Fu had to buy as much time as he could—even if only to witness whether his teammates' plan could truly succeed.
"He let those nanoinsects spread into the water after his death. They can't survive long in open air, but under these conditions, they can last for a while even without a host body."
This was one of their methods to deal with the Prajna Group—polluting their water supply, like this.
Now, Kisame's skin had nearly turned purple, his condition worsening by the second. He kept swallowing lake water...
Water contaminated by the insects—Kisame had absorbed far more toxins than Fu had ever been exposed to, enough to kill him outright.
"Good job…" Fu closed his eyes and finally gave in to the cellular destruction caused by Root's insects.
Elsewhere, Kisame let out a piercing scream until his eyes rolled back.
After absorbing massive amounts of poisoned water, there was no way for him to recover—he could only die in agonizing pain.
With Kisame's death, Samehada separated from his body, and the giant sphere of unsupported water collapsed, causing the lake level to rise again.
Three corpses—Kisame, Fu, and Torune—floated silently on the surface of the water, lifeless.
Samehada let out a mournful cry too.
By now, night had already fallen, and the pure silver moonlight shone across the lake, casting a veil of melancholy over this battlefield of death.
## Danzo VS Itachi ##
Danzo glanced down at his right arm—the four eyes upon it had gone dim. "Still six Sharingan left. Itachi took out four. I hope defeating Kisame didn't use up too many."
Suddenly, in the distance, came the anguished scream of the summoned beast Mugan, then it vanished without a trace.
No explosion appeared in sight, no signs of battle, nor any trace of Itachi himself.
"Itachi defeated my summoned beast… using Genjutsu, which is why there was no fierce fight. So he really is still alive," Danzo thought to himself.
Itachi moved so fast that he left no trace behind—a true testament to the power of a former Anbu Commander. He walked toward the direction where Mugan disappeared.
"Izanagi—the most forbidden of the Sharingan techniques," Itachi's voice echoed. Danzo stopped walking. "It can erase the boundary between illusion and reality… at the cost of permanently robbing the used Sharingan of its light."
Itachi stood not far away, his Akatsuki cloak gone, revealing the wounds scattered across his body.
"To escape death, such a price seems small, doesn't it, Danzo?"
"You're right, Itachi," Danzo admitted. "I'm afraid of death—I've been afraid of it for a long time. I feared that without me, Konoha would lose its direction, that no one would protect the village's right wing... My death would lead to the destruction of the village."
At those words, a mocking smile crossed Itachi's face.
Itachi froze, surprised by Danzo's realization. Could this stubborn old man have actually changed?
"What exactly do you mean?"
"The village existed long before I gained the power of Root," Danzo said, pulling out a kunai. After infusing it with wind chakra, the kunai's surface coated the blade in a sharp chakra edge, taking the shape of a curved sword.
"Light and darkness must both be protected to maintain balance and ensure Konoha's safety. Sarutobi safeguards the light, passing the Will of Fire down to the younger generation... while I lead Root Division, protecting Konoha from the shadows. Even if I die, the village will continue to exist. I believe in Konoha's future, and in the next Hokage—Naruto Uzumaki."
"Do you truly believe that?" Itachi asked, his Susanoo once again manifesting around him. The strain of excessive chakra use was beginning to affect his body. "Do you really believe Naruto can become Hokage and protect Konoha?"
"I'd stake my life on it!" Danzo declared, forming two quick hand seals. [Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!]
He inhaled deeply and unleashed a massive chakra-infused wind sphere toward Itachi.
Susanoo easily blocked the straightforward attack.
"You failed to guide your brother toward a future," Itachi said coldly, "and instead forced him to drown in the past!"
A flicker of hatred flashed in Itachi's eyes as Susanoo swung its Spirit Blade toward Danzo.
Danzo raised his right arm, calling forth a massive tree from the sand to block the blow.
However, Susanoo's Spirit Blade was no ordinary weapon—it sliced effortlessly through the tree and continued toward Danzo.
"You have no right to judge what you do not understand," Itachi said coldly.
Danzo's body vanished once more. When he reappeared, Susanoo's eyes glimmered with golden light, and suddenly, flames erupted around Danzo.
"You know nothing about what I've done to myself!"
"You surpass even those skilled at manipulating hearts," Danzo's voice came from all directions. His figure appeared again, his breathing now slightly labored.
Prolonged use of Izanagi and the Sharingan had placed a heavy burden on his body, not to mention the First Hokage's cells he had implanted into himself.
"Indeed, you were Madara's favored student," Danzo continued. "Like him, you possess the talent to twist another's will. Even Shisui's Kotoamatsukami could not alter Sasuke's will as thoroughly as you did."
"Silence!" Itachi roared in anger, commanding Susanoo into a fierce assault aimed at utterly destroying Danzo. Never before had he felt such fury—not even close. The closest he had ever come to such rage was when he believed Naruto had killed Sasuke.
The Spirit Blade of Susanoo swung repeatedly, leaving Danzo without a means of escape.
Itachi kept attacking relentlessly, even though the continuous use of Susanoo and excessive chakra consumption were worsening his physical strain.
He needed to end this fight soon.
As this thought crossed his mind, he swung the Spirit Blade again, landing two consecutive strikes.
Danzo reappeared once more above Susanoo's blade—but then Susanoo's eyes flashed gold again, and flames erupted where Danzo stood, engulfing him instantly.
Itachi knew Danzo wasn't dead yet.
If he were truly dead, he wouldn't keep launching these near-suicidal counterattacks.
Even an attack as unavoidable as Amaterasu could be evaded through Izanagi.
As expected, Danzo reappeared—the power of Izanagi had been invoked once more.
The power of Susanoo was indeed formidable, but it also consumed an enormous amount of chakra.
Danzo had no chance of reaching Itachi again. Even if he broke through Susanoo's defenses, he still couldn't land a fatal blow.
Itachi could clearly feel the immense strain that continuous use of the Sharingan was placing on his body. Yet he would never dare use that eye—the one that belonged to Shisui. That eye was far too valuable to squander in a place like this.
"I must…" Itachi thought, suddenly breaking into a violent cough, "…conserve chakra."
Draining all his chakra here would accomplish nothing, yet Danzo had turned out to be more troublesome than expected.
Realizing this, Itachi released his Susanoo.
There was no point risking his life tonight—Danzo simply wasn't worth it.
"It's time to end this, Danzo."
Danzo looked down at his right arm—only a few Sharingan remained. He had used Izanagi too many times evading Susanoo's attacks.
"So this is truly our final battle?" he asked, staring at Itachi. "After everything we've sacrificed, can you really bring yourself to throw it all away?"
Itachi didn't answer. Words were useless now.
Between them, only one would walk away.
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