Danzō waited patiently for the Fox's reply.
Yoru's heart pounded—he knew if he said a single wrong word, Danzō would silence him here and now.
After taking a breath to steady his thoughts, he began carefully:
"Lord Danzō, we need to make a huge public move—to spread word throughout the village that Uchiha Madara is still alive.
If we do that, the village will immediately mobilize a massive Anbu hunting squad to pursue him.
Uchiha Madara's survival would be the ultimate nightmare for Konoha.
Also, Kato Dan was last seen near Madara's location—he had Senju bodyguards with him, so I'm guessing the Senju clan already know where Dan's body fell.
If we plant Kato Dan's corpse inside Madara's Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence, it'll look like Madara killed him himself—a perfect cover story.
Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"
Danzō's single visible eye lifted slightly in interest. "Two birds? How so?"
Sensing his chance, Yoru pressed on:
"First, it explains Kato Dan's death.
If he simply vanishes, Tsunade-sama will stop at nothing to investigate.
But if she believes Madara killed him—there's nothing she can do.
After all, her grandfather Hashirama Senju also died prematurely after battling Madara at the Valley of the End.
Second, it redirects the blame.
The Senju clan will turn their wrath toward the Uchiha clan.
Once those two ancient clans start fighting again, they'll be too busy tearing each other apart to dig for the truth."
Yoru was sure of it—Danzō didn't fear Tsunade's anger, but the chance to pit Senju and Uchiha against each other? That was something he enjoyed.
Back in the days of Senju Rinmu, even a strong Senju clan hadn't intimidated Danzō. Now, with only Senju Hanaki and a few elderly or wounded shinobi left, he'd spared them only to avoid provoking a wider rebellion from the other clans.
And sure enough, when he heard the word "infighting," Danzō's interest sharpened.
No one in Konoha understood internal conflict better than Shimura Danzō—the Shadow Hokage, the true "War Hawk" of Konoha.
The Root operative codenamed B asked cautiously, "What if Madara denies killing Kato Dan?"
Yoru replied, "From what I've heard, Uchiha Madara has slaughtered too many people to remember someone like Kato Dan—a man two generations his junior."
Danzō nodded. "True enough."
Seeing that the plan was being accepted, Yoru decided to push his real goal.
"Lord Danzō, I'll go now—back to the Deep Forest Emergence battlefield—to stage the scene of Kato Dan's death by Madara's hand.
The real time of death and the faked one mustn't differ much, or the cover will fall apart."
He needed to get away from Danzō. The man was too dangerous—staying near him was suicide. Once he was out of Danzō's direct control, he could maneuver freely.
Danzō frowned, looking down at Kato Dan's corpse before finally saying, "Very well. Fox, your thinking is sharp—you're a born member of the Anbu."
Yoru almost laughed bitterly. Born Anbu—that sounded more like an insult than praise.
Then Danzō turned to B. "Follow Fox. Make sure he completes the plan. I'll wait here."
As expected, Danzō wasn't about to take any risks himself. The night's events had shaken him deeply.
Sending B was a sign of mistrust—to make sure Yoru didn't pull any tricks.
Yoru slung Kato Dan's and the two guards' corpses over his back, picked up Dan's severed hand, and started walking away.
B followed from about a hundred meters back, keeping constant watch.
As Yoru neared the cave where Uchiha Madara had been hiding, even B looked uneasy.
Yoru had to gamble.
He was betting that once Madara's location was exposed, the old ghost would have already moved elsewhere.
In the original timeline, after obtaining Senju Hashirama's cells, Madara lost all interest in the affairs of the ninja world. He focused entirely on his Moon's Eye Plan.
Now that Danzō had found traces of him, Madara would surely vanish again—retreating to the shadows to continue his grand design.
To resurrect and cast Infinite Tsukuyomi was Madara's true goal. Without Hashirama, this world held no meaning for him.
Rain poured down, blurring the shapes of the forest ahead.
Soon, Yoru reached the battlefield that had been consumed by Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence.
Giant tree trunks twisted and interwove, a chaotic maze of roots and branches.
He looked toward the dark cave above the forest.
Forming a few quick hand seals, Yoru created a Shadow Clone.
The clone bounded up the massive trees, leaping branch to branch until it vanished into the cave.
A cold wind blew from within the darkness. Yoru's muscles tensed—his Sharingan ready to activate at any moment.
B watched nervously from a hundred meters away.
He had secretly planted a Destruction Bug from his Aburame techniques on the Fox's body—if Fox tried anything funny, he'd blow him to dust.
Twenty seconds later, the clone reappeared at the cave mouth.
Yoru relaxed, lowering the corpses before using Body Flicker to appear at the entrance.
The clone dispelled, feeding its memories into him—but Yoru still decided to check personally.
Inside, he found that the entire mountain interior had been hollowed out—a vast chamber, now empty save for a single chair.
That space, he realized, was once used to hold the Gedo Statue.
Madara—and the three from the Rain Village—were gone.
Yoru exhaled in relief. As expected, Madara had retreated to the shadows again, scheming from afar.
Returning to the Deep Forest battlefield, he saw the corpses of three Konoha shinobi and several Root operatives from the Yamanaka Clan.
Their bodies were mangled, crushed by branches.
After studying the destruction patterns, Yoru mimicked the same damage on Kato Dan and his Senju guards' corpses.
He raised a massive branch, buried them beneath, and—just to be sure—crushed their skulls so no one could extract memories.
Only the lower half of Kato Dan's face was visible between the wood—just enough for identification.
From a distance, B finally relaxed.
"Lord Danzō was right," he thought. "The Fox truly is born Anbu—cold, efficient, ruthless."
When the job was done, Yoru approached him.
"I request to join the investigation unit later," he said. "When they return here, I'll make sure they notice the right details about Kato Dan's body. That'll prevent any loose ends."
B frowned. "You can tell me the details. I'll direct them myself."
Yoru froze. If I tell you everything, you'll kill me to keep the secret.
"Fine," he said smoothly. "Let's go over it beside Kato Dan's body."
Standing over the corpse, Yoru began deliberately over-explaining.
"See here—his head… the chest wound… yes, like this…"
Then he added casually:
"Also, I've considered the rainfall. By the time the investigation team arrives—maybe ten days—the rain might erode the wounds. I predict four or five possible outcomes depending on how the water washes over him.
I suggest staying here a few days—to monitor the effects and prevent wild animals or Amegakure shinobi from disturbing the scene."
B's eyes narrowed. The Fox was making things unnecessarily complicated.
Better to check with Danzō than make a wrong call.
"Come with me back to Lord Danzō," he said finally. "He'll decide whether you need to stay here."
Yoru followed him back to where Danzō was still standing in the rain—one eye the familiar Byakugan-white, the other a dead, gray Sharingan.
B left the Fox waiting and approached to whisper his report.
After a pause, Danzō said:
"Fox is useful. His thinking is precise. Let him lead the investigation team.
He's been involved since the Uzumaki Village—handled every major Anbu mission this year without failure.
He showed no hesitation toward the Senju corpses. No hint of betrayal or sentiment.
Stay here with him—guard the site from any Amegakure interference.
I'll return to the village and summon the investigation squad myself.
Hiruzen will come personally—Madara's survival is a greater threat than the Second Great Ninja War."
"Understood, Lord Danzō."
As Danzō's figure disappeared into the downpour, Yoru finally let out a long breath.
He'd fooled them.