Canon was mostly flashbacks, after all.
And Ren had been in this world for years now. He only vaguely remembered that the eye-gouging happened somewhere on this cliff.
Then Shisui—being hunted down—ran into Itachi, entrusted him with something, and leaped off.
They never even found the body.
Not even Kabuto the obsessive corpse-collector managed to find it.
Maybe he'd shattered into pieces at the bottom.
With that doubt in mind, Ren tailed the Root members.
Slowly, the forest grew taller and denser.
In the heavy black of night, it looked like a gigantic beast—
Mouth gaping wide, waiting for someone to jump in.
And Shisui, that naïve idiot, really did jump right in.
A quarter-hour earlier—
Shisui had dashed into the forest, excitement written all over his face.
When he spotted the man waiting ahead, he couldn't hide his grin. He raised a hand and called out brightly,
"Lord Danzō! You really have a way to resolve the conflict between the Uchiha and the village?"
Take note: this sunny, cheerful boy was named Shisui.
Right now, his smile was practically overflowing.
"That's amazing!
The village and the clan can finally coexist peacefully!
Ren actually said Lord Danzō isn't reliable—what a silly little brat."
Not long ago, Shisui had received a message:
Danzō had a method to peacefully resolve the conflict between the village and the clan.
So he'd rushed here without a second thought.
His steps were so light he was almost skipping as he ran.
The deep-night forest—bouncing footsteps, a buoyant voice, a swaying figure—
All of it shouted the joy and anticipation in the protagonist's heart, the setup deliberately bright to sharpen the tragedy that followed.
"That's right. The method is rather confidential. Come closer and I'll tell you."
Danzō waved, motioning Shisui forward.
And the sunny, cheerful boy—without the slightest hesitation—leaned in.
Seeing that, the smile in Danzō's scarred eyes deepened.
Even his mouth was starting to twitch, as if he could barely suppress it.
He even had the urge to cover his face with one hand and burst out laughing.
Shisui noticed none of it. He obediently leaned closer, eyes shining.
"Lord Danzō! What method is it?!"
"The method is—give me your eye."
"Huh?!"
Squelch!
Shisui blanked for a heartbeat.
And then… he lost an eye.
Only when blood flooded Danzō's right hand did Shisui finally understand what had happened.
His face sank instantly—yet more than anger, there was stunned confusion.
"Lord Danzō… what are you doing?!"
"What am I doing? Can't you see?"
"Shisui, you're a good child. But this power is too great. You can't control it—so let me."
Danzō laughed so hard his body shook.
"Only if you hand that eye to me can I change Fugaku and the monkey!"
"Then your Uchiha won't launch a coup ever again!"
"And Konoha won't suppress you anymore!"
The more he spoke, the more excited he became.
He could already see it—
Kicking Hiruzen aside, punching Koharu in the face.
"Hiruzen's really gone too far lately!"
With that, he pocketed the eye, about to continue—
When Shisui suddenly split into more than a dozen figures and bolted in different directions.
"Body Flicker?" Danzō wasn't surprised. He only shook his head at the retreating backs.
"This forest is full of my people."
"You won't escape."
"And I'm telling you—even if the monkey shows up, he can only squat to the side and watch."
BAM!
"Your monkey my ass."
Before the last word even finished—
A brutal, heavy blow came from behind.
A smooth, round brick glowing faintly red appeared out of nowhere at the back of Danzō's skull.
It carried the heat of crimson chakra and the blue-white aura of the Eight Trigrams—
And smashed down.
That single brick combined sealed-chakra impact with the boost of two tails' worth of Nine-Tails power.
The force was ridiculous.
And it struck when Danzō was completely unguarded.
Perfect timing. Perfect placement.
Then—
Everything went black for Danzō as he collapsed face-first.
The last thing he heard, faint and distant, was two words:
"…monkey…"
The one who struck wasn't a monkey.
It was Ren.
Ren—who had crept right up beside him under Weak Presence.
Tap.
The instant Danzō fell, Ren casually reached out.
A blood-slick eye, its crimson edges sharp and grotesque, was pinched neatly between his fingers.
It really was big.
So the big dumb sunshine boy still got gouged after all.
Ren sighed, tucked the eye away, and was about to leave.
But when he glanced down at the Danzō sprawled on the ground…
The itch in his heart—the itch of a man who hadn't gotten to loot a corpse—started squirming.
Kill Danzō right now?
Definitely not.
Kakashi was nearby.
And if Konoha's "Shadow Hokage" just died like this, who would the village shift its blame onto later when it needed a scapegoat for the Uchiha?
So Ren didn't go for the kill.
He'd raise this pig like livestock.
Fatten it up first.
Then slaughter it later.
Let the pig live a little longer.
Of course—
Even if he couldn't kill him…
He could still beat him.
Bam!
Bam-bam-bam!
In the next instant, fists glowing with light rained down in a merciless storm.
Still not satisfied, Ren's gaze slid to the brick beside him.
He picked it up again.
Yep. Deep down, he really did love bricking people.
Under the moonlight, Danzō muttered deliriously—
The dying embers of a Hokage seat he'd never have.
"Lord Danzō, you…"
After Ren vanished, Kakashi—who had followed—stood there watching everything, his expression painfully complicated.
Especially when he saw Danzō, completely defenseless, get dropped by a single brick—
Kakashi's eyes bulged.
Bigger than when he'd seen the newest volume of Icha Icha Paradise.
He knew Danzō's strength.
Even elite jōnin weren't a match for him!
So how—
How had Ren gotten close without Danzō noticing at all?
"…Was he so excited after getting the eye that he forgot himself?"
Kakashi rubbed his temple, a headache blooming.
What had happened tonight…
He didn't even know how to report it to the Third Hokage.
Was he supposed to say Danzō tried to steal an Uchiha's eye, only to get bricked unconscious by Ren?
If word got out, the relationship between the Uchiha and the village would lock into a dead-end stalemate.
Still, duty was duty.
Signal the Third.
Then stand guard and preserve the scene.
Whoosh!
Not long after, a squad arrived at high speed.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, came rushing in with his staff in hand.
"Kakashi! Has Konoha been attacked?!"
Hearing Danzō had been knocked unconscious, his first instinct was that the village had come under assault.
So he arrived already in combat posture.
At his side, Enma stood coldly, eyes grim as he scanned the forest.
And just as Enma's gaze swept down—
Danzō opened his eyes.
The moment he did…
He saw a monkey.
A… monkey?
In an instant, the words from before he passed out exploded back into his ears.
Danzō jolted upright, pointing at Hiruzen and Enma as he screamed himself hoarse:
"Monkey! You attacked me from behind!"
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