"No way? Itachi actually killed Sasuke?" Kisame was shocked.
"Crazy, all these Uchiha clan members are crazy!" Deidara shouted in disbelief.
The other onlookers were also surprised.
They weren't novices; of course, they could see that Itachi's stab was full of killing intent, without the slightest hesitation, truly aimed at killing both Sasuke and Danzō at once.
And the Totsuka no Tsurugi was very different from Chidori Eisō, which only left wounds a few centimeters deep.
This one was almost a meter wide!
With this one stab, it nearly severed half of Danzō's and Sasuke's bodies; it was impossible to heal or save them...
"Nii-san... you...!"
Sasuke, whose chest was pierced, his mouth full of blood, looked at the reanimated Itachi with a terrified and desperate face, as if returning to the night of the massacre, or when he was powerless against Itachi before.
Was everything that just happened a lie?
Did his brother never care about him? Just using him to kill Danzō?
"You were careless, Sasuke! Being a hostage would only be troublesome, don't blame me for being decisive!"
Itachi replied coldly, his face expressionless.
"Impossible, nii-san..."
Sasuke was desperate; if it weren't for already having the Mangekyou Sharingan, he might have raged again.
But his injury was too severe, his heart crushed, half his body pierced.
He couldn't fight back.
In just a few moments, Sasuke lost all signs of life, dying instantly.
Itachi shook his head without emotion, as if regretting Sasuke's and Danzō's foolishness, then activated the sealing effect of Totsuka no Tsurugi.
"Itachi... you... you... cough!"
Danzō also coughed up blood, his breath weak. But thanks to Hashirama cells, he didn't die immediately, although severely injured and very weak.
Especially since he had just deactivated Izanagi, he couldn't change reality and erase the wound now.
But more than his injury, he was shocked by Itachi's cruelty!
He stared at Itachi in disbelief, not expecting him to actually attack!
Stabbing Sasuke and himself at the same time!
Did he not care about Sasuke's life at all?
Or was he still being controlled by someone else?
Danzō didn't have time to think about the reason!
Because he had already felt the sealing effect of Totsuka no Tsurugi; the already dead Sasuke began to disintegrate and be absorbed into the sealing bottle.
If he didn't escape immediately, he would also be sealed!
'I worked so hard to become Hokage!'
'I can't die here!'
'No choice, I have to sacrifice my right arm!'
In a life-or-death situation, Danzō decided to sever his right arm, even though there were still two Sharingan he could use.
Mokuton: Bōsōju!
Danzō released the chakra suppression on his right arm; the freed Hashirama cells immediately activated, triggering the power of Wood Release, growing into a giant tree that replaced Danzō, being absorbed by the seal of Totsuka no Tsurugi.
While he himself, like Orochimaru shedding the Yamata no Orochi. Seizing this opportunity, severing his connection with the tree, escaping the seal, and immediately running, staggering, towards the bridge, towards the Land of Fire.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
"Impossible, Sasuke really died? I haven't gotten my revenge yet!"
Deidara saw the lifeless Sasuke, even more anxious than the others.
If Sasuke died, how could he get his revenge?
This couldn't be!
"Calm down, dead is dead, we'll just revive him later with Edo Tensei, then you can challenge him to a duel," Sasori patted Deidara, telling him to calm down.
"Haha, that's right! I want to see Sasuke's arrogant face as a living corpse..."
"Yare, didn't expect Itachi to be so ruthless towards his younger brother? Did I misjudge him?"
Kisame sighed; initially, he was sure Itachi wouldn't kill Sasuke. Had Itachi changed?
"Sasuke isn't necessarily dead," Nagato suddenly interjected.
"Huh?"
"Don't forget Itachi has the Sharingan, he can also use Izanagi!"
"Hiss—!"
"But Itachi is also an Edo Tensei body, can his Sharingan use that forbidden technique?"
The Sharingan of an Edo Tensei without a physical form indeed couldn't use Izanagi.
But who said Itachi didn't have a physical Sharingan?
After Danzō escaped the seal, Itachi stopped the Totsuka no Tsurugi.
Then, the crow on Itachi's shoulder, which possessed Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan, blinked!
Izanagi was successfully activated!
The dead Sasuke suddenly came back to life, completely intact, in front of Itachi.
Clearly, everything was planned by Itachi; he knew Izanagi could not only revive himself but also teammates.
Basically, it was 'changing all unfavorable realities into illusions'.
Sasuke's death as an ally could also be changed into an 'unfavorable reality'.
Even in the records, there were Uchiha members in the past who revived dozens of clan members at once.
Of course, the price was that the Sharingan would go blind instantly!
It wouldn't last a few minutes.
The revived Sasuke was also confused...
Wasn't he just mercilessly killed by his brother?
Why was he back?
"Nii-san?"
"Managed to come back to life? Sasuke, is anything wrong?" Itachi looked at Sasuke, worried.
This was the first time he had used Izanagi, afraid of side effects.
"I'm fine. So, nii-san killed me, then revived me?"
"So that's it, you had everything planned..."
Sasuke quickly guessed the truth, slowly understanding, his hatred for Itachi disappeared.
Itachi had everything planned; that was good!
As long as he wasn't betraying him.
Currently, 'his brother's love for him' and 'his bond with Naruto' were the only anchors for his heart.
Even the latter was almost broken. If the former also proved false, Sasuke might immediately turn dark, like the second Obito.
This was also Obito's and Black Zetsu's plan: to make Sasuke turn dark, like the third Madara, the second Obito...
"It's fine as long as you're alright. Izanagi is still a forbidden technique that shouldn't be used carelessly..."
"Nii-san used Izanagi to revive me? But your eyes... that's the crow's Sharingan..."
Sasuke saw the left eye of the crow, already blind, understanding the truth.
His brother was willing to sacrifice his best friend's Mangekyou to save him; he truly loved him!
For Itachi, one Mangekyou that had already been used and needed more than ten years to cool down was useless; it was better to use it to save Sasuke and prevent others from targeting Kotoamatsukami!
'Protecting the village and the Uchiha name' was Shisui's will through this Mangekyou, not the Sharingan itself.
Besides, Itachi also understood very well.
Even if he didn't act, Nagato and the others wouldn't let Danzō escape, and he alone couldn't stop the entire reanimated Akatsuki.
If that happened, both Danzō and Sasuke would die. If he wanted to save Sasuke, he still couldn't keep this Mangekyou; it was better to act decisively and break this deadlock himself!
Preventing Nagato and the others from accidentally killing Sasuke...
"Sasuke, we'll talk about Izanagi later; don't forget there's still someone waiting for you."
Itachi patted Sasuke, pointing into the distance.
Sasuke turned his head, seeing Danzō still trying to escape in his injured state, his anger exploding.
"Danzō! He's not dead yet!"
"Need help?"
"No, let me! I have to kill this bastard with my own hands! Avenge the entire clan!"
Sasuke shot off alone, grabbing the Kusanagi sword not far away. Then he walked leisurely and arrogantly, slowly approaching the injured Danzō.
He even deliberately slowed his pace, afraid this old man wouldn't be satisfied with his 'walk' and would misunderstand his 'good intentions'.