At this time, Danzo had not yet transplanted the First Hokage's cells from Orochimaru, but his right eye had already been implanted with Uchiha Kagami's Sharingan.
After all, eye transplantation was not particularly difficult. Even ordinary medical-nin had a high success rate with such surgeries.
Danzo's eyelids twitched violently as Kagami's Sharingan spun in his right eye—but he could do nothing with it.
Now he finally understood. He understood why Root operatives died so easily, and why even the Third Mizukage had fallen at Ryoma's hands.
Because Ryoma was simply too strong.
Genjutsu had no effect on him.
And the wooden roots binding Danzo immobilized him completely, while continuously draining his chakra.
"Danzo, you deserve to die! You actually stole the Sharingan of our Uchiha clan—Kagami-senpai's eye, no less!"
Everyone froze, stunned, then turned toward Danzo with disgust.
Uchiha Kagami, hailed as one of the twin prodigies of his generation alongside Hiruzen Sarutobi, had tragically died of illness at the young age of 25.
So when had this eye been taken?
Could it be… Danzo had desecrated Kagami's grave?
The Uchiha were trembling with rage. Blood seeped from the corners of their eyes as their Sharingan flared open.
But when one of them met Danzo's gaze, he coughed blood and collapsed in an instant. Kagami's Sharingan was too powerful.
"Return the Uchiha clan's Sharingan!" the man roared before fainting.
"Instant Master!"
With grief and fury, Uchiha Fugaku turned toward the Hokage.
"Naruto-sama, what is going on?! Who will explain this to the Uchiha clan?!"
"Danzo… how did you become like this?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his old comrade bound in wooden roots, tears falling from the corners of his eyes.
When they were young, Danzo had said: "You are the sunlight that shines upon the village. I will be the root hidden in darkness."
But this—this was no root.
This was poison.
Hiruzen's eyes hardened. Raising the Enma – Adamantine Staff, he brought it down toward Danzo's head with all his strength.
This strike carried all of his conviction.
To personally end his old friend's life—this was the final mercy Hiruzen could grant him.
"I'll see you off… all the way."
Danzo, watching the staff fall, suddenly smiled.
"Hiruzen… so you've finally resolved to kill me!"
"Izanagi!"
The forbidden Uchiha technique activated, inscribed into Kagami's Sharingan.
For a short time, all injuries—including death itself—would be reduced to illusion, while only favorable outcomes for the caster became reality. But at the cost, the eye would lose its light forever.
BOOM!
Hiruzen's staff crushed Danzo into pulp, leaving only blood and debris. The shockwave leveled surrounding houses, scattering tiles and bricks.
For a moment, it seemed the end had come.
But then the mangled flesh reformed into Danzo once more.
Everyone recoiled in horror.
"What—?!"
Danzo sneered and exhaled a blade of wind.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
The attack cut through the air with terrifying force, slicing toward Hiruzen.
"Naruto-sama, be careful!" ANBU shouted.
Hiruzen tried to evade with the Body Flicker Technique, but he was a fraction too slow—the wind blade carved a deep gash across his face. Blood sprayed, covering half his face in crimson.
"Danzo!" Hiruzen roared, clutching the wound.
But the vacuum wave didn't stop—it cut straight toward the shinobi gathered behind him: chūnin and genin alike.
Panic swept through the ranks.
Ryoma stepped forward.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
Several layers of wooden barriers rose to intercept the slicing winds. Layer after layer was destroyed until, at the final wall, the technique dissipated.
Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh of relief, then glared at Danzo.
Biting his thumb, Danzo slammed his palm onto the ground.
A summoning seal spread rapidly across the dirt.
"Summoning Technique!"
Smoke burst forth, and with a thunderous rumble, a massive beast appeared.
It had the head of an elephant, clawed limbs, and a bandaged forehead mirroring Danzo's own.
"This is Danzo's summoned beast… Baku!"
The beast roared, the sound deafening, then inhaled violently, sucking everything toward its gaping maw.
"Everyone, get down!" Hiruzen ordered.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
Ryoma formed seals, and a massive wooden dragon erupted from the ground, lunging at the tapir.
The summon countered—
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
The wooden dragon was sliced apart, but immediately regenerated into two dragons, wrapping around the tapir's body.
Gasps echoed. Ryoma had subdued the monstrous summon in seconds.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen, bleeding and weakened, could only bark orders. The ANBU glanced at him uneasily—their faith wavering.
Danzo used the distraction to flee, his tapir roaring in defiance as he escaped into the night.
"After him!" ANBU shouted, chasing.
But Danzo unleashed more Vacuum Waves, faster and deadlier than before, shredding everything in his path—trees, houses, boulders—reduced to rubble as dust clouds rose.
Hiruzen shook with rage. "Why won't you die, Danzo?!"
Just as Danzo reached the edge of the village and approached the Forest of Death—
A golden flash descended from the sky.
"Danzo! Did you think Izanagi would let you escape?!"
"Shimura Danzo, stop right there!"
It was Minato Namikaze—the Yellow Flash.
In an instant, trees toppled as Minato's figure flickered through the forest, closing the distance.
Danzo grit his teeth, chakra running low from his flight. Even his tapir was left behind.
The sound of kunai cutting air reached his ears.
"Tch! Flying Thunder God… so that's your plan."
Danzo knew immediately what Minato was doing. As Tobirama's student, he was well aware of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He saw the marked kunai and instantly understood.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Countless blades of wind surged forward, drowning out Minato's marked kunai in a storm of destruction.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
For a moment, the clouds above swirled, and the entire forest was shredded by countless Vacuum Waves.
Every kunai in their path was severed midair.
As trees toppled one after another, Danzo noticed that Minato Namikaze—the Yellow Flash—had been delayed, and a confident smile spread across his face. Without hesitation, he turned and sprinted away.
"Hunt me down? You're far too green for that!"
But the moment Danzo turned, he froze. His body stiffened, and his eyes widened in shock.
Ryoma stood directly in front of him.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet!"
Danzo unleashed a rapid-fire barrage, spewing compressed bullets of wind chakra like a machine gun, blasting holes into the landscape.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
But Ryoma's form vanished.
Danzo's face twisted in frustration.
"Such speed… that's an instantaneous technique?!"
At that moment, the sharp screech of birds echoed behind him—like a thousand shrill cries tearing through the air.
Ryoma's figure appeared at his back.
Danzo turned just in time to see the blinding glow of lightning reflected in his pupils, his pale face bathed in electric blue.
"No… it's—Flying Thunder God…?"
Before he could react, Ryoma's right hand—crackling with lightning—thrust forward.
Squelch!
The lightning blade pierced Danzo's chest, ripping straight through his heart.
A spray of blood erupted from Danzo's mouth. His eyes filled with rage, hatred, disbelief—and a trace of regret.
He regretted not striking Ryoma himself on that fateful day, instead sending Root operatives.
If only I had gone personally… maybe the outcome would have been different.
The light in his eyes dimmed.
"…What ninjutsu… is this…?"
"Lightning Release: Chidori."
Before the words fully left him, Danzo's body went limp.
The darkness of Konoha had finally fallen.
Ryoma pulled his arm free. Danzo's corpse slumped lifelessly to the ground.
A thunderous crash echoed behind them as collapsing trees gave way. From the dust and debris, a golden flash emerged—Minato had arrived.
"Ryoma!"
Minato's eyes widened at the sight of Danzo's corpse. He was shocked. How could Ryoma have been faster than him?
"Minato," Ryoma said calmly, "bring the body back."
Minato blinked, then nodded. "Yes!"
But as he bent down, realization struck. Wait—why am I always the one carrying the body back for him? This isn't the first time…
"Ryoma—" he started to say.
But Ryoma had already vanished into the night.
"…Tch."
Minato sighed, looked down at Danzo's body, and took it with him.
When Ryoma returned to Konoha, ANBU were already rounding up members of the Shimura, Utatane, and Mitokado clans.
Seeing Ryoma approach, they saluted with deep respect.
"Lord Ryoma!"
"Lord Ryoma…"
Even the passing shinobi stopped to bow, their eyes full of awe.
Nearby, Tsunade was treating Hiruzen Sarutobi's wounds. She couldn't help but marvel.
Since when has Ryoma been treated with such reverence?
Hiruzen noticed Ryoma had returned empty-handed. His heart stirred with conflicting emotions. Could it be Danzo had escaped again?
He had loved and hated Danzo in equal measure. Once, they were brothers-in-arms—light and shadow, complementing each other under the Second Hokage. But somewhere along the way, Danzo had changed. Darkness had consumed him.
And yet, part of Hiruzen had still hoped Ryoma wouldn't kill him.
But when Minato returned, carrying Danzo's corpse, Hiruzen's chest tightened. His breath caught. Danzo was truly dead.
"…So be it."
He exhaled heavily.
"Announce it to the village: Shimura Danzo betrayed Konoha. His crimes were unforgivable. He has been executed by Ryoma."
"The Shimura, Mitokado, and Utatane clans will be thoroughly investigated. Their leaders will be detained for interrogation. Ryoma—you will oversee this matter."
Tsunade raised a brow, surprised. So the old man is not only easing unrest in the village—he's also openly elevating Ryoma's prestige. At this rate… his influence could rival even us, the Legendary Sannin. And it's only been a few days…
Still, she had no objections. Ryoma was Senju, and she would support him wholeheartedly.
Far away, atop the Hokage Rock, a lone figure watched silently.
The three tomoe of his Sharingan spun lazily.
Uchiha Madara.
He had observed everything, but chose not to interfere.
"Danzo… what a worthless man. So full of malice, yet with no true strength to back it."
"And Hiruzen… wishing to imitate Hashirama's benevolence, yet he does not even understand what benevolence is."
His words lingered in the air, and then his form melted into the darkness.
That night, in the deepest chamber of the ANBU compound, Hiruzen sat alone before Danzo's corpse. The guards stood far away, not daring to approach.
Clutching a jug of sake, Hiruzen whispered:
"Danzo… you truly deserved to die."
"But what use is it, saying this now?"
"We're old… perhaps it's time to step aside for the young."
He poured a cup, splashed it onto the ground before Danzo's body, then drained his own in a single gulp before leaving.
Later, Ryoma was approached by Uzumaki Mito.
"Ryoma, the collapse of the three great clans and Danzo's death may bring relief—but it has also deeply shaken the Third Hokage. He is filled with remorse. Today, he personally discussed with the heads of the thirty-five allied families… and intends to delegate the Hokage's powers."
"He wishes to gradually pass the burden to the next generation."
"Even now, a delegation from Kumogakure is on its way. The task of receiving them will fall to you."
"This will cement your position. And when the time comes for the Third Hokage to abdicate… it will be you who ascends to the seat of Hokage."
...
TN:
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