Pot Poison Technique!
Izanagi is not a technique that brings the dead back to life—it is a forbidden Uchiha jutsu that rewrites reality itself.
Even if Xu Fan had severed Danzo's arm the instant he moved—or destroyed the Sharingan implanted in that arm—he wouldn't have been able to prevent Danzo's Izanagi from activating.
As long as Danzo activated Izanagi before the event, he could simply rewrite reality to undo any fatal damage—such as losing an arm.
But that's also where Danzo's weakness lay.
"Every jutsu has a weakness," Uchiha Itachi murmured, narrowing his eyes.
He quickly realized Xu Fan didn't need to kill Danzo a dozen times—just enough to exhaust the Sharingan embedded in his right arm.
Danzo could only manipulate reality for one minute per Sharingan. To avoid Xu Fan disabling his Sharingan or severing his arm, Danzo was being forced to preemptively chain his Izanagi activations.
"Eleven minutes," Itachi breathed, his mind calculating quickly.
Xu Fan was forcing Danzo to burn through his supply of Sharingan eyes, minute by minute.
And Danzo knew it.
Though he remained calm on the surface, inside, he must have been seething with tension.
"Activate the Root contingency," Danzo ordered, gritting his teeth as he fought Xu Fan in close quarters. The fifth Sharingan on his arm dimmed—it had reached its limit.
Six left.
Six minutes.
If he couldn't eliminate Xu Fan and Itachi before then—or escape—he would die here.
And he knew it.
Xu Fan knew it too.
"Huff..." Danzo exhaled sharply. He had to make a decision—even if it meant sacrificing every Root ninja present. If he survived, he could rebuild it all.
Root operative Torune Aburame—a user of the Aburame Clan's forbidden technique—stepped forward silently.
Danzo's trump card was the Pot Poison Technique—a deadly jutsu known only to the Aburame clan.
It required sacrificing a large amount of human flesh. Parasitic insects would infest the bodies of Root operatives, and then, through a special Aburame barrier, rapidly multiply—producing an overwhelming cloud of poisonous gas.
Once released, the gas would infiltrate everything—skin, airways, and chakra pathways—even if the victims held their breath. There was no escape.
"Now!" Danzo barked.
Xu Fan was too powerful—his speed and precision overwhelming. Even if Danzo found a chance to kill him, Xu Fan's Wood Release would block the attack.
The sixth Sharingan dimmed—another minute lost after Xu Fan sliced clean through Danzo's neck.
Torune didn't hesitate. He dashed forward and unleashed his insects, directing them into the bodies of the surrounding Root members. Activating the Aburame clan's hidden technique, he created the barrier needed to accelerate their growth.
The infected Root shinobi convulsed violently. Their faces twisted in agony, veins darkening, eyes bulging.
Before they could scream, the insects burst from their throats, devouring internal organs in seconds.
Root operatives fell en masse.
"Damn it..." Danzo growled.
He hated to watch his elite soldiers die—but he had no choice. Izanagi couldn't undo their deaths—only his own.
His summoned Baku—the Nightmare Tapir—was completely restrained by Xu Fan's Wood Release. Useless.
His Wind Style techniques? Countered every time by Xu Fan's Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.
"Damn it," he spat again.
It infuriated him—Fireball Jutsu, a basic C-rank ninjutsu, shouldn't be this effective. It was commonly used for training, not killing.
Yet in Xu Fan's hands, it was devastating—turning even the simplest ninjutsu into a lethal weapon.
"Wood Release: Bursting Spear Tree!"
As another fireball surged toward him, Danzo raised his Wood-imbued arm, infused with Hashirama's cells, and summoned a massive tree to block it.
But in that moment—
A kunai flew straight at his temple.
Itachi Uchiha had joined the battle.
"You…" Danzo snarled.
He had always seen Itachi as a pawn—a loyal asset of Konoha.
But now, Itachi stood beside Xu Fan to kill him.
"Tch!"
Danzo barely dodged, leaning back as the kunai zipped past.
Slash!
In retreating, he ran straight into a blade.
Another Itachi—positioned behind him—plunged a standard ANBU sword into his chest with precision.
Another Sharingan dimmed.
But the Danzo impaled by Itachi vanished.
Just another illusion undone by Izanagi.
"You were always just a pawn," Danzo hissed, now behind Itachi with his arm coiled around his neck. He glanced at his arm—only four Sharingan still glowed.
Izanagi could change fate—but not the chakra lost using it.
His body was tiring. His movements slowing.
But he refused to believe he would die here—not him.
"If you're so eager to die, Itachi, then I'll grant your wish," Danzo growled.
His arm bulged—Wood Release: Burial of Tree Roots!
He had once tried this against Xu Fan, hoping for mutual destruction. But Xu Fan had survived.
Itachi wouldn't.
The ground erupted as giant roots burst from beneath them, wrapping around both Danzo and Itachi with incredible speed.
Meanwhile, Torune used the last of his chakra.
"Pot Poison Technique!"
He formed the final hand seal.
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted. The poisonous gas spread across the battlefield, infiltrating everything.
Danzo might die in the blast—but as long as Izanagi remained, he could rewrite it.
The ones who would die—
Would be Xu Fan and Uchiha Itachi.