Danzō had no intention of holding anything back.
He directly used the "strongest genjutsu" on Yin Yue.
An Uchiha who possessed the Mangekyō.
An Uchiha who, instead of fleeing at this moment, dared to assassinate him.
That alone was enough for Danzō to take him seriously—and to grant him respect on the battlefield.
As for using Kotoamatsukami—
If he later couldn't suppress the mysterious masked man and Uchiha Itachi, that would be the monkey's problem!
At that instant—
Yingue stood motionless.
Inside his mind, his mental pathways were like reset program code, waiting to have thoughts and will rewritten.
This was a power he could not resist.
It ignored ocular power resistance.
It ignored resistance of will.
This Yin Release chakra was perfectly compatible with the human neural structure. It could seamlessly integrate into human perception from any angle.
Then—
It would weave another world.
A world the victim could neither perceive as false nor escape from.
And the owner of that world did not belong to the one trapped within it—
But to the caster.
Kotoamatsukami…
This Mangekyō technique, hailed as the strongest genjutsu, required over ten years before it could be used again after activation.
Yet once affected, the victim would essentially be controlled for life.
In the distance, seeing Yingue inexplicably restrained, the Uchiha's breathing became rapid. They unconsciously stepped back, their bodies stiff.
Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Nanpu, and the others seemed to see their own fate unfolding.
The assassination had failed.
Danzō's reinforcements—the Third Hokage—were already on their way with a large ANBU force.
They would follow their clansmen—those slaughtered by Itachi—
and be buried here tonight, reduced to dust in history.
In contrast, the ROOT members finally relaxed.
Their Lord Danzō truly lived up to his reputation—easily resolving such a perilous assassination!
They showed no emotional reaction whatsoever to their comrades who had been killed earlier by Danzō's Wind Release.
To them—
Dying by Lord Danzō's hand was itself an honor.
A ROOT squad leader glanced coldly at the nearby Uchiha and sneered:
"A bunch of leftover fish. Just wait to die."
The Uchiha turned pale. They didn't dare look at Yin Yue's fate, instinctively closing ranks around Izumi and the heavily injured Tamayoshi.
If they were going to die—
They would die together.
Izumi noticed Tamayoshi's badly wounded body tense up. She was about to speak—
When she saw the blood-soaked Tamayoshi suddenly widen his three-tomoe Sharingan, push himself up from the ground, straighten his back, and roar:
"Big brother didn't lose!!!"
From childhood to now, in Tamayoshi's eyes, Yin Yue had always kept his word.
When he said he would take him out of the hospital, he ignored the clan head and the clan's objections and took him away.
Now, when big brother said he'd lead them to revenge—
He really brought them here to kill Danzō!
Even if big brother died—
He still didn't lose!!
The other Uchiha lowered their heads in silence.
"I'll give you a quick death."
Danzō's expression was vicious.
His right hand had already torn out Yin Yue's left eye, blood arcing through the air. Under Kotoamatsukami's control, Yin Yue staggered backward.
"Heh…"
Danzō succeeded.
His emotions didn't show on his face—but inside, his excitement surpassed even when he stole Shisui's Mangekyō.
Another control-type Mangekyō!
Happiness had come far too suddenly.
He lowered his head and looked at the Sharingan in his hand, then directly embedded it into the empty socket on the back of his right hand.
This Hashirama-cell–cloned arm could perfectly withstand the ocular power impact of numerous Sharingan.
Its surface was lined with pitch-black cavities.
As the eye fused in, the cavity wrapped around it like a real eye socket.
Normally—
When Yin Yue earlier used Mangekyō mental control on him, the Kotoamatsukami in Danzō's brain should have been the first line of defense against invading ocular power.
But the Hashirama-cell arm replaced the brain's role and instinctively used the remaining three-tomoe ocular power in the arm to resist the Mangekyō—
Which resulted in Danzō's mind being controlled by Eight Thousand Spears instead.
Danzō understood.
This was because, in his aged body, the Hashirama cells ranked higher than his brain.
He currently couldn't control those cells—
And they had nearly gotten him killed.
"Hmph. As long as this old man is alive, nothing can escape my control.
You inherently evil Uchiha brat—
Accept judgment by fate!"
Danzō narrowed his aged eyes and walked slowly toward the retreating Yin Yue, using Kotoamatsukami to alter his will—forcing him to stand still and accept death.
Yin Yue froze in place.
Up to now, Danzō had only ever obtained one pair of three-tomoe Sharingan.
One had been consumed when he stole Shisui's Kotoamatsukami.
The remaining one had just been used to activate Izanagi, trading it for this Mangekyō.
Three-tomoe for Mangekyō—
What a bargain!
Feeling the brand-new power within his arm, Danzō had already reached Yin Yue.
Just as his mouth began to curl upward, ready to personally extinguish his opponent's life—
His smile suddenly dropped.
He sharply lowered his head and stared at the Hashirama-cell arm in shock.
He discovered—
This eye's ocular power was nowhere near as deep as a Mangekyō's.
Because—
Its ocular power… was draining!
Not only that.
Danzō's pupils widened as he watched the eye close, lose vitality, and begin brewing a technique he knew all too well.
A technique he had just used.
"Izanagi?" Danzō stared at Yin Yue in disbelief and demanded,
"How do you know this forbidden technique too?!"
Blind, submerged in darkness, and under Kotoamatsukami, Yin Yue covered his eyes.
He didn't answer.
But the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"No!!
You had no time to form seals—couldn't even do a one-handed seal!
Even if you know Izanagi, when could you have used it?
Izanagi requires hand seals!
And—
You even dared to sacrifice a Mangekyō?!
Who the hell are you?!"
Countless questions surged through Danzō's mind.
He was shocked by Yin Yue's true identity—
And even more shocked by his ruthless willingness to sacrifice a Mangekyō.
Suddenly, an answer surfaced.
Danzō's face twisted as he snarled:
"I get it—Transcription Seal!
You sealed Izanagi inside the Mangekyō beforehand, didn't you? Once attacked, it activates automatically!"
Yin Yue shook his head, denying Danzō's guess, looking at him with faint pity.
At this moment—
The roles of offense and defense reversed.
Yingue's Izanagi activated.
He erased all unfavorable outcomes affecting himself—
Being struck by Kotoamatsukami,
Losing the Kotoamatsukami he once possessed—
And gained one minute to rewrite reality.
Danzō's Izanagi had already expired long ago.
Now—
It was Yin Yue's turn to control the rules.
The Kotoamatsukami in Danzō's right eye socket vanished, leaving only a pitch-black hollow.
He completely lost his connection to it.
"Kotoamatsukami! My Kotoamatsukami!!"
The intense pain of losing an eye flooded Danzō's brain again, instantly leaving his spirit withered.
"You think I tore out my Mangekyō and placed Kotoamatsukami into my right eye for no reason?
Izanagi can only rewrite outcomes unfavorable to oneself.
I put Kotoamatsukami into my own eye.
Your Izanagi took it back.
You targeted me.
So when my Izanagi activated—
Kotoamatsukami naturally returned to my eye socket,
and automatically解除d the Kotoamatsukami affecting me.
And there's more.
Kotoamatsukami just returned to your body.
Even though you've already used it—
Your Hashirama cells nurtured it, greatly shortening its cooldown.
Am I right?"
As he spoke, light returned to Yin Yue's right eye.
Kotoamatsukami manifested—
And at the same time, he embedded the Eight Thousand Spears Mangekyō into his left eye.
At last—
An asymmetrical, terrifying image formed in his eye sockets.
Left eye:
Blade-shaped Mangekyō!
— Eight Thousand Spears
Right eye:
Shuriken-shaped Mangekyō!
— Kotoamatsukami
(End of Chapter)