Chapter 463: The Iron Spear Descending from the Heavens

Chapter 463: Chapter 463: The Iron Spear Descending from the Heavens

Looking at Danzo’s self-righteous face, utterly devoid of even the slightest trace of guilt, Kagami inwardly shook his head.

Perhaps the Danzo of his youth truly had possessed the conviction to shoulder all of Konoha’s sins and protect the village from within the darkness.

But the Danzo of today had already changed.

He had lost himself in his pursuit of power.

The words ’For Konoha’ had now become nothing more than an excuse he used to hypnotize himself.

It was as though, so long as he kept repeating those words, every act of betrayal he committed against the village became an understandable temporary measure, while every sacrifice made by everyone else in the village became something only natural and expected.

In the original timeline, whether it was the Nine-Tails Incident instigated by Obito, Orochimaru’s Konoha Crush, or Nagato’s assault on Konoha, neither Danzo nor the Root under his command had been anywhere to be seen.

Every single time the village suffered a catastrophe, Root—a force powerful enough to contend with ANBU—without exception chose to disappear entirely.

That fact alone was enough to show that Danzo had already come to value his own authority more than the village itself.

What he wanted to protect was no longer Konoha.

It was his own position.

Kagami made no attempt to conceal his disdain for Danzo. With a cold sneer, he said, "I’m going outside to take a look."

Orochimaru stepped forward as well. "I’m rather curious myself. Just what kind of monster is attacking the village?"

Danzo grew irritated. "The experiment has already reached a critical stage. Are you two planning to abandon it halfway through?"

As Kagami brushed past Danzo, he casually replied, "I’m only going out to have a look. It won’t affect the agreement between us."

Danzo turned around, his expression darkening.

"Akatsuki has been preparing this retaliation for so long. It cannot possibly be simple. Does Kamigami really intend to wade into these muddy waters?"

Kagami, who had been walking toward the exit, suddenly stopped.

He glanced back at Danzo.

"For an advisory elder of Konoha to say something like that to a member of Kamigami... it really does sound rather strange."

His tone carried undisguised mockery.

"Anyone who didn’t know better might think I was the advisory elder of Konoha."

With that, Kagami lingered no longer and strode quickly toward the exit.

Watching Kagami’s departing figure, Danzo said coldly, "My experiment is not yet complete. I hope you don’t lose your life because of your curiosity!"

At the side, Orochimaru chuckled in his hoarse voice.

"Heh, worried about him? He’s the real monster!"

Danzo’s brows knitted together. "You seem to know him rather well. Have the two of you had contact in private?"

Orochimaru merely smiled and said nothing more, walking straight past Danzo.

Before long, Kagami and Orochimaru had left Danzo’s underground base.

After reaching the surface, Kagami gazed toward the village in the distance, where continuous rumbling echoed through the air, and asked Orochimaru, "How long has it been since Danzo last fought someone truly powerful?"

Orochimaru immediately understood what Kagami meant and smiled.

"Eight or nine years, I suppose. After spending so long in the darkness, perhaps he’s already forgotten how to adapt to the sunlight."

Whether it was Kagami or Orochimaru, the reason they dared to wholeheartedly assist Danzo in improving the Chimera Technique was not merely because they intended to use him as a guinea pig.

There was another, even more important reason.

Danzo had already lost the heart of a true powerhouse.

He had forgotten that, first and foremost, he was a shinobi—and only after that was he an elder of Konoha.

For such a decrepit old man, even if the Chimera Technique were improved and allowed him to complete the Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual in a far better condition, his strength would still not be enough to make either of them wary.

"He still hasn’t realized..."

Kagami said as he suddenly leaped into the air.

A pair of black Iron Sand wings immediately unfurled behind him.

"...that the shinobi world has changed a long time ago!"

Against the dim glow of the setting sun, Kagami soared toward Konoha.

The corners of Orochimaru’s mouth curled upward.

"Looks like there’s going to be quite a show!"

With Rei’s safety weighing on his mind, Kagami quickly flew back to Konoha.

By now, the sun had already sunk low in the sky, leaving only a faint afterglow along the horizon. But the gathering darkness of evening did nothing to hinder Kagami’s vision.

Standing atop the shattered outer wall, he looked toward the two monsters currently locked in battle.

On one side was Jiraiya, one of Konoha’s Three Sannin, together with his summoned beast, Gamabunta.

On the other was a hideous monster with a pair of black wings.

"Isn’t that the monster from the Box of Ultimate Bliss? Have Akatsuki and Kusagakure joined forces?"

After recognizing the culprit behind the attack on Konoha, Kagami frowned.

Kagami had some recollection of this monster called Satori.

It seemed capable of seeing through people’s hearts. Any attack directed at it with killing intent would be avoided.

Kagami observed the battle for a moment and discovered that, sure enough, no matter what kind of attacks Jiraiya and Gamabunta launched, they couldn’t so much as scratch it.

His attention then shifted to the enormous iron box on the ground, its four sides carved with reliefs of grotesque faces.

"That should be the Box of Ultimate Bliss."

Within the vision of his Byakugan, the Box of Ultimate Bliss was radiating an extraordinarily dense and sinister chakra.

That evil chakra continuously emitted a resonance that seemed to shake the very soul, stirring the desires buried deep within the hearts of everyone nearby.

Under the influence of this sinister chakra, many villagers who had failed to evacuate in time gradually lost themselves.

Like puppets being manipulated by invisible strings, they formed a line and slowly began walking toward the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

BOOM!

Suddenly, Satori’s sharp claws seized one of Gamabunta’s hind legs.

With a violent swing, it hurled the enormous toad through the air!

Gamabunta crashed heavily into the ground, completely overturning an entire street!

At that moment, Satori hovered in midair.

Between its pair of razor-sharp claws, a glowing sphere of chakra condensed—eerily similar in appearance to a Truth-Seeking Ball.

Then, with a sudden motion, Satori fired it straight toward the fallen Gamabunta!

BOOM!

Another deafening explosion rang out.

Struck by the chakra sphere, Gamabunta let out a muffled groan as thick smoke billowed from his back!

Kagami didn’t mind lending the village a hand, but there was one condition: he first had to make sure that his family and disciple—Rei, Shion, Neji, and the others—were safe.

Therefore, he didn’t immediately intervene in the battle before him. Instead, he intended to first confirm the safety of his friends and family.

If time permitted, he even planned to switch back into his Yin Release true body before looking for an opportunity to intervene.

But just as Kagami was about to leave, something caught the corner of his eye.

A large group of Konoha shinobi was rushing toward the battlefield.

And the person leading them was none other than another of Konoha’s Three Sannin—

Tsunade!

What shocked him most, however, was that Rei—who possessed only the strength of a chunin—was among them!

Already irritated from being entangled with Jiraiya, Satori immediately noticed Konoha’s reinforcements.

Without the slightest hesitation, it swept forward in a glide and pounced straight toward them!

Against the darkening sky, Satori resembled an enormous black shadow descending from the heavens.

In an instant, it tore through Tsunade and the others’ formation!

Its long, razor-sharp claws raked across the ground like plow blades, carving a deep furrow through the earth. Every Konoha shinobi who stood in its path was torn into bloody pulp beneath those claws!

Seeing the enormous claw rapidly closing in on her, Rei froze in shock.

Not far away, Tsunade desperately wanted to rush over and save her.

But the blood and mangled flesh flying all around caused her body to go weak, leaving her unable to muster even the slightest bit of strength.

CLANG!

Just as Satori’s claw was about to descend upon Rei—

A gigantic black iron spear came crashing down from the heavens!

It struck the ground directly in front of Rei a split second before Satori’s claw could reach her, shielding her from the blow...