In the original story, Danzo used this very jutsu combined with the immense suction of his summon, Baku, to shatter Sasuke's Susanoo in one fell swoop.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Fire was formless and intangible, making it difficult to withstand the solid wind scythes. The fire dragons shattered and their fangs broke, yet the sea of fire remained overwhelming, blotting out the sun. The gashes cut by the wind blades were mere surface wounds, healing instantly in the next second. Countless solid flying swords collided with the wind blades, producing the crisp ringing of metal on metal.
Danzo condensed another Vacuum Blade and charged toward the sea of flames with a kunai in hand. Even though he knew he was about to be burned alive, he moved like a warrior courting death, all for the sake of closing the distance between himself and Makiya.
Various reports indicated that Makiya, who possessed an enormous amount of chakra, preferred using ninjutsu against his enemies. There were no records of him ever engaging in close-quarters combat or swordsmanship. A person's energy was limited; even if Makiya had started training in the womb, he couldn't possibly be a master of everything.
When Makiya had clashed with Jinchuriki in taijutsu twice before, there were no living witnesses on the battlefield. Other survivors had fled too far to see clearly, only catching glimpses of the massive ultimate moves clashing later on. This series of coincidences led Danzo to a misunderstanding.
Thus, Danzo judged that Makiya was unskilled in close combat. The recent battle with Root had indirectly confirmed this; Makiya had controlled those strange flying sword techniques throughout the fight, killing his enemies before they could get close.
'As long as I close the distance, as long as I can fight this detestable Uchiha brat up close, I'll be the one who wins!'
Danzo silently calculated his tactics. Having his trump card discovered had indeed shocked him, but he had weathered many great storms to get where he was today. He had always relied on his composure and wisdom, and this time would be no different. So what if Makiya knew about Izanagi? Eleven minutes of invincibility was a concrete advantage.
The sea of fire rolled past, leaving a scorched scar upon the earth. At its center, a large patch of lava flowed slowly, and a charred human figure, skewered like a hedgehog by flying swords, floated within the molten rock.
Danzo's corpse gradually turned ethereal, and the flying swords embedded in it fell into the lava. Another Danzo appeared behind Makiya, the Vacuum Blade in his hand radiating a sharp aura that made Makiya's skin sting.
"Now!" Danzo successfully closed within three meters of Makiya. The wind blade in his hand flicked out like a serpent's tongue, thrusting fiercely toward Makiya's neck. Simultaneously, he pulled out a shuriken with his left hand and blew a blast of green wind from his mouth, causing it to rotate at high speeds. As he slashed, he fired the Wind Release shuriken.
The two attacks followed one after another with incredible speed. This close-range Wind Release reached Makiya's face almost instantly, leaving no time to react.
This full-effort strike condensed years of Danzo's insights into Wind Release. He had already tested the strength of those strange golden flying swords with his ninjutsu earlier. He was confident that even if Makiya reacted and tried to block with the golden swords, his jutsu would slice through them and cut Makiya in two.
Clang! Clang!
Two crisp sounds reached Danzo's ears. The Vacuum Blade snapped in the middle. Makiya controlled the Kusanagi Sword, using the force to pivot his wrist. The tip of the blade accurately and skillfully threaded through the hole in the center of the shuriken, tracing a perfect arc in the air. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying back.
"What?!" Danzo was shocked. He dodged his own Wind Release shuriken with a bridge maneuver and jumped back repeatedly to stabilize himself. His eyes were fixed on the Kusanagi Sword in Makiya's hand. "That's... Orochimaru's sword. Why do you have Orochimaru's sword?"
"You recognize it?" Makiya brandished the bright blade, looking thoughtful. "Makes sense. You two are thick as thieves after all, so it's normal to recognize it. As for why I have it..."
"..."
A mischievous smirk played on Makiya's lips. Danzo's heart continued to sink as countless thoughts raced through his mind. In the worst-case scenario, Makiya had already secretly defected to Orochimaru, and today's ambush was Orochimaru's order!
'Damn that Orochimaru!' Danzo's teeth ground together.
"I bought it from Orochimaru, of course," Makiya grinned. "Three dollars for one, or three for ten. How many do you want?"
"Hmph, so it really is Orochimaru," Danzo snorted, his tone unfriendly. "Whatever benefits Orochimaru promised you, I can double them. Leave now, and no one will get hurt!"
Makiya's lips twitched. Danzo seemed to have misunderstood something, but he didn't intend to explain. Instead, he looked at Danzo's arm with interest. "Danzo, your time is running out. Instead of wasting your breath on me, why don't you keep attacking?"
"What?! How could you possibly know about that..." Danzo was struck with horror, his aged face twisting into an expression of extreme shock.
It was one thing to know about Izanagi; Orochimaru knew about it too. But why did he know the duration? Orochimaru didn't even know that! Where did Makiya get his intel?
A profound sense of crisis surged in his heart. The situation had completely exceeded Danzo's expectations. He was sprinting down an unknown path. He was the "Darkness of the Shinobi," the great root of Konoha, a man who controlled an intelligence network spanning the entire ninja world—and yet he was being crushed in the field of intelligence by a loathsome Uchiha brat. Danzo's heart pounded violently; he felt a sense of impending doom.
His enemy knew all his secrets and still dared to ambush him alone, which meant he was certain of victory. Today, the odds were heavily stacked against Danzo.
'I must risk everything; it's the only way to find a glimmer of hope!'
Danzo made up his mind. He reached up and unwound the bandage over his right eye, revealing an ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan.
There was no point in hiding it anymore. He had originally intended to keep this eye hidden to use for a final Izanagi, hoping to turn the tides with a surprise attack. Since the opponent knew so much, keeping one eye hidden would only decrease his combat effectiveness.
The three-tomoe Sharingan could greatly enhance dynamic vision, strengthening his taijutsu capabilities in close combat. With Hashirama's cells in his body, Danzo could handle the drain of the three-tomoe Sharingan with ease. Since his opponent also had three-tomoe, their visual prowess would be leveled. He would then use his vast experience to defeat him!
Makiya raised an eyebrow. "Oho, you were hiding another Sharingan in your right eye. I didn't even notice."
"..." Danzo nearly vomited blood. Forcing down his chaotic thoughts, he began weaving signs as he charged at Makiya.
Makiya brandished the Kusanagi Sword and clashed with Danzo. The sounds of their frantic combat echoed across the battlefield. Danzo was indeed a veteran of a hundred battles; his extreme Wind Release nature transformation made his ninjutsu incredibly lethal. Every gesture could slice the earth itself, and his speed was remarkable.
His taijutsu was equally impressive. Combined with his fearless fighting style, Danzo held his own against the sword-wielding Makiya for a time. One of the Sharingan on his arm slowly closed. Danzo took a direct hit from Makiya's slash, risking half his body being severed just to plunge a blade into Makiya's chest.
Before Danzo could even show a triumphant smile, Makiya winked at him. His entire body turned back into golden flames, trapping Danzo firmly within.
A charred human figure collapsed onto the black ground where the lava had solidified, crumbling into countless pieces before slowly dissipating. Danzo's body appeared out of thin air nearby, his face turning incredibly grim. He had been played! The opponent knew all his information and had been using clones to fight the entire time.
Another Makiya appeared before Danzo, picking the Kusanagi Sword up from the ground and smiling. "Why'd you stop? Keep going. Your Wind Release nature transformation is actually quite impressive; I've learned a lot!"
Danzo said nothing, his face dark. He silently looked up at the sky. There was a small dot hidden in the sunlight, enveloped by the piercing glare of the sun, making it difficult to see clearly.
He hadn't paid attention to it before, but after Makiya used clones repeatedly, Danzo suddenly realized something. Since the opponent knew his secrets, he would naturally choose the most advantageous way to fight, which was...
"Yo, you found me!" Makiya's voice drifted down from the high heavens. A massive flying sword hovered in the sky, slowly descending under Makiya's control until it hung above Danzo.
Makiya sat sideways on the flying sword, his legs swinging back and forth. He looked quite relaxed.
From beginning to end, the one participating in the battle was just his clone. The real one had been watching the show from the sky the whole time.
Sorry, but having a massive amount of chakra really does mean you can do whatever you want.
Makiya understood the mechanics of Izanagi perfectly. The jutsu relied on the element of surprise. Once the opponent knew everything, there were many ways to counter it if they were prepared.
This was especially true for Danzo's Izanagi. Once activated, a Sharingan would be consumed every minute. During that time, no matter how many times he was killed, he would respawn at full health. Whether he was killed or not, the Sharingan would be spent. In the original story, Sasuke used genjutsu to make Danzo miscalculate the remaining time and defeated him by trading wounds. Makiya, with his surplus of chakra and ability to fly, had no need for such tactics.
Below, Danzo looked like he was constipated. With his information leaked, there was no way to fight this battle. Was he really doomed to die today?
If he didn't move, Makiya would. His flames had been stuck at the Golden Flame level for a long time. To further observe nature transformation techniques, Makiya's clone charged at Danzo with the Kusanagi Sword.
The sounds of clashing echoed again. Makiya pulled a handful of buttered corn from his ninja tool pouch and tossed it into the air. A flash of golden flame later, a large pile of popcorn fell onto the flying sword.
Eating while watching the fight, Makiya controlled the flying sword to circle in the sky as a tribute to his predecessors. First it flew in the shape of an 'S,' then it flew in the shape of a 'B.'
Clang!
Danzo swung his wind blade to deflect the Kusanagi Sword's strike. Using the momentum to pull back, he quickly wove hand signs and slammed his palm onto the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof!
A massive cloud of smoke erupted. The enormous summon, Baku, appeared within the smoke, its four hooves landing heavily on the ground. The earth trembled violently.
Crack!
Its immense weight shattered the surface of the recently solidified lava. One of Baku's hooves stepped right into the molten rock that hadn't yet cooled underneath. The searing pain caused it to let out a long, howling roar toward the sky. The smell of charred meat filled the air. With its feet injured, Baku vanished with a whoosh.
Danzo:
"..."
"..."
Makiya:
"Wow."
"..."
'What happened? Did Danzo turn into a comedy ninja?'
Danzo's face turned shades of blue and white. Looking at the predatory Makiya clone and the real Makiya leisurely eating popcorn in the sky, he finally made a decision.
"Makiya Uchiha!" Danzo pulled out a kunai and glared up at the Makiya in the sky. "You Uchiha will never understand the Will of Fire! For the sake of Konoha, I cannot allow a dangerous element like you to continue living!"
With that, he slammed the kunai into... his own right arm. He sliced it down the center from shoulder to wrist, destroying all the remaining Sharingan.
The balance was instantly shattered. Stimulated by Danzo's chakra, the Hashirama cells in his right arm began to surge with activity.
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