The footsteps were surprisingly light, like a gentle breeze, yet every sound of shoe soles brushing against rubble reached the ears of the three inside the Uchiha compound.
Looking up, they saw a group of masked ninjas rushing in, stepping across the eaves and surrounding them.
Naruto and Sasuke immediately recognized them.
"It's Root ninjas…" Naruto, only twelve, wore a serious expression that somehow made him look amusing.
"Hmph!"
Sasuke's face darkened. Without hesitation, he launched an attack, forming hand signs as lightning surged across his body. Bluish-purple currents spread to the ground, instantly covering the courtyard.
Dozens of lightning spears shot upward, piercing through houses and most of the Root ninjas on the eaves. The survivors jumped, suspended midair, barely a second in their delay.
With his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning, Sasuke invoked Amaterasu. Black flames erupted, incinerating all remaining ninjas to ash.
From start to finish, he hadn't moved his feet, yet within seconds, every ninja surrounding the Uchiha compound was eliminated.
"Hey, Sasuke, you… the real problem is Shimura Danzo! There are good people in Root like Sai and Yamato!" Naruto frowned.
Sasuke glanced at him indifferently. "Is that so? Then try to stop me."
"What? You think I can't? In the illusion, I knocked you out at the Valley of the End and dragged you back to Konoha!" Naruto exclaimed.
"The Valley of the End?" Sasuke sneered.
"In my illusion, you were always at the bottom, except when you were useful against Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
"Huh? Without Brother Malrick, would I really be that weak?" Naruto's mouth fell open.
"Even with Malrick's help, you're no match for me," Sasuke replied coolly.
Suddenly, Sasuke sensed movement elsewhere and turned. "The Sai and Yamato you mentioned aren't among this group." He leaped onto the eaves, spotting a group of ninjas led by Shimura Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi approaching.
A sharp light ignited in Sasuke's eyes as he shot a kunai at Danzo. With his Mangekyō, he transformed it into a Rinnegan attack. Danzo deflected casually, but Sasuke activated Amenotejikara, swapping places with the kunai. A violent Chidori pierced Danzo's chest.
"What!?"
"Uchiha Sasuke!?"
"Stop him!" Konoha ninjas shouted, rushing to intervene.
Hiruzen, enraged, attacked immediately with Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, while ANBU blocked Sasuke's retreat. Only a few Jonin, like Kakashi Hatake, held back, stunned by the unbelievable power displayed by a Genin.
But then, a massive purple Susanoo skeleton formed around Sasuke, blocking all attacks. Thousands of shuriken collided with it, leaving no mark.
"This is the Konoha he protected even at the cost of his clan?" Sasuke murmured coldly, Rinnegan eyes piercing through the chaos.
Even in the illusion, Sasuke had reconciled with Edo Tensei Itachi, but old men like Hiruzen and Danzo still earned no respect.
Hiruzen froze, suddenly realizing the Uchiha's eyes had reached unimaginable heights, a premonition striking him that Konoha's fate might be decided tonight.
"Wait! There's a misunderstanding!" Naruto's voice called from above.
Before anyone could react, rows of trees erupted from the ground, intertwining branches that bound every Konoha ninja in place. Naruto carefully restrained even their fingers, siphoning Chakra through the branches. In an instant, he had defeated every elite, including the Third Hokage himself.
"This is… Wood Release? Impossible!"
"Wh-what? How could the fox demon use Wood Release!?" ANBU whispered in shock.
Hiruzen, bound midair, struggled to comprehend what had happened. Only minutes ago, he had awaited Naruto's theft of the Scroll of Seals. Now the boy wielded Wood Release with terrifying skill.
"Na-Naruto? Are you really Naruto?" Hiruzen's voice trembled.
"Of course, Third… Grandpa." Naruto nodded, pointing to Danzo.
"Shimura Danzo caused all of this—Sasuke's tragedy, Nagato's tragedy! Look closely, he's not dead yet!"
Indeed, Danzo dangled from a branch, bound and furious. A lightning-fast strike decapitated him, yet moments later, he revived only to be restrained again by Naruto's Wood Release.
Silence fell as realization struck.
"Shimura Danzo, confess your mistakes, or Sasuke will act again!" Naruto warned.
Danzo's glare turned vicious. "You fox demon brat, Konoha raised you, trained you, and you aid an evil Uchiha!"
Even Naruto's expression soured at this.
A clear, cold voice interrupted from outside the crowd.
"You two have both seen the Infinite Tsukuyomi, yet you act like children."
Malrick walked in calmly, eyes fixed on Danzo. "I'll help you two again."
Under pressure, Danzo confessed all his crimes over decades. Hiruzen, too, admitted the mistakes he had blamed on Danzo.
When the confessions ended, the forest was silent, the ninjas staring in disbelief.
Hatake Kakashi, Anko Mitarashi, and others cast cold, calculating glances.
The next day, Hiruzen Sarutobi announced his retirement. Shimura Danzo quietly went to his grave, leaving the village to heal from decades of corruption.
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