The combined Wind–Fire Ninjutsu slammed into the ribcage of Susanoo, only to shatter apart on impact. It was completely ineffective.
From the rear, Golden Eagle launched his assault—palms thrusting forward one after another as waves of Eight Trigrams Air Palm roared toward the battlefield.
Without the nuisance of Wood Dragon Technique in play, these ANBU attacks simply could not harm Susanoo.
The skeletal fist of Susanoo swung wildly, driven by the intent to slaughter every ANBU present. It crashed into them mercilessly.
Soon, several ANBU were sent flying by the bone fists, their fates unknown.
Golden Eagle watched as none of them could match Uchiha Gogo. A chilling realization dawned on him.
Uchiha Gogo had unquestionably reached Kage level.
A squad burst out from deep within the forest.
At the front—
Danzo.
The moment Uchiha Gogo awakened the Mangekyō, Danzo had caught the scent and arrived.
Sensing movement in the woods, Uchiha Gogo grew even more cautious. He dared not dismiss Susanoo.
He continued using Susanoo to deal with the nearby ANBU while hurling Fire Release at those farther away. The strain was enormous.
White Zetsu had said his talent was insufficient to awaken the Mangekyō—that Madara had forced it upon him.
A sharp pain tore through Uchiha Gogo's left eye. A line of blood trickled down his cheek.
Was his ocular talent truly inadequate?
Just then, Uchiha Suigiku burst from the trees at his flank.
"Gogo! I'm here to save you!"
After forming hand seals, Suigiku split into more than a dozen identical copies.
The copies rushed toward the remaining ANBU.
Gogo felt a wave of relief. Suigiku was one of the top three elites in the Uchiha clan.
This was the Phantom Body Flicker Technique.
The phantoms existed between substance and illusion. They could strike enemies, and even when struck themselves, they would not vanish.
With Uchiha Suigiku's arrival, Gogo's pressure dropped sharply.
He released Susanoo, bending over as he gasped for breath.
Golden Eagle's Eight Trigrams Air Palm struck Suigiku square in the chest—
And passed straight through him.
But Suigiku's kunai sliced solidly into Golden Eagle's shoulder.
Gogo felt a surge of joy. Suigiku ranked among the top three of the clan. He was Lord Kagami's son.
Seeing his subordinates wounded, White Ram had no choice but to abandon the fight and temporarily withdraw to cover them.
With Suigiku pressing forward, the battle quickly ended.
Uchiha Tōka lay on the ground, his chakra points sealed. He let out a long breath.
Thankfully… the Uchiha had won.
He saw Suigiku walking toward his older brother. With Suigiku protecting him, even exhausted, his brother would be safe.
And then—
Everything changed.
A moment ago, Suigiku had been smiling as he spoke to his brother.
The next instant—
His kunai drove viciously into his brother's abdomen.
It buried itself completely. Only the metal ring at the hilt remained visible.
Tōka watched as his brother collapsed against Suigiku's shoulder and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
His eyes widened to their limits. Dense red veins exploded across his vision.
Hidden in the shadows, White Zetsu trembled with excitement.
Is it coming?
The one Madara-sama truly favored… was Uchiha Tōka.
Tōka's ocular chakra began to vibrate violently, surging and stimulating his brain.
From the forest, Danzo rushed forward.
His single eye swept first toward Ame no Mihashira and Fox, disdain flickering in his gaze.
Fox had been controlled by Uchiha Gogo. The new ANBU vice-captain amounted to little—how much better than Lynx could he really be?
Several Root operatives followed behind him, sealing off the area, prepared to intercept anyone who approached.
Whatever Danzo intended to do next—
Only those present would know.
He moved with shocking speed, appearing before Uchiha Gogo in an instant.
His body was unnervingly light. Nothing about him resembled a man in his forties.
Not only had Suigiku stabbed Gogo with full force—
He had also cast a genjutsu on him.
Within the Uchiha clan, Suigiku was known as the strongest in genjutsu.
Gogo could not move.
Danzo's fingers curved like talons, reaching for Gogo's left eye.
Smack.
A hand clamped tightly around Danzo's wrist.
Danzo's pupil contracted sharply as he stared at the figure before him.
Fox?
Others turned to look at Ame no Mihashira.
Within the towering structure, the figure shifted.
The one restrained inside was not Fox—
But a wooden substitute.
The wooden substitute was saturated with dense life force. Even the Sharingan could not see through it.
At the Valley of the End, Uchiha Madara had failed to discern Senju Hashirama's wood substitute and was stabbed from behind.
What Madara could not see through—
Uchiha Gogo could not either.
Yako had been lurking in the shadows all along, waiting for Uchiha Tōka's transformation.
But now, he could not remain hidden.
He could not allow Danzo to obtain the Mangekyō.
Ame no Mihashira countered him too heavily.
An instant-control ocular technique was far too dangerous.
Danzo's three fingers were only two centimeters from Gogo's eyeball.
He exerted force—
His fingers advanced another half centimeter.
But from Yako's sleeve burst thick wooden vines, wrapping tightly around Danzo's arm.
Danzo froze.
The vines… were absorbing his chakra?
"Danzo-sama…" Yako said calmly, firmly.
"Uchiha Gogo is suspected of murdering an ANBU operative. There's no need for Root to intervene. ANBU will conduct a thorough investigation."
White Ram and Golden Eagle exhaled in relief upon seeing Fox appear.
The two squads they had brought were severely wounded, scattered across the ground. They hadn't expected Fox to have already escaped his predicament.
Danzo flooded his arm with powerful chakra, attempting to break free—
But he could not tear apart the Ironline Vines.
Shock flickered in his heart.
Fox's mastery of Wood Dragon Technique was this refined?
He could make wooden vines absorb chakra like a Wood Dragon?
The Wood Dragon was massive. Miniaturizing it required extraordinary talent and precision.
The more chakra he injected, the more the vines absorbed, becoming tougher.
"Stand down!"
At Danzo's command—
Yako shook his head in front of him.
I'm the ANBU vice-captain now. You think a simple order will control me?
If I'm pleased, I'll call you Advisor Danzo. If I'm not, I'll slap your face—and Yellow Dog won't even dare get angry.
"Advisor Danzo, don't make this difficult for me. An ANBU has died. This matter must be handled by ANBU."
Seeing Fox unmoved, Danzo glanced at the vines.
He would have to unleash destruction far beyond their tolerance—instantly.
"Wood Release: Violent Spear Tree!"
A massive tree burst from Danzo's right arm, exploding outward and shattering Yako's Ironline Vines.
Yako and Uchiha Suigiku were knocked back.
Taking the opportunity, Uchiha Gogo slipped free of Konoha's control and fell into the distance.
The kunai still lodged in his abdomen—only half the ring visible—blood spraying.
His left eye wept blood continuously from repeated use.
Seeing his brother's miserable state, Uchiha Tōka convulsed on the ground from sheer effort.
He tried to extract chakra.
Tried to struggle up.
Tried to help his brother face the terrifying Advisor Danzo, the dangerous ANBU vice-captain, and the hateful traitor Uchiha Suigiku.
But Golden Eagle had sealed his chakra points.
Then—
A muffled, strange voice echoed from beneath the earth.
"Uchiha Tōka… do you see? Without Madara-sama's protection, an awakened Mangekyō is nothing but a trophy others covet.
Watch carefully. Your brother's eyes are about to be dug out by Konoha.
Heh… others may serve Konoha. But Uchiha cannot.
Either the Uchiha become the strongest clan alive—
Or they become prey for others.
The Sharingan… is every Uchiha's curse."
Tōka trembled, pressing his face to the ground, unable to locate the speaker.
"Impossible! My brother's eyes are the legendary Mangekyō! Who are you? Please help me—let me draw chakra!"
He heard his brother's scream and looked up frantically.
Uchiha Suigiku appeared again in a flicker before Gogo—
A second kunai plunged deep into his chest.
Suigiku spoke coldly:
"Konoha is what I must protect. Uchiha Gogo—you will become the village's greatest disaster.
The militant faction you lead will drag the clan into bloodshed.
Stop struggling."
Though he held the advantage, Suigiku did not strike Gogo's throat. He did not kill him.
He wanted the Mangekyō.
"Ahhh!!"
After repeated screams, Tōka watched in despair as Suigiku stepped aside—
Danzo charged again.
His talons reached once more for Gogo's eyes.
Gogo's right eye spun wildly.
"Mangekyō — Onogoro Island!"
Yako, about to move, saw Gogo activate his right-eye technique and relaxed his legs.
Uchiha Gogo… don't disappoint me.
Stand up.
Give that old fox Danzo something brutal.
On the ground before Danzo—
A black dot the size of a fingertip appeared.
It rapidly expanded into a three-meter-wide black circular island.
Absolute darkness.
It swallowed all light.
Danzo, unaware, stepped directly onto it.
The next instant—
He felt an overwhelming force.
His bones vibrated violently.
His height seemed to shrink.
In a blink—
Danzo collapsed inward.
Reduced to a thin layer of blood and flesh.
Yako stared at the flattened smear—white bone dust, red blood, brown muscle, yellow fat…
What a terrifying ocular technique.
In legend, the ancient god Izanagi held the heavenly spear Ame-no-Nuboko. A drop of seawater fell from its tip, congealing into an island—Onogoro.
Mangekyō — Onogoro Island.
Within that black island, immense gravitational force formed.
Anything that touched it—
Was compressed into paper-thin ruin.
…Had Danzo-sama died?
Uchiha Suigiku stared in horror at the place Danzo had stood.
There was only pulp.
Bones crushed into powder.
Uchiha Gogo… killed Danzo-sama?
He raised his kunai.
"Gogo! You'll doom the clan! In front of so many ANBU—you killed Danzo-sama?!"
With killing intent, Suigiku lunged toward Gogo.
Blood tears streamed down from both of Gogo's eyes.
He was spent.
At the end of his strength.
Suigiku's kunai aimed straight for his throat.
He could not dodge.
He truly could not.
He remembered what Clan Head Uchiha Kagen had said—
Even with the Mangekyō, you cannot fight the village.
So… the clan head had been right.
Smack.
A hand suddenly seized Suigiku's wrist.
Suigiku looked up, expecting Fox—
Ready to rage.
How dare Copper Fox interfere again? Why repeatedly obstruct Root?
But what he saw froze him.
The one gripping his wrist—
Was Danzo.
After death, pupils dilate. Sharingan must be harvested alive—fresh.