With Danzo's arrival, the tension in the air grew suffocating.
Fugaku's inner turmoil, Itachi's cold stare, and Kaede's mocking grin—none of it disturbed Danzo's gleeful mood.
'Tobirama-sensei… I am finally going to fulfill your lifelong wish.'
'Tonight, the wicked Uchiha clan shall become history.'
Seeing Fugaku still unable to make a decision, Danzo decided to fan the flames.
"Time waits for no one. Once Hiruzen and the others arrive, I won't be able to speak in your defense."
"You may all be labeled traitors—and your whole family will die alongside them!"
This blatant threat made even Naoto and the others glare in disgust.
"What a despicable man!"
"Hmph! So this is what the Konoha higher-ups are like?"
"No wonder Itachi sided with them. A rat like you and a traitor—truly the perfect pair!"
…
But who was Danzo?
The mastermind behind the shadows of the ninja world wouldn't be swayed by mere words.
In his eyes, Naoto and the rest were already corpses—why argue with the dead?
Danzo confidently looked at Fugaku. "Clan Head, act now!"
Under such pressure, Fugaku shut his eyes in agony.
When he opened them again, they were filled with grim determination.
He turned to Kaede. "For Sasuke's sake… I'm sorry, my clan!"
"Heh…" Kaede shook his head and chuckled coldly.
Slowly, he drew his sword—Kyōka Suigetsu.
"In that case, from this moment on: Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Sasuke—"
"By my decree, your status as Uchiha is revoked. You are hereby erased from the clan records!"
Naoto and the others roared in unison:
"Yes!"
In an instant, Fugaku and Itachi's faces turned pale.
Danzo, however, was disgusted by Kaede's arrogance. He scoffed.
"Hmph! Do a bunch of traitors even have the right to speak like that?"
He turned to Fugaku and Itachi and declared, "In the name of Konoha, only your family is recognized as Uchiha!"
"Fugaku, Itachi—kill these rebels!"
As soon as he gave the order, his elite operatives sprang into action.
A red-haired youth raised his hand and aimed at Kaede.
"Shin no Shinjutsu (Mind Body Severing Technique)!"
Beside him, another operative slammed his hands into the ground.
"Doton: Doryūheki (Earth Release: Earth Wall Prison)!"
Kaede sneered. "Ah, the Yamanaka clan."
In the blink of an eye, his ocular power erupted!
Just as the Yamanaka tried to invade Kaede's mind, he was violently repelled!
"AAAH!"
With a scream of agony, the man clutched his head and collapsed in pain.
Kaede jumped backward, easily dodging the earthen cage.
While still mid-air, he called out to Naoto and the others:
"Naoto, go support the others. Leave these guys to me!"
These days, Kaede's orders were absolute. The others obeyed without hesitation.
They quickly rushed to reinforce the other battlefield.
Danzo let them go with a cold smirk.
"You really think you can take us on alone? Arrogant brat."
Kaede landed steadily. "Just a few pieces of trash. I won't need more than a few minutes."
The next moment, panels appeared before Kaede's eyes, revealing the stats of his opponents.
[Name: Uchiha Fugaku
Kekkei Genkai: Mangekyō Sharingan
Abilities: Mangekyō Techniques, Uchiha-style Fire Release, Uchiha-style Taijutsu…
Overall Strength: Mid-Kage Level]
[Name: Uchiha Itachi
Kekkei Genkai: Mangekyō Sharingan
Abilities: Mangekyō Techniques, Kotoamatsukami (One Eye), Uchiha-style Genjutsu…
Overall Strength: Low-Kage Level (Can threaten High-Kage with special abilities)]
[Name: Shimura Danzo
Kekkei Genkai: Mangekyō Sharingan (One Eye), Basic Sage Body (Hashirama Cells)
Abilities: Mangekyō Techniques, Basic Wood Release, Konoha-style Wind Release…
Overall Strength: Mid-Kage Level]
Among the three, the only thing Kaede had to truly watch out for was Itachi's Kotoamatsukami.
"Kotoamatsukami, huh? Gotta be careful."
In the original story, it was powerful enough to rewrite the will of Edo Tensei Itachi.
At this stage, with just a normal Mangekyō, he had no way to resist it.
He wondered—if he reached the Eternal Mangekyō, or even the Rinnegan, would it still work?
It was one of the original manga's unanswered mysteries.
His thoughts drifted briefly before he looked back at the trio.
"Let's see what your so-called 'power' is worth."
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu!"
Danzo snorted coldly. "Arrogant fool!"
He raised his hand to form seals.
"Fūton: Senjin Kekkai (Wind Release: Thousand Blade Barrage)!"
Dozens of sharp wind blades hurtled toward Kaede.
Danzo barked at Fugaku and Itachi:
"What are you waiting for?! Know your place!"
Itachi sighed and readied himself for combat.
But suddenly, Kaede's voice whispered in Danzo's ear:
"You should worry about yourself first."
The Kaede standing afar, struck by wind blades, vanished—just a mirage.
Kyōka Suigetsu had long been activated!
Kaede's real body slashed at Danzo from behind, forcing him to raise a kunai in defense.
But the instant their weapons met, Kaede vanished again.
RIP!
"AAARGH!" Danzo screamed.
A deep gash appeared on his back, cutting to the bone!
He panicked and used the Body Flicker to escape.
Spinning around, he glared at Kaede, eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
"Genjutsu?! When did it happen?!"
Just then—
"Father! What are you doing?!"
Itachi shouted in alarm.
Fugaku had suddenly slashed his kunai toward Itachi's arm!
If Itachi hadn't reacted quickly, it would've struck his heart!
Seeing this, Danzo's face twisted with rage.
"Damn you, Fugaku!"
If Fugaku had attacked Itachi… it meant it was all an act!
He had chosen the clan after all!
Kaede smiled.
"Guess it's not a 1v3 anymore."
"Danzo… ready to die?"
He had no intention of explaining that he'd used Kyōka Suigetsu.
Itachi's Kotoamatsukami was dangerous, yes—but if Kaede simply avoided direct confrontation, it was no threat.
In truth, controlling Fugaku so deeply that he mistook Itachi for an enemy consumed massive spiritual energy.
Far more than simple illusion.
At this point, Kaede couldn't pull it off again.
Even with his rebirth, breakthroughs, Mangekyō boosts, and immense spiritual pressure, mastering it all instantly was impossible.
After all, he had only recently acquired his Zanpakutō.
Danzo's face was black as coal.
"Damn you, Kaede!"
Still, he had one of Shisui's Mangekyō eyes. Kaede wouldn't defeat him that easily!
Danzo, drunk on the power of the Mangekyō, was overflowing with confidence.
He even assumed Kyōka Suigetsu was simply another Mangekyō ability—after all, how else could he have been caught so easily?
Slowly, he reached up and removed the bandage from his right eye…
(End of Chapter)
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