Chapter 85: Rasa vs. Danzo (Part 2) 

Amidst the wreckage of their fierce battle, the forest lay in complete disarray. Shattered trees and scattered debris marked the aftermath of their clash. High above, atop the canopies of two towering trees, Rasa and Danzo stood facing each other once more, their eyes locked in a silent, deadly standoff. 

Drip.

Danzo felt a sharp sting on his cheek and instinctively reached up to touch it. His fingers came away stained with crimson. Despite his swift reflexes, Rasa's blade had grazed him, leaving a thin, bleeding cut. 

"What a troublesome ability…"

He had long heard of Sunagakure's Magnet Release and the legendary sand-controlling techniques developed by the Second Kazekage. However, facing Rasa's mastery firsthand was proving far more challenging than he had anticipated. The precision and speed of Rasa's golden dust were unlike anything he had encountered before. 

Still, Danzo's confidence remained unshaken. The power of his arm and the secrets hidden within his eye gave him an edge. Yet, he knew it was not yet time to reveal those trump cards. The Sharingan was far too precious to waste prematurely. 

With a calculated calm, Danzo swiftly formed a series of hand seals. 

"Summoning Jutsu!" 

A massive summoned beast materialized within the vast barrier, its enormous frame occupying nearly one-eighth of the enclosed space. The creature had yellow fur, an elephant-like trunk, and sharp, tiger-like claws. This was Danzo's summon—Baku, the mythical devourer. 

The battlefield shifted instantly. Danzo and Baku launched a coordinated assault, their movements perfectly synchronized. Baku raised its trunk and opened its gaping maw, unleashing a monstrous gust of wind. The suction was overwhelming, pulling trees, sand, and debris into its voracious mouth. Even Rasa struggled to maintain his footing, his body being dragged toward the beast. 

Meanwhile, Danzo maneuvered around the chaos, closing in on Rasa from the opposite side. 

"Using a summon to restrict my movement before going in for the kill, huh?" Rasa mused, his voice calm despite the dire situation. 

He tested his control over his golden dust, but the sheer force of Baku's suction rendered his efforts futile. The golden particles were swallowed effortlessly, leaving Rasa with fewer options. 

However, Rasa noticed a critical flaw in Danzo's strategy. Even Danzo himself seemed unable to fully resist Baku's suction, forcing him to take a wide detour around the battlefield to flank Rasa. 

Seizing the opportunity, Rasa stopped resisting altogether. Instead, he allowed himself to be pulled toward Baku, his body hurtling toward the beast's gaping maw. Danzo froze momentarily, confusion flickering across his face as he tried to decipher Rasa's intentions. 

Just as Rasa was about to be swallowed, he raised his arm. In an instant, a massive golden staff materialized in his grasp, glowing with an otherworldly aura. 

"Sage Art - Magnet Release: Dragon Golden Staff!" 

With a powerful, decisive swing, Rasa drove the immense golden staff straight into Baku's mouth. 

A deafening shriek erupted from the beast. 

"Graaah!" 

Baku thrashed violently, its massive body writhing in agony. Trees toppled like matchsticks as the creature's movements shook the battlefield.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Rasa leaped onto Baku's head and pressed his right hand firmly against its skull. 

"Such an excellent summon… wasted on you."

Shwoop! 

In an instant, waves of sand surged from beneath Baku, enveloping its massive body entirely. Sealing marks began to appear one after another, glowing faintly as they spread across the beast's form. 

"Great Burial Seal!"

Danzo moved to intervene, but it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as his own summon, instead of restraining Rasa, was sealed away by him. The once-mighty Baku vanished into the sand, leaving behind an eerie silence. 

Danzo tightened his grip on the shuriken in his hand, his expression darkening as he fully realized just how troublesome his opponent was. It was clear that relying solely on his own strength would not be enough to defeat Rasa. 

If that was the case… 

Danzo finally made his decision. It was time to unveil his trump card. 

He reached up and removed the bandages covering his right eye, revealing a fully matured three-tomoe Sharingan. The crimson eye gleamed with an ominous light, and the moment it was exposed, Rasa sensed a shift in Danzo's aura—it grew colder, more oppressive, and far more dangerous. 

"Oh? No more holding back? You've even exposed the Sharingan in your right eye now," Rasa observed, his tone laced with both curiosity and caution. 

Danzo wielded a kunai, his breath infused with chakra. Wind Release chakra flowed into the blade, forming an invisible, razor-sharp edge of wind. 

"Wind Style: Vacuum Blade!" 

His expression was cold and unyielding as the crimson Sharingan locked onto Rasa, analyzing his every move. 

"This is the eye of my late comrade, Kagami Uchiha. Though I despise the Uchiha, I cannot deny the power of the Sharingan."

Danzo stated, his voice devoid of emotion. Hearing this, Rasa grew more serious, though a smirk played on his lips.

"Are you sure Kagami gave it to you? Looks to me like you're the kind of guy who wouldn't even spare his own friends."

Rasa retorted mocked with a smirk. 

It wasn't that Rasa feared the three-tomoe Sharingan. No, his real concern was whether Danzo possessed the Mangekyō. After all, he had no intelligence regarding Kagami's abilities, and the unknown was always the greatest threat. 

Danzo noticed Rasa's momentary distraction. His gaze sharpened, but he scoffed, unwilling to appear weak. 

"Hmph! Dedicating everything to the village was Kagami's dream. I simply fulfilled it for him."

Rasa widened his eyes, genuinely perplexed by Danzo's audacity. If Danzo had been born in his original world, he would have made a formidable politician—perhaps even rivaling a certain blond raccoon. 

"You really are shameless. Alright, let's see how powerful Kagami Uchiha's eyes really are!"

As he finished speaking, Rasa pressed his hands together. Unlike all his previous jutsu, this one was not a single-direction attack. At that moment, the entire battlefield inside the barrier began to shift dramatically. The ground transformed into flowing waves of sand, swallowing the trees of the surrounding forest whole. 

"Flowing Sand Waterfall!" 

Danzo immediately leaped into the air, using a floating tree trunk as a makeshift raft to maneuver across the shifting sand like a lone canoe. His movements were swift and precise, but the golden spikes that burst forth from the swirling sand below were relentless. 

"Gold Dust Imperial Funeral!" 

Countless golden spikes erupted like thorned tentacles, striking at Danzo as he darted across the sand.

Danzo's three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, its crimson glow intensifying as it analyzed every movement on the battlefield. His taijutsu skills, already formidable, were now amplified by the Sharingan's enhanced perception. He weaved through the onslaught of golden spikes with ease, his movements fluid and precise. Any spike that proved too difficult to evade was swiftly cut down by the razor-sharp wind blade of his Vacuum Blade technique.

At this moment, with the power of the Sharingan fully unleashed, Danzo's strength had surged to another level entirely.

Before, Rasa had only considered him at the level of an elite jōnin. But now, Danzo was approaching the peak of what a Kage-level shinobi could achieve. His speed, precision, and tactical awareness had all reached new heights, making him a far more dangerous opponent than he had been moments ago.

Even Rasa felt a hint of pressure. His seemingly unstoppable Magnet Release, which had dominated the battlefield earlier, was now proving ineffective against Danzo's enhanced abilities. The Sharingan's predictive power and Danzo's refined combat skills were neutralizing Rasa's attacks with alarming efficiency.

Truly, the Sharingan was one of the greatest "cheat codes" in the world of shinobi.

Of course, with Rasa's power surpassing even that of most Kage, Danzo was still merely a nuisance. If Rasa played his trump card, he could end the fight immediately—but he didn't.

He was waiting for a single, decisive strike.

From the moment Danzo had appeared and revealed his Sharingan, Rasa had already decided. Those five Sharingan on Danzo's arm, the one in his right eye, and the Hashirama cells on his right arm—they would all belong to him. There was no way he would allow Danzo to recklessly waste them like he did against Sasuke, treating them as mere expendable tools.

At that moment, Danzo closed the distance to Rasa, his Sharingan spinning as he attempted to analyze the chakra flow within Rasa's body. He sought to predict Rasa's next move, to gain the upper hand in their deadly dance.

But what he saw made him freeze for a brief moment—long enough to abandon his attack entirely.