In truth, Saru's hesitation and inner struggle had never held any real meaning.
Because from the very moment Uchiha Hatoha awakened his eyes, the power of choice was no longer in Saru's hands. Leaving aside just how terrifying Uchiha Hatoha's strength had become after opening his Mangekyō Sharingan, there was also Black Zetsu lurking in the shadows, that ancient schemer who had survived for a thousand years.
And besides,
to be honest,
there was no need for Black Zetsu to act at all.
Hatoha alone had already displayed overwhelming dominance over the battlefield.
With his Susanoo stabilized in its second form and operating at full output, he reached into the void itself and drew forth a massive naginata.
The purple-black Susanoo gripped that enormous weapon and proceeded to cut through the battlefield like a harvesting storm.
The Konoha ANBU were nothing more than grass to be reaped.
No matter how desperately they struggled, they could not withstand the edge of that blade.
"This won't work, Saru, this is impossible. We can't hold out!"
Aburame Kenshira roared.
"…Could it be the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan? But how is that even possible? The Second Hokage's notes clearly stated that only Uchiha Madara ever awakened the so-called Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and Madara was personally killed by the First Hokage!"
Saru was on the verge of breaking down.
Although they had been forced into confronting this purple-black Susanoo head-on,
his initial mindset had actually been fairly steady.
According to the records left behind by the Second Hokage, Susanoo's power was indeed unquestionable. However, sustaining such power was also extremely difficult. As long as they dragged the battle out, Susanoo would eventually collapse on its own.
Because maintaining that power consumed not only ocular power, but also the light of the Mangekyō Sharingan itself.
In simpler terms,
overusing the Mangekyō Sharingan led inevitably to blindness.
Only Uchiha Madara, who had awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, could freely wield that terrifying power capable of contending with the First Hokage's Wood Release without suffering blindness.
Therefore,
when facing an Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, if one lacked the power to confront them directly and had no way to escape, then stalling was the best and only chance at survival.
That was why,
at the start, Saru, Aburame Kenshira, and the others had all remained calm, joining forces to resist Susanoo's attacks.
However,
the Susanoo before them far exceeded their estimates.
The Uchiha hidden within it behaved as though he had no concern at all for the consequences of blindness, wantonly burning through that overwhelming power and crushing their combined resistance with unstoppable force.
One by one, they fell beneath the naginata's blade.
Their deaths,
were unimaginably brutal.
But that was unavoidable. The naginata wielded by Susanoo was simply too massive. Even a light graze meant shattered bones and torn sinews. A direct hit often left nothing behind at all. Only patches of bloodstained earth remained.
As the battle dragged on,
there were scarcely any living souls still standing.
"Crack!"
This time, Aburame Kenshira failed to evade.
His body was clipped by the blade.
In an instant, he burst apart like a water-filled balloon struck by force. His blood was flung hundreds of meters away by the sweeping edge of the naginata.
"Kenshira!"
Saru shouted.
His mind was already standing at the edge of collapse.
At that moment,
"Takeo, we can't escape."
The female ANBU who had silently followed Saru all this time suddenly spoke. She did not use his codename, but instead called him by his real name. Looking at him, she spoke softly.
"I'll buy you time. Find a way to leave information for Father."
The next instant,
the female ANBU reached up and removed her mask, pulled out a soldier pill, and swallowed it.
Then,
she formed hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!"
She poured every last drop of her chakra into the strongest Earth Release she had ever performed in her life. She did not choose to attack Susanoo, but instead erected a defensive technique to buy time for her husband.
"Midori…"
Saru,
or rather,
Sarutobi Takeo, stared at the towering earthen wall rising before him. Tears spilled uncontrollably from his eyes, dripping from his chin to the ground.
Yet he did not stop his wife.
Instead, he bit into his thumb and slammed his bloodied palm against the earth.
"Summoning Technique!"
A cloud of chakra smoke billowed out, and a massive, powerfully built monkey appeared. Its fur and beard were pure white, and it wore a tiger-skin garment.
"Takeo, huh? What kind of powerful enemy did you call me out for…"
The monkey looked at Sarutobi Takeo and spoke.
But before it could finish,
its voice was cut off by a world-shaking impact.
The purple-black Susanoo swung its naginata with full force, slashing straight into the towering earthen wall ahead. With a single strike, it completely destroyed the wall that had consumed every bit of Sarutobi Midori's chakra.
Her figure, standing atop the wall, vanished along with it.
"Takeo, th-this… this is Susanoo?"
The monkey was stunned.
The sight,
was utterly terrifying.
In the past, it had only ever witnessed Uchiha Madara's Susanoo from afar while accompanying Sarutobi Hiruzen, watching it clash with the First Hokage's Wood Golem. It had never observed an Uchiha's Susanoo from such close proximity.
"Enma, tell Father this for me. Mizushiro realized escape was impossible and self-detonated together with Uchiha Tsuruha. After that, an unidentified Uchiha appeared, one who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, possibly even the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. He first killed the two Kumo shinobi who came to receive Mizushiro, then turned his blade on us…"
The words,
ended abruptly.
Because the purple-black blade had already descended overhead.
Sarutobi Takeo immediately dispelled the summoning technique.
Enma vanished.
Then,
the blade fell.
Sarutobi Takeo's figure was erased from the world just like that. When the purple-black blade was lifted once more, all that remained was a deep gash in the earth, faintly stained with dark red blood mixed into the soil.
...
In the shadows,
"…That monkey got away. Is that really fine?"
"It's not a problem."
Black Zetsu replied calmly.
The Eye of the Moon Plan was never rigid. As long as the key threads were firmly grasped, adjusting the finer details was of little consequence. Besides, Uchiha Hatoha's performance had been far more spectacular than expected. To wield Susanoo to such a degree the moment his eyes awakened…
Perhaps there was no longer any need to act under Uchiha Madara's name in the future.
Still,
how exactly things would proceed,
would have to wait until Hatoha calmed down.
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