Chapter 252 – Two Traitors
"Jiraiya-sensei, what is this?"
"Ah… this is—this is something the Police Force discovered."
Jiraiya had opened his mouth to say it was a "gift" left behind by Orochimaru, but he caught himself. Considering Orochimaru had likely become a rogue ninja by now, he could only smile bitterly and change his words.
No matter what his intentions had been, Orochimaru would now have to bear the title of traitor.
With a sigh, Jiraiya handed the documents he carried over to Minato Namikaze. These, however, were carefully filtered copies.
While some mentions of the Third Hokage remained, most of the incriminating content was directed at Danzō.
Jiraiya believed Minato would easily grasp what was missing. After all, without Hiruzen Sarutobi's authorization, such experiments could never have been approved. Danzō was only ever a shadow; the Hokage was the one who cast it.
Minato skimmed the first few pages, and his expression darkened immediately.
The crowd watched in silence, shaken not just by the documents but by the grotesque corpses lying on the ground—shinobi twisted into something inhuman, branches sprouting from their bodies.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi's composure finally cracked. He never imagined that the student he cherished most would betray him.
Why?
Why would Orochimaru, of all people, abandon him?
Danzō's face was equally grim. He remembered clearly—he had sent men to erase everything in this facility. None of this should have been left behind.
The bodies should have been destroyed, or at least moved. And if the corpses were genuine, then the documents… they had to be genuine too.
What was Orochimaru thinking? Has he gone insane?
---
At Kei Uchiha's side, Kenta Imai muttered under his breath. Kei's lips curled faintly.
"Their expressions are almost worth the trouble, aren't they? Seems Orochimaru's gift wasn't so bad after all."
"It was… thorough," Kenta admitted, his voice low. "Plenty of notes and evidence attached. Even I was shocked when I looked through them with Jiraiya. I never thought…"
"As a member of the Senju line," Hyūga Ayaka interjected softly, "doesn't it feel tragic? To see your clan's ancestor's remains desecrated like this?"
Kenta stiffened but forced a shrug. "What can I do? It's not as if the two of you haven't dipped your hands in shadows yourselves."
He quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Jiraiya had a message for you, Captain."
"Oh?" Kei raised a brow. "And what's that?"
"He said… the documents he turned in had been screened. He hoped you'd understand."
"Filtered?" Kei frowned, then almost immediately understood. Orochimaru had been merciless enough to leave evidence implicating his own teacher. Jiraiya had chosen to erase Hiruzen's direct role.
After all, no matter how damning the truth, a Hokage could not be publicly stained. The office itself had to remain untouchable, or Konoha's image would collapse under its own shame.
Kei exhaled slowly, shaking his head. So Orochimaru had chosen to damn his master after all. Pity—Kei had hoped to push Hiruzen directly into the Pure Land tonight. Still, cracking the Third's power structure would suffice.
Shattering their system of control would give Minato room to gather support and enact reforms. And if need be… well, a "war-dead Hokage" sounded far cleaner than an "old, corrupted Hokage."
---
Minato's grip on the documents tightened. With each page, his killing intent grew heavier, until the papers themselves were crumpled under his hand.
At last he looked up, his gaze cutting across Hiruzen before locking onto Danzō. His voice trembled with restrained fury as he turned back to Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya-sensei… all this was left by Orochimaru? Is there more?"
"Minato—no, Lord Fourth." Jiraiya's tone was heavy. "Orochimaru has already defected. He left these behind, originally meant for me… perhaps because he discovered I was investigating him. But Kei's squad arrived first, so he gave them the evidence instead. As for the rest…"
He shook his head.
Minato's brows furrowed, but then his expression cleared with grim understanding. With a weary sigh, he nodded.
Hokage… my lifelong dream. And this is what it truly means?
As Hokage, he could understand Hiruzen's desperate pragmatism. But desecrating the First's remains, experimenting on Konoha's own shinobi—this he could never condone.
When he spoke again, his voice was cold and final.
"From this moment forward, Orochimaru is to be designated an S-rank Missing-nin of Konohagakure. Any shinobi of the village may abandon their current mission to engage him. No punishment will follow."
"Lord Fourth," Jiraiya stepped forward, determination burning in his eyes. "Leave Orochimaru to me. I'll bring him back."
"You'll never succeed," Kei muttered, massaging his temple. He kept his tone low, but both Kenta and Ayaka heard him clearly. Their expressions twisted into something unreadable.
Still, they held their tongues. If Jiraiya wanted to chase ghosts, so be it.
---
Minato inclined his head. "Then I'll entrust Orochimaru to you, Jiraiya-sensei."
But when his eyes shifted to Hiruzen and Danzō, the warmth vanished. His gaze blazed with fury, so sharp even Hiruzen flinched inwardly.
The young man he had once mentored had grown into something formidable—perhaps too formidable.
"Danzō," Minato said, his voice cold as steel, "do you have anything to say for yourself? Experimenting on our comrades, defiling our ancestors' rest—do you even grasp the weight of your crimes?"
"I—" Danzō began, only for Hiruzen to cut him off sharply.
"Danzō! Tell me it isn't true. Tell me you didn't do this. Have you forgotten our master's teachings? You've truly disappointed me."
"I did everything for Konoha."
Danzō's tone was calm, his eyes unyielding. "My conscience is clear."
"All for Konoha?" Minato's expression hardened. "What a fine slogan. And what exactly have you done in its name? Is this your loyalty?"
He flung the documents into the air. Pages scattered across the ground. Shinobi scrambled to snatch them up, reading hungrily. Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
At the same time, Minato drew a kunai, intent on seizing Danzō himself.
Kei's eyes narrowed. So the scapegoat is chosen.
But before Minato could move, smoke erupted violently around Danzō. When it cleared, he and his Root operatives were gone.
"He ran?" Kei blinked in mild surprise, then smirked. Typical. One moment he's all righteous indignation, the next he's cutting and running. That's Danzō in a nutshell.
Hyūga Ayaka's Byakugan flared, searching the surroundings. From across the field, Hyūga Hiashi did the same. Kei stroked his chin, briefly tempted to harvest Hiashi's cells, then dismissed the thought.
There were bigger priorities tonight.
He stepped forward, addressing Minato directly. "Lord Fourth."
Minato's face softened slightly as he met Kei's eyes. "Captain Kei. My thanks for all you've done tonight. I—"
"Lord Fourth, there's no time for thanks," Kei interrupted with a faint smile. "The pursuit of Danzō should fall to me. Kakashi may be capable, but my squad has Hyūga eyes. No one escapes them."
Minato's eyes widened slightly, but then hardened with resolve. "Very well. As Fourth Hokage, I officially authorize you, Uchiha Kei, to pursue S-rank Missing-nin Danzō Shimura. Dead or alive."
"Lord Fourth!" Hiruzen burst out, his face stricken. "He is still a village elder! His contributions are immeasurable! If you kill him, have you considered what message that sends to all who have sacrificed for Konoha?"
Kei cut him off with a cold laugh.
"So his life counts as life, but the lives he sacrificed for his experiments don't?"
Hiruzen froze. The barb struck deep.
"If Danzō and his men attack us with lethal intent, should we simply let them? Should we let him slink away, carrying Konoha's secrets to our enemies? Forgive me, Third, but Lord Fourth has spoken—he is a traitor. And traitors die."
With that, Kei signaled his squad and strode off without another word.
Kenta and Ayaka exchanged glances, then followed.
Behind them, Hiruzen stood trembling, fists clenched, pipe quivering between his teeth. Kei's words had left him cornered, unable to deny the truth without damning himself.
Minato's declaration had sealed Danzō's fate.
And Hiruzen could only pray his oldest friend would not do something reckless.
Because if he did, there would be no turning back.
At that moment, Fugaku Uchiha suddenly stepped forward, his voice cutting across the crowd.
"Tonight, Clan Head Hiashi and I happened to meet on the streets, only to stumble upon this chaos. The Uchiha will lend our full strength to ensure the rogue, Danzō Shimura, cannot leave Konoha."
Hiashi Hyūga glanced briefly at Fugaku, then followed his lead without hesitation.
"Indeed, Lord Fourth. The Hyūga patrol units will also provide their support to ensure the traitor cannot escape."
With the two great clan heads taking a stand, the other family leaders quickly voiced their support as well.
It was clear to everyone: the Fourth Hokage had won tonight.
The Third had not been toppled completely—Minato had only condemned one man—but the balance of power had shifted. From this night onward, the skies over Konoha would never look the same.
They didn't need to say more. Their statements were enough. Now they would return home to prepare for the tides of change.
But to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Fugaku's convenient "excuse" for departure felt like salt rubbed into a wound. His irritation only deepened as clan after clan withdrew.
Even the rank-and-file shinobi soon followed suit. They weren't educated in the ways of clan politics, nor could they hope to stand at the level of their leaders. They knew only this much: whatever came next, it was not for them to witness.
And so they left the square in silence, until at last only two figures remained.
The young and the old.
The Fourth Hokage and the Third.
Minato Namikaze watched Hiruzen quietly. Hiruzen, in turn, studied Minato with equal calm. Neither spoke. The silence itself pressed heavier than words could.
At length, Hiruzen sighed and shook his head. "Very well. Tell me what it is you want."
---
"Doesn't it feel satisfying?"
Miles away, on a stretch of scorched earth just beyond the forest, Kei Uchiha suddenly broke the silence, a smile tugging at his lips as he glanced at Kenta Imai and Ayaka Hyūga.
The two froze at first, but then understanding dawned.
It was true—there was a strange sense of accomplishment in what they had done tonight. They had shaken the highest echelons of Konoha to their core, dragging secrets into the open that were never meant to see daylight.
They knew this had been Kei's game from start to finish, his plan and his calculations. Yet to be part of it, to live through it—it was exhilarating in its own way.
And it left them both with a deeper, sharper fear of him. His strength was monstrous. But his mind? Even more terrifying.
"It was thrilling," Kenta admitted with a helpless nod. "But reckless. Far too dangerous. By the way… what's your plan for Danzō?"
"They're roughly three kilometers ahead," Ayaka reported evenly, her Byakugan focused on the horizon. "Their pace is fast, and he has a fair number of Root with him. We could—"
"No survivors," Kei cut her off, his tone flat, merciless. "He's the scapegoat. I never intended to let him live."
Ayaka's eyes narrowed slightly, then she nodded. "Understood. Shall I summon the Police division to reinforce once we've located him?"
"Yes. Once we've cornered them, call them in immediately. Danzō won't go down quietly."
"I see." Ayaka's lips curved faintly, her tone uncharacteristically light. "And yes… you're right, Captain. It does feel like an accomplishment."