After Arata reappeared, he immediately noticed Danzō's eye. Danzō's right eye was already active, displaying the three-tomoe Sharingan.
It was clearly thanks to the Sharingan's powerful dynamic vision that he had sharply detected Arata's appearance behind him.
After all, the instant Arata emerged from space, Danzō's vision would inevitably darken for a split second. Only the Sharingan could catch such a brief gap.
The moment Arata saw that eye, he guessed whose it was—most likely Uchiha Kagami's Sharingan.
The anime had indeed implied that Danzō's first Sharingan came from that former teammate.
Still, seeing it in person made Arata sigh inwardly. As expected of the man who would later transplant an entire arm of Sharingan—by this early period in Konoha's timeline, Danzō had already reached the point of transplanting Sharingan.
As far as Arata knew, the only one who should've had the skill for such surgery was Uchiha Madara. Yet Danzō had managed it too. That meant he had probably begun collaborating with Orochimaru long ago.
It was even possible he conducted the research behind Orochimaru's back. If Orochimaru had known about Sharingan transplantation, there was no way he'd sit idle—he'd definitely want a share of it.
While Arata studied Danzō, Danzō was also staring at Arata.
Arata's eyes were still in their Mangekyō Sharingan state—both pupils bearing six-pointed star patterns within crimson irises.
Danzō recognized it instantly.
This was the Mangekyō Sharingan, the evolution beyond the three-tomoe Sharingan.
As Hiruzen's right-hand man, Danzō was well-informed about Konoha's secrets, including the Uchiha clan's higher-stage Sharingan.
In fact, much of that information had been deliberately suppressed by Konoha's higher-ups. Many Uchiha who knew the truth were quietly assassinated, leading to a present-day Uchiha clan that barely knew how the Mangekyō was awakened.
This was one of Konoha leadership's methods of limiting Uchiha growth.
Even so, one person in the Uchiha still knew the truth—and likely wouldn't live long. After this war, that last person would probably die under Danzō's schemes.
That person was the current Uchiha clan head: Uchiha Tsuki.
He was quite powerful and also Kagami's brother, which was why Danzō and Hiruzen had never found a good chance to eliminate him.
But during the Second Great Shinobi War, Tsuki could no longer remain safely inside the village. Once he stepped onto the battlefield, opportunities to kill him would be plentiful.
Danzō, who knew all this, never imagined he'd one day encounter someone who had actually awakened the Mangekyō.
This was the very eye he and Hiruzen had always feared. Legend said that once awakened, it immediately granted Kage-level power—and in some cases, enough to overwhelm Kage-level opponents.
If not for that, the two of them wouldn't have worked so hard to eliminate anyone who knew about the Mangekyō.
Yet here it was, right before him.
So regardless of whether Arata was his enemy, Danzō immediately demanded:
"Where did you get those eyes? If I remember correctly, you don't have Uchiha blood!"
Since Arata had already killed the Hokage, he had no intention of leaving Danzō alive. The way he looked at him now was the same way he'd looked at Hiruzen—like a dead man walking.
Facing Danzō's question, Arata didn't rush to attack.
He was certain Danzō had no space–time ninjutsu, meaning escape was nearly impossible. Even if he did have one, Arata already had countermeasures.
Kamui's chakra cost was now negligible to him, so using it again was no issue.
If even Hiruzen couldn't escape Kamui's restraint, how could Danzō—barely early Kage-level—manage it?
Still, Danzō possessed a Sharingan, which meant Arata had to be wary of one jutsu—the very one that allowed Danzō to fight Mangekyō Sasuke for a long time without dying.
He'd even had the chance to activate the Four Symbols Seal to threaten Sasuke's life.
That jutsu was the Uchiha forbidden jutsu that rewrote reality through illusion:
Izanagi.
If Danzō had a Sharingan and could recognize the Mangekyō, there was a high chance he also knew how to use Izanagi. Arata's only real concern was that Danzō might use it to create an opening to escape.
As for Danzō's question, Arata had no intention of answering. Instead, he asked curiously:
"Aren't you going to ask why I stayed here after killing the Hokage—just to wait for you?"
Arata had always been hostile toward Danzō but never revealed how much he knew about him. He wasn't sure how Danzō realized Arata intended to kill him too.
From Arata's perspective, Danzō had always schemed in the shadows—framing him, plotting assassinations—but during face-to-face talks, Danzō never exposed his involvement with Hiruzen's assassination attempts.
And Arata's sensory abilities were known only to Hiruzen. Danzō had already been on the Land of Rain battlefield and had no chance to learn that intelligence.
After hearing Arata's words, Danzō realized Arata would never answer his doubts. Not that he expected an answer anyway.
He ultimately assumed the Mangekyō had been taken from someone else. He knew Arata's background well—there was no Uchiha bloodline in him.
As for Arata's question, Danzō gave a faint, cold smile and said:
"You and I are the same kind of person. Don't pretend to be righteous. Once you moved against Hiruzen, there's no way you'd spare his confidant—me."
That actually made Arata regard Danzō a bit more highly.
The old fox was rotten to the core, but at least he was honest about it—unlike Hiruzen, who tried to act noble while doing dirty things.
And now, even facing someone who might have reached super-Kage level, Danzō remained calm—nothing like Hiruzen, who had already lost his will to fight before the battle even began.