The crimson Genjutsu light resembled a sticky web of blood.
It covered the two-meter-tall mecha guard in front of it.
The red light pierced straight into the fist-sized ruby eye on the mech's head.
Danzo stared intently into his right eye.
It felt like a rusty awl had been plunged into my eye socket; it hurt like it was being torn apart.
Kotoamatsukami requires a massive amount of Chakra.
His body, already exhausted and on its last legs, had been ruthlessly drained of its last bit of energy.
Two legs thrashed about in waist-deep black water.
My thigh muscles are cramping in waves.
Danzo didn't care about any of that.
His old face, covered in mud, was contorted with fanaticism.
This is his deepest trump card, hidden in the shadows: Kotoamatsukami.
The will to modify goals without anyone noticing.
He needs to control this mech.
We need to get that steel monster to turn its gun around and smash the windows of the Hokage Building. We need to smash Shu Shiraishi to pieces.
He stared intently ahead.
Kneel down!
A hoarse roar escaped his throat.
His crooked jaw made his speech slightly lisping.
"Serve me as your master!"
The echoes bounced back and forth in the dark sewers, startling a few fat rats hiding in the corner.
The air was silent for two seconds.
The black water in the sewage pipe flowed slowly, swirling around.
A piece of rotten cabbage leaf drifted along the water and touched the mecha's thick manganese steel mechanical leg.
The mech didn't kneel.
Its two-ton body remained firmly planted in the sewage, completely still.
The crimson halo on the ruby eye only refracted for a moment.
It was like a flashlight shining on glass; it bounced off.
The Genjutsu Chakra of Kotoamatsukami attempts to invade the target's optic nerve.
But the mech doesn't have a visual nerve. It only has a bunch of photosensitive elements and silicon-based chips.
The red light hitting the glass lens only caused a slight fluctuation in the white balance.
Danzo was stunned.
He was breathing heavily; his lungs were burning with pain.
Blood and tears streamed down his right cheek, soaking into the grime at the corner of his mouth.
He didn't taste the saltiness of the blood; he only tasted a bitter aftertaste.
What happened?
Is there something wrong with Shisui's eyes?
A harsh, clicking sound came from inside the mecha's fuselage.
Gears mesh. Track anti-slip treads crush gravel on the underwater surface.
It turned its head slightly.
A red, fan-shaped scanning beam flashed in the ruby eye.
The beam of light swept from the top of Danzo's head to the soles of his feet.
The metal buzzer on the mech's chest vibrated.
A faint crackling sound of electricity rang out.
"Spectral scan complete."
The electronic synthesized sound is utterly unremarkable, lacking any variation.
No biological brainwaves detected.
Danzo his mouth wide. Broken bones from his chin were poking into his flesh.
He was listening to something cryptic.
What are brainwaves? What is the spectrum?
What does this have to do with Chakra pathways?
The mecha's ruby eyes flashed mercilessly twice.
The electronic voice continued broadcasting.
"Optical interference is ineffective."
"Target features confirmed."
The sound paused for half a second.
"Classified as: Garbage."
Rubbish.
These two words struck Danzo's face like a hammer blow.
His decades of scheming, he unearthed the ultimate trump card hidden in his eyes.
And this is the evaluation I got in return.
Kotoamatsukami can alter a person's will.
But it can't modify a bunch of junk code.
The excruciating pain in my right eye socket intensified. Chakra backlash.
Danzo's vision blurred.
He stumbled forward half a step. The broken manure spoon in his hand fell into the water with a "plop".
A few drops of black water splashed up.
"This is impossible..." he managed to squeeze out, his voice cracking.
He grabbed at the air with both hands haphazardly.
The mech ignored him.
Its program does not have a chat module.
An obstacle is blocking the patrol route. Clear it.
The fuselage dipped slightly.
The thick, mechanical metal leg on the right side rose up.
It stirred up a spray of black water.
The hydraulic rod at the metal joint suddenly extended or retracted.
Then, he kicked forward hard.
"Bang!"
The force of several hundred pounds landed solidly on Danzo's Danzo chest.
The sound of the sternum breaking was crisp and loud.
Danzo was sent flying like a tattered sack.
Feet out of the water.
He flailed his arms and legs in mid-air, his gray prison uniform fluttering in the wind.
His back slammed heavily against the curved brick wall of the sewer.
Two moss-covered bricks were smashed to pieces, with brick fragments flying everywhere.
Danzo let out a muffled groan that sounded off-key.
He slid down the wall.
"Splash!"
He crashed back into the waist-deep cesspool.
Black sewage and unidentified excrement splashed more than two meters high.
They poured water all over him.
Sewage was poured directly into his mouth.
Danzo struggled desperately underwater, flailing his arms wildly.
The nails were filled with rotten mud.
Black liquid entered my trachea. It stung and made my nose sting.
He poked his head out.
"Vomit--"
He vomited a mixture of acidic and fecal fluids.
His lungs felt like they were on fire. That kick had broken three of his ribs. The broken bones were grinding against his muscles, causing him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
He clung to a rusty iron pipe against the wall, barely managing to keep his upper body suspended on the water's surface.
He gasped for breath, each breath accompanied by bloody foam.
The end of the tunnel.
Suddenly, there was a series of rapid sounds of circuit breakers being pushed and pulled.
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
Above the sewer, a row of long, rectangular fluorescent lights flickered wildly a few times.
It emitted a buzzing sound like electricity.
Then it lit up completely.
The blinding incandescent light instantly tore through the darkness.
The bright light illuminated the filthy underground sewage ditch in every detail.
Green mold on the wall, floating debris on the water.
And Danzo's Danzo's face, neither human nor ghost.
The bright light was blinding.
Danzo instinctively raised his mud-covered arm to shield himself.
Squinting as I looked up.
A series of steady footsteps came from the iron staircase at the entrance.
"Clatter. Clatter."
The sound of military boots stepping on the iron grille, unhurried and deliberate.
Shu Shiraishi had his hands in the pockets of his black trench coat.
I walked down the stairs.
He stopped on the suspended iron walkway, two meters above the water.
The hem of the black trench coat swayed gently.
Two Anbu Ninja wearing cat-face masks followed behind him, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords.
Shu Shiraishi glanced down.
His eyebrows furrowed.
He withdrew his left hand and fanned it twice in front of his nose to drive away the pungent stench.
" Orochimaru's sewage system is still too crude."
Shu Shiraishi spoke calmly, turning to speak to the Anbu beside him.
"The ventilation ducts are completely useless."
The Anbu kept their heads down, not daring to respond.
Shu Shiraishi put his hands back into his pockets.
Only then did he Danzo his gaze to Danzo below.
Underneath the iron walkway was that cesspool.
Shu Shiraishi looked down from his high vantage point.
Watching Danzo in the black water like a drowned rat.
His face was covered in mud and blood and tears.
Shu Shiraishi chuckled.
I heard there was some noise here.
He leaned against the rusty iron railing.
"I thought you could pull off something big."
Danzo clung tightly to the rusty iron pipe.
The rust pricked my palm.
He looked up.
The bright sunlight from above shone on his face.
His sunken cheeks were covered in black mud.
The right eye, the eye of the Kotoamatsukami, was bloodshot, so red it looked like it was about to bleed.
Blood and tears streamed down his cheeks, washing away the mud and leaving a dark red mark.
He looked at Shu Shiraishi standing on the iron walkway.
The young man didn't even want to look at him.
I'm just watching it for fun.
Like watching a Toad rolling around in the mud.
Danzo's decades-long scheming led to the Sharingan he stole.
In front of this person, everything became a ridiculous joke.
Danzo's chest heaved violently. The pain from his broken ribs made it hard for him to breathe.
He opened his mouth.
His crooked chin trembled incessantly.
"Why..."
His voice was as hoarse as sandpaper.
He stared at Shu Shiraishi, then glanced at the unresponsive mecha guard standing beside him.
"Why is my Kotoamatsukami... useless?!"
He was unwilling to accept it.
That's a divine skill that modifies willpower. How could it be ineffective against a lump of iron?
Shu Shiraishi looked at him.
They simply couldn't be bothered to explain the difference between carbon-based life and silicon-based code.
Trying to explain these things to someone who's out of touch with reality is a complete waste of time.
Shu Shiraishi remained silent.
He pulled his right hand out of his trench coat pocket.
With a flick of the wrist.
A black Chakra pistol appeared in his hand.
The barrel is short and thick, and the grip is engraved with anti-slip texture.
The gun gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen.
Pull the safety lever with your thumb.
Click.
The crisp sound of a machine gun being cocked.
Shu Shiraishi raised his right hand, his arm outstretched.
The dark muzzle of a gun spanned two meters.
He coldly aimed at Danzo's mud-covered brow.