Mangekyō Dōjutsu: Izanagi Fails to Activate

"Wood Release..."

In the spectator stands.

Mitokado Homura stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi, eyes wide. Seeing no surprise on his face, he growled, "You knew all along! Didn't you?"

"..."

Hiruzen sighed.

Utatane Koharu grabbed Homura and shook her head.

The other Clan Leaders wore strange expressions. Wood Release... It looked formidable enough and certainly made an impression...

But.

Wasn't it a little weak?

The First Hokage had brought an age of chaos to an end with this?

A huge question mark hung over everyone's head. None of them could make sense of it.

In the arena.

Shinji covered his left eye and pondered. "Eternity? An imprint? Something involving space-time... or some unknown rule? What a strange mechanism."

"Ah—!"

Behind the great tree.

Danzo suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream. "No! Impossible! What did you do to me, you evil brat?"

"Aaagh—!"

Shinji was curious about what his new Dōjutsu actually did. He gripped the Wood Release tree with one hand and poked his head around it.

He blinked and scratched his head.

Danzo had already torn the bandages from his head, exposing two Sharingan transplanted into his ugly face and one in his eye socket.

Now.

Both Sharingan on his face had turned ashen white. He had clearly used Izanagi twice: once against the stone wall.

And once just now...

But.

His lost arm hadn't grown back!

Danzo was in agony. His severe Chakra depletion had begun to send the Hashirama Cells transplanted into him into a frenzy.

Thin, bone-white tendrils of flesh devoured their host's cells, drawing nourishment and growing rapidly into a tangle of irregular branches.

They had gone completely out of control!

Shinji was quite pleased with Danzo's condition. Puzzled, he asked, "What's wrong, Elder Danzo? Can't even Izanagi save your life?"

"Go on. Keep trading Uchiha eyes and forbidden techniques for your life!"

"Gaaah—! Brat, what did you do?"

Clutching the stump of his left arm, Danzo knelt on the ground. His already ugly old face twisted into something even more hideous.

Shinji pointed at his left eye. "Oh, it's a Dōjutsu. So far, it seems to take precedence even over a forbidden technique like Izanagi."

"Hmm... But for a god's power on that level, I suppose that's only natural."

After a moment's thought, Shinji gave Danzo that deliberately vague answer.

"You... you evil Uchiha brat! Aah—! I'll never let you get away with this!"

"Won't let me? Elder Shimura, you look truly ugly when you make empty threats out of sheer helpless rage... Of course."

Shinji stepped closer and pointed at the Sharingan in Danzo's right eye. "You could try using Shisui's eye to turn this around... but have you thought about what happens when you use up all your Chakra?"

Ignoring Danzo's murderous glare, Shinji leaned in. "Orochimaru isn't in Konoha right now. Who's going to stabilize those rampaging Hashirama Cells and save your life?"

Shock flashed across Danzo's contorted face. "How... how do you know that?"

Shinji didn't answer. He rubbed his chin and mused, "Hmm... Lady Tsunade might be able to. Too bad she isn't here."

"You!!!"

"Old bastard."

Shinji gently patted Danzo's shoulder and said softly, "I won't kill you now. I'll let you live. I'll let the research you devoted half your life to consume you, until you become a towering tree rooted in Konoha."

"Lord Danzo, who called himself the Root of Konoha, you'll be able to watch the village rise and fall forever... and spend forever atoning to them!"

"Aren't I merciful, Elder Danzo?"

"Remember their names—Uchiha Tadashi and Uchiha Machiko!"

With that, Shinji straightened and laughed with delight.

Even he couldn't tell whether it was simple pleasure... or the thrill of finally avenging a wrong he had endured for years.

"Shimura Danzō... You hate the Uchiha clan, yet you need their power to save your life. Now that you've lost every source of strength you borrowed, what can you do?"

Shimura Danzō glared at Shinji so fiercely that he bit his teeth bloody. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth. "Brat! I'll take you down with me!"

Bzz—!

A ripple of Chakra had barely appeared.

But Shinji was faster!

He tilted his head slightly to keep things from going wrong. Before the Dōjutsu could activate, he thrust out a hand and, with a wet squelch, brutally gouged the Mangekyō Sharingan from Danzo's right eye.

Then he deftly dropped it into a small vial filled with nutrient solution.

Danzo had drained every last bit of his chakra, but the Mangekyō Dōjutsu had failed to activate.

Despair swallowed him whole... If even Izanagi couldn't rewrite what had happened...

"Konoha's future... is it really going to be destroyed by an evil Uchiha like you?"

"Shinji Uchiha! Even as a ghost, I won't let you get away with this!"

"I... can't accept this!"

Thud!

Danzo, stripped of all strength, collapsed to the ground.

The wildly growing Hashirama Cells had turned his arm into a withered branch. Shimura Danzō's body now looked like a plant taking root in the earth.

Shinji looked at his grotesque body and shook his head. "What a pathetic old bastard. I never said... I was going to destroy Konoha."

"Danzo!"

Seeing Danzo fall, the Third Hokage finally rushed over. He stared in disbelief at Shimura Danzō, who scarcely looked human anymore.

He had actually...

Lost so quickly?

Danzo couldn't even hold out against Shinji Uchiha for this long?!

"Someone! Get over here! Where are the medical ninja? Hurry!" Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura paced in frantic circles.

They shouted themselves hoarse.

The Clan Heads could no longer remain seated either.

Several of the most influential figures exchanged glances.

Hyuga Hiashi spoke first, setting the tone. "Shimura Danzō cannot die here!"

Torifu Akimichi's face was grave. "Absolutely not!"

Inoichi Yamanaka formed Hand Seals and closed his eyes, but his face twisted into a grimace.

Clearly, what he sensed wasn't good...

No!

It was dire!

"The Hashirama Cells inside Elder Danzo have lost the Chakra that sustained them and are running wild. If we can't stabilize them..."

Shikaku Nara kept his hands in his pockets. He was anxious, but there was nothing he could do to help. "What happens?"

"He'll turn into a tree!"

Inoichi Yamanaka released his Sensory Ninjutsu. "Only two people can save him now!"

Shikaku Nara grew frantic and grabbed Inoichi's arm. "Who?"

Torifu Akimichi pondered for a moment. "One is Orochimaru. The other is the Senju Princess... Princess Tsunade!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

It wasn't just the major Clan Heads who fell silent. Even the heads of smaller clans, such as the Aburame, the Inuzuka Clan, and the Kurama, were at a loss.

Those two... each was a more daunting prospect than the last.

One was a Missing-nin.

The other was even less help than a Missing-nin!

The greatest Medical Ninja in the Shinobi World, afflicted with Hemophobia?!

They would be better off making a deal with Orochimaru!!!

Everyone fell silent...

Danzo might be loathed throughout Konoha, and Hiruzen Sarutobi might argue with him often.

But arguing was one thing.

Letting Shimura Danzō die was another...

No one knew whether the aging Hiruzen Sarutobi would fly into a rage over his old friend, sever ties with the Uchiha, and start a full-blown fight.

No one wanted that.

Just then, a group of Medical Ninja in white rushed over. They surrounded Danzo and began examining him with Medical Ninjutsu.

"Tch."

Shinji shook his head at the chaos. Their squabbling said it all. What could people like this ever accomplish?

He sat down on a rock, feeling exhausted and strangely light at the same time.

It was an odd feeling...

Meanwhile, he weighed the possibilities.

Whether Danzo died didn't really matter.

If he survived, all the better. As long as he remained a human vegetable and stopped courting death, he would be a useful tool.

His existence would keep the major clans on guard, remind them how incompetent, shady, and shameless Hiruzen and his circle were, and make their loyalties waver.

If he died... that wouldn't be a big deal either.

This clash had shown Shinji the village's true face once and for all.

If the Hokage took action, had the ability, and could lead the major clans well, Konoha would still be the strongest village in the Shinobi World, weakened as it was.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi... heh. These days, he met none of those conditions.

As a result, every major clan had its own agenda, and their loyalties were fraying.

If the Four Great Nations and Akatsuki weren't still watching for an opening, would starting an internal war really be such a big deal? Shinji wasn't sure it would.

"Oh, right..."

Shinji slapped his forehead. "There was a quest, wasn't there?"

Challenge Quest: Defeat Shimura Danzō once (Complete). Reward: 100 Gold Coins.

That was it?

Of the two challenge quests involving Shimura Danzō, the other was—

Kill Shimura Danzō directly or indirectly (Incomplete). Reward: One randomly selected ninjutsu.

Tch... This quest was as twisted as ever.

"Enough!!!"