Danzō didn't hesitate. He used the so-called "strongest genjutsu," Kotoamatsukami, directly on Inzuki.

An Uchiha with the Mangekyō…

An Uchiha who dared to strike now rather than flee…

That alone warranted Danzō's respect—at least as a combatant.

As for wasting Kotoamatsukami?

If he couldn't suppress the masked man or Uchiha Itachi afterward—

that would be Hiruzen's problem.

In the next instant—

Inzuki stood frozen.

Inside his mind, his neural pathways were like reset code, awaiting reprogramming.

It was a force he couldn't resist.

It ignored ocular resistance.

It ignored willpower.

This Yin-nature chakra perfectly matched human neurostructure. It could integrate into the perception system from any angle.

Then, it would construct an illusionary world—

one the target would be utterly unaware of and completely unable to escape.

A world…

ruled not by the victim—

but by the caster.

This was Kotoamatsukami.

The fabled "strongest genjutsu" of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Once used, it required years to recharge.

But to the victim—

it was a lifetime of manipulation.

From afar, the Uchiha watched Inzuki fall silent, his body stiff.

They instinctively stepped back, breathing erratic.

Izumi, Nanami, and the others saw what awaited them.

If Inzuki's assassination failed, Danzō's reinforcements—the Third Hokage and his ANBU—were already en route.

Like their slaughtered kin in the district, they would be buried tonight…

forgotten in the dust of history.

In contrast, the Root operatives exhaled in relief.

Their Lord Danzō had lived up to his name.

He had dismantled a lethal ambush… with ease.

Even those whose comrades died under Danzō's Wind Style showed no grief.

To them—

dying by Danzō's hand was an honor.

One Root squad captain sneered at the nearby Uchiha:

"Stragglers. Just wait for your turn."

The Uchiha's faces turned pale.

None dared to look directly at Inzuki.

They instinctively shielded Izumi and the heavily injured Tamayo.

If they were going to die—

they'd die together.

Izumi noticed Tamayo's wounded body trembling.

She was about to speak—

when the blood-soaked boy suddenly stood up.

His three-tomoe eyes wide with defiance.

He straightened his back and shouted:

"Big Brother didn't lose!!"

From childhood to now, Tamayo had always believed in Inzuki.

When Inzuki said he'd take him from the hospital—

he did, despite clan resistance.

When Inzuki said they'd take revenge—

he brought them here to strike at Danzō.

Even if he died…

He hadn't lost.

The other Uchiha lowered their heads in silence.

Danzō, expression dark, said coldly:

"I'll make it quick."

His fingers were already gripping Inzuki's left eye, blood streaking through the air.

Inzuki staggered, body reeling under the weight of Kotoamatsukami.

"Heh…"

Danzō, expression unreadable, was inwardly thrilled.

Even more so than when he stole Shisui's eye.

Another Mangekyō—

a control-type one.

Power had come too easily.

He looked at the eye in his hand, then implanted it into the hollow slot on his right hand.

This Hashirama-cell-cloned arm could withstand immense ocular power.

Dark holes ran along its surface like eye sockets.

The Mangekyō slid into place, enveloped by tissue like it belonged.

But…

The moment the eye settled in—

Something went wrong.

The mental defense against Inzuki's Mangekyō should have defaulted to Danzō's own Kotoamatsukami.

But instead—

His arm reacted first.

Its embedded three-tomoe Sharingan tried to defend him.

It failed.

Yasaka Spear's influence slipped through.

Danzō realized the truth:

The Hashirama cells in his body—

took precedence over his own brain.

And because of that—

He had almost gotten himself killed.

"Hmph. As long as I'm alive,

nothing escapes my control."

"You inherently wicked Uchiha brat…

face your judgment."

Danzō narrowed his aged eyes, stepping toward the reeling Inzuki.

He activated Kotoamatsukami to rewrite Inzuki's will—

to stop him in place,

make him accept death willingly.

Inzuki froze.

At this point, Danzō had only one three-tomoe Sharingan remaining.

One had been spent using Kotoamatsukami long ago.

The remaining one had just been burned through to activate Izanagi,

allowing him to trade a basic eye for a Mangekyō.

A good deal, in his eyes.

He took a moment to sense the new power flowing into his arm.

By now, he was standing directly in front of Inzuki.

Danzō's lips curled into a sneer.

But just as he was about to end it—

He froze.

He looked down at his arm.

The Sharingan in its socket…

was dimming.

Its chakra—was leaking away.

Worse—

The eye was closing.

And then—

He felt it.

A jutsu he had just used himself…

"Izanagi?!"

Danzō looked at Inzuki, shocked.

"You know this forbidden technique too?!"

Inzuki, blinded and bloodied, clutched his face.

He said nothing.

But the corner of his lips curled upward.

"No!! You didn't form a single seal!

You don't have time!

Izanagi requires hand signs to activate!"

"And you—you actually sacrificed your Mangekyō?!"

"Who the hell are you?!"

Danzō's mind exploded with questions.

He was shaken not only by Inzuki's identity…

But by the fact that this child was willing to sacrifice his Mangekyō without hesitation.

Then—

The answer struck him.

Danzō's face twisted.

"You… pre-sealed Izanagi into your Mangekyō, didn't you?!

A transfer seal trigger?!

It activated the moment you were struck?!"

Inzuki shook his head slowly, eyes gleaming with pity.

For a man so obsessed with control—

Danzō couldn't even control the rules of battle anymore.

The tables had turned.

Inzuki's Izanagi had activated.

He erased all unfavorable outcomes:

Being struck by Kotoamatsukami

Losing his Mangekyō

And giving up Kotoamatsukami

For the next sixty seconds,

he held the power to rewrite reality.

Danzō's own Izanagi…

had long expired.

Now, Inzuki was the god on the field.

Suddenly—

The Kotoamatsukami eye in Danzō's hand…

disintegrated.

His right socket became a gaping void once more.

"My eye—Kotoamatsukami!!"

Danzō's mind was wracked with pain.

The eye was gone.

The power lost.

"You really think I shoved Kotoamatsukami into my eye for nothing?"

"Izanagi can only rewrite events that negatively affect the caster."

"So when you used your Izanagi to steal the eye—

it counted as a negative outcome for me."

"Now that I used Izanagi—reality reverts."

"The eye returns to me."

"And the genjutsu you placed on me—is undone."

"Also…"

"That eye you just recovered from me—

had been warmed by your Hashirama cells.

It drastically reduced its cooldown."

"I'm right, aren't I?"

Inzuki's right eye gleamed once again.

Kotoamatsukami—reborn.

Simultaneously—

He embedded Yasaka Spear back into his left socket.

Now—

His eyes burned with unmatched power:

Left Eye: Blade-patterned Mangekyō

Yasaka Spear

Right Eye: Shuriken-patterned Mangekyō

Kotoamatsukami

The Uchiha hadn't lost.

The revenge… was just beginning.