When Danzo saw that Uchiha Yuan had wiped out over a dozen Root ninja in an instant, he was overwhelmed with dread.
Keep in mind, those Root operatives around him were all elite-level—at minimum special jōnin, including three jōnin and one elite jōnin. And yet, Yuan had eliminated them in a single exchange. His power now rivaled that of Hiruzen Sarutobi or Minato Namikaze.
"Uchiha Yuan, you dare lay hands on me? Are you trying to betray the village?" Danzo asked coldly.
Yuan responded with a brilliant smile—and in the next moment, his figure vanished.
Danzo was stunned, then felt a searing pain in his arm.
He quickly turned his head and saw that Yuan had cut off his right arm.
"Uchiha Yuan, you—"
"Danzo, why isn't your wound bleeding? And what's that white stuff at the cut?" Yuan asked as he picked up the severed arm.
Danzo's expression changed dramatically. Just as he was about to speak, Yuan's blade was already at his throat.
Danzo realized then that Yuan must have discovered his secret.
"Where did you get intel on me?"
"You guess."
Danzo scowled and leaned forward, his throat being slashed open by Yuan's blade.
Then the surroundings distorted—Yuan's blade vanished, the severed arm disappeared, and Danzo reappeared several meters away, unharmed.
"So that's what Izanagi looks like… interesting. I wonder how many Sharingan you've got on you—how many revivals you can pull off," Yuan said as he charged in again.
Previously, Yuan's teleportation gave him unmatched short-range movement, but his attack speed was still lacking—allowing some to react.
Now, with improved swordsmanship and mastery over Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Yuan had patched that weakness.
Again, Danzo couldn't react in time—Yuan beheaded him with a single strike.
Danzo died, and once more the world twisted—another Izanagi triggered. Danzo revived again, his chakra significantly diminished from using two Izanagi in a row.
"Uchiha Yuan… I admit defeat this time. But we'll settle this another day."
"Another day? You don't really think you can escape, do you?" Yuan asked with a smirk.
"Your Uchiha clan has two forbidden dōjutsu. I've used Izanagi… what makes you think I haven't mastered Izanami as well?" Danzo tore off the bandage covering his eye, revealing a crimson Sharingan.
Yuan's face darkened. He knew the effect of Izanami—if caught, he'd be completely at Danzo's mercy.
He instinctively broke eye contact.
The next moment, countless venomous insects surged toward him. At the same time, Yuan felt something invading his mind—trying to seize control of his body.
He instantly realized he'd been played—Danzo had been stalling for backup.
The swarm of poisonous insects enveloped Yuan's body, which was under the control of the Mind Body Switch Technique.
Yuan snorted coldly, using his ocular power to forcibly eject the invader from his consciousness. Then, he burst into Lightning Release Chakra Mode, electrocuting all the insects to ash.
He quickly took out and swallowed an antidote pill—not an ordinary one, but a specially made pill by the Aburame Clan, which he had obtained from Shibi Aburame himself.
By the time he had done all this, Danzo had already fled. Yuan swept his gaze toward the four figures who had cast jutsu on him from afar.
They appeared to be members of the Aburame and Yamanaka clans.
Yuan vanished from his spot and reappeared before the four in an instant. With a flash of purple lightning from his blade, all four were beheaded.
He then teleported back to the battlefield. He had originally intended to finish off Danzo quickly so he could rush to help Nagato and the others.
But the delay had cost him—Danzo escaped, and things had gone sideways with Nagato's group.
Just like in the original timeline, to save Konan, Yahiko had deliberately impaled himself on a kunai.
However, this time Yahiko was not dead—he hadn't pierced his heart, only his lung.
Yuan's Mind's Eye clearly sensed Yahiko was still alive.
Yahiko's actions had clearly shocked Nagato, who stood frozen.
From high above, Hanzo saw Nagato distracted and tried to finish him off. He immediately ordered the surrounding Amegakure ninja to attack.
Yuan was about to move when Nagato acted first!
A powerful repulsive force erupted from Nagato's body, instantly repelling all incoming kunai.
Yuan frowned and muttered, "Shinra Tensei? So the Outer Path of the Rinnegan awakens now?"
With the Rinnegan's aid, Nagato easily deflected the attacks.
He tried to escape with Yahiko and Konan, but Hanzo wasn't about to let them go so easily. He had rigged the ground with explosive tags.
As Nagato helped Konan up, Hanzo triggered the trap.
Yuan immediately teleported in front of them. A blue humanoid giant manifested, wrapping Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato in its protective form.
Boom!
After the explosion, the trio, protected by Susanoo, remained unscathed.
"Who are you?" Nagato asked in shock.
"I'm a man sent by the Fourth Hokage to protect you. Nagato, your chakra has already been heavily drained by the Rinnegan—you can't keep fighting. Take them and retreat. Leave the rest to me," Yuan said before teleporting to stand between Hanzo and his forces.
Nagato realized that Yuan was right—his chakra was nearly depleted. The Rinnegan's newly awakened abilities had far surpassed what his body could handle.
"Konan… am I useless? I couldn't protect Yahiko or you. Even to avenge Yahiko, I need help from others," he asked, disheartened.
Konan shook her head gently. "Nagato, you're already strong. You've worked so hard. I've watched everything you've done—I know it all."
Her words made Nagato feel even more sorrow.
Then, he recalled Yahiko's words—and his eyes grew determined.
"Konan, from today onward, I'll become stronger. Just like Yahiko said—if this world's wars cannot end… then I will become a god of this world!
I have the Sage of Six Paths' eyes—I can do what others cannot. From today on, I will become the god of the new world!"
(To Be Continued...)