Chapter 58: Chapter 58: The Eye of Judgment
"Mangekyō Sharingan!" Danzō, already brimming with bloodlust and mentally on the verge of collapse, cried out in shock without hesitation. "You truly possess the most accursed power of the Uchiha!"
What shook Danzō even more was the boy's absolute resolve.
Even with so many people standing before him, this brat had still dared to reveal his Mangekyō Sharingan?
Wasn't he making it abundantly clear that he intended to clash with them right here, in front of everyone?
Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart tightened instantly, and he murmured in disbelief, "Are those... the eyes that can see the evil of the past and the evil yet to come?"
At first, Hiruzen hadn't truly believed Uchiha Keizumi possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He had leaned more toward the idea that the so-called power to see past and future evil was merely a unique use of the standard Three-Tomoe Sharingan—
Some special ocular ability Keizumi had developed by chance.
After all, if Keizumi really did have a Mangekyō...
Why had he never used it before?
He wasn't the type to hide his abilities.
But now—
Sarutobi Hiruzen believed.
Nothing is more convincing than seeing it with your own eyes.
However...
If Keizumi's Mangekyō only had the ability to perceive sin—then perhaps its threat level wasn't particularly high?
If that were the case, why awaken the Mangekyō at all?
"Third Hokage, Fugaku… if you're still able to protect Shimura Danzō," Keizumi said calmly, "then that just means the power of Absolute Justice… isn't strong enough."
Uchiha Keizumi's aura suddenly surged—multiplied several times over.
A sinister pressure radiated from his Mangekyō Sharingan, unsettling to the very core.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's pupils contracted. From Keizumi, he felt an unmistakable sense of danger—palpable and immediate.
Those eyes made his skin crawl.
A single, chilling thought flashed through his mind—
Uchiha Keizumi's eyes are far more than just a means to perceive the evil of one's past and future!
"Keizumi…" Fugaku began anxiously, trying to speak, but in that instant, he saw Keizumi's gaze shift—
—to Danzō.
No!
Fugaku's heart skipped. He's really going to strike in front of both me and the Hokage?!
At that exact moment, Danzō's eyes met Keizumi's.
A suffocating pressure crashed down on Danzō like an invisible wave, sending cold sweat down his back.
Before he could even react, the eerie pattern of Keizumi's Mangekyō Sharingan pierced straight into the depths of his own vision.
And in that instant—
Danzō's body jolted violently. It was as if he had been hit with a paralysis seal—completely frozen in place, unable to move a muscle.
Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately sensed something was wrong. His gaze snapped toward Danzō, realizing with a start—
Danzō has fallen under a dōjutsu!
Before anyone else could react, Uchiha Keizumi had already unleashed his Mangekyō's ocular technique—and it had taken hold.
Suddenly, the blank look on Danzō's face began to shift.
His aged, wrinkled features contorted visibly before everyone's eyes.
It was as though he were witnessing something unspeakably horrific—enduring pain far beyond words.
In the blink of an eye, his expression twisted into sheer terror.
Tears, mucus, and drool all poured from his face simultaneously.
Trembling, Danzō clutched his head, then collapsed onto his knees with a heavy thud.
His pupils rolled outward in opposite directions, and his entire demeanor devolved into that of a childlike imbecile.
His trembling fingers dug into his own face, raking deep scratches across his cheeks with his nails—bloody lines etched into old, sagging flesh.
"Ah… AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The agonized, despairing scream pierced the night sky, chilling every soul present to the bone.
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Fugaku felt a dreadful cold rise from their marrow.
...
Further out, many of the Konoha shinobi had no idea that Uchiha Keizumi had awakened the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan.
In fact, most didn't even know what the Mangekyō was.
Nor could they comprehend the kind of ocular technique Danzō had just fallen victim to.
But one thing they did understand—
Uchiha Keizumi had struck.
He had acted without hesitation.
He had ignored the Third Hokage's attempt to restrain him.
And he had completely disregarded the orders of the Uchiha clan head.
For the sake of his [Absolute Justice]—
He chose to walk his own path.
"Huff…"
Hyūga Hiashi let out a heavy breath. Gazing toward the cluster of ANBU blocking his line of sight, he deliberately refrained from using the Byakugan to see what was happening behind them.
The Hyūga clan had managed to remain low-key within Konohagakure, avoiding the same deep-seated suspicion from the village's higher-ups that haunted the Uchiha. And the reason was simple—
Ask less about things that don't concern you, look away from what you shouldn't see, and steer clear of matters best left untouched.
Even now...
Was no exception.
...
"What's that…"
Tachibana Jirō kept hopping on Izumi's shoulder, trying to get a better view past the circle of ANBU.
Finally, it managed to catch a glimpse of what was happening inside.
Tachibana Jirō noticed that Keizumi glanced in its direction.
And it saw blood—fresh and crimson—trickling from Keizumi's left eye.
Just as it was about to erupt in fury, assuming that coward Fugaku had attacked Keizumi for siding with the village…
Tachibana Jirō spotted something strange in Keizumi's eye.
It was a Sharingan—but not the familiar Three-Tomoe form.
It was—
"Mangekyō Sharingan!!!"
The ninja cat's face froze in shock. Claws out, it suddenly grabbed a fistful of Izumi's hair, digging in hard enough to make her scalp sting.
"Rookie! Rookie! Rookie! Keizumi-sama has powered up!" it screeched in disbelief. "That's the legendary power of your Uchiha clan!"
"Keizumi-sama just used that old mutt Shimura Danzō as a test subject for his Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular technique! As expected of Keizumi-sama! Once [Absolute Justice] gains absolute power, how could it possibly keep bowing to tyrants?!"
"After all, Keizumi-sama isn't some gutless coward like Fugaku the Weak-Eyed!"
...
"Keizumi! What the hell did you just do?!"
Fugaku, completely unaware he'd just been insulted by a ninja cat, stood in stunned silence, his entire body numb.
What he hadn't expected—
Was that Uchiha Keizumi wouldn't even bother acknowledging him.
Instead, Keizumi turned coldly toward the immobilized Danzō and said, "So that's how it works. Just one use is enough to understand its nature."
"Have you tasted the pain of those you've harmed? Have you realized how utterly wicked your 'evil' truly is?"
"This… is the Eye of Judgment from Hell."
...
Pain! Sorrow! Despair! Loneliness…
An endless torrent of negative emotions poured in, overwhelming Shimura Danzō. All the suffering he had inflicted upon others was now visited upon him, concentrated into a single, soul-shredding torment. It was as if his very spirit was being ground into dust.
The Eye of Judgment from Hell—this Mangekyō technique forced its victim to endure the despair and agony of all those they had harmed. Worse yet, that suffering was amplified a hundredfold.
"AaaAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Danzō's wretched screams echoed without end. For every second that passed in reality, he endured what felt like an entire year of ceaseless torment within the illusion.
Every person who had died because of him—whether directly or indirectly—the pain they had suffered in life, their anguish and hopelessness, were all experienced again and again by Danzō.
The deeper the sin, the longer and more harrowing the torment the soul had to bear.
Under the sheer agony, Danzō lost control of his bladder and bowels.
A foul mess seeped through the fabric beneath him, staining his trousers. The stench quickly permeated the air, causing those nearby to instinctively hold their breath.
For everyone present, it was the first time they had seen the infamous leader of Konoha's Root Division reduced to such a pitiful, disgraceful state.
And it was precisely this that deepened their dread toward the mysterious ability wielded by Uchiha Keizumi.
After all, if even someone as formidable as Danzō had been taken down in an instant—
How could they possibly resist it?
No one could even explain how the technique worked.
Was it an illusion so powerful it bypassed all resistance?
Or was it a special ocular jutsu that inflicted real, unbearable pain upon the body?
Truthfully, just by watching Danzō's miserable state, no one could deduce the precise mechanics of Keizumi's Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Danzō-sama!!!"
Several masked shinobi rushed onto the scene, their masks distinct from those of the standard ANBU—marking them as operatives of the Root Division. They had arrived at last, albeit too late.
These few Root members…
Were among the last of their elite ranks. The majority had already perished during Uchiha Keizumi's relentless hunt today.
The ANBU operatives noticed the Root members but made no move to stop them, allowing them to enter the perimeter unhindered.
…
Sarutobi Hiruzen snapped out of his stunned daze.
Looking at Danzō, who was curled up on the ground, clutching his head and trembling uncontrollably, he couldn't help but feel a strange, unsettling pang of sympathy—like a fox mourning a rabbit's death.
His aged face remained stern and composed, but the moment he saw Uchiha Keizumi step toward Danzō, he was instantly alarmed.
At a subtle hand gesture from Hiruzen, the ANBU immediately understood and moved in sync, positioning themselves to block Keizumi's path. Even Hiruzen himself stepped forward to stand in the way.
Things were no longer as they once were.
Last time, although Uchiha Keizumi was already quite powerful, in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, he still hadn't fully spread his wings. Back then, Hiruzen believed that bringing only a small squad of ANBU would be enough to forcibly resolve any conflict.
But this time, he felt that only the full might of the entire ANBU Division would be enough to stop Keizumi, who had now awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Keizumi's rate of growth was simply astonishing.
At the same time, Sarutobi Hiruzen barked out a sharp command to the belated Root operatives: "Take this Konoha criminal away! I will personally judge his crimes!"
The Root shinobi instantly looked toward Uchiha Keizumi, who was being blocked by a wall of ANBU.
Hiruzen's aged face instantly darkened.
He almost laughed out of sheer anger.
"I meant Danzō!" he snapped. If they didn't remove Danzō now, Keizumi would absolutely kill him on the spot!
Although Hiruzen himself had long harbored the thought of killing Danzō… ever since Danzō's crimes had come to light, the most effective way to stabilize the balance of power within Konoha was simply to eliminate him.
However, after weighing the pros and cons in a flash, Hiruzen came to a reluctant conclusion: given Danzō's personality, he had almost certainly prepared multiple contingencies within Konoha to prevent Hiruzen from turning on him so easily.
Keizumi's danger, while great, was at least visible, open.
And it only threatened a select few.
It posed no threat to Konoha as a whole.
But Danzō's danger was invisible. With a man as sinister and calculating as Danzō, Hiruzen couldn't rule out the possibility that his contingency plans might one day engulf all of Konoha in disaster.
The internal struggle lasted less than half a second.
Holding his nose figuratively, Hiruzen made the decision to temporarily spare Danzō.
He shot a sharp glare at the Root shinobi.
"Move!!"
The Root operatives didn't waste another word. They immediately lifted the broken, suffering Danzō and began to retreat from this chaotic scene.
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