Upon this revelation, Yami stood petrified. He had conducted his own investigations and uncovered certain facts; and, however much he wished to disbelieve the old man standing before him, the evidence pointed to only one conclusion: the truth.
Danzo watched on with a smile—his scheme had succeeded, and now all that remained was to capture the boy. He needed a shield to protect himself from Miyu once his plan was set in motion, and holding her son hostage would serve that purpose perfectly.
Knowing that the brat before him was a hybrid of the Senju and Uchiha clans—a formidable killing machine—it would be a waste not to put him to use once he himself became Hokage.
Just as he reached out to seize the boy, several kunai appeared in his peripheral vision, forcing him to take a few steps back.
"Yami," a voice called out, snapping the boy back to reality. Looking toward the source, he saw Shisui perched in a tree, his Sharingan—with all three tomoe fully active—fixed on the scene.
The Uchiha took stock of the Root ninjas present, suspecting that others might still be lying in wait.
"I see you've arrived—they clearly didn't expect you so soon," the 'hawk of war' remarked, a kunai already in his hand.
"Master," Yami said, his voice somewhat hollow as he stared at his sensei's back.
"I was always a bit skeptical about how you spoke of the Hokage, but it seems you were right after all," the Uchiha said, fixing his gaze on Danzo, who carefully avoided eye contact, wary of being trapped in a genjutsu.
"Indeed, you are quite right," the 'mummy' replied, gesturing with his hand. Suddenly, they were surrounded by hundreds of Root ninjas. "Peace was never an option." "Well, this is it," Yami said, noticing he was surrounded by numerous Root ninjas. More importantly, he realized the half-Senju hadn't brought his gear; he only had what remained in his pouch: a few kunai, some shuriken, and a single explosive tag.
Shisui was in much the same situation. When the Root ninjas threatened Yami's life, he had simply dashed off to save him—making the mistake of bringing no equipment and alerting no one.
"Consider this a warning: surrender voluntarily," Danzo threatened the pair before him.
"Yami," Shisui said, glancing sideways at his pupil.
Yami looked back and, without a second thought, nodded. He closed his eyes, and the moment he opened them, a two-tomoe Sharingan had manifested in his gaze.
Master and pupil reacted in an instant as various projectile weapons hurtled toward them.
"I'll take care of Danzo," Shisui declared.
"Understood," Yami confirmed, dodging weapons with relative ease as they struck a Root ninja.
Seeing this, Danzo quickly stepped back, pulling his head down between his shoulders—a move that made Shisui click his tongue in annoyance.
...
While the sounds of battle echoed from deep within the forest, several Uchiha waited at the eastern edge.
"Looks like the fight has begun," one of them remarked.
"Shouldn't we head in?" another asked.
"No," Matsuda replied. "We're here as backup—in case the situation spirals out of control or they try to escape." He twirled his kunai and added, "Let's wait for the signal."
...
Blood dripped onto the ground; wounds covered Yami's body. Despite his strength and the possession of the Sharingan, his ability to fight multiple opponents at once was not yet fully refined—dodging or evading hundreds of simultaneous attacks was no easy feat, especially for a genin.
Meanwhile, Shisui remained more composed in his own battle; he scanned the area, searching for Danzo, but could not find him.
His strategy to prevent the situation from escalating further was to use his Mangekyō Sharingan—specifically, Kotoamatsukami. It was a technique only the Hokage knew he possessed, and she had strictly ordered him to use it only in an emergency.
His plan was to use it on the "war hawk" to force him to surrender and reveal evidence of his crimes. Even though the old man had committed such acts, Shisui understood his perspective; he hoped to ensure that Danzo's defeat would be as dignified as possible, given all the man had done for Konoha. However, amidst the sea of Root ninja, Shisui was unable to reach him—a fact that was beginning to frustrate him.
"Is he waiting for me to tire out before he strikes?" Shisui wondered, glancing sideways at Yami, who was doing everything in his power to defend himself.
"Earth Style: Earth Avalanche!" one of the Root ninja exclaimed, launching an attack toward the half-Senju. Yami responded by weaving hand signs and exhaling a massive torrent of water, which encircled his position and blocked the incoming assault.
Simultaneously, another ninja threw an explosive tag. The resulting blast shattered the wall of water and sent Yami reeling backward, leaving him surrounded by several enemies.
With his Sharingan spinning, he managed to anticipate most of the attacks. Though he sustained a few superficial wounds, he pivoted on his feet and struck one of the ninja with great force, shattering his mask. Just as he was about to continue his move, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of a shadow lunging toward the man.
With a leap, he dodged the Nara clan's technique. It was the first time he had seen it, but thanks to the lessons his mother had given him on the various ninja clans, he knew exactly what that ninjutsu did.
A swarm of insects attacked from the other side; Yami quickly performed three hand seals, unleashing a fireball that incinerated them—but it was merely a distraction. Behind him, Danzō emerged from the ground, poised to strike.
The synchronized assault—involving Root ninjas, the shadow-binding technique, and the sudden appearance of Danzō—left the half-Senju with no chance to react in time.
Just as the "mummy's" strike was about to land, a skeletal mass of chakra materialized, halting the kunai and shattering it.
The "war hawk"'s eyes widened in shock as he looked at Shisui, who had arrived via the Body Flicker technique to intercept the attack.
Yet, it wasn't just that which stunned him; it was the sight of Shisui's eyes—they no longer bore the appearance of a standard Sharingan.
Seeing that his pupil was on the verge of being killed, the Uchiha didn't think twice—he acted immediately, fearing some dirty trick from his enemy. Instead of resorting to Kotoamatsukami, he simply manifested a skeletal hand and struck out, sending it hurtling toward Danzo.
Caught off guard, the old man couldn't dodge the blow and took the full force of the impact. His bones shattered instantly, and he vomited a great torrent of blood before crashing into a pile of rocks—dead.
Upon witnessing this, one of the Root ninja quickly pulled a flare from his gear and fired it into the sky, where it erupted in a violent explosion.
Yami paid no mind to this, focusing instead on his master, who turned around and revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan to everyone present.
"Your leader is dead," he declared, dispelling the initial stage of his Susanoo. "Surrender now—you have no other choice."
But to his dismay, none of the Root ninjas lowered their weapons.
Yami watched, uncomprehending, until he heard the sound of flesh being sliced.
He saw something fall to the ground—Shisui's severed head—and his own eyes widened in horror.
"Wonderful. Who would have thought that among the Uchiha, there would be another wielder of those wicked eyes?" Danzo remarked, his kunai wreathed in Wind-style chakra.
The half-Senju stared in shock; the old man, who should have been dead from the previous attack, stood before him—alive, and more than that: he had somehow managed to appear behind his master, completely undetected, and stopped him in his tracks.
"This will make a fine replacement," the 'War Hawk' commented, as casually as if he were discussing the weather, plucking one of the Mangekyō Sharingan from Shisui's severed head and dropping it into a jar.
The old man unwound the bandages from his head, revealing a completely sightless eye, which he then removed.
"His sacrifice will not be in vain; it shall serve as the foundation to make Konoha greater," he concluded, plucking out the other eye, placing it into his empty eye socket, and re-covering it with the bandages.
Danzo looked toward Yami, whose eyes were hidden by his hair as tears streamed down his face.
"Give up, brat—there's no way you can..." The War Hawk didn't get to finish his sentence; the half-Senju executed a rapid sequence of hand seals and slammed his palms against the ground, causing hundreds of roots to erupt and strike at Danzo and the Root ninjas behind him.
Danzo was ensnared by the wood, his body all but crushed, while the jar containing Shisui's other eye was sent flying. "Is that it?" asked a Root ninja.
"The First Hokage's technique..." one of them remarked, just as Yami turned around, revealing his eyes.
Their shock didn't last long; at that very moment, the half-Uchiha performed a single hand seal and unleashed a fireball directly at them.
The two ninjas leaped away, but to their horror, the fireball veered sharply toward them.
"Damn it!" one shouted, only to be engulfed by the fireball and killed instantly in the resulting explosion. The other fell backward, finding his enemy standing right before him—but he made the fatal mistake of looking into his eyes.
The Root ninja froze, unable to stop his own hand as he slashed his own throat.
Simultaneously, five Root ninjas descended upon Yami. He performed another hand seal and struck the ground, causing several ice spikes to erupt from the earth, pinning his attackers in place.
"What is this?" one of the Root ninjas exclaimed, tossing an explosive tag. The half-Uchiha leaped into the air to avoid it.
While airborne, he was attacked by another Root ninja—but, unfortunately for the attacker, Yami simply performed a hand seal and spat out a torrent of magma, killing him instantly.
"Since when did that brat get so strong?" one asked, while his companion merely shook his head.
Just as Yami prepared to move again, several shuriken were fired his way; the half-Senju deflected them all with his last remaining kunai.
Looking toward the source of the attack, he saw a large group of Uchiha ninjas, their weapons drawn and ready.
Upon seeing the carnage, the Uchiha froze. The first thing they noticed was the lifeless body on the ground; then, they turned their gaze toward the heir of the Senju clan, observing him with dead, vacant eyes.
But it wasn't his expression that came as a surprise—it was his eyes.
Instead of the typical eyes of a ninja, his sockets held a pair of Sharingan. This confirmed what he had gone through, yet that wasn't the real issue. Rather than the usual one, two, or three tomoe, his eyes had transformed into a distinct pattern: three V-shaped marks rotating around the center.
[Reference image]
"Clan leader," whispered one of the Uchiha.
"I know," the leader declared, staring at what he considered a monster—an experiment that should never have been conducted. "This is an order: take his eyes, no matter the cost."
"Yes," the group of Uchiha replied.
The half-Senju looked to one side, where the Root ninjas remained, and to the other, where the Uchiha stood—both groups poised to attack.
"So, you're with them, are you?" he said, a somewhat deranged smile spreading across his face. "Then all of you shall fall into my hands." As he spoke, a massive surge of chakra enveloped him, manifesting a gray, skeletal form.
"Susanoo," Matsuda said, recognizing the technique. As clan leader, he had made it his business to learn about the further evolutions of the Sharingan—specifically the third ability, the Susanoo, which all Mangekyō Sharingan users possess.
"You will all fall at my feet," Yami declared.
The massacre began. The ninjas swarmed the target, who moved with deliberate, escalating intensity—seemingly unconcerned about the toll on his chakra reserves or his eyesight.
The Uchiha clan leader watched it all, remaining motionless. He saw his own clansmen struck down by the Susanoo; though some tried to strike back, no one could penetrate its defenses.
Without a second thought, he turned and fled back toward the Uchiha compound, realizing that Danzō's plan had failed. Danzō's own absence was proof enough; the leader did not hesitate to abandon the very men he had sent to their deaths, choosing his own survival above all else.
...
Yami's vision was already severely impaired; his eyes bled incessantly, and he could barely maintain his Susanoo.
Only about five ninjas remained, surrounding him.
One of them unleashed a barrage of explosive tags, finally shattering the defense of the skeletal construct and causing the half-Uchiha to vomit a great quantity of blood.
"Now or never," one of the Uchiha declared, launching an attack by hurling a fireball—but Yami simply fixed his gaze upon him with his left eye.
"Homura," he thought, and the fireball, which had been heading straight for him, was reflected back toward its creator.
"What?" the man exclaimed, just before being engulfed by the very flames he had unleashed.
Shifting his gaze to his right eye, Yami looked at the remaining ninjas. One of them was already right in front of him, but Yami merely recited a single word in his mind:
"Bankai." Instantly, a bolt of malleable lightning pierced through the enemy's body, striking others nearby as well.
The final two ninjas charged simultaneously, weapons in hand.
The half-Senju attempted to use his ocular power once more, but a sudden, agonizing headache struck him, clouding his vision.
He barely managed to evade their lethal strike; grabbing both of them, he summoned all his remaining strength and reactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Bankai!" he shouted, and a mist of superheated vapor enveloped the last two ninjas, incinerating them completely.
Yami stood, surveying the utterly devastated battlefield. A small number of the enemy had managed to escape, but, to his misfortune, he was in no condition to pursue them.
He caught sight of Shisui's corpse. Knowing he could not take it with him, he performed a hand seal, encasing the body in wood. Taking something from his pocket, he saw the vial that still held Shisui's eye—which he had retrieved the moment it fell from Danzo.
"I have to go back," Yami declared, slowly limping toward where he remembered the village entrance to be.