Izanagi, Murciélago

He stared at Ulquiorra as a Three-Tomoe Sharingan on his right arm quietly closed, its light fading.

"Izanagi."

Reality was rewritten.

Danzo, who should have suffered a backlash from Baku's death and sustained mental trauma, stood there completely unharmed.

And the beam of light from Ulquiorra's fingertip that had pierced through Baku had veered slightly off course.

It "should have" grazed Danzo's left shoulder after piercing Baku, leaving a burn.

But now, the burn was gone.

For the first time, an almost imperceptible flicker crossed Ulquiorra's emerald-green eyes.

He lowered his head to look at his fingertips, then looked at Danzo, as though analyzing an intriguing phenomenon.

"A technique that distorts reality...?" he murmured, then shook his head. "No. Something more crude... self-deception."

"As long as it works, that's enough." Shimura Danzō grinned, baring his bone-white teeth.

He formed Hand Seals again, faster and more intricate this time. "Wood Release: Root Burial!"

Rumble—!

The floor of the chamber exploded. Countless thick, serpent-like wooden spikes with razor-sharp tips burst from the ground, stabbing at Ulquiorra from every direction!

This was the power of Wood Release he had gained after fusing with the First's cells.

Though nowhere near as powerful as Senju Hashirama, it was still terrifying. Every wooden spike could pierce steel.

Ulquiorra didn't dodge.

He didn't even move.

The wooden spikes pierced his body—or rather, they "seemed" to pierce his body.

The instant they touched his white robe, the spikes passed through him as though stabbing into a reflection on water, causing no harm.

Ulquiorra himself remained standing there, perfectly still.

"Hollowfication," he said calmly.

Shimura Danzō's single eye widened in fury, and another Sharingan on his right arm closed.

"Izanagi!"

Reality twisted once more.

The wooden spikes "should have" all missed, but now three of them "truly" struck Ulquiorra.

They only grazed his arm and waist, leaving shallow wounds.

Blood seeped from Ulquiorra's pale skin.

It was a dark green, cold, viscous liquid, unlike human blood.

He lowered his head to look at the wound on his arm, then raised his eyes to Danzo.

For the first time, his hollow eyes reflected the man before him.

"You," he said, "are interesting."

Before the words had even faded, he vanished.

He disappeared as though merging with space itself.

Danzo didn't even have time to react before a pale hand was pressed against his face.

"But this ends now."

Ulquiorra's voice sounded beside his ear.

Then the hand tightened.

"Squish."

Shimura Danzō's head burst like a watermelon.

Red and white matter sprayed everywhere. His headless corpse stood rigid for a second, then toppled backward.

But the instant the corpse hit the ground—

A third Sharingan on his right arm closed.

"Izanagi."

Reality was rewritten for the third time.

Danzo, whose head should have been crushed, appeared unharmed three meters away. His face was slightly pale and his breathing ragged, but he was still alive.

He stared at Ulquiorra. His single eye finally revealed a trace of barely contained horror—and an even more frenzied resolve.

"Do you see? This is the power of the Uchiha! This is the ultimate power of the Sharingan!"

He snarled, his remaining seven Sharingan spinning wildly on his right arm.

"I can die ten times, a hundred times! And in the end, your power will become my nourishment.

"In my hands, Konoha will gain the true power of a 'god'!"

Ulquiorra watched him in silence, looking at the evil eyes on his arm and the twisted ambition in his own.

Then he slowly raised his right hand, palm facing upward.

"Your dying struggles are meaningless."

For the first time, his voice carried the faintest hint of something almost like pity.

"Since you're so eager to experience a 'real' death..."

"Then allow me to show you..."

"what 'nothingness' means."

"Enclose, Murciélago!"

Dark green Reiatsu burst from his body like an erupting volcano!

It wasn't a release of Chakra, but the manifestation of something more fundamental—a power that touched the very laws of the world.

The entire chamber—no, the entire underground base—no, the skies and earth across all of Konoha—shuddered violently in that instant!

Pale light poured from the hole in his chest, swallowing his body in an instant.

Within the light, his form began to change.

His already pale skin turned even more translucent, like the finest jade. Beneath it, dark green patterns as intricate as circuit boards became faintly visible.

His dark green hair stretched upward and grew longer, forming a pair of curved structures on either side of his head, like the horns of a demon.

The tear-like markings at the corners of his eyes extended downward, becoming like real tears.

The hole in his chest, originally about the size of a fist, widened, its edges taking on the pale outline of bone.

But the most chilling change was behind him—

"Whoosh!"

A pair of enormous black wings like those of a bat tore through his white robe and spread wide behind him!

Their wingspan exceeded five meters. Every feather was black as night, their edges trailing dark green glimmers of Reishi.

Resurrección: Segunda Etapa.

Murciélago.

His terrifying Reiatsu rolled outward like a tangible tsunami, crushing everything in its path from where Ulquiorra stood.

The reinforced walls of the chamber cracked apart inch by inch. The ceiling collapsed, but before the rubble could hit the ground, the Reiatsu crushed it into dust.

The entire underground base groaned beneath the strain, as if it would collapse completely at any moment.

"This—what is this...?" Horror finally replaced the madness on Shimura Danzō's face.

He staggered backward, the remaining Sharingan on his right arm spinning wildly as he tried to analyze, copy, and counter this power.

But all he saw was an even deeper "nothingness" that swallowed everything.

"Monster... You're the real monster!" he roared.

Ulquiorra ignored him.

He slowly raised his right hand toward Danzo, spreading his fingers.

The air before his palm began to warp and compress, letting out a shrill hum.

Dark green Reishi surged together, gathered, compressed, then compressed further, until at last it formed the shape of a... spear.

The spear was entirely pale, made of highly condensed Reishi.

It was over three meters long, its shaft threaded with dark green lightning patterns.

At its tip, a point of profound darkness spun continuously, as though capable of swallowing even light.

Just its "presence" caused the surrounding space to crack, fine black fissures appearing in the air.

"Lanza del Relámpago."