Danzo

Danzo's sole eye roamed over the scattered bodies of his subordinates, his heart feeling squeezed with a familiar ache. It wasn't the loss of lives that tormented him, but the immense resources and time wasted on tools that couldn't even complete their final mission. Each fallen Root operative represented countless hours of training and investment, now rendered futile.

The sealing squad, in particular, had been a sacrifice with no results to show. To find and nurture a ninja with the rare aptitude required for such a specialized role was a massive hurdle, one not easily overcome.

Danzo's thoughts were interrupted by Mirai's voice, cold and cutting through the silence. "Is this all you've got, Danzo? A few expendable tools to throw at your problems?"

Mirai's words were like salt in a wound, aggravating Danzo's already seething anger. He clenched his fists, the frustration of the failed assassination attempt boiling within him. "You speak as if you understand the sacrifices necessary for peace." He retorted, his voice laced with venom. "But you are nothing more than a rogue element, a threat to Konoha's stability."

Mirai chuckled, the sound devoid of humor. "Your idea of peace is built on manipulation and fear, Danzo. It's time for a new era, one where your shadow no longer darkens the village, and your roots no longer infesting the great tree of Konoha."

He regarded the fallen Root operatives for a moment, then turned to the frowning Danzo, his voice tinged with a mixture of pity and disdain as he said. "It's a pity they put their fate and loyalty in you, becoming mere tools in your hands, stripped of personality, and easily sacrificed."

Danzo met his gaze with a resolute expression and replied firmly. "A ninja is just a tool used for the betterment of his village, and self-sacrifice is what epitomizes him. That's the way of a true ninja."

Mirai regarded Danzo for a moment. "You are a ninja of darkness who will never see the light." He said. "I expected this rigid answer from you."

Danzo, seeing the conversation as pointless, swiftly formed hand seals and declared, starting their battle. "[Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere]" As he took a deep breath and exhaled several small, high-speed wind blasts.

In response, the mercury that had been used earlier, now forming a hidden, compacted layer under Mirai's clothes, flowed through his sleeves. It morphed into a large medieval shield, effortlessly tanking Danzo's attack. The force of the attacks barely caused a dent.

Danzo took advantage of the diversion his Wind Release attack provided, moving stealthily behind Mirai and striking directly with a kunai aimed at his heart. However, the moment the kunai neared its target, more of the silver liquid emerged from Mirai's back, forming another shield, this one bristling with spikes.

Danzo immediately retreated, narrowly avoiding being skewered. "Persistent, aren't you?" Mirai said coldly, not even turning to look at his attacker.

Danzo, now at a safe distance, reassessed his strategy. He realized that the viscous heavy metal liquid was the reason for the mission's failure. He needed to understand it to find a way to counter it.

"What is this substance?" Danzo asked, his voice a mixture of curiosity and frustration. "Is it similar to the Iron Sand?"

Mirai smirked, and decided to indulge him, his eyes gleaming with pride. After all, dead men tell no tales. "You're right to be concerned, Danzo." He replied. "This is Mercury, my most prized creation. It's far more deadly and versatile than the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand. My perfect sword and shield."

Danzo's expression hardened. "Mercury? I see. So that's your trump card."

"You've improved, Mirai." Danzo admitted, his voice edged with frustration. "But even you have limits."

Mirai's eyes narrowed. "And you've wasted enough lives today, Danzo. It's time you paid for your arrogance."

Mirai immediately shaped Mercury into multiple heavy whips and hammered the area where Danzo was, causing an immense explosion of dust and debris. The ground shook, and the force of the impact sent shockwaves through the forest, scattering leaves and branches in every direction.

Hidden by the dust, Danzo took the opportunity to retreat to a safer distance. He swiftly exhaled wind-infused chakra onto a handful of prepared non metallic shurikens. With a quick motion, he hurled the widespread fan of lethal blades aimed directly at Mirai.

Mirai's senses were sharp, and he detected the incoming attack despite the obscuring dust. With a fluid motion, he manipulated Mercury, returning it into its initial liquid metal state which engulfed the shurikens like a wave. The wind-infused blades clashed against the mercury, creating sparks and sharp metallic sounds. However, as they were engulfed, the infused chakra began to wane, and the shurikens corroded inside the metallic liquid, losing their lethal spin and momentum.

Mirai immediately focused at Danzo's obscured position, his [Bio-Magnetic Fields Perception] already locking in his.

He directed Mercury to form sharp, elongated spikes, as he taunted. "You can't hide behind your tricks forever, Danzo."

Before Danzo could react, Mirai sent the spikes hurtling toward him with incredible speed. Danzo barely managed to evade, rolling to the side as the spikes embedded themselves in the ground where he had been standing moments before. A few, however, grazed him, leaving shallow cuts, and one embedded itself in his shoulder, which he removed with gritted teeth.

After just those few exchanged attacks, Danzo knew he had to change tactics. He quickly formed more hand seals which was more difficult with an injured arm, summoning another wave of wind chakra. "[Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere]" He shouted, exhaling a massive, concentrated blast of wind towards the ground at Mirai's feet.

The ground exploded, creating a cloud of dust and debris that filled the air. The gust also served to push Mirai back slightly, but he quickly regained his footing. The silver liquid of Mercury flowed and shifted, ready to counter any new attack. Using the clearing wind, Danzo seized the moment to close the distance between them. His hands used the required blood on his shoulders and moved rapidly, forming more seals.

"[Summoning Technique]" Danzo called out, summoning the giant dark-orange elephant-like creature. The Baku appeared with a loud roar, its trunk aimed at Mirai, and immediately inhaled, creating a powerful suction force. Mirai, reacting swiftly, surrounded himself in a spherical shell of Mercury, leaving only a small opening to see.

The suction force pulled at the surrounding debris and even the trees, uprooting them and drawing them toward Baku's maw. Mirai's mercury sphere held firm, resisting the pull with its dense and malleable structure inside his protective cocoon.

Meanwhile, Danzo continued his barrage of Wind Release techniques in the opposite direction of the suction, using it to amplify their power in an attempt to break through Mirai's Mercury's defenses.

Inside the protective cocoon, Mirai watched Danzo's desperate moves with a calculating gaze. He could sense Danzo's determination and resolve, but also his mounting fatigue and rapidly plummeting chakra level. It was time to end this.

"Enough games, Danzo!" Mirai declared, his voice resonating with finality. "It's time to put an end to this."

Mirai took a deep breath for a moment, gathering his chakra and focusing his mind. With a sequence of hand seals, the mercury around him began to shift and morph, taking on a more aggressive shape.

A piece of mercury emerged from the protective cocoon, transforming into a large whip. With a swift motion, it compressed itself into a razor-thin edge, shimmering with an infusion of lightning-nature chakra. Soon, the shining beam followed the movement of Mirai's palm, striking out with deadly precision.

"[Mercury Silver Severing Whip]" With his call, the whip sliced through the trees, boulders, and even Danzo's summoned Baku, forcing it to retreat and disperse. The lightning-infused mercury, cut through anything within Mirai's perimeter with the sphere as the center. The destructive force was overwhelming, creating a path of devastation in its wake.

Danzo, recognizing the imminent danger, tried to evade with Wind Release to push himself out the whip's trajectory, but the speed and reach of the attack were too great. The mercury whip cut through his defenses, leaving him severed in two halves.

The force of the attack sent shockwaves through the forest, the sound of splintering wood and shattering stone echoing in the silence that followed.

As the dust settled, Mirai stood in the center of the destruction, his eyes scanning the area to fell on a panting and battered Danzo, clutching his wounded shoulder.

Mirai's eyes narrowed in surprise. He had clearly sensed Danzo's bio-magnetic field vanish during the attack and then inexplicably return. This was something he hadn't encountered before.

"What kind of trickery is this, Danzo?" Mirai demanded, his voice cold and probing. "I sensed your presence disappear and then return. How are you still alive?"

Danzo glared at him, refusing to answer. His mind, however, drifted to thoughts of his old friend, Uchiha Kagami. Even in death, Kagami's eyes had saved him once again.

The cost of using [Izanagi] was high, but it had given him another chance to continue his mission.

Mirai, noticing the subtle shift in Danzo's expression and the fact that the mismatched chakra source in his eyes, that he had sensed since their meeting at The Hokage's office, had vanished, inferred that whatever technique Danzo had used must have come from his transplanted and hidden eye.

"Whatever it is, it seems you've exhausted it." Mirai said, his tone both curious and accusatory. "Your chakra in that eye has vanished. You've sacrificed something significant."

Danzo struggled to his feet, his breathing labored, and his gaze defiant. "You think you've won, Mirai? This is far from over."

Mirai, sensing Danzo's lingering resistance, wasted no time. He activated his [Electromagnetic Propulsion], pushing his body encased in a thin layer of mercury armor to an incredible speed. In an instant, he appeared directly in front of the still kneeling Danzo.

The mercury, flowing with him, transformed into a long knight's sword, its edge gleaming dangerously as it pressed against Danzo's neck. Danzo's single eye widened in shock, realizing he had no time to react, and that he was toyed with during their fight.

"It seems this is your limit, Danzo." Mirai said coldly, his voice low and unwavering. "But now I have the chance, let me ask you one thing. Is it true that you stopped the Uchiha from aiding that night?"

Danzo, still clutching his wounded shoulder, panting and clearly in pain, glared up at Mirai with defiance and anger for this humiliation. "What difference does it make now?" He spat out, his voice laced with bitterness.

"It makes all the difference." Mirai responded coldly. "Answer the question."

Danzo hesitated for a moment, weighing his options. He knew he had little to lose at this point. "Yes." He finally admitted. "I did. I believed their intervention would have led to more chaos, more bloodshed. The Uchiha are too unpredictable, too dangerous."

Mirai's eyes hardened at the confirmation. "So you let the village suffer to serve your own twisted sense of order. You condemned countless lives, including my brother's, for your own agenda."

Danzo's expression remained defiant. "I did what was necessary for the village. Sacrifices must be made for the greater good."

"Your 'greater good' has caused nothing but suffering." Mirai retorted, his anger barely contained. "Your methods have only bred more hatred and mistrust."

Danzo's face twisted in anger. "You think you can judge me? You think you're any better?"

Mirai's eyes narrowed, his grip on the mercury blade unwavering. "I'm at least not twisted and delusional as you. I will never lose sight of what I truly need."

Sensing the arrival of others, Mirai looked deeply at Danzo. "It seems inspecting your corpse for your resurrection technique will have to wait another day." He said, voice cold. "But it's time to end this farce."

With a swift, decisive motion, Mirai raised his sword and severed Danzo's neck from his injured body. The sound of an apple being cut in half echoed through the clearing.

Danzo, clutching his arm, couldn't immediately comprehend what had happened. He had been watching Mirai the entire time and hadn't seen him move. Where did that sound come from? The strangeness didn't end there. Originally, Mirai had been standing right in front of him, but now it felt as though the ground was slowly turning over. The horizon tilted, and the moon in the sky flipped. Only then did he realize—the ground was not upside down, his head had been cut off and was slowly falling.

As his head descended, Danzo's eye landed on the shocked face of Hiruzen, who stood pale and frozen at the edge of the clearing. In his final moments, Danzo's thoughts drifted back to his childhood, to the early days with Hiruzen. He recalled the times they spent training together, and how, no matter how far he went, he could never catch up with him. He could never became Hokage.