Danzō is dead, Root is shattered, and the Hokage's wrath finally erupts—while Kazuki's fleeing squad pays the first price of survival.
In the Hyūga branch-family jōnin's eyes, greed flashed.
He'd never been valued within his clan. A branch member had to claw for recognition.
A dazzling merit like this?
It could change everything.
The Inuzuka jōnin and the Akimichi jōnin lit up too.
They had the same hunger.
Even the Inuzuka jōnin—who had been ready to retreat—felt his heart stir after hearing Asuma's analysis.
Only Yūhi Kurenai felt dread tightening around her chest.
She wanted to face Kazuki and ask him—
why?
What purpose could justify something like this?
"Relax," Asuma said with easy confidence.
"There are, what, a dozen Uchiha at most? Don't worry. I've got a backup plan."
The others' concern evaporated on the spot.
Kurenai's worry only grew heavier.
She had to go with them.
Even if she couldn't save Kazuki—
she couldn't allow him to be humiliated in death.
She felt nothing for Danzō.
As for ANBU and Root—she had even less sympathy.
If they died, they died.
What she couldn't accept was the idea that Kazuki had betrayed Konoha.
The five jōnin turned into shadows and vanished into the night, with the Hyūga and Inuzuka taking point in the search.
…
Deep into the night—past midnight—the busiest district of Konoha began to quiet.
Hokage Tower.
At the main entrance, two ranks of elite ANBU stood ready.
Back straight, blades on their backs, animal masks hiding their faces—
their killing intent was tangible.
Compared to the earlier vanguard, these were the real sharpened edge.
In the darkness, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane paced back and forth, waiting for news from the first team.
They, like Danzō, were Hokage advisors—people with authority, composure, and years of hardened will.
But right now, the tension was carved into their old faces.
"Why hasn't any report come back…?"
Homura's brows were pulled into a heavy knot, worry weighing on his voice.
Koharu tried to steady him.
"Don't panic."
"The Uchiha had to be destroyed tonight—one way or another."
"If they won't die willingly…"
"…we can help them die with dignity."
Homura's jaw tightened.
"It's time. Bring Hiruzen out."
"The timing should be right. We need to go clean up the aftermath."
They had played key roles in approving this extermination.
They agreed with it.
If the Uchiha carried rebellion in their hearts—
it had to be crushed in the cradle.
They couldn't solve the feud between Konoha and the Uchiha.
So they chose the simpler solution.
Eliminate the Uchiha.
At that moment, an ANBU—bloodied and limping—flash-stepped in from the distance and dropped to one knee before them.
Koharu and Homura's unease sharpened into alarm.
The man was too battered.
Too desperate.
Had the Uchiha fought back?
Both advisors' faces darkened.
The ANBU hurriedly reported everything—every detail that had happened in the Uchiha district and the forest.
As he spoke, Koharu and Homura's eyes widened.
Their bodies trembled.
Shock replaced uncertainty.
Disbelief replaced composure.
Their faces turned a sickly shade of green, like they had swallowed something rotten.
Without another word, they strode toward the Hokage's office at the fastest pace their old legs could manage.
The Uchiha were exterminated as planned.
But Danzō was dead.
Root was shattered.
ANBU's vanguard had been butchered.
This wasn't a cleanup.
This was a disaster.
"Senpai… what happened?"
In the assembled ANBU line, Yamato leaned toward the fox-masked ANBU beside him and whispered.
Kakashi didn't bother hiding his voice.
"Didn't catch it all, but—"
Crash—!
From inside the brightly lit Hokage office came the sound of a cup smashing against the ground.
Shards scattered.
And then—
Hiruzen Sarutobi's roar.
The ANBU stiffened as one.
How long had it been since their kindly Third Hokage had erupted like that?
Something massive had happened.
Kakashi shut his mouth immediately.
Yamato didn't dare ask again.
…
Uchiha district forest.
A new wave of ANBU infiltrated the area that had only just finished a short, brutal battle.
At the front walked Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.
His old face was storm-dark.
The Hokage's hat sat low, and his white robe snapped in the wind as he led the way into the trees.
The two advisors followed, along with elite ANBU.
Others fanned out to high ground, taking the terrain.
The moment the smell of blood reached his lungs, Hiruzen's expression tightened.
His fists clenched behind his back.
One glance at the corpses on the ground—
and he could already reconstruct the shape of what happened.
The vanguard had entered carelessly.
Root ambushed them.
Root losses—over eighty percent.
ANBU losses—more than half.
Hiruzen's chest churned.
He couldn't swallow it.
Couldn't spit it out.
"Danzō…" he rasped, his voice full of poison.
"That old bastard really deserved to die."
Then he snapped an order with a harsh wave of his hand.
"Carry out the wounded. Recover the bodies."
The ANBU captains nodded and immediately began cleaning the battlefield.
It was routine for them—
kill.
erase.
burn.
Kakashi and Yamato, as the Hokage's direct guards, didn't move from his side.
Looking at the carnage, both felt a bitter heaviness settle in their chests.
This single night had cost Konoha years.
These elite Root and ANBU weren't easy to replace.
Hiruzen's face stayed dark as he strode deeper into the forest—
and then everyone saw it.
The pale giant tree.
The hollow.
The old face sunk into the bark like an embedded corpse.
Homura and Koharu froze at the cavity, staring at the familiar features.
"Dan…zō…"
Homura pushed his glasses up slightly, the wrinkles on his forehead tightening as he stepped forward.
He placed his fingers under Danzō's nose, then against the artery in his neck.
A beat.
Two.
Then he lowered his head and turned away, shaking it once.
No life.
Koharu stepped up next.
From a storage scroll she produced medical instruments and checked for any remaining signs.
She had been a medical shinobi in her youth—part of the Second Hokage's elite guard.
The instruments showed nothing.
Koharu's heart dropped into cold water.
"No life signs."
"Biologically speaking…"
"He's dead."
Danzō's death was a blow to Konoha in ways most people couldn't even imagine.
First—the intelligence network would shake.
Many external assets might never be recovered.
Second—without Root, Konoha lost a blade meant to control the village from within.
Hiruzen's pupils widened.
The more he thought, the more fury twisted inside him.
His blood surged up his throat.
He swallowed it down with brute force and stepped forward to confirm it himself.
Staring at the familiar face in the tree hollow—
his gaze slid to the sword hilt buried precisely where Danzō's heart should be.
An Uchiha blade.
Hiruzen's thoughts erupted like thousands of explosive tags detonating in his head.
Had Danzō lived all these years like a dog?
Couldn't even handle one Uchiha—one "ordinary" Uchiha—
and died in a way that butchered Root and ANBU along with him?
Danzō really did deserve to die.
But the damage—
the damage was unforgivable.
"Danzō really was killed…"
"…by an Uchiha named Kazuki."
Hiruzen yanked the blade free from the tree.
In that moment, the anger finally tore through his restraint.
He spat blood.
His body staggered backward several steps.
"Hiruzen!!"
Koharu and Homura rushed to catch him, forcing him upright.
"Don't mind me," Hiruzen snarled, wiping the corner of his mouth.
"Recover his body."
"These Wood Release byproducts… they contain the First Hokage's cells."
He tossed the blood-slick blade onto the ground.
Then he straightened, forcing his spine rigid, and looked toward the Uchiha district.
"Go to the Uchiha district first."
…
The moon slid west.
Night thinned.
Dawn approached.
Several dozen kilometers northwest of Konoha—
Training Ground 007, an abandoned forested drill zone.
Kazuki led his team deeper northwest.
With chakra circulation pushing their bodies beyond human limits, they covered in two hours what normal troops would march in a full day.
No one spoke.
Silence was survival.
But when they passed the ruins of an old campsite, one young Uchiha carrying Tamayū suddenly cried out—
"Captain Kazuki—Tamayū passed out!!"
Kazuki stopped.
He turned.
And at that moment, new text flashed through his mind:
[Side Mission]: Heal a Teammate
[Option]: Heal a teammate.
[Reward]: Green Medicine
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