Blood.
Fire.
Screams that never had the chance to escape.
The Sarutobi clan grounds had become a living hell.
Flames licked at wooden buildings, thick smoke rolling through the night sky. Corpses lay scattered everywhere—some burned beyond recognition, others hacked apart so brutally that it was impossible to tell whose blood soaked the earth.
The stench of iron and charred flesh was overwhelming.
Root members moved through the carnage with indifferent expressions.
They had long since been stripped of emotion through relentless brainwashing. What unfolded before them was neither tragedy nor horror—merely a task to be completed.
Their uniforms were dyed crimson.
Whether it was enemy blood or their own no longer mattered.
In front of Sarutobi Hiruzen's residence, two figures stood quietly.
Shimura Danzo.
Orochimaru.
Arms crossed, expressions cold.
Scenes like this were nothing new to them.
Discomfort?
There was none.
Especially for Orochimaru.
Not only did he feel no revulsion—his eyes gleamed with barely concealed excitement.
So many corpses.
To him, they were far more alluring than the most beautiful women.
"Mm… not bad."
Orochimaru's lips curled upward.
"It seems tonight's operation has come to a perfect conclusion."
"I'll return to the laboratory first."
"The transport of these corpses will be troublesome—I'll leave that to you, Danzo-sama."
"Farewell."
With that, he cast one last glance toward Sarutobi Hiruzen's house.
A flicker passed through his eyes.
He had come here often as a child.
Who would have thought—
That when he returned one day, it would be under such circumstances?
"Hmph."
Orochimaru snorted softly, disdain washing over his face.
"A fragile life has no value in existence."
Then he turned and left without hesitation.
Danzo watched his retreating figure, his gaze flickering.
No one could tell what he was thinking.
After a long while, he murmured to himself.
"…Forget it."
"Orochimaru is already ruined."
"He's stained with too much darkness—he'll never reach the Hokage's seat in this lifetime."
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, you failed."
"You deliberately let Orochimaru get close to me."
"Did you really think I couldn't see your intention—to let him seize Root and replace me as its leader?"
"If Orochimaru fully controlled Root, you would eventually make your move on me… wouldn't you?"
"What a pity."
"Orochimaru is only interested in research."
"He doesn't care about power."
"And tonight—"
"He personally killed so many of your clansmen."
"Will you still dare to treat him as a harmless snake in the future?"
Danzo's eyes narrowed.
"But for me, this is a good thing."
"Though Orochimaru has… certain mental defects, his strength and research ability are precisely what I need right now."
With that thought, Danzo's mood improved considerably.
He immediately ordered Root to clean the battlefield and collect the corpses, then turned and left the Sarutobi clan grounds.
Yes.
Tonight, he had only two objectives.
First—
To teach Sarutobi Hiruzen a lesson.
To severely weaken the Sarutobi clan so that future 'cooperation' would be far more obedient.
Second—
Orochimaru.
Danzo needed to use him, but he did not trust him.
After all, Orochimaru's connection to Root still carried Sarutobi Hiruzen's shadow.
So tonight—
This had also been a test.
Only by forcing Orochimaru to personally stain his hands with blood could Danzo truly feel at ease.
Fortunately—
Orochimaru had passed.
Which meant Danzo could trust him more going forward.
Now that everything was settled, there was no reason to remain.
Five minutes later, as Danzo walked out of the Sarutobi clan grounds, he paused and looked back.
The lush forest was calm.
Peaceful.
As if nothing had happened.
Of course—
It was all fake.
A large-scale sealing technique had been deployed to conceal everything from the village.
Otherwise, if something happened to the Sarutobi clan while the Hokage was away, the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance and other loyalists would have gone mad trying to stop it.
Such sealing techniques were nothing unusual.
In the original plans—
The Uchiha had been meant to experience the same fate.
Otherwise, how could an entire clan be exterminated without the village noticing?
Only now—
What was meant for the Uchiha had been used on the Sarutobi clan instead.
The wheel of fate truly turned in circles.
…
Early morning.
Yamanaka Haichi sat slumped in his office chair, utterly exhausted.
His head throbbed violently.
Last night—
Root had gone completely insane.
He wiped out one group of attackers, only for another to rush in immediately after.
Endless.
Relentless.
Because he couldn't grasp Danzo's true objective, Haichi didn't dare to press too hard, afraid of falling into a hidden trap.
So he could only defend passively.
Still—
One night had passed.
Although Danzo's intentions were still unclear, the village hadn't suffered catastrophic losses.
Even if the Hokage returned, this could barely be explained.
"Not bad… not bad…"
Haichi muttered weakly.
"It was close, but it's finally over."
"But this makes no sense."
"What exactly was Danzo trying to do?"
"Last night was far too anticlimactic."
"Important departments were attacked, fires broke out everywhere, yet Root gained nothing."
"What was the point?"
He rubbed his temples.
"…Forget it."
"I'll leave this headache to Shikaku."
"Better no merit than fatal mistakes."
Just as he relaxed slightly—
The office door slammed open.
An ANBU shinobi rushed in, panic written all over his body.
"Captain Haichi—something terrible has happened!"
"The Sarutobi clan has suffered massive casualties!"
"According to preliminary statistics, at least half of their shinobi were killed or seriously injured!"
"Our investigation found no signs of battle or distress signals last night."
"They were likely enveloped by a special large-scale sealing technique!"
"The Sarutobi clan is in complete chaos right now!"
"All major ninja clans and civilian shinobi have already gathered there!"
"This matter… this is too big!"
"You need to go see it yourself!"
Haichi froze.
His mind went completely blank.
…The Sarutobi clan?
Danzo's true target—
Was the Sarutobi clan?!
The world spun.
His vision darkened, and he nearly collapsed.
Damn it.
This was a disaster.
An absolute disaster.
How was he supposed to explain this?
At that moment—
Another ANBU rushed in and dropped to one knee.
"Captain—bad news!"
"The Zhuan and Mito clans report that the two elders, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, were found dead in their homes this morning!"
"We've examined the scenes."
"Assassination—without a doubt."
Haichi's heart sank straight into the abyss.
The elders were dead.
The Sarutobi clan was butchered.
And the Hokage—
Wasn't even in the village.
At that moment, Yamanaka Haichi finally understood.
Danzo hadn't failed.
He had succeeded completely.
And Konoha—
Was about to be thrown into unprecedented chaos.
To read the full FanFic, head over to Patreon:
patreon.com/WhiteDevil7554