BOOM…!!!
Amidst a huge plume of smoke, a massive monster with an elephantine trunk, tusks, and a colossal body—the Baku—descended. Its trunk snorted gusts of air, letting out a deep, resonant bellow that sounded like a steam train's whistle!
HOOOOOOOM!!
The Baku opened its maw wide, unleashing a vortex of suction from a powerful Wind Release technique. The force pinned the Susano'o in place, preventing all movement. Simultaneously… the howling wind from the technique interfered with Sasuke's ability to locate by sound!
Shwoop! Seizing the opportunity, Danzō circled around to the Susano'o's back. Forming seals and leveraging the Baku's immense suction, he unleashed his strongest Wind Release attack!!
—Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!!!
KABOOOOOM!!!
A powerful sphere of wind, like a rocket blast, slammed into the Susano'o's spine. A massive hole instantly appeared!
"The Susano'o's weakness… is right HERE!!!"
Danzō pressed his advantage, charging straight in!
Sasuke's eyes were bound by a black cloth, yet he understood Danzō's moves perfectly. He'd faced a similar tactic in a past life.
"This strategy… the Baku, huh? Last time, I just let it get roasted. But this time… I want you to die a different way."
Clap!
He brought his hands together in front of his chest.
—Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Giant trees erupted from the earth around the Susano'o!!
Danzō, who had just closed in, was immediately pinned between two colossal trunks, immobilized!
"Wood Release!!" Danzō's face paled with shock. "He transplanted Hashirama's cells?! He can even use the Jukai Kōtan?!"
Shlick! Shlick!
From between the two trees pinning him, twin flower buds sprouted with terrifying speed. Their overwhelming vitality pierced straight through Danzō's abdomen from the front and burst out from his lower back—blooming open and releasing a cloud of pollen!
"Damn it…!! It's the Kajukai Kōrin?! GAAAAAH!!!"
A hazy, yellowish pollen mist billowed from the flower blooming grotesquely from his back. From the spectators' vantage point, its wispy, dispersing form made it look like Danzō was… emitting foul gas from his posterior.
"..." Karin instinctively covered her mouth and nose, even though the pollen couldn't reach her position.
Orochimaru didn't miss the chance to sneer. "Danzō. You claim to be the 'Root' that protects Konoha, yet you are a parasite clinging to the village's flowers, constantly spewing filth into the shinobi world. Your current disgraceful state… is rather fitting, don't you think?"
As if to prove the point, the flower impaling Danzō was just one small, strange bloom among many. Across the entire flowering forest, dozens of other blossoms were simultaneously releasing their toxic pollen.
That toxic pollen… was now being sucked in by the Baku's vortex, converging into a yellowish stream that poured directly into the beast's gaping maw!
GULP.
The suction stopped dead.
The Baku's eyes rolled back. Its massive body tipped over with a heavy THUD, collapsing sideways. Out cold.
Kabuto stared, shocked. "A summoned creature… when defeated, it didn't disappear?!"
This strange phenomenon made Orochimaru narrow his serpentine eyes. "To my knowledge, the only summoned creatures that don't immediately vanish are the 'Three Great Summons.' Could this be related to the environment of Azure Moon Island?"
The Baku's interlude didn't affect the two combatants.
Danzō was reborn from Izanagi, reappearing outside the domain of flowering trees. He glared at the obscuring forest, his face ashen.
"The same jutsu, its scale determined by the user… This Kajukai Kōrin, while not as magnificent as when the First Hokage used it, is still formidable. Why? How can a mere brat like him control the powerful Hashirama cells?"
Danzō clenched his fist tightly. "Damn that Orochimaru. His letters mentioned 'improvements' to the Hashirama cells… It seems that wasn't an empty boast. If only this weren't a trap… my power could have reached an entirely new level!!!"
He glanced down at his arm. Five Sharingan eyes were still open.
"Five more minutes…"
His gaze returned to Sasuke, panting within his Susano'o.
Outside the combat zone.
Kabuto: "Hey, is Sasuke-kun already showing fatigue? With his chakra reserves, that shouldn't be the case… Unless the exhaustion from his fight with Itachi hasn't faded? But that was half a month ago!"
"This feeling… why…" Karin's expression was doubtful, suspicious.
Itachi worriedly clenched his hand. But when he glanced at Orochimaru's profile—that faint, knowing smirk—understanding dawned.
"Could it be… Sasuke is planning to…"
Back in the fight.
Danzō chuckled. "It seems, in the end, you're just a child. Can't keep up with the strain of using Mangekyō techniques and Wood Release power continuously, can you?"
"Shut up!" Sasuke roared. "I'll show you the true power of the Uchiha!!"
The Susano'o reformed its massive bow, nocking another arrow and firing it directly at Danzō's position!!!
KABOOM!!
Danzō was pierced through, then reborn again.
"Let's see how many of those arrows you have left, boy?"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Giant arrows flew one after another. With each passing moment, another eye on his arm snapped shut.
Three left.
Swoosh…!!
This time, the arrow didn't hit. It merely grazed Danzō's arm before slamming into the ground.
Danzō saw this. His smile widened. "Your aim is slipping. Your stamina… must truly be nearing its limit."
Three minutes. That's all he needed. Keep pressing, step by step!
Danzō maneuvered, continuously bombarding the Susano'o with powerful Wind Release techniques!!
"RAAAAH! Don't underestimate me!!!"
Sasuke bellowed, hands clapping together again. The forest of flowering trees surged once more. His face twisted with effort as he manipulated the trees to crush towards Danzō's position, guided by the sound of the wind.
"Good…" Danzō thought, coldly. "He's lost his calm judgment. Two eyes left. It's doable."
He exploited Sasuke's self-imposed blindness—the black cloth meant to guard against Kotoamatsukami. Feints, misdirection, further muddying Sasuke's senses, all to make the boy waste his chakra even more recklessly!
Even so, Danzō didn't dare deactivate Izanagi prematurely.
Finally… the last eye began its countdown.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Within the now-wilting forest, the Susano'o had vanished. Sasuke knelt on one knee, one hand braced against the ground, the other clutching the black cloth over his eyes.
Shwip-shwip-shwip…!!
Shuriken, wreathed in chakra, shot in from all directions. They cut through the air with sharp whistles, slicing through trees and branches!
Using the trees as cover, Sasuke dodged, his movements growing increasingly ragged. Finally, his strength gave out, and he collapsed to the ground!!!
Zzzzt…!!
The final eye on Danzō's arm closed.
"NOW…!!!"
Danzō exploded into a full-speed sprint!
"Tear off that blindfold! Hit him with Kotoamatsukami!! Turn him completely into my puppet. Then, neither Itachi nor Orochimaru will dare make a move!"
Kabuto cried out, "Sasuke-kun…!!!"
A hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him. It was Itachi.
Kabuto: "Itachi, you…"
Itachi smiled slightly. "Relax. Everything is going according to Sasuke's plan."
As he ran, Danzō tore away the white bandage covering his own right eye, revealing the Mangekyō Sharingan with its four-cornered tomoe pattern.
It was then that Orochimaru revealed the answer. "Even after the eyes on his arm were used up, Danzō had another option. He could use Shisui's right eye to cast Izanagi. If he did that, our plan to seize the eye would have failed completely."
"So, how do you prevent Danzō from taking that step? That's right. You 'show weakness.' Give him hope. But if you only show weakness at the very last moment, Danzō will inevitably become suspicious. The success rate plummets."
"Therefore, Sasuke began his act of weakness from the middle of the battle. He perfectly played the part of a proud, combative young man, stubbornly fighting to the end even as his chakra dwindled."
Kabuto's eyes widened. "Then… all that bravado from the middle onwards was also…!"
Orochimaru's smile deepened. "After all, Sasuke-kun is just a 'child.' A child should act like a child. That way, Danzō lets his guard down even more…"
Karin gasped in realization. "So that's it! No wonder Sasuke's chakra showed no signs of depletion, yet he looked so pained!"
Rip!
Danzō, now in front of the fallen Sasuke, tore away the black cloth.
Beneath it… Sasuke's Sharingan was covered by a layer of black 'cornea.'
Orochimaru explained, "The 'Snake Transformation' from Adaptive Modification allows one to cover the eyes with a snake's cornea. Even without the cloth, it can defend against Kotoamatsukami. Yes. That cloth was a decoy from the very beginning. It was all to lure Danzō right up to his face!!!"
"And then, the moment Danzō tries to activate Kotoamatsukami, through the snake's 'heat-sensing'… the point where the chakra burns hottest… is the position of the 'right eye'!!!"
Sasuke's right hand shot out with blinding speed, mercilessly plunging towards Danzō's eye socket.
CRUNCH…!!
Orochimaru sighed in admiration. "From the very beginning, Sasuke-kun laid out the entire plan. Then, he perfectly controlled the pace, guiding the battle to its conclusion. Sugoi, ne~ (Amazing, isn't it~)."
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAH! MY EYE! MY EYYYYYE…!!!"
As Danzō's agonized scream tore through the air, Orochimaru chuckled softly.
"See? Simple. A world where only Danzō gets hurt… is complete."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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