Naruto: The Uchiha They Should Have Killed

Shimura Danzō's eyes sharpened as he focused intently on Uchiha Ren's hands, not daring to relax for even a moment.

"Boar… Dog… Rooster… Monkey… Ram…"

"So this is Izanami?"

In Danzō's view, it didn't really matter how powerful this so-called Izanami was or whether it could suppress Izanagi.

After all, he now possessed the Sharingan as well—four three-tomoe Sharingan, in fact.

Using the enemy's techniques to counter them—that was perfectly reasonable.

Perhaps he could use Izanami to counter Ren's Izanami.

After all, one of the Sharingan's most well-known abilities was copying techniques.

But something about Ren's hand seals felt oddly familiar…

It was as if he had seen them somewhere before.

"Summoning Technique!"

Ren pressed his hand into the air. A cloud of white smoke burst forth, and a crow flapped its wings as it emerged, landing on Ren's shoulder.

Black lines instantly formed across Danzō's face.

At the same time, suspicion arose in his heart regarding the so-called Izanami Ren had mentioned.

"Disappointed?" Ren chuckled. "You'll understand the terror of Izanami soon enough."

He raised one hand in a sword-hand seal, grabbed the Zanka no Tachi from the ground with the other, and charged straight toward Danzō.

Knowing how dangerous Ren was, Danzō didn't dare hesitate.

He immediately activated Izanagi.

Clang!

The Zanka no Tachi in Ren's hand collided with the Wind Release blade formed in Danzō's hand, producing a sharp metallic crash.

At the same moment, the crow on Ren's shoulder soared into the air.

Several black feathers shimmering with a faint rainbow sheen drifted downward.

"That was… a Sharingan?"

Though he had only glimpsed it briefly, Danzō still noticed the crimson three-tomoe Sharingan inside the crow's eye socket.

In that moment of distraction, a tremendous force surged through his wrist. Danzō staggered backward, stepping on one of the crow's falling feathers.

There was no time to think.

Ren's next attack had already arrived.

After forcing Danzō back, Ren rotated the Zanka no Tachi and slashed toward Danzō's left shoulder.

Danzō's gaze turned sharp.

He halted his steps and abandoned defense entirely, swinging his blade back toward Ren in retaliation.

Slash!

The Zanka no Tachi plunged directly into Danzō's body, slicing downward without the slightest resistance.

At the same moment, Danzō's wind blade stabbed toward Ren's chest—aiming straight for his heart.

"Caw—! Caw—! Caw—!"

Ren's body suddenly exploded into a flock of crows that scattered in all directions.

Danzō showed no surprise.

He knew Uchiha Ren wouldn't be defeated that easily.

The next instant, Danzō's body dissolved into bubbles and vanished from the spot.

Meanwhile, the scattered crows regrouped in midair, reforming Ren's body.

As soon as he landed, Ren rolled to the side—

But he was still a fraction too slow.

Danzō appeared behind him and seized Ren's wrist.

"Heh… got you."

Danzō sneered as sealing formulas spread across his chest.

Blood burst outward as the markings of the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing appeared.

"Hahahaha!"

"Uchiha Ren, no matter how powerful you are, at this distance there's no escaping my Reverse Four Symbols Sealing!"

Danzō laughed madly, his eyes filled with the exhilaration of revenge.

Yet Ren made no attempt to break free immediately.

Instead, he turned his head and gave Danzō a strange smile.

"At this distance?"

"The distance you're talking about… is it this one?"

Before he finished speaking—

Danzō's vision blurred.

Ren vanished.

The thing he was gripping in his hand had turned into—

A crow.

"You mean the distance between us right now?"

Ren's voice sounded from afar.

Danzō suddenly looked up.

Only then did he realize Ren had appeared dozens of meters away, positioned perfectly outside the range of the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing.

"A genjutsu?! When—?"

Danzō narrowed his eyes, carefully analyzing what had just happened.

"Right… the crow!"

"I made eye contact with it earlier!"

Recalling that brief moment during the battle, Danzō finally relaxed slightly.

He wasn't afraid of falling under a genjutsu.

What frightened him was not knowing when it had begun.

Because if that were the case, he would never know whether he was still trapped in the illusion—or whether he might fall into another one without realizing it.

Danzō gave up trying to use the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing to eliminate Ren.

Now that Ren had escaped the sealing range, it was impossible to catch him again with his speed.

Better to conserve energy and settle the battle after resurrection.

The next moment—

Another massive black sphere rose into the air.

The already sunken ground collapsed even deeper.

When the light faded, Danzō's figure reappeared in the crater, while Ren stood calmly at the edge facing him.

Danzō tested cautiously:

"That genjutsu just now… was it the Izanami technique you mentioned?"

Ren raised his hand.

A crow descended from the sky and landed on his shoulder.

He shook his head.

"That was nothing more than an ordinary genjutsu. How could it possibly compare to Izanami?"

"If Izanagi is a technique that changes fate and rewrites reality…"

"Then Izanami is the technique that decides fate and determines reality."

"Although Izanami and Izanagi exist on the same level, in terms of compatibility—"

"Izanami completely counters Izanagi."

"I see…" Danzō's eyes flickered slightly.

"Then please, Clan Head Uchiha… allow me to witness this so-called Izanami."

Ren smiled.

"Haven't you already?"

"!!!"

Danzō's heart suddenly tightened.

He sensed nothing unusual—

Yet he could feel Ren wasn't speaking without reason.

Wait.

It wasn't that there was no anomaly at all.

Danzō looked toward the crow perched on Ren's shoulder.

If he remembered correctly…

That crow should have already been killed by the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing earlier.

Did the crow revive along with him?

Or had Ren simply summoned another one to confuse him?

Danzō's thoughts became a tangled mess.

For the first time, his composure faltered.

"Heh. No need to rush if you can't figure it out."

"We have plenty of time."

Ren chuckled softly.

Then he once again raised the Zanka no Tachi and charged toward Danzō.

Knowing how terrifying Ren was, Danzō didn't dare hesitate.

He immediately activated Izanagi again.

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