The battlefield was a wasteland of craters, large and small.
Danzo stood in the middle, drenched in sweat, his eyes locked on Pain.
Pain, meanwhile, had already noticed the pattern of Danzo's Sharingan activating and deactivating.
Nearby, Sakiya sat on the edge of a broken stone, resting her cheek in her hand, looking bored.
"Isn't Danzo finished yet?" she muttered.
---
Danzo panted heavily. He knew his chances of escape were slim.
His gaze flickered to the Sharingan embedded in his arm.
Pain, ever expressionless, spoke.
"A high-level death replacement technique? At the cost of Sharingan? Looks like you have—what? Four lives left?"
Danzo clenched his fists. He was trapped. Against this opponent, escape was almost impossible.
This desperate moment reminded him of an old friend—Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Third Hokage had sacrificed himself to protect Konoha.
Now, Danzo thought, perhaps it's my turn.
His mind turned to his last resort—the Four Symbols Seal.
With this technique, he was certain—Pain wouldn't escape.
A bitter smile crept onto Danzo's lips.
"Hah… Hiruzen, you protected Konoha. I won't be any weaker than you."
Pain raised a hand—Banshō Ten'in.
Danzo felt his body pulled forward, yanked helplessly toward his opponent.
But just as he was about to activate the seal—
A kunai, crackling with lightning, whizzed through the air toward Pain.
Pain, however, barely reacted. Instead, he shifted slightly to the side.
And Danzo—still midair—was dragged straight into the kunai's path.
His eyes widened.
Damn it.
The kunai struck him cleanly, piercing through his body.
Pain let go, letting Danzo's body crumple to the ground.
Then, without a word, he stepped aside, dodging the kunai as if it was never a threat to him in the first place.
A moment later—
Sasuke appeared.
His eyes flickered toward Danzo, who lay sprawled on the ground, looking worse than ever.
"...Oops," Sasuke muttered.
He scratched his head. "I didn't think Pain would use his ability like that."
Danzo coughed, blood dripping from his lips, as he slowly got back up.
"It's fine… Just a fatal wound."
Sasuke's face twitched.
"Uh… My bad."
Accidentally hitting an ally? That was embarrassing.
Danzo, however, barely reacted. He was still thinking—
How do I get out of here?
With Sasuke here, Danzo saw an opportunity to escape.
Keeping his expression serious, he warned, "Be careful of Payne's pulling technique!"
But Sasuke wasn't focused on that. His eyes had locked onto Danzo's arm—and the Sharingan embedded in it.
Most of them were closed, but a few remained half-open.
There was no doubt.
Danzo had stolen them.
And then—there was the Sharingan in his own eye.
Sasuke's blood boiled. His expression darkened.
"Where did you get all those eyes!?"
Danzo ignored him, his focus still on Pain.
"This isn't the time for that," he said. "The enemy is our priority."
Pain remained still. He wasn't attacking Sasuke yet—he was waiting.
Waiting for Danzo's next resurrection.
Sure enough—it happened.
The moment Izanagi's effect ended, Danzo's body disappeared—only to reappear a few feet away, completely unharmed.
Sasuke's eyes widened.
"He regenerated… completely?"
But then his shock turned back into rage.
"Sharingan… Why do you have so many!? How could you transplant them like this!?"
Pain watched in silence. He noticed the three-tomoe Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes.
And after listening to Sasuke's outburst, he quickly pieced things together.
Danzo, once again, ignored Sasuke's question.
"We deal with the enemy first!" he said.
But now, Pain finally spoke.
"So... you must be Itachi's younger brother."
His Rinnegan stared straight through Sasuke.
"Konoha's spy. Uchiha's last survivor."
Sasuke turned to Pain, his expression twisted in shock.
"What did you just say? Konoha's spy?"
Pain smirked.
"As Itachi's little brother, you didn't know? The man who slaughtered your entire clan was a spy for Konoha all along."
His Rinnegan eyes glanced at the sky.
"Konoha really is an interesting village."
Sasuke's hands trembled. He looked at Danzo, his voice unsteady.
"Itachi… was Konoha's spy? Then… was the Uchiha massacre a lie?"
Danzo knew there was no hiding it anymore.
"Yes. It wasn't Itachi who wiped out the Uchiha clan. It's all a fabrication! The enemy just wants to manipulate you—don't fall for it!"
But before those words could reach Sasuke, they were twisted.
From the shadows, Sakiya smirked and quietly altered the message.
What Sasuke heard was:
"Yes, Itachi didn't kill them— I did! I led the Root shinobi and wiped them all out! But Itachi was my finest soldier, so I spared him. And at his request, I let you live too."
"Of course, there was a price."
"Itachi had to take the blame and infiltrate the Akatsuki as my spy! All of the intel we got from them—it came from Itachi!"
"Now, are you satisfied? If so—fight for me! The real enemy is right in front of you!"
Danzo barely had time to react.
Sasuke snapped.
A flash of steel.
A spray of blood.
Danzo's head flew into the air, spinning three times before hitting the ground.
His eyes were wide open in shock.
Sasuke stood there, gripping his sword, his entire body trembling with rage. His face was flushed, his breathing ragged.
"So it was you all along…!" he growled. "You did all of this!"
Pain stood frozen.
What just happened?
Why was Danzo dead?
Did… did that actually work?
Even Nagato, watching from afar, was momentarily speechless.
Meanwhile, Danzo wasn't done yet.
His next resurrection kicked in, and he reappeared some distance away.
But his face was twisted in fury.
Sasuke wasn't an ally.
He was an enemy.
Danzo now had to fight both Sasuke and Pain at once.
He glared at Sasuke.
"Hah! The Uchiha were never worth anything! They deserved to be wiped out!"
Sasuke's eyes burned.
"I'm going to kill you!"
Lightning surged.
Sasuke vanished.
—His speed rivaled even the Fourth Raikage.
Danzo's expression hardened.
"So fast!"
He reached for his arm, preparing to unleash Wood Release—
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Pain's voice cut through the battlefield.
Danzo felt his body yanked forward, straight into Sasuke's blade.
SLASH—
The blade, crackling with Lightning Release, sliced him clean in half.
Danzo's upper body tumbled through the air, his face blank with disbelief.
How… did this turn into a two-on-one?
__________
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