Chapter 32 Susanoo
The colossal figure looming beyond the ridge radiated chakra so dense it was visible to the naked eye.
With spectral wings spread from its back, it gripped a spiraling blade of chakra in its right hand, while ethereal weapons seemed to rest atop the winged extensions. Hovering above the battlefield like a celestial warrior, it was already far outside the village walls.
Now, that towering form—like a god of war—was visible not only from Konoha but across a radius of dozens of kilometers.
"Is that… Shisui's chakra?" someone whispered, their voice tinged with awe and dread.
"Yes," another answered, narrowing his eyes. "That familiar green aura… it's unmistakably Shisui."
"What kind of power is this? Does the Sharingan still conceal secrets even the clan doesn't know?"
Uchiha Fugaku's expression darkened. He recalled ancient tales. Back then, when Uchiha Madara defied Konoha and fought the First Hokage at the Valley of the End, Madara had unleashed a monstrous power like this.
Could this be… the true might of the Mangekyō Sharingan?
"Move! Shisui is engaged in battle. The longer we delay, the sooner the village forces will converge here!"
Uchiha Makoto's tone was restless as he urged the clan forward.
Fugaku and Itachi both glanced at him sharply, but the patriarch gave the command.
"Enough hesitation. Our priority is to support Shisui and bring down Danzō. As Uchiha, we cannot allow one of our strongest to be cut down by Root!"
The group advanced. Itachi followed silently, his expression clouded with unease. Makoto, however, remained behind.
This version of him was only a shadow clone. He could not reveal his full hand—not now. The main body had yet to secure the Scroll of Seals. The confrontation between the clan and the village had not formally begun. The outcome was still unwritten.
For now, all he could do was trail the clan from a distance, watching and waiting for the moment to strike.
...
Shisui's Susanoo burned brightly in the night sky, but channeling such godlike power was far from effortless.
He had resolved to annihilate Root's forces in one decisive blow.
But this half-formed Susanoo—its full body yet incomplete—was still only in its second stage, manifesting its armored upper torso and weapons. Shisui could feel it straining against his body's limits.
Even so, the Yasaka Magatama he unleashed—glowing, rotating chakra spheres—tore through Root's formation, extinguishing dozens of shinobi lives in an instant.
Yet Danzō's operatives rallied. Their combined elemental jutsu, layered in volleys, shook the battlefield, with volleys of shuriken hidden among the torrents.
Shisui leapt back, countering with fire and wind, his Susanoo intercepting the brunt. But Root's poison mist soon spread—a tactic Shisui loathed facing.
Susanoo was made of dense chakra given form. It could deflect blades and ninjutsu, but toxins seeped through its shell.
I'll have to break Susanoo's limits here… unleash its full form, strike from range, and end Danzō.
He had already resigned himself to dying for the clan if necessary. Long before this night, Shisui had even contemplated entrusting his Mangekyō to Itachi—his eye technique, Kotoamatsukami, a final safeguard for the village and clan alike.
But now, staring at Danzō and the Root that sought to plunder the Sharingan of his ancestors, his resolve sharpened.
No. This fate must be mine to shoulder. I can't burden Itachi with my failures.
I will end it here—protecting the clan's pride, and the bonds between Itachi and Sasuke.
Still, he felt a strange shift. His vision blurred at the edges, the Susanoo towering higher, fiercer, feeding on his fury.
The giant swelled beyond ten meters, chakra armor hardening as if answering his will. The Root shinobi scattered, ants beneath a god's wrath.
But as Shisui's eyes strained, he felt it.
His vision… was dimming.
Slight, but undeniable.
The price of the Mangekyō Sharingan was beginning to take hold.
Shisui's Mangekyō spun violently, its tomoe stretching into the pinwheel shape, but he could feel it—his ocular power and chakra were being consumed at a terrifying rate. His vision blurred as if darkness was creeping in at the edges. Chakra was draining from his body faster than he could replenish, and a helpless smile flickered across his lips.
Susanoo was not merely a shield or a weapon. It was a god of war born from pure chakra, but to the user, it was also a reaper—feeding on their life force, devouring everything until nothing remained.
If that's the price… then I'll use this one last technique to kill Danzō!
The Root operatives were left dumbfounded, staring into the night sky with terror. Never before had they faced an enemy like this. In the shinobi world, only a handful of opponents had ever manifested the ability to take flight, and Shisui's green Susanoo now soared tens of meters above them, radiating divine power.
They couldn't even graze the hem of his spectral armor—how could they hope to fight him?
"Danzō-sama, what should we do?" one Root shinobi shouted, panic in his voice.
"Everyone, Earth Release! Raise the Earth Flow Wall!" Danzō barked, though the edge in his voice betrayed unease.
For the first time in years, genuine panic rippled through Shimura Danzō's heart. He had not yet fulfilled his ambition to become Hokage—he could not fall here. He had gambled on ambushing Shisui, confident that even if the boy resisted, he would corner him with sheer numbers and Izanagi if necessary.
But Shisui had driven the fight outside the village, unleashed the Mangekyō's ultimate guardian, and turned the battlefield into a storm of impossible chakra.
If this continued, Hiruzen Sarutobi would inevitably notice.
Danzō clenched his teeth. He had known Hiruzen since childhood, had fought by his side through the Second Shinobi World War. He also knew exactly why he despised him: Hiruzen was too soft. Peace, diplomacy, compromise—he always placed the "Will of Fire" above pragmatism.
And yet… even after all these years, a part of Danzō still feared him. The sheer mastery of all five chakra natures, the overwhelming presence Hiruzen carried in battle—if the Third Hokage arrived here, there would be no way to cover up what he had done tonight.
If only that seat, that power, had been mine… he thought bitterly. The Hokage's title should never have belonged to Hiruzen—it was meant for me.
But now, if Sarutobi saw this… if he discovered the secret operations, the pursuit of Uchiha eyes, the truth of Root… even Danzō could not imagine how it would end. Would he finally be cut down after being tolerated for so many years?
"Tsuchi Release—Earth Flow Wall!" the Root operatives cried in unison, hands flashing through seals. The ground heaved, earthen walls rising up like jagged fangs to shield them.
Above them, the storm of Susanoo intensified. The clouds split apart as if torn by divine wrath, and pale moonlight spilled down on Konoha, illuminating the rooftops and courtyards of every sleeping household.
Shisui's spiral chakra blade lengthened, glowing with a blinding green radiance, and the wings on Susanoo's back stretched wide. From the spectral bow formed in its hands, countless shimmering arrows of chakra rained downward, aimed directly at Danzō and his Root.