Despair and Drown in the Fear of Having No Sharingan!

Among the dozens of Kumogakure figures ahead, two stood out for the immense chakra they radiated.

The horned Ginkaku looked at the pair and laughed mockingly. "Tobirama Senju left you two brats behind to cover his retreat? Looks like that old bastard is afraid to die too! Hahahaha!"

"Hmph. What right does a horned freak like you have to judge Lord Hokage? If you hadn't ambushed us, would a pack of nobodies like you dare chase anyone from Konoha?" Shimura Danzō shot back with open contempt.

"Ginkaku, stop wasting words on them. Finish them off. We still have to hunt down Tobirama Senju," Kinkaku said beside him.

"You're right, brother. Two brats aren't worth our time. Take the main force after Tobirama Senju. I'll deal with these fools and catch up," Ginkaku told him.

"Don't get careless. One of them is an Uchiha ninja. Try to bring back his eyes." With that, Kinkaku led most of their forces onward in pursuit.

"Hey, Kinkaku! Where are you going? Stay and fight me if you've got the guts!" Danzō shouted anxiously as he watched him leave.

Kinkaku paid him no heed. To him, the two brats were only Jonin-level opponents. His brother would finish them off soon enough.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Kagami Uchiha, silent until now, struck first.

A fireball dozens of meters across roared toward Ginkaku.

"Hmph, bring it on. Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

Ginkaku rapidly formed Hand Seals, and several lances of lightning shot out to meet the fireball.

Boom! The two Ninjutsu collided in midair, canceled each other out, and exploded.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!" Danzō followed up with a Ninjutsu, sending several wind blades sweeping toward the surrounding Kumogakure ninjas.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Armor Technique!" Several of them immediately raised their defenses and took the incoming blades head-on.

Kagami Uchiha fixed his eyes on the enemy, drew his blade, and rushed the nearest opponent. With a wet slice, his blade flashed past. A Kumogakure Chunin clutched his throat and slowly collapsed.

"That's one," Kagami said flatly.

"Nicely done, Kagami!" Danzō couldn't help cheering.

"You Uchiha brat! You're dead!"

Ginkaku flew into a rage and charged with the Seven Stars Sword in hand. As soon as he closed in, he brought it down with all his strength. Kagami raised his Ninja Blade to block.

"You know I'm an Uchiha, yet you still dare look me in the eye? Without your brother, is blind rage all you've got, horned bastard?" Kagami's Sharingan locked onto Ginkaku.

Ginkaku sensed something was wrong and tried to pull back, but for an instant, a genjutsu left him dazed. Slash! The Ninja Blade in Kagami's hand cut straight across his chest.

"Lord Ginkaku!"

"Damn you, Uchiha! Lightning Release: Lightning Tiger Massacre!"

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

Several Ninjutsu blasted toward Kagami at once. They were about to hit when Danzō charged over at full speed to help him.

"Kagami, look out!"

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!" Danzō was hardly skilled in Ninjutsu outside Wind Release, but there was no time to worry about that. He hastily formed Hand Seals and threw up a defense.

Seeing the onslaught bearing down on him, Kagami abandoned his attack on Ginkaku and swiftly retreated.

Ninjas could hit hard, but they couldn't take much punishment. Even the strongest couldn't weather a barrage of Ninjutsu unscathed—unless they had some kind of cheat.

Danzō breathed a little easier when Kagami dodged the attack. But in that opening, a figure silently circled behind him. A Kumogakure Jonin swung his blade and severed Danzō's right arm.

"Aah!"

"Danzō!" Kagami's heart tightened at the sight, and he rushed toward him.

"Where do you think you're going, brat?" Wounded though he was, Ginkaku grinned viciously at Danzō's plight.

"This is war. What's one arm? How many of our comrades did you Konoha bastards kill in past battles? Now you know what it feels like?" As he spoke, blood-red Nine-Tails Chakra poured from his body. Scalding vapor seeped from his skin, savage fox markings spread across his cheeks, and a dark-red Tailed Beast Cloak enveloped him.

He gripped the Seven Stars Sword, its blade wreathed in dark-red Tailed Beast Chakra. The violent power whipped up a gale that sent loose stones bouncing across the ground. Ginkaku's pupils narrowed into bestial slits. With his killing intent surging, he charged straight at Kagami, sword in hand.

Meanwhile, Danzō gritted his teeth against the agony of his missing arm and fought desperately against the Kumogakure ninjas closing in.

With Danzō locked in a bitter struggle on one side and the transformed Ginkaku advancing on the other, Kagami's expression grew colder by the second.

"You're right. People die in war. Now it's your turn."

A translucent, Murasaki Susanoo slowly rose behind Kagami. Only its upper body took shape, its outline hazy and its pale eyes staring coldly ahead.

A bone blade formed in Susanoo's hand. With a low rumble, its arm slashed down, tearing through the air toward Ginkaku.

"What is that thing?"

"Isn't the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai the Sharingan?"

"So it's Susanoo! Interesting. Looks like the Uchiha still have someone capable after Madara Uchiha." Ginkaku, transformed by Tailed Beast Chakra, charged straight at it with a crazed look in his eyes, ready to meet it head-on.

"Oh? You're charging at me instead of running? Admirable courage. Then take this." Kagami's voice remained calm.

Murasaki flesh slowly grew over Susanoo's bones, revealing a complete giant form. Its bone blade became a long sword, and sharp spikes jutted from its shoulders and back. Susanoo's third form had taken shape.

The giant stamped heavily on the ground and brought its sword down, blasting a violent wave of air in every direction.

"What kind of monster is that?"

"How are we supposed to stop it?"

"Kagami, is this the power of the Mangekyo?"

Ginkaku, hurled away by the shock wave, climbed to his feet again and roared, "Don't look down on me! It's just a Susanoo! I'll smash it to pieces!"

Wrapped in blood-red Nine-Tails Chakra, Ginkaku gripped the Seven Stars Sword with both hands, kicked off the ground, and charged. The Murasaki Susanoo stood firm, violet light blazing around it. Its massive hand rose, its chakra sword gathering power.

The next instant, they slammed into each other! The Nine-Tails' red chakra clashed fiercely with Susanoo's Murasaki power. Shock waves exploded outward, shattering trees and filling the air with dust. The Seven Stars Sword, cloaked in the Nine-Tails' power, struck Susanoo with a sharp crack of breaking bone. Then Susanoo swung its right arm, bringing its long sword crashing down on Ginkaku.

The giant blade struck Ginkaku and drove him deep into the ground. He was badly wounded, but he could still fight.

Nine-Tails Chakra ran wild. His damaged Tailed Beast Cloak swelled once more, and scarlet chakra surged skyward.

His skin split, and blood kept spilling from his mouth. Still, he clung to the Seven Stars Sword, his eyes blazing with the frenzy of a dying man.

"You damned Uchiha brat... Think you can finish me off like this? Dream on!"

Putting his life on the line, Ginkaku wrung the last of the Nine-Tails' power from within him. Chakra burned wildly across his body as he dragged his half-ruined frame forward, raised his sword again, and poured every remaining ounce of strength into a desperate slash at Susanoo's vital point. He meant to take Kagami down with him.

"Hmph. A mere grain of sand doesn't measure up to me."

The Murasaki Susanoo did not budge. Its other massive hand slammed down, pinning Ginkaku and his sword at the bottom of the crater and crushing his final, desperate counterattack.

Boom! A tremendous crash rang out. When the dust cleared, Ginkaku lay motionless in the deep crater left by the giant blade. His Tailed Beast Cloak slowly faded. A Kage Level powerhouse had fallen.

"Lord Ginkaku!"

"You damned Konoha Ninja! How dare you kill Lord Ginkaku!"

"Get him! All of us!"

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

"Lightning Release: Lightning Tiger Massacre!"

"Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"

The remaining Kumogakure ninjas stopped surrounding Danzō. Every one of them turned and swarmed toward Kagami.

"Would you like to dance too?" Kagami folded his arms across his chest, disdain in his voice. Susanoo raised its free hand, and a string of Yasaka Magatama linked by Chakra Threads formed near its shoulder.

"Feel Zetsu. Drown in the fear of having no Sharingan to protect you."

"Yasaka Magatama!"

Driven by his visual prowess, the magatama streaked through the air and slammed into the remaining Kumogakure ninjas.

Explosions erupted one after another. Every Kumogakure ninja present was killed.

Kagami dismissed Susanoo. Two trails of bloody tears ran from the corners of his eyes, and his legs went weak. He nearly lost his footing.

Danzō, now missing an arm, hurried over to support him.

"Are you all right, Kagami?"

Kagami gently waved him off and looked at Danzō's battered body. A faint smile tugged at his lips. "I'm fine. Danzō, you're still alive. Thank goodness."

"Kagami..." Seeing Kagami worry about him despite how much the fight had drained him stirred something in Danzō. Even the searing pain of his severed arm seemed to ease a little.

Supporting each other, they reached a tree. Kagami bandaged the wound where Danzō's arm had been severed, then dropped to the ground and gasped for breath. Forcing Susanoo into its third form had taken far too much out of him.

Danzō leaned against the trunk and closed his eyes to steady his breathing. The agony of his severed arm kept tormenting him, but a ninja's first lesson was endurance. Even with pain boring into his bones, he made no sound.

After a while, Danzō opened his eyes and looked at Kagami. "What do we do now?"

Kagami answered slowly, "Danzō, we catch up with Lord Hokage. We're the Shadow Guard. Protecting him is our duty." He rose carefully to his feet.

"Can your body take it?"

"I'll be fine. The Will of Fire is keeping me on my feet!" Kagami's voice was utterly resolute.

Kagami, you really are... someone I'm glad to know, Danzō thought, admiration welling up inside him.

"Time to go, Danzō! Let's support Lord Hokage!"

"Right! I can't wait to see the look on Monkey's face!"

With that, the two leaped away at full speed into the distance.