Outside the Hokage office building,
Tsunade led the Anbu and escorted Shimura Egawa to Konoha's high-security prison.
At this moment, Shimura Danzo exhaled deeply.
Huff~
Finally...
Has the storm passed?
With this outcome, Sarutobi Hiruzen's suspicions toward him should be greatly reduced.
That act of pleading for mercy to spare Shimura Egawa's life? Of course, it wasn't what Danzo truly wanted.
Shimura Egawa was well aware of Danzo's dark secrets.
He had evidence—real, damning evidence.
The person who wanted him silenced most... was Shimura Danzo himself.
But Danzo's public plea was a calculated move.
It wasn't to save Egawa—it was to reduce Sarutobi's suspicions and present the perfect image of a clan leader reluctantly trying to save a fallen subordinate.
It was classic misdirection.
By pretending to intercede, Danzo not only made himself appear compassionate, but he also sent a subtle message to Egawa:
"Your life was spared because of me."
That psychological leash was invaluable.
Danzo held Egawa's fate—and his family—in his grip.
Egawa, shackled in Konoha Prison, had no logical reason to betray Danzo now.
Hah...
That was close.
Too close.
All because of that brat—Tian Yu.
That boy had ruined both of Danzo's carefully laid plans tonight.
Danzo's expression darkened.
He would never let that go.
And just as Danzo was preparing to regroup and plan his next move against Tian Yu...
A sudden, blinding light burst out from the far end of the village.
Raging fire.
Billowing black smoke shot into the sky like a signal flare, visible from nearly every district of Konoha.
Danzo froze.
And then—
"No...!"
He turned sharply.
The flames—
They were coming from the direction of the Shimura Clan compound!
---
"Quick, get the fire out!"
"Dear gods! How did such a huge blaze erupt without anyone noticing?!"
"This is bad—really bad! Send word to the Water Release unit, now!"
"If this spreads, not only will the Shimura estate be gone, but the surrounding residential blocks are in danger!"
The inferno engulfed the night, painting it in hellish orange.
---
High above, on Hokage Rock, a lone figure in a black windbreaker stood watching.
The fire reflected in his eyes, flickering like amusement.
"What a beautiful sight."
A calm, almost poetic voice.
It was Tian Yu, cloaked by the wind and the dark.
The breeze lifted the edges of his coat.
He looked pleased.
He casually clapped the soot from his hands, gave the fire one final glance, and leapt into the night, vanishing without a trace.
---
Back at Tian Yu's home,
He had just stepped through the door when—
Wham!
A soft—but firm—collision with a familiar chest.
"Why are you just standing there?" he asked coolly, looking up at Tsunade, who stood blocking the doorway with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.
"Hey! Where the hell were you all night?!" she snapped.
"I just led an entire Anbu operation and gave the old man Sarutobi hell!"
"I was going to wait for you so we could confront him together, but guess what? You vanished!"
"You have any idea how crazy tonight has been for me?!"
Tian Yu shrugged.
"How did it go?" he asked, unfazed.
Tsunade sighed, clearly still annoyed but beginning to calm.
"We recovered the Scroll of Seals.
The Nine-Tails brat—Naruto—was fine, just knocked out cold.
I confronted Sarutobi-sensei, thinking Danzo was the mastermind...
But turns out, it was Shimura Egawa behind the attack."
She exhaled heavily.
"He's in Konoha Prison now, guarded by Anbu."
Tian Yu's lips curled slightly.
"Shimura Egawa, huh?"
Tsunade caught the sarcasm in his tone.
"You're not buying it, are you? You think something's off?"
Tian Yu chuckled lightly.
"Nothing's off. You were right to begin with.
The one truly behind it all... was Danzo."
"What?!"
Tsunade jumped to her feet, grabbing Tian Yu by the arm.
"You have proof?! Come on—we're taking this straight to Sarutobi-sensei. That old snake can't squirm out of this one!"
But Tian Yu calmly placed a hand on her shoulder and eased her back down onto the chair.
"Relax. Let me finish."
"I don't have hard evidence. Not yet. So there's no point confronting Sarutobi Hiruzen."
Tsunade's excitement deflated.
"No evidence? Then how can you be sure Danzo's behind it?"
Tian Yu's eyes sharpened.
"Because I fought him. Tonight."
"What?!"
Tsunade's eyes went wide with concern.
"You're hurt, aren't you? Let me heal you!"
"I'm fine," Tian Yu said with a soft smile. "Danzo isn't my match.
If not for that ninjutsu, I would've finished him."
Tsunade's brow furrowed.
"Which ninjutsu?"
"Izanagi."
"!!"
Tsunade's jaw dropped.
As a member of the Senju clan, she knew all too well what Izanagi was.
"That's a Uchiha-exclusive jutsu! How the hell can Danzo use that?!"
"What if..." Tian Yu said quietly, "...he stole Sharingan eyes from the Uchiha?"
"But transplanting a Sharingan into a non-Uchiha body causes intense rejection!"
Tsunade, a top medical expert, knew this better than anyone.
Tian Yu looked her in the eyes and continued:
"Then what if... he also has cells from your grandfather, Senju Hashirama?"
It was like a lightning strike.
Tsunade's face turned pale.
A bone-deep chill spread through her.
If Danzo had integrated cells from Hashirama, he could suppress the side effects of the Sharingan...
The implications were horrifying.
This wasn't just unethical—it was a Kinjutsu-class violation.
Someone in the shadows of Konoha was playing God.
Before she could fully process the implications, Tian Yu's calm voice cut through her swirling thoughts again—
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