Chapter 8 : Danzo
Ren walked away. His footsteps were silent on the charred, glassy earth near the epicenter, then crunched softly on the pristine ground beyond. He didn't hurry. He didn't look back. He simply moved through the stunned silence, a small, dark figure against the backdrop of the roaring forest fire and the towering plume of smoke. The heat radiating from the molten scar he'd left shimmered the air around him, yet he seemed untouched, indifferent.
For a long moment, the only sounds were the crackling inferno in the woods and the ragged breathing of the terrified onlookers. Then, like a dam breaking, the whispers began.
"Did you... see...?"
"The fire... without hands..."
"The butterflies..."
"He... he just..."
"Monster..."
The whispers grew, overlapping, feeding on shared terror. The initial paralysis shattered as the sheer scale of the destruction – the obliterated section of training ground, the raging forest fire consuming ancient trees – registered. People started pointing, backing away from the devastation, their eyes wide with primal fear as they tracked Ren's retreating form.
Then came the rush. The colossal explosion and the towering pillar of smoke were beacons of disaster. Shinobi from nearby posts, civilians drawn by the noise and the tremor, ANBU dropping from rooftops – they flooded into the training ground from all sides. Gasps and cries of shock echoed as they took in the scene:
the unnaturally clean and untouched ground contrasting violently with the wide swathe of land reduced to blackened, glassy waste radiating heat, several training posts simply gone, and a significant section of the forest ablaze with flames leaping high and smoke choking the sky. They saw the crowd of pale, trembling survivors, some knocked down by the shockwave, all staring with expressions ranging from terror to utter bewilderment. They saw the Hokages – Minato, grim-faced, shielding a shell-shocked, trembling Asuma, and Hiruzen, looking decades older, staring at the devastation with profound dread. And they saw, almost out of sight now, the lone Uchiha boy walking calmly away as if taking a stroll.
What happened?!"
"Was it an attack?"
"Did Iwa breach the perimeter
"Kami, look at the fire!"
"Who did this?!"
"Is everyone alright? Asuma-sama! Hokage-sama!"
The questions overlapped in a cacophony of panic. Minato, his expression hardening into the mask of leadership, raised a hand, channeling chakra to amplify his voice. "Remain calm! Secure the perimeter! Fire teams, contain that blaze NOW!"
His commands cut through the chaos, sending ANBU and nearby Jonin scrambling.
It was then that Danzo Shimura and a contingent of four Root operatives materialized from the shadows near the edge of the intact forest, their arrival silent and swift. Danzo took in the scene with his single visible eye: the unnatural cleanliness, the devastating scar, the raging forest fire, the terrified crowd, the Hokages gathered around the visibly traumatized Asuma. His expression, usually impassive, tightened with cold fury and immediate suspicion of external threat. He strode towards Hiruzen, his Root agents melting into the background to observe
"Hiruzen!"
Danzo's voice was sharp, cutting. "What is the meaning of this? An assault? Which village dares? Where is the enemy?"
His hand rested near his bandaged arm, ready to summon Root for retaliation.
Hiruzen turned slowly. He looked exhausted, the weight of what he'd witnessed etched deep into his face. He met Danzo's furious gaze. "No enemy village, Danzo," he said, his voice low and heavy. "No external assault."
Danzo frowned, his eye narrowing. "Then what? A training accident? This level of destruction—" "It was done,"
Hiruzen interrupted, his voice gaining a brittle edge, "by an Uchiha clan member."
He gestured faintly in the direction Ren had disappeared. Danzo froze. Utter, genuine shock washed over his face, visible even through his usual control.
His visible eye widened fractionally. "*An Uchiha?*" The word was laced with disbelief that quickly curdled into something darker – dawning comprehension mixed with intense, predatory interest. "Which one? How? What manner of kinjutsu—?"
"Hush, Danzo!" Hiruzen snapped, his voice suddenly sharp with command and a warning. He glanced meaningfully at the panicked crowd, the arriving reinforcements, the fire teams battling the blaze. "Not here. Not now. We *will* speak of this. Later." His gaze held Danzo's, conveying the absolute seriousness and the need for discretion. "Attend to the emergency. Secure the area. Assist with the fire." Without waiting for a reply, Hiruzen turned away, moving towards Minato and the still-shaking Asuma, ready to help address the panicked throng and project stability.
Danzo stood rooted to the spot for a moment, watching Hiruzen's back. The initial shock solidified into cold calculation. His gaze swept over the unnatural devastation, the pristine ground, the terrified faces, the Hokage comforting his son. A familiar, cold resolve settled in his gut, sharper and more urgent than ever. *An Uchiha... capable of this... without hand seals... rewriting reality...* The implications were staggering, terrifying, and potentially useful, but only in the right hands. Hands that understood the true meaning of strength, of sacrifice, of protecting the village from *all* threats, internal or external. Hands that weren't shackled by sentimentality, by weakness, by the crumbling "Will of Fire." He watched Hiruzen begin to address the crowd, his voice attempting reassurance. To Danzo, it looked like weakness. Appeasement. Denial of the monstrous power festering within their own walls. *He is unfit. He coddles the snake that will bite us all. He protects the beast that can erase us with a thought.* His single eye hardened, reflecting the dancing flames of the forest fire. *This village needs strength. True strength. Uncompromising strength. It needs me. I will become Hokage. I will root out this corruption. I will harness or eliminate this Uchiha abomination. I am the only one who can save Konoha from the chaos Hiruzen allows to fester.*
With a final, inscrutable glance at the devastation and the retreating figure of Hiruzen, Danzo turned. He signaled silently to his Root agents. They melted back into the shadows.