Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 496 Izanagi 2

With a few sharp "rip" sounds, Sasuke Uchiha was inevitably grazed by several sharp gusts of energy, his clothes torn open to reveal several deep and shallow abrasions, from which blood slowly seeped, staining his fair skin red. But Sasuke did not flinch or pause in the slightest; instead, his eyes grew even colder, revealing a resolute determination, as he continued to concentrate fully on dealing with the formidable enemy before him.

Mid-air, Sasuke Uchiha's expression was solemn. His hands moved swiftly like phantoms, his fingers interlacing to form a series of complex and mysterious hand seals. As the seals were completed, a powerful surge of chakra emanated from his body.

In an instant, an enormous eagle appeared out of thin air, its broad wingspan reaching tens of meters, its feathers shimmering with a metallic sheen. The giant eagle let out a resounding cry and landed steadily at Uchiha Sasuke's feet, like an impregnable mobile fortress, supporting him in mid-air and preventing him from falling off the bridge and disrupting his fighting rhythm, thus avoiding falling into the enemy's carefully laid trap.

At this moment, Shimura Danzo stood proudly on the bridge, his figure towering like a mountain. His sharp eyes were fixed on Uchiha Sasuke, who stood atop the giant eagle's body in mid-air, his gaze revealing seriousness and vigilance. A hint of surprise welled up within him at the powerful Amaterasu that Uchiha Sasuke had just unleashed. Although he maintained a cold demeanor on the surface, deep down he was reassessing the strength of his young opponent.

Danzo Shimura raised his head slightly and said in a cold voice, "Amaterasu, as expected of Itachi Uchiha's younger brother! He can even use the Mangekyou Sharingan's eye techniques so skillfully, and he has also inherited his terrifying power."

When Sasuke Uchiha heard Danzo Shimura mention his brother Itachi Uchiha, his anger flared up instantly. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he exuded a chilling aura as he roared angrily down below, "I said! I will never allow anyone to talk about Itachi again!" With his roar, the surrounding air seemed to tremble with his rage.

Despite Sasuke Uchiha's furious roar, Shimura Danzo remained completely unmoved. His weathered face showed no emotion, maintaining his usual indifferent expression, as he slowly opened his mouth.

"You two brothers, you both possess equally powerful abilities, yet the difference in your understanding of the power of your eyes is so vast. What does the truth about Itachi mean to you? You're just indulging in the endless hatred deep within your heart." Danzo's words were as cold and piercing as a icy wind, striking straight into Sasuke's heart.

"What you're doing is a complete waste of the immense sacrifices made by the Uchiha clan! They gave everything to protect the village and their people, but now you're blinded by hatred and have completely forgotten the clan's honor and mission." Danzo's voice rose slightly, carrying a hint of rebuke.

"You bastard, you have no right to talk about the Uchiha clan!" Uchiha Sasuke roared, his eyes wide with rage, veins bulging on his forehead, his furious and hateful roar echoing through the sky. Before he finished speaking, his hands moved swiftly, forming hand seals and chanting incantations. Then, with a sudden swing of his arm, the giant eagle that had been circling overhead seemed to receive a command, instantly spreading its wings and swooping down with the force of a thunderbolt.

At this moment, Sasuke Uchiha had only one thought in his mind—to make the sinner who had wiped out the Uchiha clan pay the price! Standing opposite him, Danzo Shimura showed no sign of panic at Sasuke's sudden attack. His face was ashen, his old eyes slightly narrowed, revealing a barely perceptible glint of cunning. Just as the giant eagle was about to swoop down, Danzo Shimura calmly raised his hands, his fingers moving with lightning speed.

"Wind Release - Vacuum Wave!" With a low shout from Shimura Danzo, an incredibly powerful gust of wind suddenly erupted from his mouth. This wind, like a roaring dragon, spun and condensed rapidly in the air, instantly transforming into a gigantic wind blade. This wind blade, carrying earth-shattering power, slashed directly towards Uchiha Sasuke in mid-air.

Clearly, Danzo Shimura had identified Sasuke Uchiha's weakness in being unable to dodge effectively while atop a summoned beast, and intended to use this opportunity to completely defeat him in one strike.

Facing the massive wind blade hurtling towards him like a mountain crushing an egg, Sasuke Uchiha's eyes showed no sign of retreat; instead, they gleamed with unwavering determination. He nimbly leaped from the broad back of the giant eagle, like a graceful swallow, tracing a beautiful arc in the air and easily dodging the wind blade's menacing frontal attack.

At the same time, his right hand gripped the hilt of the Kusanagi sword tucked behind his waist. The gleaming blade trembled slightly with the swing of his arm, as if it were eager to drink the blood of its enemy. He charged toward Shimura Danzo at an astonishing speed, each step creating a gust of wind, the air beneath his feet seemingly torn apart by his immense power.

However, the cunning and calculating Shimura Danzo would not easily give his opponent a chance to get close. Just as Uchiha Sasuke was about to close in, he unhesitatingly activated his ninjutsu again, continuously unleashing a barrage of incredibly sharp wind blades at the sturdy bridge surface. These wind blades intertwined and collided, instantly stirring up a cloud of dust, like a sandstorm that blotted out the sky, enveloping the entire bridge surface.

Thick smoke and dust billowed up, quickly obscuring Sasuke Uchiha's vision, making it impossible for him to discern direction or targets. This severely limited the keen observational abilities of his prized Sharingan, preventing him from accurately capturing Danzo Shimura's figure and movements. But even in such a disadvantageous situation, Sasuke Uchiha remained fearless. Relying on his accurate assessment of the battle situation and years of accumulated combat experience, he continued his valiant advance through the smoke-filled battlefield, determined to overcome all obstacles and deliver a fatal blow to his enemy.

In that instant, a piercing sound of air being torn apart suddenly rang out! A shuriken, gleaming with cold light and imbued with the power of a fierce wind release, hurtled towards Uchiha Sasuke like lightning.

However, Sasuke Uchiha was no ordinary person. His extraordinary keen observation skills came into play instantly, and he sensed the approaching danger almost the instant the shuriken appeared. Without the slightest hesitation, he nimbly bent down, using a perfectly executed and swift backbend to successfully evade the sudden and fatal blow.

The shuriken imbued with wind release energy seemed to possess its own will. After grazing Sasuke's body, it didn't stop its advance but continued its whistling backward. With a crisp "crack," it easily sliced ​​the solid stone pillar behind Sasuke in two, the cut smooth and even, as if it had been meticulously polished.

Witnessing this, Uchiha Sasuke was startled. He knew all too well the immense power of shuriken imbued with Wind Release techniques; had he been slightly careless, he would likely be the one injured now. Thinking this, he secretly rejoiced at his quick reflexes and felt a mixture of surprise and wariness at the enemy's ability to unleash such a powerful attack.

Before Uchiha Sasuke could even marvel at what he was seeing, he heard two whooshing sounds as two more shuriken, each carrying the power of a fierce wind release, hurtled toward him like lightning!

However, despite the sudden and incredibly swift attack, Sasuke Uchiha showed no sign of panic. His Mangekyou Sharingan, with its powerful perception, activated instantly, its gaze locking onto the two rapidly approaching shuriken, pinpointing their trajectories with unparalleled precision.

In the blink of an eye, almost simultaneously, the Kusanagi sword tightly gripped in Uchiha Sasuke's hand began to dance rapidly with the swing of his arm. In an instant, the sword flashed, its cold light radiating, and it pierced straight through the center of one of the shuriken!

Even more astonishingly, after the sword pierced through him, Uchiha Sasuke, with his superb swordsmanship and exquisite control of power and angle, forcibly altered the trajectory of the shuriken. Thus, the shuriken, originally meant to kill him, seemed to be enchanted, tracing a strange arc in the air before landing squarely in front of him, perfectly deflecting another shuriken that followed. The giant eagle, still in the air, seemed to receive a signal and flew towards the deflected shuriken.

However, Shimura Danzo showed no sign of stopping his attack. His cold, ruthless eyes were fixed on Uchiha Sasuke ahead, his hands constantly forming hand seals, a continuous stream of chakra gathering in his palms. Several shuriken imbued with the power of wind release swiftly materialized in his hands once more, gleaming with a cold light, as if they could tear the air apart at any moment.

At the same time, Uchiha Sasuke was equally relentless. He gripped his longsword tightly, his arm muscles taut, veins bulging. Suddenly, he forcefully hurled the shuriken embedded in his sword towards Shimura Danzo. These shuriken flew like lightning, tracing sharp arcs through the air, hurtling towards their target with unparalleled momentum.