Wood Release: Exploding Spear Tree!
A murderous intent flashed through Danzō's eyes.
The Hashirama cells embedded in his right arm suddenly surged out of control, bursting with violent life force.
With a deafening crack, a massive tree erupted outward, its spear-like branches shooting forth. At this distance, Sasuke was about to be swallowed whole—
—but Shigure appeared in front of him, grabbing Sasuke by the shoulder and hurling him backward with brute force.
Crack!
Boom!
Danzō ripped the wooden growth from his own arm as his body collapsed—
—only for that body to vanish and reappear unharmed several meters away.
"Heh… I only intended to deal with Sasuke first, but it seems I conveniently killed that troublesome Shigure in the process."
He stood there again, as if death itself could not touch him.
Ninja throughout the battlefield shuddered.
Before, one might have blamed it on Genjutsu. But now—this was definitely not Genjutsu.
A cold sweat ran down Jiraiya's cheek. Even with all he had seen, this warped phenomenon was terrifying.
"What kind of Jutsu is this…?" he muttered.
Tsunade's expression tightened. Shigure had been completely engulfed by Wood Release. The power of that eruption was something only she and a handful of others truly understood.
"Lord Shigure!"
Kuji's voice trembled with fear—then—
BOOM!!
A crimson surge of Tailed Beast Chakra erupted outward.
The giant tree split apart from the inside.
Shigure stepped out, cloaked in the savage chakra of a Tailed Beast, splintering the Wood Release like dried twigs. His eyes lifted to Danzō with calm disdain.
"Hashirama cells… not easy to control, are they? Your Wood Release is weak."
Internally, however, he could still feel his heart pounding. He had invoked all of the Three-Tails' chakra at the last second to form an Ice Chakra defense around his body. Without that extra hardness granted by the Three-Tails' affinity… the attack might have seriously injured him.
"You're still alive?" Danzō's surprise was evident—until his gaze narrowed on the Tailed Beast Chakra swirling around Shigure.
Tch… so that's why… protected by a Bijū.
"You're not dead either," Shigure replied flatly.
Sasuke, gritting his teeth, stared wide-eyed.
"What is this Jutsu Shigure uses…? No matter how many times he's killed… he doesn't die?"
As he spoke, one of the Sharingan embedded on Danzō's arm slowly closed.
Exactly one minute had passed.
Danzō's Izanagi limit was ten minutes.
—Now, only nine remained.
Shigure smirked. "I couldn't be certain before… but now I understand."
Sasuke's eyes sharpened.
"Then tell me—what kind of Jutsu is it!?"
Shigure narrowed his eyes. "Look at his arm."
Most of the shinobi glanced over—yet saw nothing unusual.
Danzo's arm looked perfectly intact.
Even the arm Shigure had severed earlier… had somehow reappeared fully restored.
What was there to look at?
"You really didn't notice?" Shigure's gaze sharpened. "One of the Sharingan on his arm just closed."
A ripple of unease passed through the crowd.
The moment he mentioned the Sharingan, Danzo's expression stiffened.
He hadn't expected Shigure to pick up on that so quickly.
Just how terrifying was this kid's perception?
"A closed Sharingan… what does that imply?" someone muttered, confused.
"That kind of eye wouldn't shut for no reason," Shigure replied calmly. "And Sharingan implanted into an arm aren't there for simple observation."
His lips curved.
"There's only one explanation… they're for consumption."
Consumption?
Danzo's composure finally cracked. With barely any information to go on, Shigure had deduced the core of his technique.
"From the start of the fight until now—one minute has passed," Shigure continued. "One eye closes every minute. Then the conclusion is simple."
"I'm not sure exactly what the technique is called… but based on observation, its ability is essentially immortality—or rather, the power to rewrite an unfavorable outcome… restoring the body to a state before injury."
He locked eyes with Danzo.
"It's a reality-altering Genjutsu. And each Sharingan grants one minute of usage."
Sasuke's breath caught.
Had Shigure been analyzing all of that… while fighting?
He himself only thought it strange how Danzo kept recovering from fatal blows—yet never guessed why.
All around, shinobi were stunned. None had expected such an ability to exist.
A Genjutsu that manipulates reality itself.
One Sharingan for one minute.
Permanently sacrificing the eye's light… for only sixty seconds.
Jiraiya's brows furrowed. "Does the Uchiha Clan possess such a forbidden technique?"
Tsunade exhaled slowly. "It would make sense… the cost is enormous."
Now that they understood the mechanic, the battlefield tension sharpened into clarity.
Sasuke smirked. "So including that stolen right eye of his… he's only invincible for ten more minutes at best."
"…Correct," Shigure replied. "More or less."
Though privately, he doubted Danzo would use Shisui's Mangekyō for the same purpose.
"How astonishing," Danzo growled.
"A child who knew nothing… actually deduced my Jutsu after only one minute of combat."
"It seems sending you to Kirigakure back then… was a grave mistake."
"A genius like you…" His voice twisted with regret and greed. "I should have controlled from the very beginning."
But regrets now served no purpose.
"You are correct. The forbidden technique I wield is Izanagi—the Uchiha's ultimate Genjutsu that affects reality itself. It is activated at the cost of permanent blindness."
Izanagi.
Many shinobi stared at Shigure with newfound awe.
In less than a minute, he had unraveled a technique even most Uchiha considered taboo.
His power alone was impressive—but his insight?
Terrifying.
Danzo's arrogance returned.
"But what if you know the truth? I still have many Sharingan. No matter how many times you kill me, I only need to kill you once."
That… was nothing short of shameless.
"Maybe we should drop the barrier and stall for time," Jiraiya suggested, glancing at Shigure.
A sound plan—but Shigure simply smiled.
"You? Kill us?" he said coldly. "Forget ten minutes—give you an hour and you still wouldn't be able to scratch me."
Sasuke stepped forward, eyes burning with hatred.
"You are not worthy of the Uchiha's eyes."
Cursed Seal—Release!
The black markings surged across his body as his chakra erupted violently.
Shigure's chakra also shifted—his smile widening.
Six-Tails Cloak—Activate.
...
TN:
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