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Still, he couldn't help voicing his concern.
"Third Lord, I understand what you're worried about, but I'm still concerned about my side of things…"
Before he could finish, Hiruzen Sarutobi cut him off.
"No need to worry. The Hyūga clan only needs to provide combat support. Everything else will be handled by Danzō and his Root."
"When the time comes, Root will take the lead in the frontal assault. We'll secure the perimeter. Just make sure not a single Uchiha slips out in the chaos."
Hiashi's eyes lit up.
"Good. In that case, I have no objections."
"Mm." Hiruzen nodded. "Next, let me walk you through the detailed battle plan."
Half an hour later.
Hyūga Hiashi stepped out of an unremarkable wooden hut, a faint smile on his lips that clearly showed he was in a good mood.
But when his gaze shifted toward a certain direction, that smile vanished, replaced by raw, burning hatred in his eyes.
He was looking straight toward the Uchiha district.
"Heh heh heh… Uchiha, your end is coming. I really hope I get to see that look of regret and despair on your face when the time comes. Uchiha Akira."
…
Root.
"Well now, this is rare, Hiruzen. Shouldn't you be sitting comfortably in the Hokage Tower? What brings you to my Root?"
Shimura Danzō spoke in a chilling tone as he looked at the man who had suddenly appeared in the underground base.
His right eye was wrapped in white bandages, and an X-shaped scar marked his chin.
"I'm the Hokage," Hiruzen replied flatly. "There's nowhere in Konoha I can't go."
He stared calmly at his longtime friend.
Hiruzen knew perfectly well that Danzō had always coveted the Hokage's seat.
That was why every meeting between them carried an edge of tension.
"Heh." Danzō sneered. "Impressive, Hiruzen. Did you come all this way just to remind me of your title?"
"Or is it because some Uchiha brat humiliated you today, and you came here to vent?"
Danzō's mocking tone grew sharper.
What had happened at the village gate earlier had already reached him. With Root's intelligence network, there was no way it wouldn't.
To be honest, hearing that Hiruzen had been publicly ridiculed by a kid felt incredibly satisfying.
Too bad he hadn't been there to see Hiruzen's furious expression for himself.
At the same time, that boy, Uchiha Akira, had caught his interest. Power like that at such a young age made no sense.
Which meant there had to be secrets hidden in that child.
Greed flickered in Danzō's eye. He'd need to find a chance to capture the brat and bring him into Root for a thorough "study."
…
"That's enough, Danzō." Hiruzen's expression hardened. "I didn't come here to trade insults. I have real business with you."
"Oh?" Danzō chuckled. "Is it about the Uchiha? Heh. After embarrassing yourself that badly, a little anger is understandable."
A sharp glint of calculation shone in his single eye.
Hiruzen took a deep breath, ignoring the jabs.
"Yes. Tonight, the Uchiha will be erased from the shinobi world."
"Tch. Tonight?" Danzō raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"When did you suddenly grow a spine, Hiruzen? For a moment there, I almost thought you were a fake."
"Enough." Hiruzen frowned. "Danzō, just answer me. Can you move tonight or not?"
"Hmph." Danzō snorted, leaning on his cane. "Everything on my side has been ready for ages. If you hadn't been dragging your feet, the Uchiha clan would've been dealt with long ago. We wouldn't be wasting time like this."
Hiruzen didn't bother responding to the complaint.
"The timing may have changed, but the plan hasn't. Go."
"Danzō, have your people summon Itachi from ANBU. He'll act as the vanguard."
"Hmph. Since you're showing rare decisiveness, I'll let the fact that you're ordering me around slide this once."
Despite his words, Danzō turned toward the darkness and gave a command.
"Shun. Go to ANBU and bring Uchiha Itachi here."
"Yes."
A voice answered from the shadows.
…
ANBU.
Itachi, already weighed down by conflicting emotions over the impending annihilation of his clan, suddenly received word that Konoha's top leadership wanted to see him.
"Both the Third Lord and Lord Danzō?" he asked quietly. "And not at ANBU, but Root? Is something happening?"
He looked at Shun beside him.
For some reason, a bad feeling crept up in his chest.
"Don't know," Shun replied curtly.
"Has anything unusual happened in the village recently?"
Ever since being told that he might have to carry out the massacre in a few days, Itachi had locked himself away in a small ANBU room.
He'd spent that time wrestling with the question of whether he should really kill his own kin for the sake of the village.
He'd been completely cut off from outside information.
Now that he was finally stepping out, he wanted to know if anything major had occurred.
"Don't know."
The answer was the same as before.
No information at all.
Guess I'll just take it one step at a time.
With no other choice, Itachi followed Shun toward the Root base at high speed.
…
"Third Lord, Lord Danzō," Itachi said respectfully after bowing. "May I ask why you summoned me?"
"Hmph." Danzō looked away, refusing to meet Itachi's eyes.
Being addressed after the Third Hokage annoyed him.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, smiled gently.
"Itachi, you're here. We called you because there's something we need to discuss regarding the Uchiha."
"Our spies have reported that the Uchiha plan to launch a coup tomorrow."
His tone was heavy, tinged with helplessness.
"To prevent the Uchiha from being branded as traitors, and for the sake of the village's peace and stability…"
"After discussing it with Elder Danzō, we've decided to act tonight."
Itachi froze in shock.
"Third Lord, weren't we supposed to decide whether to act in five days?"
"Ah…" Hiruzen sighed deeply, his face filled with sorrow.
"Your clansmen are on the verge of madness. I never wanted things to turn out this way, but… there's no other option."
"We must act tonight. If we wait until tomorrow and the coup begins, all of Konoha will become a battlefield."
"Countless innocent lives will be lost because of the Uchiha's mistake. And worse, other villages will take advantage of the chaos."
"If Konoha is destroyed, the Uchiha will bear that sin for eternity."
As he spoke, Hiruzen's grief seemed genuine.
His eyes glistened faintly, as if he could already see Konoha reduced to ruins.
Beside him, Danzō watched with contempt.
That's Hiruzen for you. Hypocritical to the core.
Unlike me. Everything I do is for Konoha alone.
"..."
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