Naruto held the blood-soaked, warm eye in his hand.

Orochimaru tossed him a bottle filled with a preservation solution.

"Thank you!"

Naruto expressed his gratitude, opened the bottle, and placed Shisui's eye, still attached to its optic nerve, inside.

He thought: I heard that Danzō sealed this eye during his battle with Sasuke. Although I could break the seal, it would be quite troublesome. It's much better to retrieve the eye like this...

"Ugh...!!"

Losing control, the trees sprouted from his right shoulder, growing wildly towards the sky.

"No, if this continues, I'll be consumed by the First Hokage's cells!!"

Crunch!

He gritted his teeth and severed his right arm, collapsing to the ground, panting.

Danzō, now declawed, had become a paper tiger.

Rustle, rustle.

Paper butterflies fluttered in, forming Konan's figure in the sky.

"Yo~" Naruto greeted with a smile.

Konan replied coolly, "It seems things went smoothly."

"More or less, I used up nearly twenty percent of my chakra..." Naruto said nonchalantly, then asked, "How's Sasuke?"

Konan replied, "I did as you said and stalled him, but that boy is quite persistent. He kept chasing me, so I withdrew when the time was right..."

"I see." Naruto smiled. "That's just like Sasuke."

"Hmm?" Suddenly, sensing something in Sage Mode, Naruto looked towards the forest behind them and sighed. "They've come after all..."

Konan said, "One of his subordinates is a girl with exceptional sensory abilities."

Orochimaru added, "That must be Karin, who once served me. Like you, Naruto-kun, she's a descendant of the Uzumaki clan with excellent sensory abilities."

Naruto reminisced, "Ah, I know..."

Soon, Team Taka arrived, stopping a distance away from Naruto and his group.

Sasuke, with a scabbed-over wound near his left eye, scanned the battlefield. His gaze lingered coldly on the defeated Danzō before settling on Naruto's cloaked back. A flicker of emotion crossed his eyes before he concealed it.

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He coldly demanded, "Naruto, what is going on here!"

"Sasuke, I took care of Danzō for you. As you can see, he's lost his power and is now a cripple..."

Naruto, still facing away from Sasuke, spoke calmly, though his emotions were complex, preventing him from immediately turning to face Sasuke.

Sasuke clenched his fists, shouting, "Who gave you the right to interfere!!"

Naruto's back moved slightly. "Your original plan was to attack the Five Kage Summit, right? Given your current status, that would only worsen your crimes. You don't really want to become the enemy of the entire ninja world, do you..."

With that, Naruto raised his hand, removed his mask, and slowly turned around.

The falling snow seemed to slow.

Sasuke's expression was surprised. "What happened to your left eye?"

"The man who tried to destroy Konoha and fought me, Nagato, left this eye before he died..."

Naruto thought to himself: You will have it one day too, Sasuke...

Behind Sasuke, the childlike Jūgo recognized Naruto's face and exclaimed, "I remember now, he's the one who attacked me by the river!"

"Hu..."

Sasuke closed his eyes. "Naruto, it seems you've done a lot without my knowledge, but I don't have time for you now..."

Whoosh!

With his cloak billowing, Sasuke strode towards Danzō.

Naruto felt a pang of sadness: No matter what, you must kill Danzō, Sasuke...

Though he didn't want Sasuke to act, Naruto knew that at this time, Sasuke's heart was filled with hatred, and with Tobi's instigation, it would be nearly impossible to persuade him otherwise.

If he didn't let Sasuke vent his hatred now, it might cause more trouble in the future.

With this in mind, Naruto stepped aside, giving Sasuke a clear path.

Crackle!

Lightning transformed into a blade in Sasuke's hand as he glared at his enemy, coldly questioning, "Danzō, did you order Itachi to carry out the Uchiha clan massacre?"

"Huff, huff, huff..." Danzō panted heavily, his left eye glancing at his severed right arm, which still had three Sharingan.

Though he had lost his right arm, a small amount of Hashirama's cells remained in his body, allowing him to activate Izanagi one more time.

Sasuke shouted, "I'm asking you a question!!!"

Danzō weakly but deeply replied, "You already know the truth. It seems Itachi didn't keep his mouth shut..."

Sasuke's gaze turned icy. "So it's true..."

Danzō said quietly, "Yes, it's true..."

Sasuke's eyes were cold. "I knew it..."

Danzō quickly reached to the side, gouging out a Sharingan and placing it in his right eye socket!

The remaining Hashirama cells in his body connected the optic nerve.

He formed a seal with one hand, a pale smile on his lips.

Sizzle!

Izanagi... activated!

Then, he ran away as fast as he could!

"Hmph!" Sasuke snorted, raising his cloak and chasing after him!

"Do you think you can escape?"

Sasuke's left eye locked onto Danzō's back.

—Amaterasu!!

Boom!

Black flames erupted, igniting Danzō's body!

"Ugh...!!"

Danzō screamed, falling to the ground.

But then, the burning Danzō vanished, his true body appearing further away, still running...

Sasuke was shocked. "What's going on!?"

Naruto shouted, "Sasuke, Danzō used Izanagi. He's invincible right now! But the effect lasts less than a minute! Keep up your strongest attacks, and you can kill him!!"

"..." Sasuke's eyes flashed.

"Huff, huff, huff...!!" Danzō fled desperately, his chakra nearing exhaustion, feeling increasingly hopeless. "Am I really going to die here?"

Tap!

Suddenly... Sasuke's pursuit stopped.

Everyone: "Sasuke... you?"

"It doesn't matter, let him live for today. Revenge achieved through others isn't enough to complete the Uchiha clan's ultimate purification!"

Sasuke slowly turned, his Mangekyō Sharingan emitting an inscrutable emotion as he stared at Naruto. "Especially you, Naruto, the one I least want to rely on..."

In the falling snow, Danzō's fleeing figure faded into the background.

"..." Naruto and Sasuke locked eyes, time seemingly standing still.

Whoosh!!

A mysterious vortex swirled, and masked Tobi appeared...

In the distance, at the Land of Iron's border, Konoha's team raced through the snow.

Leading the charge were Hinata and Sakura.

"Naruto-kun..."

"Sasuke-kun..."

Conflicting beliefs were about to intersect...