The two elders did hold real power, and their roots did run deep through the village.
In the past, Tsunade, mindful of the complicated balance, allowed herself to be checked by them. But the situation was different now.
After the Akatsuki invasion, Tsunade's prestige in the village had never been higher. Under her stood a rising constellation of powerhouses—Natsuki, Tenten, Sasuke, Neji, Shino—and multiple Jinchūriki pledged themselves to her side.
Before absolute strength, even the deepest roots can be torn out.
Tsunade didn't purge them outright; stripping their authority was already giving them enormous face. If they still resisted, they'd risk the annihilation of their clans.
Even so, they could already picture their "wonderful" days ahead: every clan Hiruzen had offended, every clan Danzo had wronged, every clan they themselves had provoked would now repay them with interest. The profits they'd siphoned for years would be clawed back through countless channels—blowback upon Konoha itself.
The age of those decrepit elders was finished.
The council adjourned for the moment. They had planned to distribute rewards for merit, but that would have to wait until Danzo was taken—most likely, brought back as a head in a sack by Sasuke, given his temperament.
Danzo was doomed.
Jiraiya frowned. "Tsunade, are you sure about this?"
Tsunade nodded firmly. "If Konoha is a great tree, then the pests must be cleared, or the tree will never grow strong."
Elsewhere, Danzo fled the village at top speed, his face twisted with pain and rage.
He was now a traitor to the village.
How could he still become Hokage?
His dream, his ambition—ruined.
Worse, he'd never imagined Shisui's other eye would be with that "evil" Uchiha brat, rendering his Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods) inert. It would take a long time to prime the technique again; he could forget relying on it for now.
Fū and Torune caught up from behind. "Danzo-sama, we're surrounded!"
Danzo skidded to a halt. "What?"
"Surrounded means surrounded. What part are you not getting?"
Natsuki's voice rolled in from ahead as he stepped into view. "Did you think speed alone lets you stroll out of the village? We simply didn't want to wreck Konoha's gardens stopping you inside the walls. So we let you run."
Sasuke arrived as well, eyes brimming with murder. "Danzo, you're not escaping. Today you die."
Inoichi and Shino landed in tandem.
"Fū, come back," Inoichi called. "Danzo's finished. You don't need to throw your lives away for him."
"Torune, we're still friends, right? Come back," Shino urged, earnest and steady.
But the two only shook their heads and planted themselves before Danzo.
Before Danzo could savor their loyalty, Natsuki's Mokuton (Wood Release) lashed out, binding Fū and Torune in a living cage of timber. "Their tongues carry a control curse; they have no choice but to obey Danzo. They've been brainwashed for years. Appeals won't work. Once Sasuke kills Danzo, the control will break. For now, help restrain them."
Inoichi and Shino understood at once and moved in.
Inoichi cast his clan secret art, driving Fū's consciousness into a trance. Shino unleashed toxin-immune beetles that swarmed Torune, neutralizing the nano poison bugs he meant to release.
Danzo had no more shields.
He hadn't expected Torune's greatest trump to be so cleanly countered. Panic punched through him. He began to form signs for Izanagi (Izanagi)—
—but Sasuke was already in his face. A flash of steel, and Danzo's right arm spun into the air.
"AAAAHHH! My arm! My arm!"
"That 'royal power' of yours? Gone," Sasuke snapped.
He stooped, ripped away the bandages, and exposed the pale limb studded with writhing Sharingan—eyeballs that seemed alive, twitching open and closed. The sight was sickening.
Rage thundered through Sasuke. "Old thief Danzo! You deserve to die. You are the village's greatest evil. Today I erase you. The pain Itachi bore, the pain Shisui-nii bore, the pain of every Uchiha—today you repay it all."
Danzo clutched his stump and laughed through gritted teeth. "Hahaha! Evil Uchiha brat—scream all you like. Your Uchiha are finished, and only you remain—!"
He began to trigger Shishō Fūin (Four Symbols Seal), intending to drag Sasuke into death with him.
"You will never be Hokage. Never," Sasuke said coldly.
Danzo's hands faltered. Agony twisted his face. His dream and ambition—no progress to the very end. A pathetic death awaited him.
He could not accept it.
Shlick.
One clean stroke took his head.
Danzo hadn't even managed to fire the sealing technique. He died, pointless and small.
With Danzo's death, Fū and Torune's eyes cleared. The compulsion loosened at once. With patient guidance, they might yet crawl out of the brainwashing that had caged them so long.
Even under brainwashing, they had still shown warmth to their clans and friends. That, at least, was a good sign.
On the side, Natsuki had long since cracked sunflower seeds, silently watching the end.
Sasuke's vengeance at last complete, the fire in his chest guttered out. He walked up to Natsuki. "Natsuki, thank you. Your plan made him die in torment."
Natsuki smiled lightly. "Villains should die in pain. That's the best return we can give the world."
Sasuke nodded agreement, then lowered his voice. "I plan to transplant my brother's eyes. Will you perform the surgery for me?"
Natsuki didn't refuse. They agreed on a time and let the matter rest.
This was the best window to achieve the Eien Mangekyō Sharingan (Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan). Full integration takes time, but no wars loomed immediately, so there was little risk.
Afterward, they delivered Danzo's body to complete the mission.
The grotesque arm went to Tsunade, given the Hashirama cells embedded within. As for the Sharingan, they naturally went to Sasuke.
Sasuke then offered prayers before the family memorial tablets. Among them stood the name of Itachi—a place Sasuke had begged the clan memorial to grant. It couldn't redeem the past, but it was what he could do.
Also, Itachi's body had not been buried. Sasuke feared Kabuto would exhume his brother and use Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation). That would be desecration—something Sasuke would never permit.
Only after Kabuto was dealt with would Itachi be laid to rest.
The next day, the council reconvened.
Tsunade announced the measures against Danzo, Koharu, and Homura, then moved to rewards.
Merit meant missions tallied and payments matched to contributions. Kakashi, Sasuke, Neji, Shino, Tenten—each had contributed enormously, worth three S-rank missions at minimum. Natsuki's contributions surpassed them all; five S-rank tallies were logged to his name.
(End of Chapter)
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