As Danzo's most fanatically loyal hounds, the Root operatives regarded Kagami, an Uchiha, with undisguised hostility.
Danzo had tasked them with guarding the barrier, and they were all aware of the grim work their leader had intended to carry out within the Uchiha compound. But now, an unknown Uchiha had appeared from the ruins, and Lord Danzo was nowhere to be found. This deviation from the plan forced them to be vigilant. The moment they saw Kagami, they surrounded him without a word.
The Anbu, more professionally detached but no less wary, stepped forward. "You two are under suspicion. You will come with us for interrogation!"
Kagami heard this, and the corner of his mouth lifted into a slow, disdainful smile. "Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi are already dead. I killed them," he stated, his voice casual, almost bored. "If you wish to join them, I don't mind sending you on your way."
His words were delivered with such chilling arrogance that it sent a ripple of disbelief through the assembled shinobi. A dead silence fell over the crowd before erupting into an uproar.
The Root and Anbu operatives were utterly shocked. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. Lord Danzo and the Third Hokage, killed? It was impossible.
"You're lying! How could Lord Danzo and the Third Hokage possibly be killed by the likes of you?" one of the Root members roared, his voice thick with furious disbelief.
The Anbu were more direct. With a burst of speed, several of them rushed toward Kagami and Rinne, intending to subdue them by force. In their minds, this had to be a lie. They would arrest this Uchiha and interrogate him until they got the truth.
Their thinking was fatally naive. To Kagami, their movements were like a clumsy dance in slow motion.
He waved his hand, a simple, almost lazy gesture. A sharp, invisible slash shot from his palm, and the several Root and Anbu agents at the forefront of the charge were instantly torn apart. Blood erupted in a fine mist, and severed limbs scattered across the ground in a horrific display of casual brutality.
The remaining shinobi, their disbelief shattered by the brutal display, reacted with a mixture of terror and training. They immediately unleashed a barrage of attacks from all directions, a chaotic storm of ninjutsu and steel converging on Kagami.
However, in Kagami's eyes, their desperate assault was as ridiculous as a child's tantrum.
He waved his hand again. A single, fierce slash erupted outwards, intercepting and neutralizing every incoming attack.
"The struggles of insects are so... Boring."
Kagami's voice echoed in the sudden quiet, filled with an endless, dismissive ridicule.
Then, he unleashed another attack. A massive arc of cursed energy swept out, and in the blink of an eye, every remaining Root ninja was obliterated. Their bodies were instantly disintegrated by the force of the blow, not even having time to scream.
In the span of a few seconds, Kagami had eliminated every last Root and Anbu agent, leaving nothing but a field of mangled corpses. He glanced at the carnage with utter contempt, his eyes cold and indifferent.
In an instant, the entire scene fell into a dead silence, broken only by the soft breathing of Kagami and Rinne, and the sharp, terrified gasps of the shinobi from the major clans, who had been watching from a safe distance. They stared at Kagami, their faces pale with a mixture of vigilance and raw, primal fear, careful not to betray any hint of hostility that might draw his attention.
Seeing them, a cold sneer appeared on Kagami's lips. "Well? Do you want to avenge Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo?"
If these people chose defiance, he would not hesitate to kill them all.
"No, no, of course not..." With the exception of the Sarutobi clan head, who stood pale and silent, the other clan leaders frantically shook their heads.
They had just witnessed Jonin-level shinobi from Root and Anbu get slaughtered with insulting ease. They had no desire to share their fate. As for avenging Hiruzen and Danzo, that was even more absurd. They all knew what kind of man Danzo was; no one would mourn his passing. And while Hiruzen had been the Hokage, his reign had seen every major clan suppressed and marginalized to some degree. Though they never said it aloud, there was no love lost for the old man. Besides, if Hiruzen hadn't provoked this monster first, why would Kagami have killed him? For them, Hiruzen's death was an acceptable outcome, far better than offending a being with the power of a god.
Hyuga Hiashi, in particular, had seen everything through his Byakugan. He had watched Kagami unleash the terrifying domain that leveled the Uchiha district, and he had seen Hiruzen, along with the reanimated First and Second Hokage, get effortlessly erased. The image of that absolute power was burned into his mind. He would not dare to anger this man.
If they offended Kagami now, they would be joining Hiruzen and Danzo in the Pure Land before the night was over.
"Then what are you all doing, blocking the entrance to my clan's territory?" Kagami asked, his face an emotionless mask as he looked at the trembling clan heads.
Hearing this, Hyuga Hiashi quickly stepped forward, his voice strained but steady. "We are all one village, Kagami-dono. To see the Uchiha Clan suffer such a tragedy... it grieves us all deeply. Therefore, the Hyuga Clan would like to offer a donation of fifty million ryo to aid in rebuilding your clan's home!"
"Yes, yes!" Nara Shikaku added immediately, his sharp mind having already calculated the only viable path to survival. "The Nara clan is also willing to contribute thirty million ryo to help rebuild the Uchiha clan!"
Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi quickly followed suit. "Our two clans are also willing to contribute thirty million ryo..."
A cascade of desperate offers followed as the other clan heads scrambled to appease him.
"The Aburame clan will offer twenty million ryo..."
"The Kurama clan offers ten million ryo..."
Hearing their frantic pledges, Kagami couldn't help but smile. "Very good. You are all very sensible."
He hadn't expected them to be so quick-witted, to start offering tribute before he even had to make a threat. Now it was difficult to be too harsh with them. He had been fully prepared to slaughter them all if they had shown even a hint of defiance. But since they were being so cooperative, he didn't mind showing them a sliver of mercy. After all, it would be a waste to turn down free money.
Uchiha Rinne was stunned into silence. She had never imagined that these powerful clan leaders, who were usually so high and mighty, would be tripping over themselves to give them money.
In truth, none of the clan heads wanted to part with their wealth, but they had no choice. Kagami was so powerful that he had killed the Third Hokage and two legendary reanimated Kage. If they didn't pay up now, they would live in constant fear. The Uchiha clan was destroyed, and they were terrified that this grief-stricken, impossibly powerful Uchiha would go on a rampage and kill them all. So, they chose to spend money to avert disaster, praying that Kagami would show them mercy.
As for reporting what happened, for branding Kagami a traitor? They weren't idiots. That would be suicide. They knew with absolute certainty that if they declared Kagami a rogue ninja today, they would be joining Hiruzen in the Pure Land by tomorrow.