Naruto: Get Stronger by Spoiling My Sister

The boulder shattered into countless fragments, scattering through the air. Pebbles rained down beneath the moonlight, and for a fleeting moment, the scene held a surreal beauty serene, almost poetic.

But it was all an illusion. In the next instant, something changed.

Whoosh!

Neji suddenly burst forth from the debris. A sharp whoosh tore through the air as he closed the distance, the brilliant azure of his blade-shaped chakra slicing toward Danzō's right arm.

He was moving at astonishing speed so fast that even the naked eye could barely follow. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Danzō.

"At this range, there's no way he can form hand seals. No he doesn't even have time to dodge!" Neji's thoughts raced. In that moment, he felt utterly certain of victory.

This was his true objective all along: to sever Danzō's right arm and deny him the chance to activate Izanagi.

Each use of Izanagi consumed a Sharingan, and Sharingan were finite. Danzō would never use them lightly. Had it not been for Sasuke's reckless spectacle at the Five Kage Summit escaping alive with "Uchiha Madara" at his side Danzō might never have been pushed to such a degree.

Neji had seen through it. He'd intentionally led Danzō to believe he was weaker, that he was no threat. That was why Danzō hadn't used Izanagi not yet.

So now, all Neji had to do was sever that arm.

"Danzō, you've lost."

But just as Neji's chakra scalpel came within a centimeter of striking Danzō, he suddenly froze.

No he didn't stop. He couldn't move.

He struggled to swing his arm, to bring down the blade, but it was useless.

"What?!" The onlookers were stunned. "Why did Neji just freeze?"

"Hey, Kakashi, what's going on?" Guy's voice trembled with disbelief.

"From the look of it… Neji's been restrained somehow. But when?!" Beads of sweat formed on Kakashi's brow. He hadn't sensed it at all and his Sharingan had been active the entire time.

Danzō… was terrifying.

"So you finally perfected that jutsu," muttered Homura Mitokado. Back in their youth, Danzō had spoken of such a technique he had even demonstrated a rough version on a mission.

But it had been flawed back then, riddled with weaknesses. Now, Danzō had mastered it. And the level of control… it was staggering.

"Hiruzen ruled in the light, Danzō in the shadows..." Koharu Utatane sighed softly. "But the golden age we knew it's gone forever."

"A curse seal?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "This kind of technique... it leaves a bad taste in the mouth."

"A curse seal?" Hiashi Hyūga glanced at her, then activated his Byakugan to examine Neji's chakra flow.

"As I thought… his chakra's been locked down," Hiashi murmured. "I didn't think Danzō still had something this dangerous up his sleeve."

"No, wait. What's that?" Hiashi's eyes narrowed, focusing on Danzō's right arm.

At the same moment, Neji watched in horror as black markings crept across his skin. His expression darkened as the truth clicked into place. It was a sealing technique Danzō had mastered one so sinister, even Sasuke had once been immobilized by it.

The Curse Seal of Retribution.

"When did he mark me?" Neji's pupils contracted.

Didn't this seal require physical contact?

And then it hit him.

Back when he punched Danzō in the face…

That brief moment that split-second…

"Shimura Danzō. The most cunning schemer to ever sit among the Hokage candidates." Neji clenched his teeth. Danzō had seized the opportunity in an instant.

"So that attack just now" Danzō's cold, emotionless voice reached Neji's ears. "It was intentional. You were aiming for my right arm."

That had surprised him. He hadn't expected his secret to be exposed.

"It seems you know far more about me than you should," Danzō murmured, narrowing his eyes. "Just as Orochimaru warned."

Good thing he'd been cautious. If he hadn't left this trump card in place, he might have truly fallen into the boy's hands.

Danzō glanced down at his right arm, his expression unreadable. "I don't know how you learned about it, but it doesn't matter now."

He took a step toward Neji, lowering his voice.

"Killing you wouldn't be the most efficient way to deal with you."

Neji's heart skipped a beat. He already knew what Danzō intended.

Kotoamatsukami.

The most insidious genjutsu in existence. Silent and undetectable, it could infiltrate a person's mind and rewrite their will turning them into a puppet who believed they were acting of their own free will. In the world of shinobi, no illusion was more feared.

"You know, don't you," Danzō said, reading the shift in Neji's expression. He wasn't surprised.

He reached up and touched his right eye.

"With this eye, you'll become mine. Your will erased, your secrets laid bare. From that moment forward, you'll follow only my orders."

"Heh. You really think you can use it here?" Neji's tone cooled as he met Danzō's gaze. "So many people are watching. You'd expose yourself."

"And besides Shisui's Mangekyō, the strongest genjutsu… you never mastered it, did you?"

At the summit, Danzō had tried to use Kotoamatsukami on Mifune to get himself elected leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces. Yet Ao had seen through it, and Mifune had shaken off the illusion with ease something that should've been impossible.

Kotoamatsukami was permanent, undetectable. No one should've been able to resist it. That meant Danzō's control over it was far from complete.

Maybe… he couldn't use it at all.

Neji's challenge made Danzō's expression tighten just a little but he quickly masked it.

"No point in hiding it," Neji said coldly, stepping slightly closer. "My eyes have already seen through you."

Danzō's face darkened but then smoothed out again.

"I underestimated you," he said. "For a child to understand me so well... But even if I can't fully master Kotoamatsukami, a temporary illusion is still within my reach."

Once he controlled Neji, even briefly, he could make the boy drive the others away. Then Neji would be at his mercy.

The others might grow suspicious, but they wouldn't suspect Shisui's eye.

Neji paused, then said, "Maybe you didn't know White Eyes can see through your half-baked illusions."