Shisui's Death (II)

"Damn it!"

Shimura Danzō had been lurking behind the many Root shinobi, coldly watching Shisui get surrounded and attacked. Now, his expression had turned utterly grim.

Danzō was on the verge of obtaining Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, taking control of Sarutobi Hiruzen, wiping out the evil Uchiha Clan, and leading Konoha to the pinnacle of the Ninja World.

He couldn't have cared less how many Root shinobi died. They were expendable to him anyway. If they ran out, he could simply extort more from the various shinobi clans.

As long as he could kill Shisui and seize those Mangekyō that held power and strength, anything was worth it to Danzō.

After witnessing the formidable power Uchiha Shisui had unleashed, Danzō became even more certain that he had made the right choice.

But—

"Lord Danzō, the sentries on the perimeter spotted members of the Uchiha Clan. It's the group led by Uchiha Jin, the ones we encountered earlier!"

"The Uchiha..."

Shimura Danzō's expression had already been grim, but at these words, his face darkened further.

He hated the evil Uchiha Clan even more now. He had thought he could wipe out all of Shisui's ability to fight back with a single strike, but he hadn't expected Shisui to be such a handful with only one eye left.

An armor of chakra like a Tailed Beast's, combined with the Mangekyō's godlike genjutsu—it was every ordinary shinobi's worst nightmare!

That alone was enough to make Danzō's blood boil. And now, just when things couldn't get worse...

He hadn't expected the Uchiha Clan to react so quickly. They shouldn't have been able to make it back this soon.

Unless they had been prepared from the start...

But there was no point dwelling on that now. Even though he feared Shisui might use Kotoamatsukami on him in his final moments, Danzō felt he had to launch a sneak attack and try to finish Shisui off before the Uchiha arrived.

"Send the perimeter guards to intercept them. Stop Uchiha Jin and his men at all costs!"

Danzō looked impassively at a Root shinobi kneeling before him, though in his heart he had already written off the pawn he was abandoning.

"And the rest of you, kill Uchiha Shisui as quickly as you can, no matter the cost!"

Facing the Root shinobi who had been holding back in front of Shisui, Danzō's voice was now laden with a chilling command that brooked no defiance.

Kill!

Even if every Root shinobi died, as long as Danzō got Shisui's Sharingan, he would be the victor in the end.

"I am the Darkness of the Ninja World. It's time I showed the might I wield from the shadows!"

Quickly erasing every trace of his presence, Shimura Danzō vanished into the darkness, quietly searching for the chance to strike Shisui down.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

As their synchronized footsteps rang out, hundreds of crimson eyes streaked across the pitch-black night, leaving an eerie trail of light.

Even more astonishing was the battle intent of the red-eyed Uchiha, which seemed to reach all the way to the heavens.

Someone had actually dared to attack the Uchiha right here in Konoha!

Although most Uchiha clan members were disappointed and scornful of Shisui for leaving with the Hokage not long ago, they still felt a final thread of kinship with a fellow Uchiha who possessed the Mangekyō.

Just as Uchiha Jin had told them, only the Uchiha could deal with Uchiha affairs. Even if Shisui had truly gone astray, it was still up to the Uchiha to judge him.

Outsiders?

Not even the Hokage had that right!

And Shisui had been forced to activate Susanoo on the outskirts of Uchiha territory. That made another fact, one that infuriated the Uchiha even more, perfectly clear.

Attacking an Uchiha outside their territory was bad enough, but they had even chosen to gang up on him without the slightest honor...

They'd practically kicked down the door of a tiger's den. The nerve!

After Uchiha Jin's rousing speech, the well-fed Uchiha were ablaze with fighting spirit. Only blood could quench the nameless fury burning within them.

As they drew closer to the battlefield, Susanoo's immense power grew ever more turbulent. The brutal aura of countless clashing and exploding chakra blasts surged toward them.

"So this is the true power of the Mangekyō?"

Racing ahead, Uchiha Jin felt a chill in his heart, but quickly dismissed the thought.

Susanoo was still visible, reduced to a battered skeleton. Shisui had clearly lost an eye to Danzō, just as he had in the original story.

Jin wasn't surprised. Even back at the Martial Arts Tournament, he had known that someone with Shisui's temperament could never handle a despicable man like Danzō, who had no limits.

And with Shisui's unrealistic hopes for the Hokage's faction, if Jin had been in Danzō's place, a man like Shisui would have been dead for years.

As for Danzō?

He must have underestimated the might of the Mangekyō, giving Shisui the chance to counterattack with his secret technique. By now, he was probably regretting his recklessness and stupidity.

But...

This meant that Shisui had summoned such a powerful Susanoo with the ocular power of just one Mangekyō Sharingan, and had managed to hold off the Root shinobi for so long.

No!

It wasn't merely a matter of holding them off. As they drew nearer to the battlefield, Uchiha Jin finally got a clear view of what was happening ahead.

Blood covered the ground. The moonlight glinting off the sticky pools made the scene all the more horrifying. Uchiha Shisui, wrapped in the immense green Susanoo, was gasping for breath as he struggled on the ground.

Each time Shisui weakly reached out, the towering Susanoo moved with startling agility in the opposite direction, effortlessly breaking through the Root shinobi's defenses. Another Root shinobi would then be sent flying, their fate unknown.

But in that instant, while their comrade was under attack, more Root shinobi decisively unleashed massive ninjutsu at Susanoo.

And clearly...

Though the tactic seemed cold and cruel, it was the best way to deal with Susanoo, a being on par with a Tailed Beast.

Susanoo, which covered Shisui, was already riddled with holes of all sizes. Three kunai had been driven into Shisui's frail, hunched body.

"They knew it would end like this, and that's exactly why I don't want to fight a damn cheat!"

Seeing the blood-soaked carnage, Uchiha Jin couldn't help feeling relieved. He had thought his preparations for the Martial Arts Tournament had been thorough enough, but judging by what he was seeing, there had still been a slight risk.

But that was all in the past. From today on, everything would be different!

Swish! Swish!

Two masked figures dressed as Anbu suddenly blocked Uchiha Jin's path. Then they shouted at him.

"Anbu are carrying out a mission ahead. The Uchiha Clan—"

"Idiots!"

Before the Anbu shinobi could finish, two streaks of silver flashed across the black night. They didn't even slow the advance of Uchiha Vast Army.

Only two figures, their eyes filled with disbelief, remained behind, collapsing helplessly to the ground...