The Operation Begins
A red light flickered on the operating room door.
The high-stakes transplant surgery was underway.
Standing over the operating table, Hikari carefully cut through Danzo's arm with surgical scissors. The old war hawk lay groggy from anesthesia, his usual sharp gaze dulled.
How ironic.
This arm—the one she had retrieved from Raijin Mountain—was now being grafted onto Danzo by her own hands. Even the three-tomoe Sharingan embedded in it had evolved using her research.
Had she not intervened at Raijin Mountain:
Aburame Ryōma and his team would've died there. Orochimaru would've abandoned the mysterious orb, escaping with the arm via reverse summoning. Obito Uchiha would've claimed a cache of Sharingan, storing them in his underground hideout. Danzo would've eventually reacquired the arm through another deal with Orochimaru.
Her existence had altered many outcomes—yet Danzo still obtained this arm. As if fate itself had decreed it.
Snip. Snip.
She peeled back the skin, exposing raw muscle and sinew. A faint purple glow enveloped her hand—chakra scalpel. With precision, she severed the nerve clusters.
Next, a wind-infused blade sliced through bone and tendon, avoiding arteries.
Drip. Drip.
Dark blood oozed from the stump. She rotated Danzo's wrist, detaching the arm completely—save for two arteries, still taut like lifelines.
Danzo lay motionless, his shadow-level strength rendered useless by anesthesia. Even a kage was vulnerable on the operating table.
The Perfect Surgeon
"Here."
Senju Chihaya, her assistant, presented the Sharingan arm, its nerves impeccably preserved by Orochimaru's craftsmanship.
Hikari severed Danzo's remaining arteries, using water chakra to stem the bleeding. Then—
Green light erupted.
Medical Ninjutsu: Mystical Palm Jutsu!
In five seconds, the vessels fused—flawlessly. No scar. No misalignment. As if the arm had always belonged.
Chihaya watched, awed.
This was why he'd insisted she lead the surgery.
Wind sliced bone like butter. Water controlled bloodflow. Fire sterilized wounds. Lightning stimulated nerves. Earth reinforced fractures.
With chakra scalpels and Byakugan's microscopic vision, she was a one-woman medical corps.
Only Hashirama cells' chakra-draining properties forced her to rely on assistants.
The Traitor in the Shadows
As she connected nerves, her 360-degree vision locked onto the figure at the door.
Aburame Ryōma.
His kikaichū swarmed beneath his cloak, stirred by surging chakra.
What is he planning?
Her fingers hesitated.
"Something wrong?" Chihaya noticed her pause.
"…No."
But Ryōma's killing intent was unmistakable.
He's going to kill Danzo.
Her mind raced:
Danzo was defenseless—paralyzed, arm severed, unable to weave signs for Izanagi. This was the perfect chance. If Ryōma succeeded, she and he would dominate Root. If he failed… she could feign ignorance.
Yet—
Too easy.
Danzo never left himself vulnerable. This reeked of a trap.
Why no countermeasures against her? Why allow anesthesia? Why trust Ryōma—his longtime shadow?
What am I missing?
The Assassin Strikes
Clatter.
Ryōma's cane hit the floor.
His kikaichū surged—a black tide rushing toward Danzo.
Secret Technique: Insect Javelin!
The bugs converged, forming a living spear aimed at Danzo's heart.
Ryōma's face twisted with grief and resolve.
"This is my atonement."
For letting Root fall into darkness.
For forgetting his mission—the one that could've saved them all.
If he'd acted sooner—
The Uchiha and Senju might still exist. Itachi and Shisui would've lived. Orochimaru wouldn't have betrayed Konoha. Hikari… might've had a normal childhood.
Now, he would end it.
The Trap Springs
The bugs lunged—
—and froze mid-air.
Danzo's lifeless eye snapped open.
"Fool."
A seal glowed on his forehead—Shisui's eye swirling awake.
Kotoamatsukami: Overwrite Reality.
Ryōma's body locked up, his will hijacked.
Hikari finally understood.
This was never about me.
Danzo had anticipated Ryōma's betrayal—and used her as bait to expose it.
Now, the real game began.