Naruto: Fate System

After thinking he had the situation firmly under control, Black Zetsu quickly retreated to a distant spot.

He did this to avoid exposing himself to Nagato prematurely. The distance would keep him safe from the Rinnegan while still allowing him to observe the coming spectacle. After all, he still planned to stir up trouble around the corrupted Nagato in the future.

However, his early retreat caused him to lag behind in keeping up with the evolving situation.

Even though the possessed Yuichi realized something was wrong before being completely sealed and tried to warn him, the distance was too great to convey the message to Black Zetsu.

At the moment Shin arrived to seal Yuichi, the White Zetsu embedded in Yahiko's body manipulated the newly acquired host to lift his head and flash a smile at Nagato, who had rushed forward.

Using Yahiko's voice, he said. "Nagato, have you forgotten our ideals? Are you going to abandon me?"

Then 'Yahiko' raised two kunais, one in each hand. The kunai in the right hand aimed at the nearby Nagato, while the one in the left hand plunged toward his own heart.

All of this was part of Black Zetsu's plan. He almost felt like everything was under his complete control. 

Until a gust of wind descended, carrying Konan with her paper wings and another person who landed beside her.

That person quickly rushed forward, tightly embracing Nagato from behind, halting his steps toward Yahiko.

"Wake up, Nagato, wake up! It's me, Kaori, I'm here!"

Simultaneously, Ayumi burst from underground, chunks of mud and stone exploding outward.

With precise timing, she swatted away the kunai in Yahiko's left hand just before it could stab his heart.

In that instant, Black Zetsu's plan was shattered.

Most critically, Kaori, with her gentle familial affection, momentarily brought Nagato back to his senses, ruining the scene he had been anticipating the most.

How could this be?! He didn't understand! His fingers dug into the bark of the tree where he watched. Where did this red-haired girl come from?

Years ago, he had personally witnessed Nagato's entire family being killed by Konoha ninjas. That was when the boy awakened the Rinnegan for the first time—he had confirmed it himself.

How could Nagato possibly have a family member? At this moment, Black Zetsu finally regretted retreating so early.

Now he was too far away to intervene, unable to salvage the situation in time. He could only pray that someone would step in to stop the Akatsuki!

Surprisingly, his prayer seemed to work.

The moment Shin turned around after sealing Yuichi, someone appeared in his path.

It was Danzō. He studied Shin with calculated intensity, assessing every detail. Even at this age, his killing intent is impressive.

"I'll eliminate you on behalf of Konoha today." The words carried no emotion, just cold certainty born from years of difficult decisions.

Shin smirked coolly. He had been waiting for this encounter, but Danzō's presence here was unexpected. He must see me as a serious threat.

"Representing Konoha?" Shin's voice was quiet, measured. "Strange. I thought the Hokage handled that responsibility."

Danzō's expression didn't change, but his chakra fluctuated slightly. Decades of political maneuvering had taught him to recognize subtle barbs. Without warning, he launched his Vacuum Blast Barrage.

Shin dodged the invisible blades of wind, each movement precise. No wasted energy, no flashy dodges. Just the minimum needed to survive. He's testing my reflexes.

"Your methods remind me of someone," Shin said as he evaded more blasts. "A shadow that gnaws at Konoha's roots, weakening it from within."

Danzō's response was a series of hand seals. "Wind Style: Vacuum Blade." The technique carried enough power to split steel.

Their weapons met in a clash of competing wind chakras. The rain between them was forced aside, creating a momentary sphere of clarity. Neither showed surprise when Shin's blade held firm, both having sensed the other's chakra control beforehand.

"Skilled with wind chakra," Danzō noted. "But skill alone isn't enough to kill me, brat."

After the second strike, his Vacuum Blade weakened significantly, with chakra visibly dissipating, while Shin's sword remained steady.

By the third strike, the Vacuum Blade shattered. The backlash of wind chakra sent ripples through the falling rain. Danzō had to retreat, throwing kunai while attempting to re-seal chakra.

But Shin pressed on.

With an upward slash, he unleashed his Triple Flash. Danzō twisted in desperation, but too late—the blade caught him mid-evasion, tearing through flesh and bone. He spiraled upward into the rain-dark sky, blood spraying from where his right arm had been. The severed limb fell through sheets of rain, leaving crimson trails in the downpour below.

The three successive wind blades had torn through his defenses like paper.

But Danzō's response showed why he'd survived countless battles. Even as his arm fell, his remaining hand formed a seal: "Summoning Jutsu!"

The Baku appeared—a gigantic elephantine dream-eating chimera. The creature's arrival displaced the rain, creating a momentary dome of dry air around the battlefield.

Shin paid the Baku no mind, dashing toward Yahiko. The rain returned in full force, turning the ground to slick mud. As he moved, he called out: "Ayumi!"

In response, the tiny elephant leaped onto the Baku, bracing her front feet and trunk against its head while she jabbed her small but sharp tusks into one of its eyes before it could unleash its wind attack.

The Baku's pained roar shook the raindrops from nearby trees.

With the Baku's attack prevented, Shin swiftly suppressed and sealed the White Zetsu within Yahiko with the Triple Phase Seal.

Far away, Black Zetsu's brief hope vanished into despair. Two White Zetsus gone in an instant, and Yahiko still alive.

Mother's plans... all crumbling because of one boy's interference.

Believing the situation was under control, he had prematurely retreated, only to realize this decision would haunt him as his greatest blunder.

Now forced to burrow back underground, Black Zetsu used his swift Mayfly Technique to rush back, because he knew if he didn't return in time, Danzō was doomed.

---

On the battlefield, Ayumi faced the thrashing Baku. The beast's massive form grew increasingly erratic as she exploited each opening, her chakra-enhanced strikes drawing pained roars with each precise hit.

The last surviving Root ninja, dragging his wounded body through the mud and debris, stumbled over to Danzō.

"Is this the final moment? We will fight for Konoha to our deaths, won't we?" Blood trickled from beneath his cracked mask, but his voice remained steady, fueled by years of conditioning and loyalty.

Shin, having completed the sealing of White Zetsu with a final pulse of chakra, raised his head and locked his gaze onto them once more. No rewards without death prediction... And Danzō's survival might actually be more valuable than his death, since his schemes continues to weaken Konoha from within.

In that instant, despite being twice the boy's age, Danzō felt a paralyzing fear emanating from Shin. The boy's eyes held something worse than killing intent: the calm calculation of someone who saw him as nothing more than a piece on a board.

All thoughts of eliminating threats or fighting for Konoha evaporated.

The only thing in his mind was: I haven't become Hokage yet. I can't die! Not here, not now!

Fortunately, a twist of fate came at the next moment. The ground rumbled ominously, and Black Zetsu made his move.

"Wood Style: Great Spear Tree!"

From underground, a massive tree trunk burst forth like a sword piercing the earth, its surface rough and deadly, slashing toward Shin at an angle.

The attack sent mud and stone flying in all directions, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

The sudden appearance of Wood Release ignited a flicker of hope in the surviving Root ninja's eyes. 

"Danzō-sama, we might have a cha—"

Before he could finish, he turned his head, only to catch sight of Danzō fleeing without hesitation, his back disappearing into the distance.

To most Konoha shinobi, Wood Release wasn't just a ninjutsu—it was a symbol of faith. It was reminder of their village's greatness. But Danzō was one of the rare exceptions. His practical mind had long since stripped away such sentiment.

Years ago, in his collaboration with Orochimaru to study and decode Wood Release, he had already dispelled its mystique. The memories of countless failed experiments had taught him the harsh truth about this power.

The research had yielded a child subject whom Danzō personally named Kinoe. The boy's existence proved that the First Hokage's power could be replicated, though the power output was vastly inferior to the original.

To put it diplomatically: Kinoe's Wood Release still had potential for growth, but the gap between him and Hashirama was like comparing a candle to the sun.

So even with the dramatic appearance of Black Zetsu's Wood Release, Danzō fled without a second thought, ruthlessly abandoning the Baku and his Root subordinates.

The massive summoned beast let out a mournful cry, sensing its master's betrayal. And the abandoned Root ninja's expression collapsed into despair.

The rain washed away the blood from his cracked mask until it finally split and fell, revealing an anguished, heartbroken face to the watching Akatsuki members. Young—perhaps no more than sixteen—with eyes that had just witnessed the death of blind faith.

Shin, noticing this, hesitated at the last moment. Another tool discarded by Konoha. This one might be salvageable.

Flipping his wrist, he shifted his blade from its edge to its back and struck the Root ninja unconscious instead of killing him. The boy crumpled into the mud without a sound.

This young ninja, likely not fully brainwashed yet, showed signs of emotional collapse after being abandoned. So, Shin decided to spare him, hoping it might yield some benefit in the future. Let him live with this betrayal. Let it fester and grow.

Elsewhere, Black Zetsu, after launching his attack, caught up with the fleeing Danzō. From a distance, he cast a bitter glance at Shin.

I'll be back!

With that, the Venus flytrap structure of his body enveloped the heavily injured Danzō, its jaws closing around him like a grotesque cocoon, and the two sank into the earth.

Konan, unwilling to let them escape, unleashed a swarm of paper butterflies armed with explosive tags, sending them diving into the ground where Black Zetsu disappeared.

Boom!

The ground erupted in a chain reaction, sending earth and debris flying in all directions. The force of the blast created a momentary pause in the rainfall.

However, when the smoke cleared, nothing remained but a crater in the ground—no traces of their targets. The rain resumed, slowly filling the newly formed pit with muddy water.

"What kind of technique was that? How did they vanish completely?" Konan murmured in surprise, her paper butterflies circling the area searching for any trace.

Meanwhile, Shin focused on stabilizing the situation by killing the Baku. Then, Kaori's urgent voice called out from the other side.

"Come quickly! Nagato... something's wrong with him!"

Everyone's expressions shifted, and they rushed to her side.

Nagato seemed entranced, completely oblivious to Kaori's desperate pleas. His red hair was matted with rain and mud, but he didn't seem to notice or care.

"Wake up, Nagato!" Kaori shook his shoulders gently. "Yahiko isn't dead!"

She tried appealing to his emotions. "Pull yourself together!"

It was useless.

Nagato, like a broken puppet, repeated mechanically: 'This world is flawed! I must make the world know pain.

"How did this happen?" Konan was both worried and terrified.

"Is it those eyes causing this?" Kaori speculated, unwilling to believe mere emotions could shatter Nagato like this.

The legend of the Rinnegan, combined with the memory of his Shinra Tensei, left the Akatsuki members paralyzed by fear.

Then, Shin strode forward. He swung his fist, landing a heavy blow on Nagato's face.

The Uzumaki was sent flying, skidding across the muddy ground. His body carved a path through the mud before coming to a stop, face-down in a puddle.

The others stared in shock. No one had ever dared to strike the wielder of the Rinnegan so boldly.

Even Konan was momentarily speechless. But instead of intervening, she quietly observed. Shin must have his reasons. He's never acted without purpose before, she reminded herself.

After the punch, he asked calmly, as if he'd done nothing more extraordinary than tap Nagato on the shoulder, "Are you clear-headed now?"

The Uzumaki pushed himself up slowly, wiping blood from his mouth.

"Thank you, Shin." He even expressed gratitude, a small smile forming on his bruised face.

"You're welcome."

---

There may be hate comments about this, but let me explain. I could have killed Danzō right there, but Shin wouldn't have done it - he has a system. It works like this: when he overcomes a death prediction, he gets rewarded. Killing Danzō immediately would mean losing many potential rewards. Since Danzō is predictable, why focus on short-term gains? This aligns with Shin's character - he plays the long game and needs every reward to overcome future challenges.

Besides, letting Danzō live actually helps Ame while hurting Konoha. Think about it: Konoha has incredible strength with Sakumo, Shisui, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru and others, but none of them ended up supporting the village. Sakumo killed himself, likely due to Danzō's schemes. Shisui died because of Danzō. Orochimaru's relationship with Danzō has soured. Tsunade's wandering the world shows her disconnect from Konoha. Danzō's influence is everywhere - without him, Konoha might actually prosper.

Don't worry though, Danzō will be dealt with eventually.

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