely tilted his head slightly, as if listening or confirming something.

"My name is Ulquiorra Cifer," he spoke slowly, his voice remaining flat and ripple-free.

"By the order of my master, I shall grant the ant who stole the authority of the gods the end of nothingness."

"Your master?" Shimura Danzō narrowed his single eye.

"Is it Uchiha Ryūha, or that so-called 'Seireitei' behind him?"

Ulquiorra did not answer.

He took a step forward.

With just this one step, the air inside the secret chamber seemed to be instantly evacuated.

In its place came a viscous, suffocating sense of nothingness.

Fine frost bloomed across the walls, and the emergency lights began to flicker erratically.

It was as if "light" itself was being eroded and negated by that power.

"Playing god." Shimura Danzō sneered, slamming his hands together. "Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves!"

No hand seals were required; it was an instant cast.

Dozens of invisible wind blades, sharp enough to sever steel, converged in a web-like formation to shred Ulquiorra.

This was the culmination of Shimura Danzō's years of mastery over Wind Style, combined with his Kage-level Chakra control; each wind blade possessed the power of an A-rank ninjutsu.

The wind blades reached him.

Ulquiorra did not even move.

He simply raised his left hand, his pale palm opening as he made a light grasping motion toward the front.

"Pop."

A soft sound, like a bubble bursting.

All the wind blades, when they were half a meter from his palm, collided with an invisible wall.

They instantly collapsed and annihilated, not even stirring a breeze.

Shimura Danzō's pupils contracted sharply.

"As expected... a nearly unsolvable method," he whispered, a flash of realization in his eyes, though it was overshadowed by an even deeper greed and madness.

"However, as long as it is 'power,' there is a possibility of it being seized and controlled! Especially your kind of... power of a 'god' that does not belong to this world!"

He bit his right thumb hard, blood dripping, and slammed his hand onto the ground:

"Summoning: Baku!"

A massive cloud of smoke erupted, and a strange creature as large as a mountain appeared within the cramped secret chamber.

It had a trunk like an elephant, a giant mouth like a hippopotamus, and skin wrinkled like rock, exuding an eerie aura that devoured nightmares.

This was Shimura Danzō's summon, an ancient beast capable of devouring Chakra and even spiritual energy.

The moment Baku appeared, its massive trunk lunged forward, inhaling violently toward Ulquiorra!

A terrifying suction force erupted.

It was not just the air; light, sound, and even Chakra and souls seemed to be ripped from their bodies, drawn into that bottomless, abyssal maw.

Ulquiorra's white robe fluttered slightly.

He raised his eyelids, and for the first time, a faint trace of something akin to "disdain" flickered within his emerald pupils.

"An inferior life form."

He extended his right index finger, a point of ink-green light condensing at the tip, and then, he tapped it lightly.

"Cero Oscuras."

No incantation, no charging.

A beam of ink-green light, no thicker than a finger yet condensed to the absolute limit.

It burst from his fingertip, instantly piercing through Baku's trunk and drilling through its massive head.

It exited from the back of the skull, slamming into the rock wall at the rear of the chamber with its momentum undiminished.

Puchi.

The immense suction from Baku came to an abrupt halt.

It froze in place, a fierce light still lingering in its single eye.

But in the center of its head, a bowl-sized hole shone through from front to back, the edges smooth as a mirror; there was no blood, only tissue that had been utterly annihilated.

Then, this ancient beast collapsed with a roar, like a sandcastle being pushed over.

Before it even hit the ground, it dissipated into white smoke—it was not death, but the total "cancellation" of the summoning contract, a forced repatriation.

Shimura Danzō felt no fear; instead, he grew even more agitated.

It was a deeper, burning intensity, a mixture of shock, greed, and madness.

"Is this... the power of a god..."