The Dream-Eater, Baku, a creature that devours nightmares, could use its Wind Release to suck in objects in front of it and swallow them whole.
Sasuke knew about this creature from his textbooks. He had once wanted a powerful Summoned Beast, and considered Baku as one of his options.
Now, he realized that the real Baku was even more massive than the one depicted in the books. Unfortunately, his first encounter with the Baku was as an enemy.
'With this, Susanoo won't be able to move, will it?' Danzo sneered, then appeared behind Sasuke's Susanoo. He swiftly formed hand seals and said, "Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
Wind Release was already powerful, and with the added suction force from Baku, the Vacuum Great Sphere's power was amplified, making the attack doubly dangerous.
Boom!
The intense wind attack slammed into Susanoo. The mighty Susanoo, usually invincible, was forced back, and its back was torn open, exposing its skeletal frame.
'I've finally found the flaw in Susanoo!'
Danzo proudly rushed toward Sasuke with his sights set on the now vulnerable back of Susanoo.
"Dammit!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth as he saw Danzo approaching quickly. Without hesitation, he gathered what little strength he had left, bracing against the suction long enough to form hand seals, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The giant fireball was aimed directly at Baku's enormous mouth.
It was usually difficult to hit a target with giant fireball, but with Baku's suction pulling everything in, the massive fireball was drawn into the beast's mouth.
"Ugh...ugh…!"
When the huge fireball entered its mouth, Baku's suction stopped immediately. Its mouth was burned by the flames and it seemed to writhe in discomfort from the heat.
With the suction stopped, Sasuke quickly turned and focused on the advancing Danzo.
His instincts told him it was now or never.
Sasuke launched the purple arrow without hesitation. Danzo, still caught in mid-charge toward Susanoo, was unable to adjust in time.
Boom!
Susanoo's colossal fist slammed into the airborne Danzo, sending him crashing into the debris below.
"Roar!"
Baku, with its mouth aflame from the fireball, couldn't hold on any longer. With a final cry of distress, it dissolved into a puff of white smoke.
"Cough, cough!"
Sasuke collapsed to one knee, blood staining the ground beneath him. Though he had managed to survive the encounter, it hadn't been easy.
The damage to Susanoo's back had caused significant use to his Sharingan's vision and his Chakra Reserves, this battle was pushing him to the edge.
After the brief flash of light, Susanoo's armor dissolved and turned into a skeletal frame, the purple mist dissipating as it vanished completely.
With no time to waste on the remnants of Susanoo, Sasuke focused on Danzo, who was lying on the ground. Sasuke counted the seconds quietly in his mind.
It had been exactly one minute since Danzo had activated his immortality technique again.
Sasuke looked at Danzo, who is lying motionless, and another Sharingan on his arm closing. At the same time, Danzo's Chakra stopped decreasing so rapidly.
'Could it be that the Sharingan on his right arm would show the time when the secret technique was activated?'
'One… two… three… four…!'
Sasuke's mind raced as he counted the remaining Sharingan in Danzo's arm, 'There were still four left, meaning that the technique's time limit was four minutes.'
'If I could just hold on for another four minutes, until all the Sharingans were closed, Danzo would no longer be able to use that secret immortality technique.'
This thought gave Sasuke a glimmer of hope.
However, Danzo's immortality technique meant that all of Sasuke's attacks would be rendered ineffective. On the other hand, any attacks from Danzo could still harm Sasuke. This created a dangerous situation.
If Danzo kept up with his relentless attacks for the next four minutes, there was a chance it could end in a mutual destruction.
But even if they both perished, it would be Danzo's victory.
Realizing this, Sasuke knew he couldn't waste any more time.
He quickly widened the distance between himself and Danzo.
"Hmm? Did you realize it was Izanagi?"
Danzo narrowed his eye slightly.
"Just as I thought!"
Sasuke muttered under his breath, as Danzo's words confirmed his suspicions.
The so-called Izanagi an ultimate Dojutsu unique to the Uchiha Clan. It can only be activated through the Sharingan, and it is classified as a Forbidden Technique.
As the ultimate Dojutsu of the Uchiha Clan, Izanagi requires only a very brief moment to transform the caster's injuries, and even death, into a dream.
This means that for the duration of its use, all attacks against the user are nullified. On the other hand, the user can also turn favorable circumstances, such as attacks or successes, into reality.
Izanagi allows the caster to control the boundary between illusion and reality, enabling them to manipulate the transition between dreams and reality.
However, once this technique is used, the caster's eye loses its light, and they will never be able to open it again.
"Hmph! So you figured it out, huh? But what does it matter? Even if you know, there's nothing you can do about it."
Danzo sneered, confident in his ability to win. At this point, it didn't matter that Sasuke had uncovered his technique. After all, Sasuke's Chakra and stamina were running low. And with four minutes left, Danzo was certain he could erase Sasuke from existence.
However, just when Danzo prepared to strike, he was surprised to see Sasuke, who had been retreating, suddenly halt and change tactics. Instead of fleeing, Sasuke summoned Susanoo once again.
Though it was only the skeletal version of Susanoo, even that one punch was enough to trigger Izanagi's passive effect. Danzo's injured body vanished and reappeared a few meters away, unscathed.
"I didn't expect you to be this clever."
Danzo commented coldly.
Sasuke stood on alert, prepared for whatever came next. He considered fleeing, but he knew that would be futile. As long as Sasuke didn't strike, Danzo could deactivate Izanagi, conserving Chakra and minimizing damage.
Sasuke's stamina was depleting rapidly. Time was not on his side, and every moment he hesitated, Danzo's position only became stronger. The situation was becoming increasingly dire.
There was one more option, which is to retreat and avoid confrontation. But if Sasuke missed this opportunity, the chances of taking down Danzo in the future would be slim. This was his first, and likely last, chance to end Danzo's life.
'Four minutes.'
'As long as I can hold on for four minutes, this game will be over!
Putting away Izanagi, Sasuke took out a shuriken from his Ninja Tool pouch.
As a member of the Uchiha Clan, controlling Ninja Tools with precision was second nature.
Sasuke's plan was simple… if he could land a fatal blow on Danzo, Izanagi would be activated, and Danzo would soon lose his immortality. That would be the key to ending the fight.
It was precisely because of this that Sasuke decided to strategically save his energy and not use Susanoo unless it was absolutely necessary.
Instead, he would rely on pure Taijutsu and Ninja Tools to fight against Danzo and delay time.
Time passed by minute by minute, and Danzo was dying repeatedly, each time returning to life, and Sasuke kept track of the time. Finally, the moment arrived. Danzo was down to his last Sharingan.
'Now's the time.'
Sasuke could no longer afford to hold back. He activated Susanoo and went on the offensive, attacking with all his might.
"Danzo, you bastard! How many Uchiha Clan's members did you sacrifice to build your arm? You deserve to die!"
"It wasn't me who did it, it was Uchiha Itachi!"
Danzo sneered coldly.
Hearing this, Sasuke snorted coldly and said, "I'll kill that bastard too. But you… you're the one who dies today!"
Seeing that Danzo's last Sharingan was about to close and his Susanoo had reached its limit, Sasuke had no choice but to channel all his remaining Chakra into the Kusanagi Sword and thrust it into Danzo's abdomen.