"Are you sure you don't need me to step in? I can actually help you."
"No need, Senior Kakashi. I know it's not appropriate for someone of your position to fight him, so just leave it to me alone. Besides, this is the outcome I want."
By the end of her words, a scarlet glow also lit up in Uchiha Hikari's eyes as she stared unblinkingly at Danzo, whose expression had grown increasingly ugly.
"I see. Then I'll leave it to you."
After seeing the Mangekyo in Uchiha Hikari's eyes, which bore some similarity to the pattern in his own left eye, Kakashi instantly understood why she was so insistent and why her killing intent toward Danzo was so intense.
Unlike him, who had inherited a friend's eye, Hikari—no, now it should be Uchiha Hikari—was a legitimate member of the Uchiha clan. It was only natural for her to feel rage upon seeing Danzo's arm.
Now that she, as an Uchiha, wanted to personally put an end to all this, Kakashi naturally would not be so tactless as to keep interfering. At most, he would only step in to help if Uchiha Hikari ended up at a disadvantage later.
But that was just wishful thinking. Before Uchiha Hikari had even used her Sharingan, Danzo was already no match for her on his own. Now that she had activated her Mangekyo, the outcome needed no further explanation.
"I observed his ability earlier. It should be something that sacrifices one Sharingan eye in exchange for a period of immunity to damage or similar effects. You can try to drag out the time a bit."
"I understand."
Hearing Kakashi's reminder, Uchiha Hikari gave a slight nod. During the earlier battle, she had reached a similar conclusion to Kakashi's—and one that was even more precise.
Sacrificing one eye granted a period of reality-altering effects, lasting approximately one minute.
After discovering this, Uchiha Hikari had begun thinking early on about how to counter it. She knew the opponent still had one Kotoamatsukami unused, likely saved for dealing with someone else.
For example, Furina. But if truly forced into a desperate situation—such as when all Sharingan eyes had been exhausted and no other options remained—Danzo would certainly not go down carrying Kotoamatsukami to his death.
What she needed to do, then, was to kill him while he still believed he had not yet reached that desperate point.
Uchiha Hikari already had a plan in mind for this, and activating her Sharingan was an indispensable part of that plan.
The following battle unfolded exactly as Kakashi had predicted. Once Uchiha Hikari activated her Mangekyo, Danzo was completely unable to keep up.
Her sharp blade continuously reaped Danzo's life. Each time he relied on Izanagi to rewrite his death, he would perish again in the brief period that followed.
To Kakashi, there was only one way to describe it: efficient.
"Amaterasu"
"Tsukuyomi"
During the fight, Uchiha Hikari did not forget to use her Mangekyo techniques that had been marked earlier to confuse Danzo, misleading him into believing that Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi were her original Mangekyo abilities. This lowered his guard against her actual Mangekyo techniques.
"Huff, huff"
After being burned by Amaterasu and then reviving from it, even though Izanagi should have prevented anything unfavorable—including physical exhaustion—his body, despite being full of energy, could not help but start panting.
"Only one left?"
Raising his arm and looking at yet another closed eye, then glancing at the single remaining Sharingan on his arm, Danzo's mood sank to rock bottom.
In the recent battle, he had clearly realized that the opponent's combat experience was extremely rich and that she had more or less figured out his Izanagi ability. With her overwhelming strength and cautious fighting style, flipping the situation in the remaining one minute was almost impossible.
Although he still had his final trump card, Kotoamatsukami, setting aside the question of what he would do against the even stronger Furina later if he used it now on Uchiha Hikari...
Just considering the opponent's Mangekyo pair, in their brief exchanges earlier, Danzo had already clearly felt the immense ocular power she possessed.
She had a Mangekyo pair, while Kotoamatsukami was also a Mangekyo ability, and he had only one eye. Moreover, since he was not of Uchiha blood, he could not bring out the full potential of the Sharingan.
Under such circumstances, could Kotoamatsukami truly achieve the complete control that Uchiha Shisui had spoken of against a proper Uchiha like Uchiha Hikari?
Danzo could not be certain, but at this critical juncture, he had no choice but to try anything that might work.
Just as he was thinking about how to use Kotoamatsukami in the final minute, Uchiha Hikari—who had ignored everything he said earlier and simply kept swinging her blade—spoke for the first time.
"Although I have no connection to the Uchiha clan here and hold no interest in them, that does not mean I will turn a blind eye to your atrocities.
You, who stole Uchiha power, are undoubtedly the true culprit behind the Uchiha clan's extermination. Moreover, you even intended to act against Furina earlier. So today, I will definitely kill you."
"?"
Although Kakashi did not know why Uchiha Hikari had suddenly started talking to Danzo at this final moment, he was not worried about any unexpected developments.
First, Uchiha Hikari's displayed strength had already proven sufficiently overwhelming, and a cornered Danzo posed no real threat.
Second, he had already received a message from his clone...
"I admit the Uchiha clan's extermination is related to me, but I never killed a single Uchiha. If you want revenge, you should go after Uchiha Itachi, who has already defected from the village.
Moreover, the Uchiha intended to rebel. To prevent the village from suffering massive losses as a result, I planned things this way. Using Uchiha power afterward was only to better protect the village."
Although he did not know why Uchiha Hikari had suddenly started speaking at this point, Danzo was happy to go along with it. He also needed more time to observe and find a better opportunity to use Kotoamatsukami. Thus, he temporarily released Izanagi and began engaging in trash talk nonstop.
"Furthermore, as you know, I have assisted the Hokage in governing the village for decades as an advisor to the Hokage. I still hold some prestige in the village.
If you kill me here, you might get away with it since your identity is unknown and you can leave the village at any time—or even join Akatsuki. But your friend Furina is different.
She grew up in Konoha and must have deep feelings for this place. If you kill me, what will the villagers think of her?
Poor judgment, bringing a murderer back to the village who took the opportunity to assassinate an elder who had labored for the village for decades.
Even if the villagers do not say it openly, in their hearts they will scorn her foolishness for bringing such a heavy blow to the village."