"It seems I have no choice but to act myself." Danzo, seeing his men annihilated, remained stoic. He tossed aside his cane and slowly unwrapped the bandages from his arm, revealing a hideous right arm.
"Sharingan?!" Inaho and Zaito, protected by Susanoo, roared in outrage. "How dare you desecrate our clan's ancestors' remains!"
"The Uchiha are a naturally evil clan. Sharingan's power belongs in my hands, to protect Konoha," Danzo replied, raising his gaze to the towering black Susanoo. "Seiryu, today I will personally end your crimes."
With that, Danzo charged, hands weaving seals.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets!" Wind chakra gathered in Danzo's mouth, firing like bullets at Susanoo. Danzo darted through the barrage, kunai in hand, aiming for Seiryu.
From above, Susanoo simply swung its sword once, shattering the wind bullets and slicing Danzo in half.
Susanoo slowly faded, revealing Seiryu and his companions.
"Is it over?" Inaho finally reacted, murmuring.
"Yeah, it's over." Seiryu nodded, approaching Danzo's corpse.
But in the next instant, Danzo's body vanished. The sound of wind rushed behind Seiryu.
"Seiryu, your eyes are mine!" Danzo's voice was feverish. If he killed Seiryu, he'd have two pairs of Mangekyō, enough to become Hokage.
But just as Danzo's kunai was a millimeter from Seiryu's back, he found himself frozen, his body slowly dissolving.
"What… what is this?" Danzo stared in disbelief as his right arm and kunai disintegrated into the wind.
"Your trump card is Izanagi, isn't it?" Seiryu finally turned, Mangekyō spinning in his left eye. "A genjutsu that manipulates reality and illusion. But unfortunately, my eye completely counters it."
"My dōjutsu: Wamiyonomikoto. Under this eye's gaze, all illusions cease to exist." As Seiryu finished, Danzo's figure vanished, and the earlier corpse reappeared.
With Danzo's chakra gone, the Hashirama cells in his half-corpse went berserk. Seiryu quickly set up sealing jutsu to suppress the rampage, then picked up Danzo's remains.
"Let's return to the village," Seiryu said.
"The village?" Zaito was stunned.
"Yes, to demand an explanation." Seiryu glanced at the barely breathing Wood Style user nearby. "Bring him."
…
…
…
In the Hokage office, Sarutobi Hiruzen lit his pipe for the 27th time that day. Since morning, he'd felt a strong sense of unease.
"Hokage-sama, Uchiha Seiryu returned to the village this morning and had a conflict with the gate guards," an Anbu rushed in.
Hiruzen's heart sank. Seiryu was back—meaning Danzo had failed?
"He finished his mission and returned. Why was there a conflict?" Hiruzen asked.
"In his hand…" The Anbu swallowed. "He's carrying Danzo's corpse. And Danzo's body has several Sharingan implanted."
"What?!" Hiruzen was aghast. He'd already considered Danzo might fail, or even fall to Kotoamatsukami, but hadn't expected Danzo to die at Seiryu's hands.
"Hokage-sama, the advisors already know and are heading to the gate. The Uchiha are gathering too."
Hiruzen could sit still no longer and hurried out.
…
By dusk, Konoha's gate was a powder keg.
Dozens of Jonin in flak jackets surrounded Seiryu and the others. No one moved first; Seiryu stood calmly in the center, tossing Danzo's half-corpse at their feet like trash.
"How dare you kill a Konoha elder! Is the Uchiha clan rebelling?!" a voice thundered. The Jonin parted, and advisors Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu strode out, demanding, "Seize these traitors!"
"I dare anyone to try!" At that moment, more Uchiha arrived behind Seiryu, their scarlet Sharingan glowing dangerously. At the forefront were several militant elders and, swept along by them, the clan head Fugaku.
After Zaito returned to report, the Uchiha had assembled at record speed. Even the dove's faction were enraged at news of Danzo's armful of Sharingan.
Fresh from eye surgery, Shisui and Itachi had tried to calm the clan, but the Uchiha were beyond reason. The two could only join the crowd.
"Are you rebelling?!" Homura shouted.
"To desecrate our kin's corpses—rebellion is justified!" a hawk elder retorted.
"Enough, all of you!" As the two sides were about to clash, Sarutobi's powerful voice rang out. Hokage strode between them, instantly halting both sides.