After hearing Danzo's proposal, Naruto pinched his chin thoughtfully. "That does sound like a good idea..."
Danzo's expression brightened. "Exactly! If we join forces, making Konoha reign over the entire Shinobi World would be child's play!"
Naruto lowered his hand from his chin, his gaze deepening. "Making Konoha reign over the Shinobi World-do you think that would be enough?"
"Oh?" Danzo raised an eyebrow. "Do you have something even greater in mind?"
Naruto answered bluntly, "Of course, but you wouldn't understand. Neither your vision nor your abilities come anywhere close..."
Danzo's expression darkened. "Leaving my abilities aside for now, how is my vision lacking?"
Naruto challenged him. "Tell me, where were you and Root when Pain attacked the village?"
Danzo defended himself. "For the future of the Shinobi World, a measure of restraint and lying low is necessary. Root needs an opportunity to step into the light. With Tsunade's Katsuyu technique, the village wouldn't be completely destroyed. Those sacrifices were only temporary. Once I take the Hokage position, Konoha will enter a new age of prosperity."
Then he changed tack. "For that matter, why did Pain's attack happen at all? Because of Jiraiya's naivety and Tsunade's indulgence! Had I been in power, Pain would never have existed, and the Akatsuki would never have risen!"
"Root's way is to nip every threat to the village's development in the bud! Tell me, how is my vision lacking?"
Naruto said gravely, "You snuffed out hope along with those threats."
Danzo chuckled. "Hope? You expect me to entrust the future to something so intangible?"
Naruto replied coldly, "Calling it intangible is exactly what makes you narrow-minded. Flowers wither in soil without hope. Even if they somehow survive, they grow covered in poisonous thorns..."
"Danzo, you keep insisting you would never have allowed Pain to exist or the Akatsuki to rise. But the early Akatsuki was an organization full of justice. Your scheming behind the scenes was what made Nagato lose faith and become Pain, twisting the Akatsuki's ideals..."
"That's right. The real culprit behind the village's destruction wasn't Master Jiraiya or Granny Tsunade. It was that doctrine of darkness you boast about-Root's way."
"Put plainly, you're just using the village's interests as an excuse to satisfy your own ambitions!"
"Danzo, you aren't fit to be Hokage!"
Danzo clenched his fists, his aged face turning icy. "So you're refusing my offer?"
Naruto sneered. "Idiot. With so many roads open to me, why would I choose a dead end?"
Danzo said darkly, "Then leave your Nine-Tails and Rinnegan behind, and become stepping stones on my path forward!"
During their conversation, Danzo had gathered an unprecedented amount of chakra. He was about to unleash a killing move he had never shown even in his battle against Sasuke!
After forming hand seals, he forcefully clasped his hands before his chest.
Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Saplings burst through the soil, growing into towering trees in mere seconds...
"The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, used the power of Wood Release to pacify a world at war. It can even suppress the Nine-Tails! Naruto Uzumaki, bow before that power!"
"Aaaaaaargh...!!" As he spoke, veins bulged on Danzo's forehead. His clasped hands shook violently before his chest as he desperately poured in chakra, driving the trees forward to crush Naruto!
Watching from the sidelines, Orochimaru murmured to himself, "Using Izanagi and Wood Release simultaneously consumes an unimaginable amount of chakra. It seems Danzo has decided that ordinary ninjutsu can't deal with Naruto as he is now, so he's staking everything on this attack after negotiations failed. What will you do, Naruto?"
The World of Trees rampaged forward, shaking the earth!
"Wood Release, huh? Perfect. There's a technique I've been wanting to try..."
The corners of Naruto's mouth rose. He formed hand seals before his chest and drew a deep breath.
Sage Art: Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!
Whoosh!
A thin column of fire erupted from Naruto's mouth. After extending ten meters, it exploded into an earth-shaking sea of flames, completely blocking the advancing World of Trees. Its heat even evaporated the snow filling the air!
Danzo stared in disbelief. "What kind of joke is this? He's suppressing my Wood Release with Fire Release!?"
Naruto thought, I've seen Wood Release ten times stronger than this. If you want to catch me off guard, at least bring out the Flower Tree World!
Poof!
Amid white smoke, Naruto's Shadow Clone appeared above the boundary between fire and wood... Whirrr! Wind blades spun in the clone's hand before he hurled them down!
Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!
Boom!
The storm fed the flames, completely overwhelming the World of Trees. The approaching wave of fire made Danzo's heart pound with fear!
"He even has enough strength left to use a Shadow Clone while unleashing Fire Release on this scale? But after that attack, his Sage Mode will be over!"
Sss!
Sure enough, the orange pigmentation around Naruto's eyes slowly faded, and his Sage Mode ended.
Danzo looked down at his right arm. Three Sharingan remained open!
"No time to waste. Now's my chance..."
He took out a vial containing his own blood, dipped into it, and performed the Summoning Technique.
Poof!
Amid an enormous cloud of white smoke, Baku appeared. Opening his mouth wide, he swallowed the raging sea of flames ahead in a suicidal act, then vanished with a scream!
Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!
Using the opening bought by sacrificing his own summon, Danzo spun shuriken at his fingertips, infused them with wind-nature chakra, and hurled them forward in succession!
With that feint covering him, Danzo charged at Naruto.
After gaining the Rinnegan, Naruto's visual perception had far surpassed what it once was. He clearly tracked every Wind Release: Shuriken and nimbly dodged them. Those he couldn't evade, he deftly deflected by slipping a kunai through their central holes!
In short... he simply refused to use Shinra Tensei!
As long as he kept that technique in reserve, Danzo couldn't recklessly close in and steal his eyes!
Seeing that he had once again failed to bait out the technique, Danzo frowned, then formed another set of seals.
Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!
Whoosh!
He spat out a powerful, scything blast of wind that swept across the battlefield.
Naruto leaped, twisting his body horizontally in midair as the blast swept just past his back!
A vicious gleam flashed in Danzo's eyes, and he slammed his right hand against the ground.
Wood Release: Violent Spear Technique!
Boom!
A sharp tree trunk erupted from the ground directly beneath Naruto!
"!" Naruto was briefly startled.
Bang! His Substitution Technique activated. The Violent Spear Technique impaled the substitution log, while Naruto landed safely five meters away after the close call.
Poof! At the same time, his second Shadow Clone storing senjutsu chakra dispelled, replenishing Naruto's Sage Mode!
"Tch! What a troublesome brat. But judging by the time, the visual power in my right eye should be just about restored...!"
[Note: Before Danzo's battle with Sasuke in the original timeline, he used Kotoamatsukami twice: once on the Land of Fire's daimyo and once on Mifune. In this timeline, Danzo did not use it on the Land of Fire's daimyo, so Kotoamatsukami's cooldown ends earlier.]
As Danzo calculated inwardly, he looked down at his right arm, checking Izanagi's remaining duration as usual.
Only to find that three eyes were still open!
"Impossible! There were three just now. How are there still three!?"
Gasp!
Danzo sucked in a sharp breath as he realized a disastrous truth.
Could it be... Izanagi never activated!?
Throughout this battle, he had repeatedly used Wood Release beyond his own capabilities. Without him noticing, his chakra had already fallen below the minimum needed to activate Izanagi!
Naruto's eyes flashed, and the corners of his mouth lifted.
Danzo recoiled in alarm. "No!!"
Whoosh!
The next instant, Naruto teleported right in front of him, following the Flying Thunder God Mark he had left on Danzo's body. His left hand swept through a graceful arc.
Slash! Blood sprayed as Danzo's right eye was gouged straight out of its socket...!!
"Aaaaaaargh...!"
Screaming, Danzo staggered backward, clutching his profusely bleeding right eye!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Disaster piled upon disaster. His right arm, implanted with Hashirama cells, went out of control...
Orochimaru sighed. "Danzo is finished. The gap in their strength is abundantly clear. Naruto-kun has already reached a level beyond that of a Hokage..."
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