Moonlight, heavy as solidified mercury, pressed down upon the eaves of the Hokage Building.
The Third Hokage had been standing before the floor-to-ceiling window of his office for a long time. The flickering glow from his pipe cast restless shadows across his furrowed, age-worn face beneath the Hokage hat.
He gazed into the distant darkness. The Uchiha district remained utterly silent.
That was a good sign—it meant everything was under control, that nothing unforeseen had occurred.
Even so, he dared not relax, fearing that in the next moment the night might erupt with violent explosions and blinding flames reaching toward the heavens.
In the shadows behind him, the figures of several ANBU operatives waited in silence, motionless as statues carved from death itself.
But he knew well that with just a single order from him, these loyal guards would immediately move out as a reserve unit to suppress any possible rebellion.
"Sigh…"
The Third Hokage let out a heavy breath, his heart full of helplessness and sorrow.
'This isn't what I wanted…'
'Why did things have to end up like this?'
Such a pity. Itachi—such a shinobi of Hokage potential—who truly loved Konoha and was unwaveringly loyal to the village, would now have to live as a rogue ninja.
He drew a few more deep puffs from his pipe, the bitterness in his chest deepening further.
Time ticked by. The moon rose bit by bit from the east, then sank again toward the west, and the whole of Konohagakure remained quiet and peaceful.
[Swish!]
An ANBU suddenly appeared with a body-flicker, kneeling on one knee to report.
"Hokage-sama, the Uchiha clan has been annihilated."
"Phew…" Everyone simultaneously exhaled, the oppressive air that had filled the room instantly breaking apart, and the atmosphere in the office lightened at once.
The Third Hokage finally allowed his tense heart to relax. He let out a long sigh, tapped his pipe against his hand, and frowned.
"Are you certain?"
"Uh…" The ANBU hesitated for a moment, then truthfully reported, "After counting the corpses, aside from Uchiha Yasuo's household, all known members of the Uchiha clan have been confirmed dead."
"However, within Uchiha Yasuo's home, we discovered blood belonging to four individuals. Judging by the volume of blood, all four should be dead as well—but their bodies were taken away."
"The bodies were taken?" The Third Hokage froze for an instant, then asked in confusion, "Was it Itachi?"
"At present, we cannot confirm. Also…" The ANBU quickly glanced up at the Third Hokage. "Uchiha Sasuke is dead as well."
"What?" The Third Hokage was so shocked that his pipe slipped from his mouth. "Impossible! How could Itachi ever kill the brother he loved most?"
"What's so impossible about it?" A grim voice sounded from outside the door. "He's an Uchiha too—tainted by that same evil. If he could kill his parents and his entire clan, what difference would one more brother make?"
When the Third Hokage turned around, he saw Danzō—his body wrapped in bandages, leaning on a cane, face dark and sullen—walking slowly into the room.
Tonight marked the crucial moment of the Uchiha extermination. Naturally, he had gone to oversee the operation in person to ensure no one escaped. Now, he had returned as well.
"Hmph!" Flames flared in the Third Hokage's eyes as he stared at this willful elder of Konoha, his heart filled with growing resentment.
Things with the Uchiha clan should never have reached this point. It was all because of this bastard's ceaseless instigation and manipulation that matters had spiraled to such a state.
If not for the years of friendship between them—and the fact that both Danzō and Root still had their uses—then for the things he had done, he would have long since been executed a thousand times over.
"Sasuke was just a child who knew nothing—why did you have to kill him?"
"Itachi's thoughts were always on his younger brother. He was afraid that once he left, Sasuke would be bullied in the village."
"I personally promised Itachi that once he was gone, I would look after his little brother for him."
"Sasuke was to be Itachi's bond to the village. But now that you've killed Sasuke, how will Itachi not hate you? How can he possibly remain loyal to Konohagakure after this?"
"I wasn't the one who killed Sasuke!" Danzō shouted, his face twisted in anger.
Faced with the unreasonable accusations of his old friend, the single eye that remained to him burned with fury.
"When we arrived, Sasuke was already dead!"
"It was clearly Itachi himself! He wanted a clean break from Konohagakure—he didn't want to leave a weak point behind in the village!"
"All that talk about caring for his little brother?"
"We were all deceived by him!"
"He was only pretending to fool us!"
The more Danzō thought about how he had believed himself to be manipulating Itachi, only to realize now that he had been the one manipulated all along, the more humiliation and rage boiled in his chest, making his whole body tremble.
"Impossible!" The Third Hokage knew Danzō's habit of shifting blame all too well. Seeing him once again evade responsibility, he became even angrier.
He slammed his pipe hard against the desk and roared, "Danzō! Don't think that just because you control Root, your deeds go unnoticed!"
"I know better than anyone what kind of person Itachi truly is!"
"He would never do such a thing!"
"Itachi's loyalty to Konohagakure is beyond question!"
"There's nothing beyond question?" Danzō's eyes were full of bitter disappointment. "He is an evil Uchiha—untrustworthy!"
"If he were truly loyal, he would have left Sasuke behind as a hostage for the village!"
"If he were truly loyal, he would not have taken Fugaku's eyes!"
"Those evil eyes are the easiest to evolve under life-or-death stimulus!"
"Now that the whole household has been wiped out, Fugaku's eyes very likely have become the legendary Mangekyō!"
"You have also seen the village intelligence; you should know what it means that Itachi took those eyes!"
"Fugaku's eyes?" This new piece of information made the Third Hokage pause; he instinctively looked to the ANBU reporting at his side.
The ANBU gave a wry smile. "I had not yet reported it before Elder Danzō arrived."
The Third Hokage fell silent. The political part of his mind—the part belonging to the Hokage—once more rose to the surface of his thoughts.
He quietly placed the pipe back in his mouth, took a long inhalation, and slowly exhaled.
After a long moment, he finally spoke: "Fugaku's eyes are only one possibility. After so many years, there haven't been many who could actually awaken the Mangekyō."
"And the disappearance of the bodies from Uchiha Yasuo's household is also suspicious."
"Perhaps they were not dead, but were rescued."
"Issuing a wanted notice—declare Uchiha Yasuo a rogue ninja, charged with…murdering a fellow villager, Uchiha Sasuke!"
Having long known the Third Hokage's manner of handling matters, Danzō immediately understood from the tone of the Third Hokage's words that the Third still suspected that Sasuke had been killed by someone else, but was deliberately pinning the crime on the one whose fate was uncertain—Uchiha Yasuo—to avoid turning the absent Itachi against the village.
"Hmph!"
"What we need to do now is not worry about the fate of a mere minor like Uchiha Yasuo, but to act quickly—before Uchiha Itachi fully assimilates Fugaku's eyes, arrest him and retrieve Fugaku's eyes!"
At the mere thought of possessing a pair of Mangekyō himself, and the Wood Release that would come from balancing the First's cells with Mangekyō Yin Release, Danzō trembled with excitement, repeatedly urging the Third to give the order.
But the Third showed no leniency. He only shook his head and, after being badgered, pounded the table and adopted his tried-and-true response.
"Danzō!"
"I am the Hokage!"
"I will not allow you to lay hands on Uchiha Itachi!"
Seeing his prize about to fly away, Danzō trembled with rage.
"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"
He struck his cane forcefully on the ground, turned in fury, and slammed the door as he left.