Chapter 58: Eye for an Eye

Looking into the distance, Shin noted that the Nine-Tails had vanished, though the sounds of battle still echoed from afar.

'Has the Nine-Tails been driven out of the village? It shouldn't be sealed away just yet,' Shin's mind stirred. 'Perhaps I can pick up something valuable here.'

Shin vanished with a quick flicker, leaving only a few scattered leaves behind.

Once he left, an illusory figure reappeared—Danzo, panting heavily, his face lined with fear.

"Thank goodness I prepared Izanagi. Damn it, the Sharingan I finally obtained was useless! Who is that guy? What's he trying to do?"

He scanned the area, and a look of anguish flickered across his face.

Shin's devouring void had nearly decimated Danzo's entire Root division. The toll was devastating: not only were there heavy casualties, but Danzo's entire stockpile—intelligence files, forbidden ninjutsu scrolls, experimental subjects, and invaluable resources—had been thoroughly looted.

In an instant, Danzo's decades of hard work had been reduced to nothing. Everything was gone except his own life.

Meanwhile, Shin had made his way to the edge of the Nine-Tails battlefield, his sharp gaze surveying the scene from afar.

There wasn't much to see; a barrier shielded the area, allowing only the Nine-Tails' roars to reach him.

However, what caught Shin's attention was Uchiha Fugaku in the fray. Blood and tears streamed down Fugaku's face, clear evidence of his use of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"So, he tried to control the Nine-Tails with his Sharingan? Looks like he failed."

Uchiha Obito succeeded in controlling the Nine-Tails, but only because Uchiha Madara made a summoning contract with it. The eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's immense power—combined with Madara being a reincarnation of Indra—allowed him to control the Nine-Tails far beyond what a typical Mangekyō Sharingan user could manage.

For Fugaku, trying to wrest control of the Nine-Tails was as futile as hitting a boulder with an egg.

The remaining ninjas around him looked battered, with apparent injuries from their skirmish against the Nine-Tails.

Observing this, Shin felt his determination strengthen. Without hesitation, he stepped forward.

"Who goes there?"

Shin had no intention of hiding himself. The elite ninjas of Konoha gathered in the area and quickly spotted him.

Shin wasn't one for small talk, especially since he had come here to take what he wanted. Besides, Konoha hadn't left a favorable impression on him, so he let his fists do the talking.

Black mist filled the air, blanketing the crowd. When the black mist swallowed several tentative attacks from the ninjas, their expressions turned grim, and they moved back quickly.

Though injured, these ninjas were far stronger than those in Root. Only the bravest dared to challenge the Nine-Tails, so their skill and knowledge were leagues above that of ordinary shinobi.

"Enma, Adamantine Staff—Extend!" The Third Hokage, leading the group, didn't waste time on words. With a yell, the staff extended to massive proportions and crashed down toward Shin.

Unfazed, Shin encased his hand in the dark mist of the Dark-Dark Fruit and reinforced it with armament haki before launching a powerful punch.

The previously invincible staff fell silent as it struck the black mist, and Shin's reinforced fist connected with it. Surprisingly, a crack appeared in the staff, and the black mist seeped into the fissures, draining a significant amount of blood.

"Poof!" With a burst of smoke, the Third Hokage awkwardly looked at his now-empty hands; the Adamantine Staff had vanished.

The Adamantine Staff, Enma's transformed form, the Third Hokage's summoning beast, was usually indestructible. No weapon could stand against it, yet it had been damaged here. Enma was now seriously injured, barely hanging on to life, leaving the Third Hokage helpless.

"Stay alert! This guy's strength is unusual!" the Third Hokage shouted. But the other ninjas had already realized the severity of the situation.

The Adamantine Staff, the weapon capable of driving the Nine-Tails out of Konoha, had been severely damaged by a single blow from Shin. Clearly, this man was no ordinary opponent.

Without delay, the ninjas launched an array of attacks. Shin didn't flinch; the black mist absorbed most of the assaults, and for those he couldn't avoid, he simply used his armament haki, relying on his steel-like body to withstand the onslaught.

While their ninjutsu was powerful, it proved ineffective against Shin. Suddenly, a streak of lightning shot through the air, cutting into Shin's chest like a blade—an attack timed to strike the weakest point of his defense.

"That stings!" Shin felt a jolt of pain and grabbed the lightning. As he activated the Dark-Dark Fruit, most of the attacker's chakra was drained, revealing a white-haired boy, barely thirteen or fourteen—Hatake Kakashi.

Though he claimed it hurt, Shin's chest didn't even bleed; he merely experienced a brief shock.

'I almost forgot—it's a side effect of the Dark-Dark Fruit. How much does it amplify pain again? Next time, I'll need to adjust my pain receptors.' Shin thought, recognizing the boy as his academy classmate, Hatake Kakashi.

Though they'd both attended the academy, they'd hardly interacted. Kakashi had been a prodigy, while Shin remained relatively unnoticed in his class. While Shin knew of Kakashi, Kakashi likely didn't remember him.

With his chakra drained, Kakashi couldn't even struggle as Shin extended a hand and plucked out his Sharingan, absorbing it into the dark dimension within the mist.

Shin tossed him aside, but he spared Kakashi's life. After all, he'd always liked Kakashi's character in the manga, so he decided to let him live.

However, the instant he claimed the Sharingan, a burst of 'world-travel energy' surged within Shin. He suspected that if he obtained Obito's eye, too, he might be able to transform the Naruto world into a permanent base camp world, just as he had after consuming the Dark-Dark Fruit.

'No… the Naruto world is being manipulated from the shadows. Unless I eliminate Black Zetsu or destroy the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path (Gedō Mazō) and the Rinnegan, the plotline will remain intact,' he mused.

[A/N: Gedo Mazo or Gedo Statue is the husk of the Ten-Tails that remained after its chakra was separated from its body.]

These thoughts flitted through his mind, but he was soon pulled back to reality by the shocked faces of his attackers, who now realized Shin had emerged unscathed from their assault.

But Shin was no mere punching bag. He wasn't invincible even with the triple layers of protection—the Dark-Dark Fruit, armament haki, and his iron-hard physique.

Suppressing his arrogance, Shin moved with terrifying speed, his figure becoming a blur. Before they could react, several Jonins were struck by his blows, sustaining severe injuries and spitting blood.

In terms of ninjutsu, Shin's chakra might have been overwhelming. Still, he could only utilize standard elemental techniques, limiting his power to the peak of Jonin-level or the low Kage-level. Thus, he relied primarily on his fruit abilities to dominate the field.

However, in taijutsu, he was unmatched. At this point, even the legendary Might Guy was still young, and Shin dared to claim he was one of the best in hand-to-hand combat within the ninja world.

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