Psch!
Blood sprayed.
The Uchiha clansmen froze.
Even their hands stalled mid-motion, unsure whether they should keep fighting.
"D-Dead? He's dead? Just like that?"
"That was Danzō! The Hokage's aide! Root's leader—and he just died?"
"I have to be dreaming… but this dream's so damn vivid."
No one had expected that the instant the fight began, the enemy's head would get cut down.
It was like two villages going to war and the opposing Kage getting taken off the board at the opening bell—
Absurd, yet intoxicating.
Compared to the Uchiha, Root reacted far faster.
One by one, they snapped back into formation, turning around and throwing themselves in front of Danzō—
Like the most loyal bodyguards.
A medic's palm flared with blue-green chakra and pressed down over the wound.
Then the Root operatives immediately shielded Danzō and retreated.
They'd arrived arrogant.
Now they fled like beaten dogs.
"They're trying to run? Chase them down!"
The Second Elder gritted his teeth and led the charge.
This kind of thing—
Either you don't do it at all.
Or once you do, you finish it in one bite.
If they were going to kill Danzō, they'd even scatter his ashes.
Behind them, Ren narrowed his eyes.
Watching the system remain silent, he understood at once.
"That old bastard really is using Sharingan as extra lives."
He clicked his tongue and followed.
He'd let them go on purpose.
Otherwise, how would he expose Danzō's conspiracy in front of all the great clans?
Shhk-shhk-shhk!
In moments, more than three hundred Uchiha surged forward, tailing Root like a blood-red tide.
"Move! To the Hokage Building—seek the Hokage's protection!"
Seeing the pursuit, a Root commander clenched his jaw and abruptly changed direction.
Right now, the only safe place was the Hokage Building.
The Uchiha could be arrogant—
But could they be more arrogant than Konoha itself?
Even Root, stripped of emotion, could read the situation clearly.
Up ahead, Danzō—carried on a sprinting operative's back—gave a tiny, silent nod.
He was… genuinely surprised.
He hadn't expected that evil Uchiha brat to land a "kill shot" in a single hit.
But because of that—
An even better idea bloomed in his mind.
Divert the disaster.
With the Uchiha in this frenzy, even the Hokage Building would get hit without hesitation.
And if that happened…
The Uchiha would have no road left at all.
Danzō immediately reined in his thoughts.
He let his body go slack, making himself look as dead as possible.
Shhk-shhk-shhk.
Soon, two waves—one fleeing, one chasing—flashed through the outskirts of Konoha.
More and more sentries spotted the scene.
"Huh? Root? They're being chased like stray dogs? Let me see what the—holy hell, Uchiha?!"
"Damn it, have the Uchiha gone insane? They're chasing Root?!"
"Move, move! Something huge is about to happen!"
"Quick! Report to the clan head—the Uchiha are pursuing Root!"
…
Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood at the window, his gaze sinking deeper into the night, growing murkier with every second.
A bad feeling had already taken root in his chest.
"At this hour… Itachi still hasn't returned. That means…"
Just then, movement flickered at the edge of his vision.
"That's—Root?"
Seeing Root returning, the old man finally let himself smile.
If Root was back, it meant everything was over.
The Uchiha would become history tonight.
Whoosh.
In that instant, the hunched back straightened, tall and imposing.
Tap-tap-tap.
He knocked lightly on the wall beside the window and said in a low voice, "Everyone… it seems this matter may already be finished."
Thump.
The room jolted.
Especially Hyūga Hiashi.
Others couldn't see it clearly, but his eyes could—
The faint smile tugging at the Third Hokage's mouth as he spoke.
"So… the Uchiha still lost?"
For a clan that had stood alongside the Hyūga for a thousand years…
To vanish so suddenly—
A feeling he couldn't name twisted in his chest.
Complicated.
His face held not the slightest trace of joy.
In contrast, Akimichi Torifu and the others visibly let out a long breath.
"Finally… it's over."
They exchanged glances, seeing the same excitement and anticipation in each other's eyes.
Especially the two advisors.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado looked at each other—eye bags trembling.
"Hahaha! Finally finished!"
"The Uchiha's inheritance… needs to be properly distributed!"
In Koharu's eyes there was nothing but glee and greedy expectation.
After decades as a Hokage advisor, the thing she looked forward to most was always the same—
Someone dying.
Or rather…
Processing the assets.
The inheritances of shinobi with no relatives were her favorite.
And now—
The Uchiha. A thousand-year great clan.
How vast would their assets be?
Perhaps enough to rival half of Konoha itself.
Her breathing quickened.
Unable to wait, she shoved the door open and urged, "Hiruzen, perhaps we should go down and ask properly."
Fast. Pressing.
Just short of saying, Hurry up—I can't wait to ransack them!
"Cough."
Hiruzen put away his pipe.
Then he draped a cloak over his shoulders, settled his hat, and stepped out.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
His height had shrunk with age—small—
Yet the pressure he brought didn't lessen in the slightest.
As Hiruzen walked out, the other great clan heads and advisors followed step for step.
Outside the Hokage Building.
Shhk… shhk… shhk…
Root's footsteps drew closer.
In the night, the figures were still indistinct—
Until they neared, and their gear became visible.
"Huff… Danzō, did you really—"
Hiruzen hesitated, then began his righteous, furious condemnation as he approached.
You did well—but you did it dirty, so I have to scold you.
But before he could finish—
Something felt wrong.
Danzō… was being carried.
And Root's chakra signatures… were chaotic.
Hiruzen's eye bags tightened into hard knots.
That unease in his chest flared sharper.
An accident?
Tap.
The next second, the Root operative set Danzō down and spoke in a heavy voice.
"Hokage-sama, it's bad! The Uchiha… have come to attack!"
"…What?"
Hiruzen froze, the smile in his eyes turning to ice.
And before he could speak—
At the far end of his vision, dense figures flickered into existence.
They spread quickly, surrounding the Hokage Building.
Every one of them—
Wore the unmistakable fan crest.
Hiruzen inhaled slowly, about to speak—
When a childish voice rang out, clear as a bell.
"Purge the traitors from the Hokage's side! Execute the Treacherous!"
Hiruzen: ?
The two advisors: ?
The clan heads: ?!
Hyūga Hiashi: !!
In the next instant—
Ren's small figure came streaking in atop flowing moonlight.
Behind him, hundreds of crimson eyes opened at the same time—
Locked onto the space before the Hokage Building.
Cold enough to make the spine shiver.
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