"Danzo..."
The Third Hokage couldn't help but mutter.
Even though he had mentally prepared for it—even though Danzo had already been sentenced to death in his heart—seeing Danzo's head fall still left his chest tight and his vision dizzy. He nearly collapsed on the spot.
This old comrade who had been with him for decades…Today, he died right in front of him.
And it was he himself who had given the final nod for Danzo's execution.
Intellectually, Hiruzen knew that Danzo had to die.The clan heads had demanded it outright.And if he didn't execute Danzo swiftly, the secrets inside Danzo's mind could expose him next.
Still—
"Hyuga Naraku… you!"
The Third Hokage glared at him with hatred.
In his eyes, this bastard was the one who forced him to order Danzo's death!
And those damn patriarchs—all of them pressing down on his head, challenging his authority!
"Lord Third Hokage."
Nara Shikaku stepped forward calmly, unfazed by Hiruzen's angry stare.
"Now that Elder Danzo has been executed, shall we proceed to disband the ROOT organization?"
In an instant, all eyes turned to the Third Hokage again.
With Danzo gone, the next target was obvious—ROOT.The dark tumor of the village.
"The ROOT organization has contributed much to Konoha. It can't be abolished so easily."The Third Hokage frowned, speaking firmly.
Even without Danzo, the organization still had… uses.
He had already considered letting the village elders—Homura or Koharu—take over its command in secret.
"Even so, ROOT has committed many unforgivable acts."Shikaku continued, undeterred.
"If it's not abolished, it must at least be thoroughly investigated. Elder Danzo couldn't have done all that alone."
He was right.
The Nara clan had lost several children to ROOT's training programs—taken young, brainwashed, and molded into tools.
Today, with Danzo dead, was their only chance to bring them back.
"The Yamanaka clan seconds this. ROOT must be investigated."Yamanaka Inoichi said sternly.
"The Aburame clan agrees."Aburame Shibi followed, his tone emotionless.
The Nara, Yamanaka, and Aburame clans had long been Danzo's favorites—due to their precision and stealth jutsu.
By contrast, the Akimichi and Inuzuka clans weren't particularly useful to ROOT.
Still, even they spoke up now.
They wanted ROOT gone.
"You!"The Third Hokage trembled with fury.
These people were outright forcing him.
If ROOT was disbanded or investigated too deeply… he might be implicated.
After a long silence—
"From this day forward… ROOT is disbanded!"The Third Hokage declared through gritted teeth.
He scanned the crowd coldly, then turned and walked away without another word.
If he didn't leave now, he feared they'd start cheering in front of him.
As soon as Hiruzen vanished from sight, the tension broke.
The clan leaders no longer suppressed their relief—some even laughed aloud.
"Danzo is finally dead!"
It wasn't shocking.It was simply… deserved.
"This tree should be preserved,"Hyuga Naraku spoke, pointing to the large tree nearby.
It was the tree that sprouted from the Hashirama cells in Danzo's arm, where he'd been executed.
Dark red blood still stained the bark.
"Let it stand as a memorial."
"Agreed."Nara Shikaku nodded thoughtfully."Anyone who remembers Danzo can come here… and curse him."
He smirked.Maybe they'd even hang a plaque:"Danzo died beneath this tree."
"The Nara clan thanks you, Hyuga Naraku."Shikaku said with sincerity.
The ROOT ninja defeated today were Danzo's last loyal men.
Only the brainwashed children remained—and now that ROOT was no more, the clans could finally bring them home.
One after another, the other clan leaders also stepped forward to thank Hyuga Naraku.
He had helped them recover their clansmen—and rid the village of Danzo.
"The Aburame clan is grateful for your contribution."Aburame Shibi and Aburame Torune both bowed deeply."From this day forward, the Aburame clan will be your eternal ally."
The others were taken aback.
Eternal friend?
That wasn't a light vow.
It meant that in any conflict, any political move, the Aburame clan would stand beside Hyuga Naraku.
But when they thought about it—it made sense.
Torune, Shibi's brother, had lost his own son to ROOT.Now, thanks to Naraku, they could finally reclaim him.
With this declaration, one thing was clear:
Hyuga Naraku was now on a different path from the Third Hokage.
And the Aburame had chosen their side.
"Konoha's sky is about to change..."Nara Shikaku thought to himself.
"That jutsu you used to read Danzo's memory—"Yamanaka Inoichi stepped forward and asked respectfully,"—was that a form of evolved Byakugan?"
The Yamanaka clan had mind-reading techniques as well—even capable of reading memories of the dead.
But none of their methods were as swift or seamless as what Naraku had done earlier.
All of them had noticed the change in his eyes—once pure white, now glowing light blue with a snowflake-like center.
"It wasn't an upgrade,"Hyuga Naraku replied, touching his eyes."It's more accurate to call it… evolution."
"These eyes are called… the Tenseigan."
The clan leaders looked at one another but refrained from asking further.
Tenseigan…
It was something entirely new.
And yet, in the background, a dream tapir—enormous, monstrous—lay dead and rotting, its massive corpse a reminder of the battle just passed.
The winds had shifted.
And from this day forward—
Konoha would never be the same.