Danzo's eyes remained fixed on the devastation before him. The explosion had been immense—devastating enough to erase anyone from existence. Even he had to take a step back from the sheer force of it. Victory should have been certain.
"He should be injured greatly?"
But something was wrong. The air shifted, thick with something unnatural.
Beside Danzo, the space distorted subtly, and suddenly—Obito was there.
"You…" Obito's voice was laced with exhaustion, but his glare cut through Danzo like a blade. His breathing was still ragged, his shoulders rising and falling with each strained inhale. "You planned to take me down with that explosion, didn't you?"
Danzo met his gaze without flinching. "With Izanagi, I knew you wouldn't die." His tone was dismissive, but Obito caught the flicker of calculation behind his eyes. "Besides, I eliminated a formidable enemy for you. You should be thanking me."
Obito exhaled sharply, half a scoff, half an attempt to catch his breath. He could still feel the residual heat of the explosion licking at his skin, his entire body aching from prolonged use of Kamui. He had barely made it out in time. Had Izanagi not been active…
But before he could respond, a voice shattered the illusion of Danzo's victory.
"Hiding for so long… and this is what you came up with?"
Danzo stiffened. A chill ran down his spine as the voice echoed through the field. Slowly, the flames at the center of the explosion began to dim, replaced by an eerie golden glow.
No… It can't be.
The battlefield fell into sudden silence.
Danzo's throat went dry. Root members shifted uneasily, weapons clutched tighter.
A slow, deliberate footstep rang out.
Then another.
And then—the smoke parted.
Kaito stood amidst the rubble, unscathed. His figure was wreathed in golden light, a faint, flickering aura of something ancient and terrifying. A pair of luminous ribs encased his form like a spectral guardian.
A gust of wind swept through the battlefield, fully dispersing the smoke. And there it stood—Susanoo.
Danzo took an involuntary step back, his mind racing. "That… that…"
The golden ribs of the spectral warrior expanded. In a matter of moments, they grew, stretching into form—arms materializing, a head rising from the glowing energy, the entire construct taking shape.
"This is… Susanoo!"
Danzo's voice was barely above a whisper, but the weight of the name sent a shockwave through the battlefield. Root operatives, trained to be emotionless, could not suppress their visible unease.
Obito watched in silence, his previous exhaustion momentarily forgotten.
"Mangekyō Sharingan…"
He had suspected Kaito was hiding something, but this? Awakening Susanoo required both power and time to master. Had Kaito been concealing this for years? Obito narrowed his eyes. At that time… when I recruited him… Had he already unlocked the Mangekyō? Had he lied to him?
Obito clenched his fists. This guy… how long has he been planning this?
Meanwhile, Kaito's gaze was steady, locked onto Danzo. "Haven't you always coveted Uchiha power?" His voice was calm, almost mocking. "Then let me show you what it truly means."
Obito took a step back, fading into the distorted space of Kamui. Danzo's presence here had served its purpose—there was no need for him to waste energy now. Let them handle each other.
Kaito watched him go but didn't move to stop him. He had other matters to handle.
Susanoo grew.
The skeletal frame expanded, golden light weaving muscle and armor onto its structure. By the time Kaito stood merely ten meters away, Susanoo loomed thirty meters tall, its enormous shadow swallowing Danzo and his men whole.
Root operatives, unshaken even in the face of death, hesitated.
Danzo's jaw tightened. Madara Uchiha… He had seen this power before. He knew what it meant. The kind of destruction it could bring. The kind of devastation it could unleash.
In front of this titan, he and his forces were nothing more than ants.
A bead of sweat slid down his temple.
And Kaito smiled.