486. Susanoo vs. Susanoo

"Divine Severing!"

With that roar, a blinding white slash erupted from Danzo's blade—a light suppressed for too long, now unleashed with terrifying clarity.

The edge was so sharp it seemed to shear the very air, the space around it distorting under its pressure.

Like a meteor in reverse, the slash tore upward, faster than the eye could follow, aimed straight at the twin cataclysms descending from the heavens.

The two meteors loomed like mountains of annihilation, their sheer mass crushing the atmosphere beneath them, the wind howling in protest. They were emblems of despair, pressing down on every soul beneath them.

Yet Danzo's slash did not falter.

In the breathless silence of onlookers, the blade's light collided with the meteors.

BOOOOOOM—!

The impact shook the world, a cataclysm of light and force erupting as if two planets had shattered against each other.

And then—

The meteors split apart.

Sunlight, long choked out by the falling doom, burst through the cracks, spilling over the land like a flood of liberation.

Dawn had come.

The sight left everyone stunned, their understanding of Danzo's power rewritten in an instant.

"To think you’ve grown this strong, Danzo."

Hiruzen was the first to speak, his voice thick with decades of rivalry and reluctant respect.

He stared at Danzo's back—the man who had just cut the sky in half—with a gaze full of complexity.

Others, like Tsunade, Minato, and Kakashi, watched with awe and admiration.

As for Oyashiro En? His thoughts were simpler—

Thank you, Lord Danzo, for saving my worthless life!

Just moments ago, he had been certain he would die. That despair had nearly broken him.

But Danzo had answered his prayers.

Even Rasa and Mei, hiding at the battlefield's edge, couldn’t help but exhale in relief.

Though they were technically on Madara and Obito’s side, there was no guarantee they’d be spared in such destruction.

But one man burned with hatred.

Obito Uchiha.

His masked face twisted as he glared at Danzo, teeth grinding.

"Damn you, Danzo… always in my way!"

Every scheme, every carefully laid plan—ruined by this man.

If not for Danzo, the Infinite Tsukuyomi would already be complete.

Yet Danzo paid him no mind.

Though the meteors were split, the falling debris still posed a threat.

So with a flick of his wrist, Danzo activated his dōjutsu—

"Shatter Space!"

Countless void slashes materialized in the sky, shredding the remaining fragments into harmless dust.

Then, with a single hand seal—

"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"

A forest erupted, its branches cushioning the debris, neutralizing the last of the danger.

The display made Madara’s lips curl in excitement.

"A spatial-slashing Eternal Mangekyō technique? Fascinating."

His tongue flicked out, his Rinnegan alight with battle lust.

Eternal Mangekyō—rarer than even among Uchiha.

Wood Release—the power of Hashirama Senju.

In Danzo, Madara saw a reflection of himself, a reminder of his own legendary era.

The battles that shook the world.

The war against Hashirama that became myth.

Now, standing before him was a man of equal ambition and power.

Madara’s blood boiled.

"Then let’s see if you have what it takes to rule this world, Danzo!"

To prove his sincerity, Madara unleashed his chakra.

It erupted like a tidal wave, the air itself churning into visible vortices around him.

Skeletal ribs formed first, then muscle and flesh of pure chakra, until—

A colossal, winged Susanoo, clad in onyx-blue armor, towered over the battlefield.

Hundreds of meters tall, its crimson eyes pierced the soul, its wings stirring hurricane-force winds with the barest twitch.

"This… is Madara’s true power?"

Minato swallowed hard.

If he were facing this, what jutsu could even scratch it?

His Rasengan would be laughable.

The others paled—but not Danzo.

His eyes burned with the same fire.

"Entertain me, Uchiha Madara."

With that, an equally massive white Susanoo materialized beside him.

The two titans stood poised.

And then—

They moved.

The clash of gods had begun.