The infiltration went even smoother than Danzō expected.
Even if the Third Raikage had once again diverted part of the village's forces, Kumogakure still should have had plenty of shinobi inside.
But once they truly slipped in, Danzō realized that the village was like an old suit of armor—
still looking solid and imposing, yet every seam leaked cold wind.
"Proceed as planned."
At his command, four members of the squad melted into the shadows between the streets.
Danzō had ordered each of them to move to different sectors to create chaos and withdraw the moment they received his signal.
By his side remained only two Shimura clan jōnin—disguised as Kumogakure ANBU—
and the young jinchūriki trembling beneath his cloak.
They walked along the rugged stone streets.
Buildings carved into the mountain walls cast heavy shadows on both sides of the road.
Danzō intentionally kept their pace steady—neither fast nor slow—
making sure the cloaked figure was clearly visible to every villager they passed.
At first, only a few curious and suspicious glances fell on them.
But as the unusual squad moved deeper into the village, whispers began to spread like a plague.
"Look at that outfit…"
"It's that monster! Why are they bringing him back into the village?!"
"Stay back! I heard last time—"
"Why bring something so dangerous here?"
Fear, disgust, rejection—
the villagers' murmurs stabbed at the jinchūriki boy like icy needles.
His body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Each step felt like walking barefoot on blades.
Deep beneath the shadow of his hood, his once-numb eyes filled with growing terror and overwhelming anxiety.
Danzō leaned slightly toward him, whispering so only the boy could hear:
"Do you hear them, brat?"
"Everyone fears you. Hates you.
To this village, you're nothing more than an uncontrollable burden…"
The boy's breathing turned ragged, uneven.
His shoulders shook painfully.
All the way through the village, Danzō whispered like a devil gnawing at the boy's mind:
"Look carefully… in their eyes you are nothing but fear incarnate."
"To us, you were never a comrade. You are a weapon.
A filthy monster…"
"If you lose control, we will eliminate you without hesitation."
The boy trembled beneath the cloak.
Dark red tailed-beast chakra began to leak from his body—only to be violently forced back down again.
The squad continued until they reached the largest plaza at the village center.
This was Kumogakure's core area. Looking up, one could see the Raikage Building high above.
The crowd around them grew denser. Countless astonished gazes converged upon them. Several genuine Kumo Anbu members, sensing something amiss, approached with grim expressions.
Danzō knew the time had come.
He stopped abruptly.
"—shhh!"
Under the stunned gaze of everyone, Danzō whirled around. His single arm shot out like lightning, yanking the hood from the boy's head!
The hood fell away, revealing a face pale from long confinement. Under the bright sunlight, the Jinchūriki boy squinted uncomfortably, like a startled young animal.
"Look closely!"
Danzō raised his voice, cold and sharp like an iron hammer slamming into the plaza, overpowering every other sound:
"This is the so-called 'ultimate weapon' created by our village elders!
A creature who can't even control himself—
a monster who could explode and kill every one of us at any moment!"
"—Whaaa!?"
The plaza erupted.
Screams, shouts, panicked breaths all mixed into a chaotic roar.
The eyes that had held only surprise moments ago were now completely filled with raw terror and rejection—
a tidal wave of fear crashing down upon the boy standing helplessly in the center.
The nearby Kumo shinobi had already sensed something was wrong. Enraged and alarmed, they drew their blades and lunged forward—only to be held back by the two Shimura clan jōnin, who instantly clashed with them in a violent melee.
Danzō paid no attention to the fighting behind him. In the midst of the chaos, the only thing reflected in his eye was pure, unrestrained madness.
"Zing—!"
His blade flashed from its sheath.
Before anyone could react, the cold edge had already driven mercilessly into the boy's lower abdomen from behind!
"Monster! I'll end you here and rid the village of this curse once and for all!"
Danzō roared. His acting was flawless—so convincing that it could only be described as "playing his true self."
And with him dressed head-to-toe as a Kumo ANBU operative, anyone watching would think he was simply a Kumo shinobi filled with hatred for the tailed-beast weapon and pushed into extremism.
"Why…?"
The boy vomited blood in great, choking gushes. His body curled up from the unbearable pain.
He struggled to look back at the ANBU mask behind him. In his eyes, beyond the disbelief and confusion, surged years of buried grievance… and an endless storm of rage and agony.
All of it erupted at once—like magma beneath a ruptured volcano.
"I… am NOT… a MONSTER!!!"
"BOOM—!!!!"
It was as if a slumbering beast had been violently awakened. A terrifying chakra—vast, violent, and saturated with destruction—exploded outward from the boy.
Dark red, malevolent, murderous tailed-beast chakra surged upward like a tangible tsunami. The sky dimmed instantly, while the ground trembled as though on the verge of collapse.
An inhuman roar tore itself from the boy's throat. Before Danzō's eye, his skin split open inch by inch.
A massive, dark-red spectral tail—glossy with chakra and fluids—burst from the boy's back and whipped toward Danzō with speed beyond sight.
"CRACK—!"
He had no time to dodge.
With the sound of bones shattering, his body was swatted away like a rag doll, smashing into a nearby building. The wall fractured like a spiderweb beneath the impact.
Blood streamed from his mouth, ears, and even the bandaged hollow where his right eye once was. His chest had collapsed grotesquely inward, and his life was draining from his broken body faster than ever before.
Yet, in the final instant before darkness consumed him, the reflection in his remaining eye was not fear of death…
…it was the "masterpiece" he had engineered himself.
Bones multiplied wildly. Flesh swelled grotesquely.
A colossal form—bearing eight massive tails—materialized from the storm of destructive energy. The tailed beast tore free of its restraints and roared toward the heavens in the heart of Kumogakure.
"ROOOOOAR——!!!"
Gyūki, the Eight-Tails, had descended!
Its roar of destruction exploded like billions of thunderclaps, drowning out every other sound in existence.
One casual sweep of its gigantic octopus-tails obliterated the surrounding buildings, reducing them to sandlike debris. Rubble, splintered wood, and countless people who failed to escape were hurled into the air.
Screams of terror and agony echoed endlessly. The bustling center of Kumogakure had become a living hell, a battlefield of blood and smoke.
Danzō lay at the very heart of the storm. The violent chakra winds shredded his clothing and bandages as though trying to tear him apart.
But he only laughed softly, staring up at the towering beast of annihilation above him. In his remaining left eye, there was no fear—no regret—only a twisted, almost ecstatic sense of fulfillment and serenity.
"Heh… heh heh heh…"
He had deceived every member of his squad, including the two Shimura jōnin beside him.
He had never planned to leave this place alive.
There was never any signal for retreat.
"Do you see it… Senju Mori… and Hiruzen…?
This… this is my… Will of Fire…"
His consciousness snapped, and his life faded away.
The cries of villagers, the shouts of shinobi, the collapsing buildings—
Everything happening around him played the grandest funeral march in honor of Shimura Danzō.
As the monstrous roar sounded again, a pitch-black Tailed Beast Bomb formed within Gyūki's jaws.
The ravenous chakra swallowed Danzō's body—and all the screams and desperate struggles in the plaza—into utter oblivion.
When the light finally cleared, the only thing left…
…was the ninja blade still lodged in the Eight-Tails' flesh.