Danzo had stopped pretending.
After days of careful thought, he had finally come to a conclusion.
The Mangekyō Sharingan—he had to obtain it.
Whether for his Hokage ambitions or to completely eradicate the Uchiha, this was the moment he could no longer afford to hesitate.
Especially after Shihara Ren's "suggestion."
Even if Ren himself refused to admit it—or perhaps hadn't even realized it—Danzo had already seen the path clearly.
Win over the Hyūga.
Raise his own prestige.
Prevent the Third Hokage from interfering.
Every step had been planned.
"And Hiruzen is away from the village now," Danzo muttered coldly.
"External affairs are too important. He won't have time to restrain me."
This was opportunity in its purest form.
Heaven's timing.
Geographical advantage.
Human alignment.
All of it was on his side.
If he still did nothing now, he would be a fool.
"Danzo-sama," Shisui said quietly, lowering his head, "I came today because there are matters I must discuss with you."
He avoided eye contact, but inwardly he was fully prepared.
Too many questions had been weighing on his heart.
"Danzo-sama," Shisui continued, his voice steady,
"as the Hokage's advisor, why are you targeting the Uchiha clan so relentlessly?"
"…Hm?"
For the first time, Danzo's stone-like expression cracked.
He stared at Uchiha Shisui in confusion.
Wasn't I supposed to be questioning him?
How did the roles reverse?
But Danzo recovered quickly.
He snorted coldly.
"Absurd. Where does a child like you find the courage to accuse me?"
"And what right do you have? Everything I do is for Konoha."
"You came from ANBU. Look at what the Uchiha are doing now."
"Tell me—what do you think you're doing?"
"Danzo-sama," Shisui snapped, finally lifting his head, his eyes blazing—not with Sharingan, but with raw fury.
"Don't twist cause and effect."
"If people like you hadn't labeled the Uchiha as 'evil' from the very beginning, would things have reached this point?"
"The Nine-Tails incident—every bit of blame was thrown on us without listening to a single explanation!"
"We were forbidden to assist, suppressed by public opinion afterward, and pushed to the village outskirts!"
"You made the villagers believe the Nine-Tails disaster was our fault."
"But the truth is clear now—it was Uchiha Obito, not us!"
"Isn't he still an Uchiha?" Danzo replied icily.
His heart sank slightly.
This boy was sharper than expected.
"Even as a traitor, his blood is still Uchiha blood."
"And if there was even a chance the Uchiha were involved, why would I allow you to act?"
"I've lived in the darkness of the shinobi world far longer than you. I don't allow risks."
"No," Shisui said bitterly.
"You never trusted us. You decided we were 'evil' from the start."
Pain flickered across his face, rage burning hotter.
"You feared retaliation. You wanted us to revolt."
"So you could stand over our corpses and proclaim, 'See? The Uchiha are monsters.'"
"Isn't that right—Shimura Danzo?"
As the words fell, Shisui's eyes transformed.
The Mangekyō Sharingan spun violently, an overwhelming pressure exploding outward.
Danzo's pupils shrank in shock—and fury.
A Mangekyō?
This brat dares to move against me?!
"So you couldn't solve the Uchiha problem… so you came to eliminate the source instead?"
Danzo's face darkened.
He hated the Uchiha—openly so.
But to have a Mangekyō raised against him still unsettled him.
And something felt wrong.
Wasn't I supposed to strike first?
A violent surge of chakra invaded his mind.
The world drained of color.
Gray.
Dead.
Silent.
Only the moon remained—brilliant, massive—
A Mangekyō Sharingan etched across its surface, spinning endlessly.
Shisui's pattern.
"Enemy attack! Protect Danzo-sama!"
Root shinobi sprang from hiding, launching themselves at Shisui.
Shisui remained calm.
A short blade appeared in his hand.
He swung.
Slash.
Danzo's head fell to the ground.
Blood splattered across Shisui's face.
For a split second, exhilaration surged through him.
That was… too easy.
But the insects.
The roaring chakra.
It wasn't over.
"Fire Style—Great Fireball!"
Shisui leapt back, flames engulfing the clearing.
"Water Style—Water Wall!"
Root shinobi countered instantly, steam exploding outward and shrouding the area.
Using the cover, Shisui made his choice.
Leave.
Danzo was dead—but the story wasn't finished.
The truth needed an ending.
And the best ending…
Was for him to die by "friendly hands."
For the sake of the clan.
"For now… I go."
He vanished in a flash.
Less than a second later, he was at the forest's edge.
Freedom was within reach.
"Wind Style—Vacuum Wave!"
A slicing gale slammed into him.
His body stiffened.
Shisui turned—and froze.
Danzo stood behind him.
Alive.
Head intact.
"…Impossible."
Kunai whistled through the air.
Shisui twisted aside as Root closed in.
Blades clashed in the darkness, afterimages overlapping.
I cut his head off.
It wasn't a clone.
So how—
Realization struck.
"…Izanagi?"
He forced distance between them, staring at Danzo.
"You have a Sharingan?"
"Yes."
Danzo sneered.
"Your grandfather, Uchiha Kagami, loved Konoha enough to die for it."
"And yet you betray the village."
"If not for his eye, you would've succeeded."
Bandages fell away, revealing a lifeless Sharingan.
Shisui felt something inside him shatter.
His grandfather's eye—stolen.
Desecrated.
"You deserve to die."
Root moved again.
Insects swarmed.
Mind-transfer techniques struck.
Shadows bound his legs.
Shisui's Mangekyō flared.
Green chakra surged.
Fire roared.
And then—
A towering green giant emerged.
"Susanoo."
Fear flickered through Danzo.
Then greed replaced it.
That power… must be mine.
"You are no longer a Konoha shinobi," Danzo declared.
"You are a traitor."
"Whether I am or not doesn't matter," Shisui replied coldly.
"You must die."
"Do you think you've won?"
Danzo shouted into the forest.
"Aren't you coming out? Still hesitating because of your bond with him?"
"Remember your mission. Remember Orochimaru."
A sigh echoed.
A figure stepped from the trees.
Shisui's body went rigid.
It was Shihara Ren.
Ren looked irritated.
Danzo was ruining his front-row seat.
"So you really were excluded from the core, Danzo-sama."
He'd expected this.
With Tsunade gone and Hiruzen away, tonight was inevitable.
"Shisui," Ren said calmly, approaching.
"I never thought we'd meet like this."
The air turned heavy.
"Ren," Shisui whispered.
Danzo smiled triumphantly.
"Kill him. Take his eyes. I'll give you everything on Orochimaru."
"I understand," Ren replied.
His face went cold.
"Shisui, you chose the wrong path."
Wood surged.
Vines slammed into Susanoo.
Danzo withdrew, furious but cautious.
"This can't be exposed," Ren said calmly.
"No one can know."
Danzo froze.
…He was right.
If this got out, the blame would still fall on him.
"Tch. Do it."
He retreated with his men.
Ren released the Wood Release.
Susanoo reappeared.
"Ren—"
Ren subtly pointed upward.
Insects.
Surveillance.
"Don't blame me," Ren said softly.
"Attacking the Hokage's advisor is unforgivable."
Golden chakra erupted.
The pressure obliterated the insects.
In an instant, Ren was in front of Shisui.
"One punch."
Susanoo shattered.
Shisui coughed blood.
"Izanagi," Shisui gasped. "That's how he lived."
"I know," Ren replied.
"Focus. Cooperate with me."
"…Kill me."
Shisui's voice broke.
Ren raised an eyebrow.
"No. You'll 'die'."
Shisui stared.
"Do you trust me?"
Without hesitation, Shisui nodded.
"Good."
Ren's chakra exploded skyward.
From afar, Danzo watched in awe.
Golden light split the night.
Susanoo expanded, armored, towering like a mountain.
Then—
A golden blade formed.
A single swing.
Susanoo was cleaved in half.
The earth split.
Shockwaves flattened the forest.
Mountains collapsed.
Konoha trembled.
Alarms screamed.
From the rubble, Itachi staggered forward.
"Shisui—!"
Only Ren remained in the sky.
Danzo trembled.
"…This power."
Godlike.
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