"Uchiha brat, today we settle this once and for all," Danzo growled through gritted teeth.
Sasuke was about to charge forward, but the masked man intercepted him.
"Move! I'm going to slaughter that man myself!"
"If you go up there now, Kanon will slaughter you first. Look closely, look at what your sister has become!" A thin smirk tugged at the corner of the masked man's mouth beneath his mask.
Sure enough, Sasuke's pupils dilated. He stared at Kanon's Mangekyo Sharingan, its pattern completely different from his own, and the aura of endless madness that had completely consumed her. An ominous sense of estrangement washed over him.
The Kanon before him was a stranger to the gentle, kind girl who used to follow him around in his memories. This Kanon had eyes filled only with hatred and a bottomless intent to kill.
"That right arm... so many Sharingan. It's revolting!"
Kanon's voice was icy and detached. "When I was six, almost every clansman I saw in the streets was missing their eyes. I take it the eyes of everyone that animal Itachi slaughtered ended up in your possession."
"That is a long story. Since you just destroyed my most precious eye, I suppose yours will have to serve as a replacement."
"Before I kill you, I have one question," Kanon demanded. "Was it an order from the Konoha higher-ups, including you, that made Itachi massacre our clan?"
Instead of answering, Danzo began weaving hand signs. With an explosive burst of speed, he lunged toward Kanon to strike.
But his fist passed right through her. As he phased through her body, Kanon drove her knee upward, catching Danzo squarely in the abdomen.
Danzo doubled over like a shrimp. He coughed up a spray of blood, but before he could be sent flying, he was engulfed by a Massive Rasengan. The rotating sphere shredded him instantly, reducing him to a mist of blood.
"Oh? Such combat instincts... she's truly formidable, wouldn't you say, Sasuke?" The masked man gave a slight nod of approval.
Sasuke was mesmerized. She had opened with a killing blow. Kanon's strength was overwhelming; the fact that she had seemingly "one-shot" Danzo in a split second made even him feel a pang of inadequacy.
"But... it's not over yet," the masked man whispered.
Sure enough, a kunai lunged toward Kanon from behind. Danzo had reappeared. Izanagi.
Clang!
The sound of a snapping blade echoed.
Kanon's rose-red skeletal ribs manifested, blocking the strike perfectly. Then, a massive ethereal hand snatched Danzo out of the air.
"So this is Susano'o..." Danzo felt his ribs beginning to crush under the pressure.
"That damn Itachi... so only the two of you were special after all?" Danzo spat out a mouthful of blood.
"I thought he wasn't the type of man to talk..."
"To think he would spill the secrets before dying!"
Hearing Danzo's admission, Kanon was gripped by a fit of furious laughter. Behind her, Sasuke moved to join the fray, but the moment he stood, a Kusanagi blade whistled past his cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood.
"This is my revenge. Stay back." Kanon's eyes flickered with emotionless contempt as she looked down at Sasuke.
"Kanon..." Sasuke lowered his head.
Danzo looked at Kanon's expression, his anger mounting.
"Itachi... I truly believed he was a man who could keep a secret!"
"Self-sacrifice… that is what it means to be a ninja!"
"An unsung hero in the shadows... many shinobi have died that way. This world cannot be all light and glory; someone must take responsibility for the darkness."
"It is because of people like him that peace is maintained!"
"You completely misunderstand Itachi's will!"
"But for revealing those secrets to you, Itachi is nothing but a traitorous bastard to Konoha!"
"He was not a fit shinobi!"
"Your existence makes all his efforts go to waste; you've squandered the Uchiha's sacrifice."
Listening to Danzo's roar, Kanon burst into laughter.
"You're right! Itachi Uchiha was an animal, wasn't he? I never once thought otherwise."
"To go to such lengths... I can't even imagine how such a beast could be my brother!"
"Just thinking of his face fills me with rage! My hatred! My fury! You will be the one to bear it all!" Kanon let out a piercing scream. Her Susano'o manifested armor, evolving into its second form, and instantly crushed Danzo into fragments.
"Itachi's will?"
"How hilarious. Who would ever want to inherit his 'will'?"
Kanon flicked her wrist. Lightning chakra surged from the Kusanagi blade behind Sasuke, causing a localized explosion on the ground. The sword was blasted into the air, landing perfectly in Kanon's hand.
"My goal is to negate everything Itachi stood for!"
"He took everything from me. Therefore, the village and the peace he cherished so much... I will destroy them!"
"The war he despised... I will be the one to launch it!"
In a fluid motion, Kanon spun and slashed the Kusanagi blade backward. Danzo, attempting a sneak attack, had his head severed instantly.
A head rolled; blood splattered the bridge.
Kanon performed a backflip and landed, driving the sword into the ground, but she didn't stop. A Chidori Sharp Spear transformed into a white bolt of light, piercing through Danzo as he used Izanagi once more.
The Susano'o arms hovered protectively around Kanon. She noticed that several eyes on Danzo's arm had already closed.
"The duration of a single Izanagi isn't very long, is it?" Kanon's lips curled into a smirk. Within her mindscape, she had already learned the secrets of this forbidden jutsu from Konin.
She no longer feared Izanagi. With her Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, she could maintain her Susano'o for ten minutes straight if she wished.
However, Kanon had her sights set on the Sharingan embedded in Danzo's arm.
"Konin, do you have a way to preserve Sharingan?" Kanon asked internally.
"I do. Are you planning to...?"
"Yes."
"Fine, I'll start preparing."
Kanon gave a slight nod and looked at the distant Danzo, her lips curving into a beautiful, yet haunting, smile.
She blurred into a shadow, her fist slamming into Danzo's face. He staggered back, but the punch wasn't fatal, so Izanagi didn't trigger.
In that fleeting second, Kanon's rose-patterned Sharingan locked onto Danzo's eyes.
"Tsukuyomi!"
Crack!
Danzo's image shattered. He instantly reappeared behind Kanon, the most advantageous position for him. He was already finishing his signs.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A massive blast of wind pressure surged toward Kanon's head. But it was useless; it phased through her as she blurred. Kanon turned and slashed with her sword.
Danzo staggered and lowered his head, but just as he prepared to activate Izanagi again, Kanon's body burst out from the ground beneath the bridge!
"What?!" Danzo gasped in shock. The "Kanon" holding the Kusanagi blade before him vanished into a cloud of white smoke.
"When did she use a Shadow Clone?!" Sasuke was equally stunned.
"The earlier Tsukuyomi... Kanon used it to force Danzo into an immediate Izanagi loop. But during his 'rebirth,' she had already swapped her body for a clone. Her true self was hiding underground with the Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu, waiting for the perfect opening."
"Truly a genius of the Uchiha. Danzo is in trouble now. Even Izanagi can't negate the positioning of such a low-power strike if he's caught off guard." The masked man analyzed the battle for Sasuke.
"It's over," the masked man said, standing up.
Sure enough, Kanon reached out a hand. The moment she touched Danzo, a rose-colored vortex emerged, sucking them both in.
Before Danzo could even trigger another Izanagi, he was dragged into the Flower Realm.
Left behind was the scarred battlefield, the masked man, Sasuke, and a terrified, trembling Karin.
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