Shifting his gaze away from the large nutrient tank, Kagami narrowed his eyes and began contemplating the matter of Danzo.
"The Rinnegan, huh..."
Feeling the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in his eye sockets still stirring restlessly, Kagami murmured under his breath.
After competing with Danzo for the Power of All Creation during the ritual, the ocular power of this pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan had increased considerably once again. They now seemed to be only a single step away from the Rinnegan.
Thus, the restless urge to devour the ocular power of the other party’s Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and attain the Rinnegan was not something only Danzo experienced. Kagami had felt it just as deeply.
It was an incredibly strange sensation—as though all he needed to do was push just a little harder, and the Rinnegan, those eyes capable of distorting the boundary between life and death, would be within his grasp.
Back in the forest, Kagami had expended a great deal of mental effort before finally suppressing that treacherous greed and the influence the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in his eye sockets exerted over him.
He constantly reminded himself that if he allowed greed to drive him, he would inevitably bring about his own destruction.
In the shinobi world, no matter who you were, no one possessed the luxury of carelessly underestimating their enemies or acting however they pleased.
Kaguya, who had ultimately fallen at the hands of her own sons, Madara, who had been brought down by Black Zetsu—these were all bloody lessons written in history.
Restraint was an extraordinarily precious quality for a shinobi.
Boundless greed needed to be restrained.
So too did the arrogance born from steadily increasing strength, the conceit born from seeing one plan after another succeed, and all the other impulses that came with them.
Only by remaining calm and composed, carefully judging the situation and acting accordingly, could one live longer—
and travel farther down the path ahead.
"Whew..."
After letting out a breath, Kagami once again suppressed the restlessness of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in his eye sockets and, with a calm state of mind, began considering the matter of the Rinnegan.
He now had a new idea regarding the Rinnegan.
After carefully reviewing everything that had happened, Kagami realized that the risks involved in the Bloodline Fusion Ritual were actually quite substantial. Therefore, if he prepared a pair of Rinnegan beforehand and entrusted them to a subordinate he could rely on—for example, Karin, who possessed the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan—they could serve as his final safeguard.
If something went wrong during the ritual and he unexpectedly died, he could use that pair of Rinnegan he had arranged in advance to resurrect himself once, giving him another chance to start over.
Therefore, the problem of Danzo had to be dealt with, and Danzo’s pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan had to be recovered as well.
But exactly how he should go about it—and how he could minimize the risks involved—was the real crux of the matter.
"Danzo’s condition really is rather strange..."
The moment he recalled the conversation between Danzo and the Fourth Raikage in the forest, Kagami couldn’t help but frown.
On his way back to the sky fortress, he had already analyzed the reason behind Danzo’s bizarre behavior. In his estimation, there was an eighty or ninety percent chance that it had been caused by Orochimaru’s Curse Mark, coupled with the ritual’s unexpected interruption.
Orochimaru’s Curse Mark was not a true solution to the problem of soul fusion.
The corrosive effects of the natural energy within the Curse Mark had merely weakened all six souls inhabiting Danzo’s body—including Danzo’s own soul—at the same time. As a result, Danzo’s soul had lost some of its ability to suppress the five other souls that had been fused into his body.
Meanwhile, the ritual’s unexpected interruption had prevented Danzo from doing what Hiruko had done—blending all the souls within his body together.
Although Hiruko had likewise failed to truly solve the problem of soul fusion, he had at least completed the entire ritual and forcibly blended all the souls fused into his body together with his own.
While he had still been influenced by those other souls, causing his personality to become increasingly irritable and his emotions prone to spiraling out of control, the soul controlling his body had always remained his own.
Therefore, on one hand, because of the Curse Mark, Danzo’s weakened soul had lost its absolute suppressive power over the other souls.
On the other hand, because the ritual had been interrupted, the souls within Danzo had never been forcibly blended together by the ritual.
Instead, they now existed side by side, all residing together within Danzo’s body.
"It seems this is the only explanation that makes sense..."
This was the only explanation Kagami could think of for Danzo’s inconsistent behavior and drastic changes in temperament.
With that thought, he immediately summoned a messenger crow and sent a message to the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura.
If his speculation was correct, then it meant that multiple independent wills existed within Danzo’s body.
After carefully recalling the battle, Kagami realized that, aside from Danzo himself, four different independent wills seemed to have emerged one after another. Without exception, all four had appeared after Danzo deactivated his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
The first independent will had appeared when Danzo was trying to escape the volcanic cavern and used Crystal Release to destroy the Wood Release ninjutsu left behind by the First Hokage.
At that time, Danzo had clearly displayed emotions such as fear and nervousness—emotions that should never have appeared in someone like him. Therefore, this will most likely belonged to the Crystal Release wielder Danzo had fused with, the one who had never received a proper shinobi education.
The second independent will appeared after Danzo finished using Crystal Release to destroy the mountain’s structure and switched to Swift Release.
At the time, Danzo had behaved in a flustered and panicked manner, completely unlike a qualified, cold-blooded shinobi. Therefore, this will most likely belonged to the Uzumaki survivor with Swift Release whom Danzo had fused with.
The third independent will had appeared when Danzo used Boil Release in the forest to slaughter the Kumogakure shinobi.
At that time, Danzo had displayed neither the fear he showed while using Crystal Release nor the panic he showed while using Swift Release. His behavior had been relatively normal and composed.
Therefore, this independent will most likely belonged to the Kirigakure kunoichi with Boil Release whom Danzo had fused with.
As for the fourth independent will, it clearly belonged to the Kumogakure shinobi named Hamui, the wielder of Storm Release.
At present, these four independent wills seemed capable of using only their own respective Kekkei Genkai.
Because of this, there was both conflict and compromise between them, which explained why the will controlling Danzo’s body had switched so frequently toward the end.
And it was precisely because of this that Kagami had sent a message to the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura.
If the Kirigakure kunoichi who possessed Boil Release managed to seize control of Danzo’s body and used it to flee back to Kirigakure, Kagami would receive the news immediately.
Then, he could gather his forces and launch an operation to surround and eliminate Danzo.
As for the secret of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in Danzo’s eyes, Kagami wasn’t particularly worried about it.
Aside from himself and Orochimaru, everyone who knew this secret had already perished inside the volcanic cavern.
And Danzo himself, as well as the various independent wills residing within his body, obviously wouldn’t willingly expose their own secret. Even if one of those independent wills wanted to reveal that Danzo possessed a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the eyes themselves—capable of influencing Danzo’s will—would prevent it.
After all, whenever they faced a crisis, Danzo’s Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan would inevitably support Danzo’s soul in order to protect themselves.
And as long as Danzo’s soul had the support of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, it could easily seize back control of his body...