Just as Inoichi Yamanaka was about to call his clan members over to handle things, two figures suddenly burst into the Yamanaka clan's compound, blocking his path.
"...Root?!"
The Root shinobi's masks were pretty distinct, so Inoichi recognized the bizarre pattern right away. He furrowed his brow, instantly on guard.
"What's Root doing here uninvited?" Inoichi asked, his face expressionless. He really didn't want any ties with Root, knowing full well about that guy Danzo's ambition for the Hokage seat. Danzo wanting to be Hokage was like the Uchiha clan wanting to stage a coup—it was an "open secret" that most people could guess.
The Yamanaka clan, after all, always stood with the Hokage. So naturally, they felt a bit resistant toward Danzo, who was clearly trying to usurp power. Of course, Inoichi also wanted to keep his distance from the Uchiha clan and their coup plans. The problem was, Akainu Uchiha kept having the Anbu bring bodies over, so even if Inoichi wanted to stay away, he couldn't help but interact with them for the autopsies.
At that moment, the Root shinobi on the left spoke in a cold tone: "Inoichi-sama, these eight bodies belong to Root shinobi. The Yamanaka clan has no right to delve into the secrets within their minds."
The Root shinobi on the right added, "You are not to touch these bodies. Our people will come to take them away."
Inoichi's pupils subtly contracted. Eight bodies, all Root shinobi? Had Akainu Uchiha clashed with Konoha's Root again?
"Alright," he simply said.
Since Danzo was willing to clean up this mess, Inoichi was more than happy to avoid any extra trouble.
Before long, many more Root shinobi arrived at the Yamanaka clan's compound. Inoichi even noticed that the leader was none other than Danzo Shimura himself!
Danzo stood beside Inoichi, quietly gazing at the eight bodies covered with white sheets. As a night breeze gently swept through, lifting the white sheet from one of the faces and revealing a somewhat familiar visage to Danzo...
Danzo took a deep breath.
"A-KA-I-NU" His knuckles were white from clenching his fists, and Akainu Uchiha's name was practically ground out from between Danzo's teeth.
Standing nearby, Inoichi could clearly feel the immense rage brewing within the Konoha elder. Inoichi also noticed Danzo suddenly turned and glared at him.
Inoichi: "???"
"I haven't even started examining their memories yet," Inoichi muttered, feeling unfairly targeted. His explanation came out quite coldly due to his annoyance. As he spoke, Inoichi unconsciously glanced at Danzo's left ear, noticing it was missing.
Danzo gave Inoichi a deep look. Once he replaced the 'monkey' (Hiruzen), every single member of the Yamanaka clan would be marked with the Tongue Sealing Curse Seal. Only then could he truly feel somewhat at ease about them. They knew far too much! Of course, Danzo just filtered these thoughts in his mind.
Watching his Root shinobi successively hoist the bodies, he then strode directly out of the Yamanaka clan's compound. But just then, Danzo suddenly realized something was off.
"Wait!"
Danzo frowned, immediately calling out to his subordinates who were about to carry the bodies back to the Root base. His sharp gaze swept around in all directions. Seeing Danzo's demeanor, the Root shinobi also grew wary.
Tap... tap... tap...
The faint footsteps, growing closer, instantly drew Danzo and his men's attention to the dense, dark night ahead. The Root shinobi immediately dropped the bodies, drawing their ninja blades from their waists and surrounding Danzo.
As the source of the footsteps gradually emerged from the pitch-black night, and their face dimly appeared in the moonlight, Danzo's expression instantly turned grim. He gritted his teeth, shouting the name of the approaching figure.
"AKAINU!!!"
A Daughter's Fright, A Father's Resolve
"Dad, what's all that noise outside...?" Little Ino, clad in adorable pajamas and clutching a stuffed animal, rubbed her eyes as she padded barefoot from her bedroom.
Inoichi had initially been shocked by Danzo's sudden, almost hysterical shout of "Akainu Uchiha" from outside. But when he saw his daughter woken up and coming out, he immediately understood what was happening outside.
"Ino, get back to your room right away! No, go directly into the clan compound's underground secret passage!" Inoichi said, his face grim. "No matter what you hear, do not come out!"
"...Huh?" Ino hadn't quite registered what was going on.
But Inoichi sternly reprimanded her: "Go, now!"
Ino flinched, startled. Her father's strict scolding made tears well up in her eyes, but she dared not ask any more questions and quickly ran off to the underground passage.
"Phew..."
Watching his daughter's quick departure, Inoichi let out half a sigh of relief, then nervously looked back outside the compound.
"...What a troublesome night!" If he wasn't mistaken, Akainu Uchiha must have guessed that Danzo would bring his Root shinobi to the Yamanaka compound to retrieve the bodies. And what Akainu Uchiha did was simply wait outside the Yamanaka compound, patiently waiting for Danzo to come to him!
He was hunting Danzo Shimura!!!
Inoichi knew that Danzo had previously clashed with Akainu Uchiha. The Hokage himself had intervened to stop that conflict.
"Perhaps... in Akainu Uchiha's 'Absolute Justice,' everyone in Root needs to be purged? This isn't good. I need to inform the Hokage right away."
Inoichi was in a world of pain.
The Trap is Sprung
Danzo's face was as dark as stagnant water, and he felt the already healed wound on his left ear subtly throbbing again. He remembered clearly...
It was Akainu Uchiha who had exposed his secrets to the 'monkey' (Hiruzen), causing him to lose several three-tomoe Sharingan and even forcing him to hand over some Sharingan data to the Hokage.
"You inherently evil Uchiha brat! After what happened last time, you actually dare to appear alone before this old man? Just because you have Lava Release, you think you're invincible? Your Uchiha clan's innate arrogance truly displeases this old man!"
Danzo's sinister eyes blazed with killing intent, and as he spoke, his Root shinobi around him began to stir, eager for action.
Akainu Uchiha's gaze met Danzo's in mid-air.
"I've been waiting for you for over two hours, Danzo-'sama'."
Akainu Uchiha's indifferent tone made Danzo laugh in a fit of rage.
Danzo asked darkly, "Are you deliberately luring this old man into a trap?"
Akainu Uchiha's fingertips were dripping with molten lava, its orange-red glow faintly illuminating half of his profile.
Akainu Uchiha chillingly replied, "How else was I supposed to drag a filthy rat like you out of Konoha's sewers?"
Crack! Several fissures appeared on the ground beneath Danzo's feet. Even though he knew Hiruzen Sarutobi had warned him not to engage in another physical confrontation with Akainu Uchiha, Danzo knew even more clearly that if he didn't kill an Uchiha with such extreme, evil tendencies...
Konoha would never know peace again! And Danzo himself wouldn't be able to sleep a wink!
"Kill him!!!"
He roared.
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