Danzo, I'm taking your eye!

Squelch!

A sticky, teeth-gritting sound of flesh tearing erupted abruptly in the deathly silent canyon.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Feng's fingers plunged deep, viciously gouging into Shimura Danzo's right eye socket, right before the horrified eyes of everyone present!

"Ugh-aaaaahhh—!!!"

A shriek, inhuman and agonizing to the extreme, tore from Danzo's throat.

It was not merely a cry of pain, but a mixture of despair as his ambitions were ripped away, humiliation as his secrets were shredded, and the terror of his life force rapidly draining away.

His remaining left eye bulged, bloodshot from the excruciating agony. His body twitched and struggled in Lin Feng's grip like a fish out of water, yet the hand clamped around his throat remained as immovable as an iron vice.

The scene was too bloody, too brutal.

On the canyon walls, the surviving Amegakure ninja and Root operatives stood pale-faced, limbs cold, having forgotten even how to breathe.

They had witnessed countless battles and seen endless death, but never had they felt such a soul-deep tremor as they did now.

This was not a fight; it was an execution.

A one-sided slaughter without a shred of suspense.

"Madman... he's a madman..." Hanzo the Salamander slumped to the ground, muttering unconsciously as a foul, wet warmth spread across his crotch.

He had completely broken down.

The dignity of a "Demigod"? The glory of a Kage? In front of that man, they weren't worth a fart.

Yahiko and Konan stared blankly at the scene, their stomachs churning.

They hated Danzo, the mastermind behind this conspiracy. Yet, as they watched him being treated with such cruelty, the feeling rising in their hearts was not satisfaction, but a deeper, more profound fear.

This man who called himself Uchiha Madara was cut from the same cloth as Danzo and Hanzo! They were all monsters who solved problems through violence and slaughter!

Only Nagato remained still.

He knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the figure who stood with his back to him, inflicting torture upon the enemy.

He looked at the Rinnegan that were identical to his own, feeling that power—the same in origin, yet a hundred times stronger.

The man's words echoed repeatedly in his mind.

"This is how these eyes are meant to be used."

"Not like you, using them to protect these pathetic weaklings."

So... that was it?

If one possessed absolute power, could they arbitrarily decide the life and death of others? Could they crush every conspiracy and betrayal in the most direct, brutal way possible?

Lin Feng slowly withdrew his hand.

Between his fingertips, he held a bloodshot eyeball that was still pulsing faintly.

Within the pupil, three black tomoe spun frantically, driven by fear and agony.

A Sharingan.

A sinful eye, ripped alive from the body of an Uchiha clansman.

"Tch." Lin Feng's face showed undisguised disgust. "Filthy thing."

He didn't even spare a second glance at the bloodline limit that countless ninja dreamed of.

He placed it into a petri dish he held in his hand to preserve it.

"You are not worthy of possessing something belonging to my Uchiha clan!"

"No—!!!"

Danzo let out one final, hoarse roar. As Lin Feng released his grip, he collapsed like a pile of mud, clutching his blood-drenched eye socket, rolling and wailing in a frenzy.

His greatest secret, the ambition and reliance of his later years, had been exposed to the world just like that.

Lin Feng turned around, his indifferent gaze sweeping over the Root operatives who were now completely paralyzed with terror.

"Your master is already a piece of trash."

"Now, it is your turn."

"To be buried with him is the only glory you rats in the gutter will ever know."

As the words fell:

"Bansho Ten'in!"

An irresistible, terrifying suction force erupted from him as the center!

The remaining Root ninja on the canyon walls had no time to react; their bodies were yanked from the ground by the force, screaming in terror as they were pulled toward Lin Feng like dumplings dropped into a pot!

"No! Don't!"

"Help! Lord Danzo!"

Their pleas for help were met only by Danzo's even more agonizing writhing on the ground.

Dozens of Root elites were crushed together in mid-air, forming a writhing, twisting ball of human flesh.

Lin Feng slowly raised his other hand.

In his palm, a black sphere appeared, resembling a miniature sun.

Devastating Planetary Destruction!

Although it was only a miniaturized version, it was more than enough to deal with these small fries.

The black sphere flew out, instantly drawing in the ball of flesh formed by the Root ninjas.

Rumble—!

Rocks from the ground were continuously stripped away, attaching themselves to the mass, rolling larger and larger with every second!

The screams and the sound of shattering bones were completely sealed away inside the rock.

In just over ten seconds, a massive rock sphere over twenty meters in diameter hung silently in mid-air, taking the place where those Root ninjas had been.

One move, total annihilation.

The entire canyon finally fell completely silent.

All that remained were the Amegakure ninjas, who were so terrified they had collapsed to the ground, forgetting even to flee, and... Hanzo the Salamander, who had been scared out of his wits.

Lin Feng's gaze finally landed once again on this "demigod."

"Now, no one will disturb us."

"Thud!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Hanzo used every ounce of his strength to kneel heavily toward Lin Feng, his forehead pressed firmly against the mud-slicked ground.

"Madara... Lord Madara! I was wrong! I was truly wrong!"

"It was all Danzo! He was the one who bewitched me! I beg you to spare my life! I am willing to be your dog! Amegakure... the entire Land of Rain, shall all serve you as their master!"

To survive, he trampled his own dignity into the mud.

Lin Feng watched his groveling display, a mocking smirk curling his lips.

"I have no interest in your life."

His gaze shifted past Hanzo, looking toward Nagato behind him.

"I said, his life is reserved for you."

"Your companions nearly died because of your naivety. Your ideals were trampled underfoot like a joke by the very person you trusted."

"Nagato."

"Now, tell me. What exactly is this 'peace' of yours?"

Nagato's body trembled, and he slowly raised his head.

He looked at Hanzo, who was cowering and begging for mercy at the feet of that man.

Then he looked at Yahiko and Konan beside him, their faces filled with worry and lingering fear.

Finally, his gaze fell upon his own slightly trembling hands.

These hands had once sought to embrace the entire world through dialogue and understanding.

Yet, all they had received in return was betrayal, deception, and death.

That man had taught him a lesson in the most direct and cruelest way possible.

So, this was what pain felt like.

So, this was what powerlessness felt like.

"I..." Nagato's lips quivered. Within his Rinnegan, all the confusion, naivety, and weakness were being replaced by something cold and hardened.

He slowly stood up from the ground.

He walked past Yahiko and Konan, step by step, toward Hanzo the Salamander.

Yahiko tried to hold him back, but Konan pressed a hand on his shoulder.

Konan shook her head at him gently.

She knew that from this moment on, something had changed forever.

Nagato reached Hanzo and looked down at the "demigod" who they had once looked up to, but who now resembled a stray dog.

Hanzo felt the bone-chilling killing intent radiating from him, and his body shook even more violently.

"Don't... don't kill me..."

"I beg you..."

Nagato did not speak.

He simply raised his right hand slowly, aiming it at Hanzo's head.

"Shinra..."

Just as those two words were about to be uttered.

"Wait."

Lin Feng's indifferent voice rang out once more.

Nagato's movements faltered, and he turned back to look at him in confusion.

Lin Feng hoisted the massive Gunbai onto his shoulder and walked slowly to his side, speaking softly in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Killing him this way is letting him off too easily."

"It's also... far too boring."

A hint of playfulness flickered within his Rinnegan.

"Since we want them to feel pain..."

"Wouldn't it be far more interesting to let them slaughter each other while trapped in the depths of despair?"

As Lin Feng spoke, his gaze swept toward the other side of the canyon, where the Amegakure ninja were so utterly terrified that they could barely hold onto their weapons.

Then, right in front of Nagato, he issued a command to those Amegakure ninja that made their very souls freeze.

"I am giving you all a chance to live."

"Kill him."

Lin Feng used the handle of the Gunbai to point at Hanzo the Salamander, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Whoever can sever his head shall live. Furthermore, they shall become the new leader of Amegakure."