"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
Danzo exhaled a sharp, slicing gust like a sickle, tearing through the two Cloud-nin in front of him, cutting them down in an instant.
But as one threat fell, another surged forward.
A Cloud shinobi lunged at his left side—blade flashing, eyes locked on Danzo's exposed flank.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Kagami, panting and bloodied, unleashed the last of his chakra. A searing wave of fire roared out, engulfing the attacker mid-air.
He landed beside Danzo, staggering slightly.
"Danzo—your eye…"
"Shut it," Danzo grunted, wiping the blood off the right side of his face. "Some bastard from Kumo got lucky. I'll live."
He gritted his teeth, his fury boiling.
All he wanted now was to take as many of these Cloud scum with him as possible.
"Can you still fight?"
Danzo smirked through the pain. "Long enough to kill a few more. Watch your flank!"
But it was already too late.
Two more Cloud-nin emerged behind Kagami, kunai flying.
His chakra was drained—he couldn't even raise a defensive jutsu.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
"Lightning Release: Thunderclap Net!"
A sudden wave of water engulfed him, followed by a surge of lightning that raced through the current. Kagami's body seized, paralyzed by the shock.
Then—
Three kunai, each tagged with explosive seals, buried themselves into his chest.
"BOOM!"
The blast lit up the forest, sending water and smoke into the air in a thunderous roar.
"Kagami!" Danzo shouted, eyes wide, the explosion reflecting in his remaining eye.
Cloud-nin cheered. After countless casualties, they'd finally brought one of them down.
"To hell with Konoha!"
"They killed the Second Raikage—they all deserve to die!"
They were wrong, of course.
These Kumo shinobi had been misled—convinced that the Konoha group was responsible for the Raikage's assassination at the alliance summit. They fought not out of justice, but vengeance born from a lie.
And they were about to pay for it.
A moment later, as the smoke cleared...
A figure emerged from the mist—quietly, slowly, as if being stitched back into existence.
Uchiha Kagami.
Alive.
Danzo stared in disbelief. "You… Kagami?!"
His left eye had turned pale, sightless.
"Izanagi," Kagami rasped, breathing hard. "A forbidden Uchiha technique. It lets you rewrite reality... for a moment. You trade one eye for a second chance."
Danzo blinked. "The Uchiha… have a jutsu that can cancel death?"
"Only once per eye," Kagami said, blood trickling down his face. "And now I'm out."
Danzo was stunned. Envious.
"Want it?" Kagami joked darkly. "Too bad—you'd need the Sharingan. And after casting it… the eye goes blind."
He reached up, hand trembling, and began removing his right eye.
"Take it back to Konoha," he said. "Make sure it doesn't fall into enemy hands."
But before he could pull it free—
Screams echoed from the shadows.
A silver blur tore through the forest like lightning unleashed.
Cloud-nin fell in every direction—cut down before they could scream twice.
And then, from the smoke, Senju Tobirama appeared, blade in hand.
"Danzo. Kagami. I'm sorry It took me so long."
Blood stained his blue flak vest, but his expression was calm, collected.
He'd recovered just enough chakra to fight again—and against exhausted enemies like these, it was more than enough.
In a matter of seconds, all remaining Kumo shinobi were dead.
The battlefield fell silent.
"Hokage-sama!" Kagami gasped, voice trembling with emotion.
"Lord second! you're alive?!" Danzo nearly dropped his kunai in shock.
Tobirama gave him a sharp look. "What, were you hoping I wasn't?"
"No! Never!" Danzo quickly backpedaled, overwhelmed with relief.
Tobirama raised an eyebrow. He could see right through him.
Still, seeing the renewed fire in Danzo's eyes, he didn't press it.
The truth was: he'd only survived thanks to a miracle. His brother—Senju Hashirama, from a different timeline—had intervened just in time to save him from certain death.
But that was a secret the world wasn't ready for.
So Tobirama gave them the simpler version.
"I killed the Kinkaku unit."
"Wait," Kagami blinked. "Even the Golden Brothers? Kinkaku and Ginkaku?"
"All of them," Tobirama said coolly. "They won't be a problem anymore."
What he didn't say was that Hashirama had personally destroyed Kinkaku after his escape—and that Tobirama had watched the entire thing, stunned and awed.
But it didn't matter.
What mattered was that the enemy was dead, and his men were alive.
Kagami exhaled in disbelief. "You're incredible, Hokage-sama… You fought them all, even wounded…"
"Let's just say I had help," Tobirama replied vaguely.
Danzo, meanwhile, was grinning from ear to ear.
If Lord Tobirama isn't dead... then Sarutobi isn't Hokage yet!
That means I still have a shot!
He tried to look solemn, but his excitement was obvious.
Tobirama glanced at him, then at Kagami—both injured, exhausted, and yet still standing.
He nodded to himself.
Kai was right.
My death would have broken them. But my survival—it gives them hope.
"Danzo," he said, narrowing his eyes, "what happened to your eye?"
"Just a scratch," Danzo replied quickly, still riding high on adrenaline. "I can handle it."
"And you, Kagami? You used Izanagi?"
"Yes, sir."
Tobirama sighed. "It's a dangerous technique. But I understand. You had no other choice."
Kagami nodded.
"Where are the others?" Tobirama asked.
"They crossed the border. We held off the Kumo unit so they could break through," Kagami explained.
Tobirama's expression softened.
"Smart move," he said. "Classic misdirection. A good call."
"Shall we catch up with them?" Danzo asked.
Tobirama's gaze sharpened.
"Yes. The Land of Lightning won't forget this betrayal. But neither will Konoha."
He turned to the horizon.
"The crimes of Kumogakure will be repaid in full. Tenfold."
Danzo and Kagami straightened.
"Yes, sir!"
For a moment, the three of them stood together in the clearing—bloodied but unbroken.
They had survived.
Not just the ambush, not just the battle—but a moment in history where everything could have gone wrong.
Tobirama knew: from this point on, the balance of power was shifting.
Not just in this war—but in the legacy of Konoha itself.
Because sometimes, surviving wasn't just about strength.
It was about reminding your comrades that they still had something to believe in.