"You can slip in and out of Konoha like a ghost!"
"You can transform into any one of us at will!"
"It's you!"
"Everything that happened today was your scheme!"
"That was you as Lu Shugen, wasn't it?!"
"You pitted me and Hiruzen against each other! We both fell into your trap!"
"The other clans too… they were all manipulated!"
"That's right. Too bad there's no reward for figuring it out."
But villains die from talking too much—Itachi wasn't about to make that mistake.
Without hesitation, Susano'o manifested behind him, and a Totsuka Sword appeared in his hand.
With one swift motion, he thrust the sword toward Danzo.
"Don't worry, Danzo… I'll make sure to kill Hiruzen for you."
Danzo stared down at the sword impaled in his chest, mouth slightly open.
It shouldn't have ended like this. He still had the Four Symbols Seal. He hadn't passed the intel back to Konoha. He wasn't Hokage yet. He hadn't unified the shinobi world. He hadn't revived the Shimura clan. He hadn't left an heir…
There were still so many things left undone…
But it was too late.
He had been wrong not to trust Hiruzen.
They'd both been wrong.
They both fell prey to the same enemy's plot.
"Seal!"
The Totsuka Sword didn't just trap its victims in a genjutsu dreamscape—it sealed them away permanently.
Danzo wasn't even granted the dignity of the Pure Land, let alone the possibility of being brought back through Edo Tensei.
In the final moment before his consciousness faded, he saw "Tobi" transform into his own image.
His eyes widened in disbelief, dying with deep regret and fury.
"Fire Style: Cremation Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Scatter His Ashes Technique!"
Itachi clapped his hands and spat out a roaring fire, engulfing Danzo's corpse in flames.
Once reduced to cinders, he followed up with a blast of wind—scattering every last trace.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Danzo Shimura was erased from existence.
Not even the Sage of Six Paths could bring him back now.
...
Konoha Plaza.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have killed Danzo.
Rewards unlocked: Passive – Hell's Curse.
New Skills – UnderworldPrison: Eighteen Hells, and Soulbind Command.
Bonus: Danzo's Ghost.]
[Hell's Curse – Allows the user to collect souls of the dead nearby.]
[UnderworldPrison: Eighteen Hells – Summons a spectral prison that traps enemies within and judges them.]
[Soulbind Command – Overrides a soul's will, forcing it into servitude—be it spirit or specter.]
[Danzo: Please, for once in your life, act like a human being.]
Itachi glanced toward the direction where his clone had been.
Dark miasma swirled, resentment surged—a clear sign that Danzo had died with overwhelming rage and zero peace.
If this were a horror world, that soul would've definitely become a vengeful spirit by now.
Whoosh!
The clone, still disguised as Danzo, returned to the plaza.
"Danzo," Kushina snarled, sealing chains still pinning the Nine-Tails.
"You could've walked the path to heaven… but you chose to barge into hell instead!"
You thought the two of us would be easy to deal with?
This blood debt had to be paid.
"Kill me? Just the two of you?" the clone sneered in Danzo's voice.
"Sage Art: Rasengan!"
Minato, still in Sage Mode, teleported back to the Nine-Tails using the Flying Thunder God seal he had placed earlier.
Without warning, he launched a Rasengan straight at the "Danzo" in front of him.
BOOM!
…And missed.
The Rasengan passed through the fake Danzo and smashed into Kurama's head again, sending the beast crashing back down.
"Damn it! Not again!"
Minato and Kushina gritted their teeth.
This damn space-time jutsu… again!
Inside Naruto, the Yang half of Kurama sensed it all through their chakra link.
Seeing the Yin half get knocked down yet again, it shut its eyes in despair.
It hurts me more than it hurts you, brother…
The Yin half had barely escaped its cage—first controlled by a Sharingan, then pinned by sealing chains.
Never even a second of true freedom.
It's pitiful.
When will I, Kurama, finally stand tall in this world?
The real Danzo reappeared beside White Zetsu—his hand tightening around Hiruzen's throat.
Tobirama: "…"
When did Danzo get this strong?
Since when could he use space-time ninjutsu?!
Didn't he fail to learn the Flying Thunder God technique back in the day?
Has he been hiding it all along?
And what's with that Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye?!
He glanced at the fallen Nine-Tails and suddenly realized—
Danzo… Danzo was the mastermind all along!
Hashirama: "…"
Why does Danzo have my face carved into his right arm? Is that a tribute? Respect? Or just… disturbing?
Hiruzen coughed up blood, eyelids heavy with exhaustion.
"Danzo… stop. This vengeance… it's only leading to more pain.
Keep this up and Konoha will fall."
"You know as well as I do—you can't win.
Not against Minato, Kushina, Itachi, Fugaku… not with the First and Second Hokage here too."
"Please. Turn back. There's still time."
Danzo sneered.
"Stop?"
"How am I supposed to stop?"
"If you'd handed me the Hokage seat when Minato died, none of this would've happened!"
"This is all because you couldn't let go of power!"
"Do you have any idea what the past five years have been like for me? Huh? Do you?!"
He roared, face twisted with fury, his Sharingan blazing crimson.
He looked like a demon—a terrifying fusion of madness, power, and betrayal.
Hiruzen opened his mouth, his voice hoarse:
"You… you killed Minato. Kushina. Biwako.
How could I have made you Hokage after that?"
Danzo threw his head back and laughed bitterly, tears spilling down his face.
So alone. So cold.
"Don't give me that sanctimonious garbage, Hiruzen.
You make me sick."
"You had no problem wiping out the Senju clan.
No problem standing by while the Uzumaki were destroyed."
"And now you want to cry about losing Minato and Kushina?
You lost Biwako? Big deal.
I lost the Hokage seat.
Do you have any idea what that means?!"
Hashirama: "…"
Tobirama: "…"
Kushina and Minato were livid.
Danzo… had the gall to say this?
Our lives… don't matter to you?
White Zetsu chimed in:
"Now do you understand, Lord First? Lord Second?
Why I want Hiruzen dead?
Why I want to burn Konoha to the ground?"
"This is a blood feud!"
"How do you expect me to just swallow that?!"
Hashirama: "…"
Tobirama: "…"
"Danzo, that's enough," Tobirama said at last, taking a deep breath.
He had heard enough from Danzo, Hiruzen, and even Zetsu to piece it together.
Hiruzen took power. To secure it, he eliminated the Senju and ignored the Uzumaki.
Danzo resented him for it. That resentment grew into civil war.
And Konoha… ended up in flames.
Zetsu was probably the descendant of a Senju-Uzumaki union—hence the Wood Style chakra.
He bore the Uzumaki name instead of Senju, likely out of spite toward Tobirama for his short-sightedness.
Tobirama never imagined a decision he made back then would lead to this.
Never thought Hiruzen would become this kind of man.
So much for knowing someone's heart…
"Stop? You think you have the right to tell me to stop?" Danzo exploded.
"If you had just named me Hokage back then, Konoha wouldn't be like this!"
"This is your fault, Tobirama!"
"You were blind. You trained a traitor!"
Tobirama staggered, as if physically struck.
A heavy, choking regret filled his chest.
"Danzo, that's enough," Hashirama stepped forward. "Let's stop this and talk it through."
Danzo snapped.
"Shut up, you idiot! If it weren't for you giving away tailed beasts to other villages, would Konoha even be in this mess?!"
Hashirama: "???"