Chapter 5: The Death of Danzo

“It seems I have no choice but to take action.” Although his subordinates had been completely wiped out, the shadow of the ninja world remained remarkably calm. He dropped his cane and slowly unwrapped the bandages around his arm, revealing the horrific right arm beneath.

“Sharingan?” Uchiha Inaho and Uchiha Zaito, protected by Susanoo, instantly flew into a rage. “How dare you defile the remains of our clan’s ancestors!”

“You Uchiha are inherently evil,” Danzo declared. “The power of the Sharingan is something that should only be wielded by me to protect Konoha.” He raised his eyes to the towering black armored warrior standing amidst the pouring rain. “Uchiha Tohane, today I will personally put an end to your crimes.”

With that, Danzo charged fiercely toward Uchiha Tohane, forming hand seals with both hands.

“Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!” Wind chakra condensed in Danzo’s mouth, then shot forth like bullets toward Tohane’s Susanoo. Danzo weaved through the barrage of high-speed vacuum spheres, gripping kunai as he lunged at Uchiha Tohane.

From above, Susanoo effortlessly sliced through the vacuum spheres used as cover with a single strike, and Danzo was cut cleanly in half by that very blow.

Susanoo slowly dissipated, revealing Uchiha Tohane and his two companions.

“Is it over?” Uchiha Inaho murmured, just beginning to comprehend the situation.

“Yes, it’s over,” Tohane nodded, then approached the corpse of Danzo, who had met the same fate as the strongest shinobi of the modern era.

However, the next moment, Danzo’s body vanished before their eyes. A sharp gust sounded behind Uchiha Tohane.

“Uchiha Tohane, your eyes—I will take them,” Danzo’s voice brimmed with uncontrollable excitement. If he could kill Tohane, then the two pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan, including Shisui’s, would undoubtedly help him become Hokage.

Yet, just when the kunai was less than a millimeter from Tohane’s back, Danzo suddenly found his form frozen in place, his body slowly dissipating.

“What… what is this?” Danzo stared in disbelief as his right arm and the kunai completely vanished into the wind.

“You’re relying on Izanagi, aren’t you?” Tohane slowly turned his head, the Mangekyo pattern in his left eye spinning rapidly. “An illusion that manipulates falsehood and reality—but unfortunately, my eye completely counters it.”

“My doujutsu, Koyomi, under this eye’s gaze, all illusions will cease to exist.” As Tohane spoke, Danzo’s figure faded entirely into the air, and the previously vanished corpse reappeared.

The half of Danzo’s body containing Hashirama cells, no longer suppressed by chakra, immediately began to rebel. Tohane quickly formed several sealing jutsu, restraining the cells’ rampage before bending down to lift the half of Danzo’s body.

“Let’s go. We’re returning to the village,” Tohane said.

“Returning to the village?” Uchiha Zaito was momentarily stunned.

“Yes, to demand answers,” Tohane replied, then glanced toward the remaining Wood Release ninja with faint breaths not far away. “Bring him along.”

…

In the Hokage office within the Hokage building, Hiruzen Sarutobi lit his pipe for the twenty-seventh time today. Since morning, an intense unease had weighed heavily upon him.

“Hokage-sama, Uchiha Tohane, who left the village this morning, has returned and clashed with the guards at the village gates,” an ANBU burst hurriedly into the Hokage tower.

Sarutobi’s heart sank. Tohane had returned, which meant Danzo had failed?

“He merely completed his mission and returned. Why was there a conflict?” Sarutobi asked anxiously.

“The man he carries…” The ANBU swallowed nervously. “It’s the corpse of Lord Danzo. Moreover, several Sharingan are embedded in Danzo’s body.”

“What?” Sarutobi’s face turned pale. To be honest, he had greatly overestimated Tohane’s strength. He had prepared for Danzo’s assassination attempt to fail, even suspected Danzo was a pawn of Kotoamatsukami, but never imagined Danzo would be killed outright by Tohane.

…

“Hokage-sama, the two advisors have learned of the situation and are currently en route to the village gates,” the ANBU continued. “Furthermore, the Uchiha clan has been notified and is gathering.”

Hearing this, Sarutobi could no longer sit still. He hurriedly rose and stepped outside.

At dusk, the entrance to Konoha was tense and charged.

Several dozen shinobi wearing Jonin vests had formed a perimeter around Uchiha Tohane and Uchiha Inaho, who carried Yamato on his back. Yet no one made the first move. At the center of the encirclement, Tohane stood calm and composed, casually tossing the half of Danzo’s body in front of him like garbage.

“How dare you! Killing a Konoha elder! Is the Uchiha clan betraying the village?” A loud shout cut through the air. The surrounding shinobi parted to allow two of Konoha’s chief advisors—Mitoimon Homura and Tenjin Koharu—to step forward. Upon seeing their fallen comrade, they immediately demanded loudly, “Seize these two traitors!”

“Let’s see who dares!” At that moment, one by one, Uchiha shinobi surged from behind Tohane. In the fading sunlight, countless crimson Sharingan glowed dangerously. Leading them were several militant elders and the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku.

After Uchiha Zaito relayed the news to the clan, the Uchiha had assembled with great speed. The Sharingan embedded in Danzo’s arm had even the pacifist faction within the clan burning with rage.

Shisui, who had just undergone an eye transplant and was recuperating within the clan, could not remain idle upon hearing the news. Itachi had rushed to stop him, hoping to prevent conflict, but the Uchiha had lost much of their reason. Their arguments proved futile, nearly igniting a clash within the clan, so both had no choice but to join their people.

“Is the Uchiha clan rising in rebellion?” Mitoimon Homura shouted angrily.

“How dare you desecrate our ancestor’s remains! If that is rebellion, so be it!” a militant Uchiha elder retorted without yielding an inch.

“Everyone, stop!” Just as the two groups were about to clash, a commanding voice rang out. A somewhat short figure stepped between the factions, clad in the revered Hokage robe emblazoned with the words “Third Hokage” in bold characters. At the sight of this figure, both sides immediately ceased their movements.