[Ding! Your cultivated believer of Absolute Justice has successfully slain a "red-name" villain! Your chakra has increased! Congratulations! You have obtained: New Skill – "Wood Release Kekkei Genkai"!]
[At the same time, Uchiha Izumi has also received a massive chakra boost!]
[Believer of Absolute Justice, Uchiha Izumi, has passed the final trial of righteousness. She will now gain the ability to see through the evil deeds of others!]
…
Outside the Chamber.
The moment Uchiha Keizumi saw the three notifications flash before his eyes, he knew that Izumi hadn't let him down after all. This clumsy rookie had finally passed.
And in the final moment of his life, Shimura Danzō had managed to make the greatest contribution of his entire career in the shinobi world—he had dropped the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.
As the magma that had been dripping slowly from Keizumi's arm began to cool, his limb regenerated fully.
Some of the killing intent that had been clouding his face began to fade.
Every one of these changes was caught in the eyes of Mitokado Homura.
In that instant, Homura understood exactly what had happened.
Danzō…
Was dead.
Homura had never felt such a swirl of complex emotions in his life.
Back when he had watched Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, trembling with rage after being both berated and mocked by Uchiha Keizumi, Homura had chalked it up to old age—Hiruzen had grown too soft to control even a younger shinobi.
When he saw how Uchiha Fugaku was dismissed and disregarded by Keizumi, he'd thought Fugaku lacked the dignity of a proper clan head. Though at the time, he'd also considered that maybe such a passive Uchiha leader was a blessing. If it had been someone more hardline, things might have gotten ugly.
And when Koharu was left speechless and furious, her face stormy and dark after clashing with Keizumi, Homura had thought that though she talked tough, she still lacked the strength to act on it.
But now—
Now that the tables had turned, and it was his turn to face Keizumi—
Mitokado Homura realized he was even more pathetic than the three before him.
He didn't even have the courage to storm into the chamber with the eight Anbu who had just arrived and try to save Danzō.
His old face froze in utter shock.
He stared blankly as the Uchiha girl walked back out of the chamber, ninjatō in hand, the blade still wet with blood.
"Danzō…"
Homura shut his eyes in grief. In that moment, he felt a profound, visceral sorrow—as if mourning a fox at the sight of a fallen hare.
When he opened his eyes again, he looked at Keizumi with a gaze full of conflict and asked, "Suppose… suppose you see me the same way you saw Danzō—as another 'villain.' Would you kill me too?"
"Yes," Keizumi replied with a single word.
A cold chill surged through Homura's entire body. He didn't know whether he should be outraged or grateful that he had never been Hiruzen's enforcer.
Back when Konoha first created the Root division, Homura had actually tried to compete for its leadership…
If he had won back then and become the Shadow of the Leaf instead of Danzō—
Then today, he and Danzō would have traded places, wouldn't they?
Meanwhile, behind Keizumi, Izumi wiped the blood clean from her blade. After sliding the ninjatō back into its sheath, she straightened her posture and, with a solemn expression, reported: "Senpai, Shimura Danzō has been executed."
She still felt a bit dazed… one of the high-ranking elites of Konoha had just died by her hand.
The illusion she'd once held about "big shots" had been completely shattered.
Even the ones at the top—when they did evil—would be judged by Justice.
The blade of Justice could strike them down just as it would anyone else.
This… this was the Absolute Justice of Keizumi-senpai.
Even someone as high-ranking as Shimura Danzō—before Absolute Justice—was treated no differently from anyone else.
There was no such thing as immunity or special exemption.
"Mm."
Uchiha Keizumi gave the faintest nod—enough to acknowledge the girl's performance that night. His calm gaze swept over Mitokado Homura and the group of Anbu beside him.
His expression betrayed no emotion, but each person present felt their heart tighten, as if terrified their hidden sins might be exposed.
Even those who, in their conscience, believed they had done no evil—
Still, the unease clung to them like a shadow.
The scent of sulfur in the air, mingled with the iron tang of blood wafting from the chamber behind them, served as a constant reminder:
If Absolute Justice turned its gaze on you, what kind of end would await?
Until finally—
They watched, eyes wide and silent, as Uchiha Keizumi walked away, accompanied by a ninja cat and a girl from the Uchiha clan.
"Homura-sama, shall we…?"
One of the Anbu, voice muffled behind his mask, hesitated—his tone both aggrieved and uncertain.
"Go inform Hiruzen… and send word to the Shimura clan as well," Homura sighed. "Also, post more men to guard Danzō's body. There are too many secrets buried in that corpse—we can't risk enemy spies getting their hands on it."
As he spoke, the life seemed to drain out of him. His shoulders slumped, his spirit dulled, as though he had aged years in mere seconds.
He thought to himself—if Hiruzen had been here, surely he could've protected Danzō.
There was a reason why he himself was only an advisor.
"Yes, Homura-sama!"
…
Sarutobi Clan Compound.
"Maybe tonight… I can finally get some proper rest," muttered Hiruzen, tapping the end of his smoking pipe and releasing a long, weary puff of smoke.
The recent chaos stirred up by Uchiha Keizumi—one disaster after another—flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but press his aching fingers against his furrowed brow.
Especially the incidents involving Naruto and the son of the daimyō.
Compared to those, the death of a lesser clan member from the Utatane family seemed like nothing at all.
"This matter with the daimyō's son probably won't stay quiet much longer. I still don't know how to give Daimyō-sama a proper explanation…"
Just as Hiruzen sat there, dragging deeply from his pipe and sinking into his troubles—
An Anbu suddenly burst into the Sarutobi compound.
He went straight to Hiruzen's quarters, rapping on the door with urgency and blurting out the message without preamble: "Hokage-sama! Uchiha Keizumi infiltrated the Anbu base tonight—he killed Shimura Danzō!"
Hiruzen: "...???"
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough!!"
The shock struck him so hard he choked on his smoke, doubling over as his pipe cracked in half under his grip.
When he finally regained his breath, he tossed aside the broken pipe and flung open the sliding door of his room.
His eyes, wide in disbelief, locked onto the Anbu standing outside.
"Say that again?!"
The Anbu hurriedly repeated the report—
This time, with even more detail.
Hiruzen: "…"
"Danzō… haah!"
He had always suspected Keizumi wouldn't let Danzō off so easily. He knew a day like this would come.
But he never thought that day would come so soon.
Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly realized he wasn't all that sad after all.
Because deep down, Danzō had always been a strong political rival—and Hiruzen had long been aware that Danzō coveted the seat he now occupied. The man had even taken dangerously bold actions in the past, only to be stopped before they escalated.
So Danzō's death didn't stir any real grief in him.
What it did evoke was genuine shock.
Keizumi had been going nonstop all day…
Did he not need rest?
"Wait—hold on!" Hiruzen's pupils contracted as a sudden thought struck him. He turned sharply toward the Anbu and asked, "Who was Keizumi with?!"
"It was a girl from the Uchiha clan," the Anbu replied, still puzzled by the Hokage's erratic reaction—first alarmed, then indifferent, then suddenly agitated again.
"An Uchiha girl…"
"Uchiha Izumi!"
The heavy weight on Hiruzen's heart finally dropped.
What he'd feared—was that Keizumi might've taken Naruto with him to kill Danzō.
But in front of others, Hiruzen couldn't appear too concerned about Danzō's death. That wouldn't sit well. It was far better to seem more worried about Naruto.
Otherwise, people might start feeling cold toward him.
After all, in the eyes of many, Danzō had always been Hiruzen's "black glove."
Everyone knew it—it just went unspoken.
So Hiruzen straightened his expression and said coldly, "Come with me to the Root base."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
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