After Danzō left, the air in the rain-soaked forest felt damp and strangely sweet.
Yoru stood on a massive tree trunk, binoculars raised as he scanned the distance.
Root operative B was positioned on the opposite side of the Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence, keeping watch both on the surroundings — and on Fox.
Madara Uchiha had chosen an incredibly remote location. The rain here was heavier than anywhere else in the Land of Rain, and there were no signs of human activity — not even other shinobi passing through.
Days passed with no exchange between Yoru and B.
Yoru knew that B had once quietly suggested to Danzō that perhaps "Fox" should be silenced after the mission — likely the same man known in the records as Ryoma Aburame.
Ryoma Aburame… you'd better stay close to Danzō, or you won't last long either.
From the southern border of the Land of Rain back to Konoha took seven days.
Even if Danzō returned immediately, discussed matters with Hiruzen Sarutobi within a few hours, and then left again, it would take fourteen days for him to return.
Exactly fourteen days later, on the first day of the new moon, Yoru spotted a large group approaching from afar.
Lowering his binoculars, he muttered, "So Madara put that much pressure on Danzō, huh?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was leading the group himself — alongside Danzō, Senju Hanaki, Uchiha Tokei, and the heads of the Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyuga clans.
Even the Hyuga Clan had sent an elder to represent them.
The Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyuga clans — the four great sensory and tracking clans of Konoha — were here to handle reconnaissance and information gathering.
Senju Hanaki and Uchiha Tokei were directly involved as representatives of their clans.
Each of them had brought two elite guards. Altogether, the group looked like a small army.
With this level of strength, even Hanzo of the Salamander would have thought twice before crossing them.
A truly deluxe investigation squad.
Yoru focused his gaze on Danzō. The man's right eye was still wrapped in bandages.
So he's done it again, Yoru thought grimly. Once Danzō tasted the power of the Sharingan, there was no going back. The temptation was too strong.
The ability to resurrect the dead — who could resist that?
Danzō had gotten far too much from Kagami Uchiha already.
The group spread out around the Deep Forest Emergence battlefield.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, clad in battle armor, stood at the front, his Adamantine Staff — the King Enma's transformed form — gripped tightly in his hand.
The staff's simian eyes opened, glinting sharply.
"Hiruzen," Danzō muttered, "this… this is the First Hokage's Wood Release?"
Hiruzen swung the staff with force, smashing one of the twisted tree trunks. The wood splintered apart under the blow.
"The density… yes. This is definitely Wood Release," he confirmed grimly.
Everyone's gaze turned to Senju Hanaki, who looked utterly bewildered.
"Advisor Danzō said Madara Uchiha used Wood Release? Are you sure it wasn't a Senju who awakened a new Kekkei Genkai on the battlefield?"
To Hanaki and Uchiha Tokei, that report sounded unbelievable — but not fabricated.
Danzō wouldn't concoct something so outrageous without reason.
No one spoke further. The Senju clan hadn't produced a Wood Release user in decades. Aside from Nawaki, no young genius had shown such potential in recent years.
The Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyuga members immediately spread out, performing reconnaissance and collecting data.
Yoru and B landed beside the senior officials.
Ignoring B, Hiruzen turned first to Yoru — the Anbu operative known as "Fox."
"Fox. Tell us what happened — from the beginning, and in detail."
Yoru knew Danzō had already given his version, so he kept his story concise — explaining how their unit encountered three Leaf shinobi under Madara's control, how they fell under genjutsu, and how they ended up killing each other.
He shifted all responsibility for the bloodbath onto Madara.
Then he described how he'd escaped, met Danzō, and returned to the scene — only to see Madara again.
Madara had supposedly manipulated three Konoha shinobi into fighting Kato Dan's team. Danzō, Yoru, and B had joined the battle — where Kato Dan and his men were killed.
Inuzuka Clan Head Inuzuka Retsu soon found seven corpses within the Deep Forest.
Yoru led the higher-ups across the massive trees, pointing out each body.
When they reached Kato Dan's, Senju Hanaki's face went pale.
Through the cracks in the crushed tree trunks, half of Dan's face was still visible.
For a moment, Hanaki felt as if her heart were being wrung dry.
Once, the Senju name had shaken the shinobi world with Wood Release — and now, one of the clan's most promising allies lay dead beneath it.
Kato Dan had not only been Tsunade's lover, but also the head of the small vassal Kato Clan, loyal to the Senju.
His death was a devastating blow to what remained of the Senju.
Inoichi Yamanaka examined the bodies and reported, "Their skulls are completely crushed by Wood Release. No way to extract memories or intel from the brains."
Yoru stood on a branch above them. Beneath his feet, in the cracks of the wood, lay Kato Dan's shattered hand — completely mangled.
Even with two hundred meters of medical thread, Tsunade couldn't stitch him back together.
Once Hanaki was too crushed to speak — and raised no objections — Yoru turned toward Hiruzen.
"Lord Hokage, please come with me. There's something inside Madara Uchiha's former hideout — important information."
"Move out," Hiruzen ordered instantly.
Even the Hokage himself slowed down as they approached the dark cave ahead.
Madara Uchiha's name alone was enough to chill the blood of anyone who had seen him in their youth — even Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.
Even Tobirama Senju hadn't lasted long against Madara at his peak.
The group entered the cave.
It sloped downward into the mountain, forming a massive underground chamber.
At the center stood a stone chair, raised on a platform of steps.
Thick dust covered everything, as if countless years had passed while Madara sat there, unmoving, his scythe resting beside him.
Too old to move — too bored to care.
The world no longer held his interest.
Hiruzen stood at the base of the steps, staring upward at the chair, his face tense — as if Madara might still be sitting there, watching.
"Lord Hokage… Lord Hokage?"
Yoru called twice before Hiruzen snapped out of his trance.
"Behind the chair," Yoru said, "there's a deep pit. It looks like… a giant once stood there — I can't say for sure."
Everyone except Senju Hanaki turned their attention to the back of the chamber.
Following Yoru, they moved around the platform and looked down into the vast, dark pit.
"I sent a Shadow Clone to investigate," Yoru continued. "Down there, it found the lower half of a massive humanoid — legs, knees, feet.
Judging by the scale, the complete figure must've been over a hundred meters tall."
Even Danzō stared silently into the darkness.
Yoru's goal was achieved — no one was thinking about silencing him anymore.
Everyone was too confused, too curious. What had Madara been doing here?
Was it some kind of Wood Release construct?
Or perhaps a colossal version of the Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands?
Yoru unrolled a scroll and presented a detailed ink sketch of the pit to the Third Hokage.
B's eyes widened — he finally understood why Fox had sent so many clones into the cave these past few days. He'd been drawing.
Yoru smirked inwardly. Thank you, construction work from my past life — your drafting skills still pay off.
Hiruzen studied the illustration and shook his head.
"This isn't the Senju Great Buddha… nor the Wood Golem Technique. It looks more like a malnourished giant — a failed construct."
Once everyone had absorbed this, Yoru spoke again:
"Lord Hokage, there's something else. To the side, there's a bed — made from Wood Release, sized for a small child.
I don't know what Madara was doing with it."
At that, the crowd rushed toward the side chamber.
Yoru finally allowed himself to relax.
No one cared about Kato Dan anymore. Danzō no longer had any reason to silence him.
The mystery of Madara Uchiha's experiments would keep Konoha's leadership busy for a very, very long time.