Chapter 27: The Death of Danzo!

In the stands surrounding the arena, the Third Hokage was beset by Orochimaru, accompanied by the reanimated bodies of the First and Second Hokage... Meanwhile, Sasuke Uchiha led Itachi Uchiha, Neji Hyuga, Hinata Hyuga, and Hiashi Hyuga to the very gates of the Root headquarters.

“Who goes first?” Sasuke gritted his teeth as he asked.

It was not that he was unwilling to act, but he wished to be the one to kill Danzo with his own hands. Still, it was only fair to let the others share in the victory, wasn't it?

“We'll handle this. Your Rinnegan isn't suited for breaking into an underground base,” Neji replied, exchanging a meaningful glance with Hinata and his uncle, Hiashi.

The three of them stood before the entrance. Their deep blue eyes shone with a chilling brilliance.

“Reincarnation Eye Technique: Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!”—three voices rang out in unison.

Three right hands thrust forward, unleashing countless black spheres of spiritual energy that surged from their palms and crashed into the Root’s depths. Instantly, the entire complex erupted in devastation.

A colossal tornado connected earth and sky. The interior of Root was obliterated, its members slain and maimed, the aftermath too gruesome to behold.

At the very heart of the devastation, Danzo had been blown to fragments—no trace of his corpse remained.

“Ninjutsu: Izanagi!”

At the moment of death, the Sharingan hidden under Danzo’s bandages activated the forbidden jutsu, Izanagi. One of the triple-tomoe Sharingan implanted in his arm snapped shut, and his first life was restored.

At the scene, Danzo’s body reformed, and he dropped to one knee. Lifting his head to the carnage around him, a violent killing intent swept across the field.

But when he saw the Hyuga trio and the Uchiha brothers standing together, he was utterly stunned.

“Sasuke Uchiha, you dare stand with the traitor Itachi Uchiha? Are you planning to betray the village?” Danzo immediately tried to brand Sasuke as a traitor, then barked at the Hyuga: “Lord Hiashi, why haven’t you seized Sasuke and Itachi? Are you planning to turn against the village as well?”

“Don’t forget what happened to the Uchiha clan!”

He added the threat for good measure. If the Hyuga yielded, he could consider tightening his grip and force their support for his claim to the Hokage title.

Hiashi wore a mocking smile. “Annihilate a clan? It seems the Shimura clan is the one the Leaf cannot tolerate.”

“Hiashi Hyuga! Do you understand what you’re saying? Are you declaring war on the Hidden Leaf’s leadership?” Danzo’s eyes narrowed, a deep sense of foreboding settling in.

The devastation of Root was clear enough, but those three pairs of blue eyes—what were they? And when had the Hyuga and Uchiha ever worked together? Wasn’t Itachi a rogue ninja? Why were they standing side by side?

“No need to guess. Ever since you forced my brother to forfeit his life to the Cloud ninja, I’ve wanted to destroy you. Today, I finally have my chance.”

Hiashi’s gaze turned murderous as he glared at Danzo. “Neji, Hinata—do it. Avenge your father and uncle.”

“Gentle Fist: Eight Hundred and Sixty-Four Palms!”—three strikes in unison.

All three activated their Tenseigan, gravity pinning Danzo in place. Their fists, formed from years of suppressed rage, landed upon him without mercy.

“Ah!” Danzo screamed, suspended in the air. None of the three relented; their attacks only grew fiercer.

The relentless barrage ended with Danzo’s body a ruined mess, not a patch of flesh unscathed. Chakra invaded every tenketsu, severing all his meridians and nerves.

“Don’t worry—we won’t let you die so easily. There are plenty more who want your head.” Hiashi’s foot crashed down on Danzo’s third leg, grinding it to pulp before he led Neji and Hinata to hunt down the surviving Root members.

Danzo’s scream had barely faded when a black flame descended, incinerating his body to ashes.

“Ninjutsu: Amaterasu!”

The Izanagi activated once more. Another Sharingan in his arm shut, and Danzo, gasping, was restored to life, half-kneeling.

Twice in a row he’d used a forbidden technique. Even with his elite jonin—or near-Kage—strength, it was taking its toll. Worse yet, both deaths had been utterly helpless.

Escape!

That word echoed in Danzo’s mind as he revived. Barely had he taken two breaths before he formed the seal for the Body Flicker and tried to flee.

No—now that the Hyuga had rebelled, he needed to escape the village, find any surviving Root operatives, and seize back control of the Hidden Leaf.

But ideal as it sounded, the gap in strength was now so vast that escape was impossible.

“Lightning Style: Chidori!”

He had barely landed from the Body Flicker when a searing pain struck from behind. Danzo turned in terror, and Sasuke’s cold voice rang in his ears.

“Trying to run? You’ll have to be faster than lightning.”

“Izanagi!”

Another resurrection. But this time, Danzo had learned his lesson—on the spot, he unleashed Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!

And then—

“Sharingan: Tsukuyomi!”

This time, Itachi acted, pinning Danzo to a cross to be cut a thousand times, suffering for a month within the illusion.

“Izanagi!”

“Lightning Style: Kirin!”

“Scream, despair, feel the cruelty my clan endured!”

“Izanagi!”

“Uchiha Style Throwing Technique: Shuriken Jutsu!”

“I’ll make you taste every Uchiha jutsu, one by one, murderer!”

“Izanagi!”

“Izanagi!”

“Izan—”

Countless resurrections, met by endless torment. Whether Danzo tried to use substitution jutsu to flee or unleashed stronger ninjutsu to break free, under the Rinnegan of Sasuke and Itachi, all his efforts failed—each time, he revived in place.

In the end, the hundreds of triple-tomoe Sharingan embedded in his arm lasted less than half an hour under the brothers’ relentless assault, leaving only the Kotoamatsukami Mangekyo.

Danzo no longer struggled. He had accepted his fate—his jutsu were useless, his summoning sealed, and three Tenseigan-wielding Hyuga watched him like hungry wolves. Even surviving Root members were hunted down and destroyed by the white-eyed Hyuga.

Looking toward the distant chaos in the Leaf and the utter neglect of the Root’s location, he realized he had exhausted all his cards. It was truly the end.

“Well, well, Lord Danzo—isn’t it you who destroyed the Uchiha clan with your own hand? Why are you cowering so quickly? That’s not your style,” Sasuke sneered, crouching before him. “Why not try Kotoamatsukami? Maybe you could hypnotize me into helping you escape.”

Sasuke’s unique Rinnegan fixed mockingly upon him. Danzo knew, without need for words, that he had been utterly defeated.

Victory and defeat. The loser deserves death. Danzo had accepted death from the moment he took over Root.

So when Sasuke plunged the kunai into his chest, Danzo did not activate Izanagi again. He chose to die.

Thus fell the greatest shadow behind the Leaf Village—Danzo, dead at last.