"Swish!"
Shihouin Naraku appeared in front of Shimura Danzō, whose right arm had been severed, and swung his blade through the air, directly beheading his opponent!
"Damn it!"
The moment his head separated from his body, Shimura Danzō closed his eyes unwillingly.
In the next second, Shihouin Naraku blocked to his side with Kurikara in hand. With a metallic 'ding,' he deflected an air bullet that shot toward him like a projectile.
At the same time, the fallen Shimura Danzō vanished like a mirage, then reappeared dozens of meters behind Shihouin Naraku as if teleporting.
The Shimura Danzō who appeared again showed no injuries whatsoever, as if all of Shihouin Naraku's attacks had struck nothing but air.
"Curse you!"
Seeing Shihouin Naraku defend against his surprise attack, Shimura Danzō glared at him with a gloomy expression. "What do you think of the base that I worked so hard to build?"
"Hmm? You mean these ruins?"
Shihouin Naraku turned around, not at all surprised by Shimura Danzō's ability to come back to life.
But in Shimura Danzō's eyes, Naraku's calm demeanor was like being caught in a devastating storm!
He knows about Izanagi!
Shihouin Naraku definitely knows about Izanagi!
Izanagi was one of the most powerful dōjutsu of the Uchiha clan.
It could be activated by anyone possessing the Sharingan.
This powerful eye technique could turn any unfavorable events into illusions—things that never happened—allowing the user to choose only the reality that benefited them!
Even death could be reversed, which explained why Shimura Danzō was resurrected despite Shihouin Naraku killing him.
Of course, this powerful jutsu came with a severe drawback—it would cause the eye used to become permanently blind!
But Shimura Danzō had a total of eleven Sharingan eyes, including the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye socket. This meant he could be resurrected at least eleven times, and that was still an underestimation. As long as Izanagi was active, Danzō could potentially resurrect himself indefinitely.
With each eye making him invincible for one minute, he could survive for at least eleven minutes without truly dying!
Shihouin Naraku's gaze swept over Shimura Danzō's right arm. He had clearly seen that four of the Sharingan embedded there were already closed.
Excluding the time when Naraku had just killed Danzō, that meant Shimura Danzō had already died at least three times in the previous explosion of flame energy!
This was expected. The previous energy burst had been incredibly powerful. Shimura Danzō was lucky to have only died three times.
So Shihouin Naraku truly knew about Izanagi!
Shimura Danzō caught Naraku's glance at his right arm, and this confirmed that his opponent really did know about Izanagi!
This was not good news for Danzō.
His greatest trump card had been revealed, and his chances of winning had diminished significantly.
"Damn it! How does Shihouin Naraku know about Izanagi? He shouldn't possess this knowledge."
Shimura Danzō looked at what remained of his base, now reduced to ruins, and the rage in his heart grew stronger!
Especially since he had lost three Sharingan eyes in the attack that destroyed the base, which made Danzō even more furious.
Three chances of resurrection wasted before the battle had truly begun. This would be unacceptable to anyone.
Burned to death once by the flames!
Crushed to death by the shock wave!
Finally buried alive by the collapsing ruins!
Shimura Danzō knew that considering the devastating power of that attack, he was fortunate to have lost only three Sharingan.
What worried him more now was that even after unleashing such a terrifying attack, Shihouin Naraku's breathing remained steady, his movements powerful, and his speed increasing. It didn't appear that he had consumed much chakra at all.
Danzō couldn't believe it. Shihouin Naraku still had significant strength left.
"What are you thinking about? If you won't come to me, I'll come to you!"
Before he even finished speaking, Shihouin Naraku appeared in front of Danzō as if teleporting, with flames igniting on Kurikara's blade.
"Fire Style: Kagura God Flame Dance!"
With the powerful explosive force of his fire chakra, Shihouin Naraku's body glowed with a ring of orange-red flames. The fire licked the air, emitting a scorching heat as the flaming tip of his pitch-black blade pierced Danzō's heart.
"Gah!"
Shimura Danzō coughed up blood!
The next second, Danzō's figure disappeared again, and when he reappeared, he was standing to the right behind Shihouin Naraku.
Five!
"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere Jutsu!"
Shimura Danzō continuously expelled Wind Style chakra gathered in his throat toward Shihouin Naraku's position, firing bullet-like air projectiles in rapid succession, like a machine gun!
Shihouin Naraku, not yet having fully reacted to the swift attack, quickly flipped in mid-air. He infused his left foot with Lightning Style chakra and stomped on the ground. The earth exploded instantly, air waves surged, and countless cracks spread outward.
"Now!"
In an instant, Shihouin Naraku's figure tore through the air with deafening thunder surrounding him. He appeared in front of Danzō again, his blade whistling as it drew a beautiful circular dance of fire!
"Fire Style: Kagura Circular Flame Dance!"
With a "whoosh," Danzō's body was cleaved in two!
Six!
In another instant, Danzō reappeared with a kunai in hand, materializing in mid-air and lunging at Shihouin Naraku.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A small fireball rolled beneath Shihouin Naraku's feet. The moment it struck the ground, it suddenly expanded and erupted, engulfing both of them. The raging fire devoured everything, creating a sea of flames.
Seven!
Izanagi transformed the outcome that was unfavorable to Danzō. Shimura Danzō ignored the still fiercely burning sea of fire, endured the pain of burns covering his entire body, and aimed the right eye—stolen from Uchiha Shisui—at Shihouin Naraku, who never lowered his head.
Sharingan genjutsu activated!
The moment the illusion was cast, Shihouin Naraku's figure suddenly froze!
"I got him!!!"
Shimura Danzō had never heard of Shihouin Naraku having any expertise in genjutsu, so when he saw this, he had no doubts whatsoever.
Of course, Danzō did not immediately use the ability of Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan—Kotoamatsukami—because he felt it was unnecessary.
"Go to hell!"
The kunai pierced Shihouin Naraku mercilessly, but Danzō was stunned as he felt no resistance against his blade.
A clone?
When did he...?
Shihouin Naraku, who had already leapt upward, was now behind Danzō's head. Kurikara drew a straight line, splitting his opponent in half from head to toe!
Eight!
Shimura Danzō, who appeared again, felt panic for the first time. Why hadn't the genjutsu worked? Could it be that Shihouin Naraku was also skilled in illusion techniques?
He had never heard such information!
Yes, Shihouin Naraku was never known for genjutsu!
But he was immune to illusions!
The figure of Shihouin Naraku in his vision grew closer and closer. Shimura Danzō had already seen the murderous intent in his opponent's calm eyes, so without hesitation, he unleashed the most powerful genjutsu in the ninja world—Kotoamatsukami!
The illusion of Kotoamatsukami enveloped the area, but Shihouin Naraku did not stop. Instead, his speed increased until his blade sliced across Shimura Danzō's throat!
Nine!
"Kotoamatsukami!"
In the first second after Shimura Danzō was resurrected, he once again aimed the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye at Shihouin Naraku. Izanagi refreshed Kotoamatsukami's cooldown, and the strongest genjutsu in the ninja world was activated once more.
"Puff!"
Blood splattered and spilled onto the ground.
Ten!!!
----------------
You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion