Chapter 47: Danzo's End
Rubik paid no attention to Danzo's interrogation.
He acted as if he hadn't heard that hatred-filled scream, nor did he acknowledge the reactions of those around him—Kakashi's shock, the flicker of complexity in Jiraiya's eyes, or the barely concealed dread on the other ninjas' faces. Everyone present was a prominent figure in Konoha, and most could guess roughly what Danzo's words implied.
Rubik tilted his head slightly, carefully pinching between his fingers the Mangekyō Sharingan he'd just gouged from Danzo's eye socket—still warm and slick. The crimson eyeball rotated slowly in his grip, catching the dim light. Then, before everyone's eyes, he sealed Shisui's eye into a sealing formula on his left palm.
"Heh..."
Rubik let out a short, light laugh that shattered the suffocating silence. He turned his gaze toward Danzo, crumpled in the rubble. That look was playful, yet tempered with a chilling edge:
"Old man, why are you yelling so loud? Who are you trying to scare?"
"Instead of worrying about where I got my intel... why don't you answer this first?"
He paused deliberately before continuing:
"—Where did this eye come from?"
"If my intelligence network isn't wrong... this wouldn't happen to be the legendary 'hypnosis app'—pfft!"
"—it's Shisui's eye. Uchiha Shisui's eye, isn't it?"
Danzo turned a deaf ear to Rubik's questions. His single remaining eye locked onto the boy before him, the depths of his pupils churning with unprecedented wariness and dread.
He'd been wrong... dead wrong!
In this moment, he finally saw the boy's true nature. This was never some fledgling he could easily control and use for Konoha's benefit—this was a fierce hawk with growing wings, capable of tearing the very sky apart!
He was far more dangerous and unpredictable than that naive, radical Uchiha Sasuke! His arrival in Konoha had to be part of some scheme! With Hiruzen's current methods, there was no way he could restrain this lion's fangs! His very existence was the most fatal threat to Konoha!
"Uzumaki Rubik—!"
Danzo let out a desperate roar.
"Your existence will one day become the village's greatest internal threat! For Konoha's future... even if this old man dies today, I will drag you down with me!"
He raised his arm sharply, his voice cutting through the chaos:
"All Root operatives, hear me! Target change! Disengage from Konoha allies—focus all forces on eliminating Uzumaki Rubik! At any cost!"
"Summoning Technique!"
BOOM—!!!
An ear-splitting explosion erupted along with a blast of violent air! A colossal, mountain-sized elephant-type summon—the Baku—descended upon them!
Its massive frame nearly filled the entire underground base. The once-spacious space instantly became cramped and suffocating. A single swing of its thick trunk sent cracks splintering through solid stone walls! Its terrifying shadow loomed over everyone.
"Holy crap! It's a limited-week summon!"
Rubik couldn't help but gawk at the sky-obscuring beast.
"Damn brat! Now's not the time for jokes! Root's fanatics are coming for you!"
Jiraiya's roar crashed like thunder, drowning out Rubik's exclamation. His tall figure, along with Tsunade, Yamato, and Kakashi, formed an unyielding wall, throwing themselves without hesitation in front of Rubik and blocking the charging Root ninjas!
"Rubik! Don't worry about us!"
Jiraiya's voice was resolute, his back turned to the boy as he shouted.
"That old fossil is yours! You know his tricks, don't you? Go finish him! I believe in you—!"
Watching Jiraiya's broad, reliable back amidst the chaos, a surge of warmth welled up in Rubik's heart. His eyes hardened, and without a moment's hesitation, he lunged straight for Danzo!
But the Root ninjas displayed a chilling level of execution at this moment. They were like machines that had erased all sense of self, utterly ignoring the Konoha ninjas trying to intercept them!
Kakashi's kunai sank deep into one Root operative's shoulder blade—yet the man didn't even furrow his brow. He twisted instinctively to avoid the vital points, blood spraying freely, but his steps never faltered as he kept charging toward Rubik!
Tsunade's monstrously strong fist could shatter mountains, but her target evaded at the last second with a near-self-destructive contortion. Even as the crack of breaking ribs echoed clearly, his eyes remained fixed on Rubik and only Rubik!
"These guys... are they even human anymore?!" one ANBU operative muttered, his voice trembling with fury and a hint of fear.
Not even serious injury or death could make them stop or fight back—their eyes held only that one cold command: kill Uzumaki Rubik!
Covered by Baku's rampaging stomps and the suicidal "human wall" of Root members, Danzo finally succeeded in undoing the last seal on his arm! The bandages fell away in shreds, revealing a pallid, bloodless arm riddled with sutured scars. And what made everyone's skin crawl—embedded in that arm were clusters of crimson Sharingan!
"DANZO—!!!"
Tsunade knocked out a Root attacker with a single punch, her roar shaking the entire space with fury and grief. As the world's foremost medical ninja, as the princess of the Senju clan, she understood better than anyone what that arm meant!
It was proof of countless Senju clan members enduring unspeakable agony! Proof of countless Uchiha clan members having their eyes cruelly plucked out, dying with their eyes wide open!
Her eyes were bloodshot, fixed on Danzo's accursed arm, every word squeezed through clenched teeth:
"For that arm... how many of my Senju and Uchiha clan members did you slaughter?!"
Danzo ignored Tsunade's howl. His single eye, like a viper locking onto prey, stayed fixed on Rubik, who was breaking through every obstacle and charging straight at him!
"Baku—!"
Danzo screamed, his voice laced with desperate madness.
"ROOOAR—!!!"
Baku's trunk—thick as a mountain ridge—swung upward, its maw gaping wide. A savage hurricane capable of tearing mountains apart condensed instantly! Air was sucked in and compressed with a piercing shriek that made everyone's scalp tingle!
Then, a massive blast of fearsome wind pressure shot toward Rubik.
"Vacuum Great Sphere!"
At the same moment, Danzo completed his own hand seals, pushing his chakra to the limit. An ultra-dense, highly compressed ball of Wind Style chakra—like a homing artillery shell—followed right behind Baku's hurricane, aimed precisely at the path Rubik might use to dodge!
A double-pronged Wind Style assault, sealing off every avenue of escape, intent on shredding him to pieces.
Facing an attack that could grind an ordinary strongman into paste, Rubik showed not a trace of panic—only kept moving forward.
"Earth Style: Underworld Swamp!"
As former comrades who'd fought on the same battlefield, Jiraiya easily saw through Danzo's plan. At his call, the solid ground beneath them, eroded by immense chakra, instantly transformed into a viscous, pitch-black morass! A horrifying suction spread outward, making even the air feel heavier!
"URGH—!"
Baku's wind pressure slammed hard into the Underworld Swamp's range! Mud erupted in towering waves with a dull, thunderous boom!
But the swamp's dispersing and absorbing effects were immediate! The once-destructive attack, after sinking into the mire, visibly deviated from its trajectory, its power drastically weakened!
"Hmph! You think you can escape this with that trick? Naive!"
Danzo wasn't surprised. His true killing strike was the Vacuum Great Sphere following close behind—and more importantly, the brief breathing room he'd bought himself!
His hands rose in a flash, beginning to form the forbidden technique that could rewrite reality and reverse life and death—Izanagi!
Once this seal was complete, he would be invincible!
But just as Danzo's fingers were about to lock into the final seal—
"Sixth Gate, OPEN!"
BOOM!!!!
A cataclysmic storm of chakra erupted skyward, blasting away the residual wind pressure and mud! Rubik's figure was now enveloped in dense green steam and blinding azure Wind Style chakra!
He plunged straight into the depths of the Underworld Swamp, charging against the wind pressure's aftershocks!
"Wha—?!"
Alarms screamed in Danzo's mind—but it was far too late!
SHNK!
Leveraging his incredible speed, Rubik burst straight through the viscous mud like a dolphin breaching a wave, dodging the wind pressure's strike and appearing right before Danzo in an instant! They were nose to nose!
Danzo's murky single eye locked onto a pair of cold, spinning crimson Sharingan!
"No... genju—"
Danzo's mind went blank in a split second!
That momentary lapse!
Rubik's hand, wreathed in azure Wind Style chakra, five fingers hooked like talons, clamped down viciously on Danzo's pale, grotesque right arm—the one embedded with countless Sharingan!
"Blazing Rasengan!!!"
A spiraling orb burning from within took shape in Rubik's other hand in an instant! Without a shred of hesitation, he drove that annihilating power straight into Danzo's chest!
BOOM—!!!!
A deafening explosion accompanied by the sickening crunch of shattering bone! The savage impact not only destroyed Danzo's sternum but also generated an irresistible, tearing force!
"AAAAAGH—!!!"
Amid Danzo's distorted, bloodcurdling scream, that arm—the vessel for countless sins and ambitions—was ripped clean from his shoulder socket by that cataclysmic power!
"Ugh... cough—!"
The agonizing torment of having his arm torn off, compounded by the backlash of Hashirama's cells spiraling out of control, sent a spray of black blood from Danzo's mouth. His body convulsed violently. But even more painful than the physical torture were Rubik's eyes—as if they could see through everything!
Kotoamatsukami... Izanagi... he knew them all!
A terrifying thought coiled around his heart, one that made even him shudder:
This boy had entered Konoha fully aware of every last trump card and vulnerability he possessed! He'd been targeting him from the very beginning! Such calculated cunning, such unfathomable scheming... truly horrifying!
"No... absolutely not!"
The last ember of desperate madness blazed in Danzo's remaining eye, his voice hoarse.
"Without this old man... that naive fool Hiruzen... can never control this demon! He'll destroy Konoha for sure! Even if it takes my last breath... this old man must... drag him to hell!"
Summoning every ounce of strength, he issued his final command:
"Root... all operatives! Rally to me!"
"BAKU—!!!"
As if in communion with its master's will, the colossal summon let out a mournful roar that shook the barrier! Its massive frame pivoted, trunk raised high—aimed straight at Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, and the others who were preparing to regroup and reinforce Rubik!
"No!"
Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply as he instantly realized Baku's intent!
But Maito Gai, for once, wasn't fired up with youthful passion. Instead, he gave Kakashi an eerily calm smile—almost encouraging:
"Trust him, Kakashi!"
Jiraiya reacted fastest, his hands flying through seals: "Earth Style: Earth Flow—"
"Wait... something's off..."
Years of combat experience made Jiraiya hesitate. Something about Baku's next attack didn't seem right. In that moment of uncertainty, the accumulated shockwave from Baku erupted!
BOOM—!!!!
Not a devastating torrent of energy, but a massive compressed air blast—rushing toward them.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The Konoha group, along with Yamato and Gai, were hurled through the air like autumn leaves in a gale, punched through layer after layer of the base's walls by that overwhelming force, finally tumbling painfully into the ruined outskirts far from the central battlefield.
"Cough... cough!"
Tsunade pushed herself up first, checking herself in shock.
"Weird... this attack..."
"The force is off!"
Jiraiya scrambled up too, brushing off the dust, his face turning grim.
"It blew us this far, but aside from the impact shock, almost no real damage!... Its goal wasn't to hurt us!"
A deeply ominous premonition seized Jiraiya's heart!
"RUBIK—!!!"
He bellowed, charging recklessly toward the smoke-choked core of the base—now sealed off by Baku's colossal body and the Root members swarming in—
But—
HMM—!!!
An invisible, unyielding transparent barrier, like an inverted giant bowl, descended over the core battlefield in an instant! Jiraiya slammed hard into the barrier wall, sending ripples across its surface—only to be flung back by a powerful chakra recoil, staggering backward!
"Barrier Technique!"
Jiraiya's eyes bulged with rage as he smashed his fist against the invisible wall.
"Dammit! That old bastard Danzo sealed everyone out!"
Inside the barrier.
The dust settled slowly, revealing Rubik surrounded by the remaining dozen or so Root operatives. He looked around at these hollow-eyed, cold-hearted elites, fixed on him like puppets on strings, and let out a resigned sigh. His gaze turned to the center of the barrier—
—to Shimura Danzo, slumped against Baku's foot, one arm gone, his life force flickering like a candle in the wind.
"Sigh,"
Rubik spread his hands.
"I get that you wanted to show one last shred of 'mercy,' old man—not wanting to kill off Konoha's key combatants. But..."
His tone shifted, his eyes turning razor-sharp.
"Dragging these loyal subordinates—brainwashed into tools—down with you to the grave... is that really necessary, Councilor Danzo?"
Danzo wheezed heavily, every breath carrying bloody spittle and broken rattles. The wound on his severed arm—pale muscle tissue—was writhing, proliferating, turning woody at a visible rate!
Beneath the skin, countless tiny roots seemed to burrow and twist, radiating a nauseating vitality and chaotic chakra fluctuations! His aged face had already contorted from the violent backlash of Hashirama's cells. His remaining left eye glared at Rubik, its murky pupil holding only the final burn of madness and... a hint of inexplicable weakness.
The Hashirama cells inside him had completely spiraled out of control! The stench of death clung to him like a parasite, impossible to shake off.