Back in the forest, nestled deep within the folds of silence and shadow, Kakashi stood with his back against a tree. His gaze was distant, fixed not on the world around him, but on the sudden rush of memories flooding his mind.
'So the clone dispelled…'
His breath caught slightly as the memories of the shadow clone poured into his mind like an opened floodgate. He saw everything.
The quiet nod from Tsunade, the arrest of Root members, the discovery of forbidden labs, and the room beneath Danzo's office.
But one image disturbed him the most. Hashirama and Tobirama. Dead, preserved, and stolen by Danzo. He thought that their bodies were with Orochimaru, but it seems Orochimaru only has their DNA.
"…of course they were with Danzo all this time," Kakashi muttered under his breath, he didn't expect them to be this bold to keep them in his base.
"Hiruzen… you were always too soft. Or too careful. Of course, you wouldn't keep them near. And Danzo… was your scapegoat."
It made a painful kind of sense. Danzo had always been the blunt weapon hidden behind the Hokage's back. Sacrificed for the village. Now, he'd be sacrificed to the village. Poetic, in a twisted way.
Pushing those thoughts away, Kakashi turned his head slightly.
"Sasuke, it's almost time. Get ready."
Sasuke, who had been sitting on a low rock meditating with his Mangekyo glowing faintly, opened his eyes and nodded silently. His expression was unreadable, but focused. This wasn't a battle for glory. This was personal.
One Hour Later
The birds had long gone silent.
Kakashi's chakra suppression field, buried underground and invisible to even trained sensory types, shimmered to life as soon as Danzo, Fu, and Torune stepped into the clearing. All three staggered as if gravity had doubled.
"What!" Torune gasped, chakra flaring instinctively, but he was too late.
The second seal activated beneath their feet. A paralysis seal of Kakashi's own invention, enhanced with his own chakra and precise sealing scripts.
They were immobilized.
Kakashi appeared in a flicker of speed, faster than Danzo could track. Purple Lightning sparked in his palm, Shiden. It screamed through the air, like a violet blade of death.
Torune's eyes widened in shock before the blade pierced his chest, bursting through his heart. Kakashi didn't wait, he exhaled a massive fireball jutsu and incinerated the body instantly, preventing even a trace of the deadly nano-insects from escaping.
"You, Kakashi…" Danzo's face twisted into a grimace as he stepped back.
His eyes narrowed as he saw Kakashi's uncovered left eye. Mangekyo. He stepped back again, caution growing in his every muscle, but Kakashi ignored him.
Instead, Kakashi flickered again, this time appearing behind Fu. A single rotation of his Mangekyo, and Fu's neck twisted unnaturally, killing him instantly. Kakashi didn't flinch.
Danzo finally growled, pulling his cloak back, trying to unseal the bindings on his arm.
But Sasuke emerged from the shadows like a phantom.
Danzo froze. Another Mangekyo. Two in one day.
Before he could act, Sasuke was already before him. His chidori blade slashed across Danzo's right arm, severing the entire limb that held the Hashirama cell's power and the transplanted Sharingan.
"Aghhh!!" Danzo cried out in agony.
In that split second, Kakashi struck again. He appeared directly in front of Danzo and stabbed two fingers into his right eye, removing Shisui's precious Mangekyo and placing it carefully into a glass vial filled with nutrient fluid.
"You… took it…" Danzo gasped in disbelief, staggering back.
But Kakashi only backed away, giving a small nod to Sasuke.
"You wanted power," Kakashi said coldly. "Now you can fight with the consequences."
"So… this was all a trap…"Danzo gritted his teeth. Forgetting that he was so confident to come here even if it was a trap.
He finally understood. Orochimaru was never involved. This was Kakashi's plan from the beginning. He had been played.
But his thoughts were cut short as Sasuke lunged again, his hand crackling with chidori. Danzo barely managed to dodge, panting hard from the pain of his lost arm.
Cursing, Danzo clapped his remaining hand on the ground and summoned a massive beast, Baku, the dream-eating elephant tapir. The monster screeched and inhaled powerfully, sucking the very air toward it like a vortex.
"Yamihibi." But Sasuke didn't panic. And called Yamihibi who had been summoned in advance.
From the earth beneath, his sleek obsidian-black summon slithered up. Yamihibi coiled around the tapir's massive legs, his mouth flaring with venom. He struck swiftly, injecting chakra-sapping venom into the beast's thick skin. The Baku roared in pain, distracted.
Danzo weaved single-handed signs furiously despite his injuries. But Sasuke was relentless. He flashed forward, his Mangekyo spinning violently.
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames exploded around Danzo. He screamed, trying to jump away, only for the fire to cling to him. He dispelled it with great effort using a sealing tag, but it bought Sasuke time.
They clashed again, blades ringing in the air. Danzo moved on instinct, his precision hampered by the searing pain of his injuries and chakra suppression. He activated a sealing jutsu beneath his feet, trying to stabilize his body, but Sasuke didn't let up.
"You took everything from us!" Sasuke roared.
"The Uchiha brought it on themselves!" Danzo spat blood.
But Sasuke didn't stop. One more strike. Another Shiden. Danzo collapsed to one knee, his cloak in tatters, burns all over his body.
"This is over," Sasuke said, lifting his hand.
Danzo reached for his final seal. The Reverse Four Symbols Seal on his chest.
"I'll take you with me!" he shouted.
But Sasuke, remembering Kakashi's instructions, was ready.
"Amaterasu."
The flames struck before Danzo could activate the jutsu. He screamed as the black fire consumed him, wrapping around his body like a vengeful spirit.
As his body burned, he gasped through the pain.
"Itachi… was a traitor…"
"He was a child, and you all took advantage of it. You… were the real traitor." Sasuke stepped closer, his voice cold and unwavering.
Danzo ignored Sasuke as his final thought was of Hiruzen. 'You used me… just like you used the others, pawn that's all I was to you…' Then his charred remains crumbled to ash.
Sasuke stood frozen, chest rising and falling heavily. The last embers of the fire crackled faintly.
"I have avenged you," he whispered in a trembling voice.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
He didn't flinch when Kakashi appeared beside him and quietly wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"You're not alone anymore, Sasuke."
Sasuke didn't answer. But his mind raced through memories, training with Kakashi, teasing fights with Naruto, quiet moments with Sakura, Kurenai's advice, even Tsunade's blunt words. And now, this.
A broken boy who found people willing to stand by him.
"…Thank you," he whispered.
"Let's go home." Kakashi smiled gently.
Before leaving, Kakashi sealed the Sharingan-filled arm into a reinforced storage scroll. Then, he carefully burned what was left of Fu's body to prevent any misuse.
Together, they walked into the forest shadows.