Chapter 5:
"No..." Naruto screamed and charged forward, but having not even mastered the basic Three Academy Jutsu, with his greatest trump card still sealed, he posed no threat whatsoever.
Yasushi sidestepped easily, letting Naruto's fist pass harmlessly by. A casual chop to the back of Naruto's neck knocked him unconscious. Then Yasushi raised his blade once more.
Moments later, corpses littered the ground, resembling the Uchiha compound on massacre night.
"Hehe... haha...HAHAAHAHAHAHHA"
Yasushi covered his face with one hand, laughing maniacally at the sky. His laughter sounded like weeping, and his eyes involuntarily transformed into their Mangekyo pattern, blood-red and terrible.
Yes! This is it!
This is what revenge should be!
Well, Third Hokage, let's put this on the scales!
Your grandson on one side, your old friend on the other. Let's see which weighs heavier to you!
After his wild laughter subsided, Yasushi felt only emptiness inside. Not the slightest satisfaction.
He gently touched the scroll in his coat containing his parents' and brother's sealed bodies. After a moment of silence, he grabbed Naruto and launched himself toward the Land of Rain.
Well, Nagato, didn't you always want to collect the Tailed Beasts?
Now I'm delivering a gift. Are you prepared to receive it?
And Itachi, you bitch, I'm coming for you!
---
The sun set, the moon rose, stars shifted across the heavens.
Several hours later, the abnormality was finally discovered.
The Nine-Tails jinchuriki missing, the Third's grandson murdered—
Within moments, Konoha's important figures gathered at the scene.
"Morino Ibiki, I'm counting on you."
Morino Ibiki quickly bowed in acceptance. "Please rest assured, Hokage-sama. I will definitely discover which village's enemies dared attack us!"
The Third said nothing more, merely waving Ibiki away with a dark expression before drawing deeply on his pipe, exhaling clouds of smoke.
Ibiki's memory extraction from the deceased required time, so Homura Mitokado spoke first: "Regardless of which village did this, it's a provocation against Konoha!"
"They dared attack the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, clearly declaring war on the Leaf Village!"
"This time, Konoha will not compromise!"
Everyone echoed agreement.
"Exactly. The enemy village must have learned about the Uchiha massacre and thinks our strength is greatly diminished. Otherwise they'd never dare provoke us like this!"
"We cannot let other villages look down on us, or the Fourth Great Ninja War will erupt immediately!"
Shimura Danzo added ominously: "Hiruzen, I told you long ago—the Nine-Tails jinchuriki should be firmly controlled by the village, not left wandering freely outside."
"After recovering the jinchuriki this time, we must place him under Root's supervision!"
The Third was already irritated enough without his old friend adding fuel to the fire. Rage instantly exploded.
He glared at Danzo, gripping his pipe until it creaked, growling lowly: "Danzo!"
"Now is not the time for your power struggles!"
"The Nine-Tails jinchuriki is not something you can carelessly reach for. You'd better remember that firmly!"
During their argument, Morino Ibiki finished examining the deceased's memories and returned to report: "Hokage-sama, there was only one assailant, dressed as ANBU. He first impersonated your orders to assign Konohamaru and the others a mission, luring the Nine-Tails jinchuriki outside the village before suddenly ambushing and kidnapping him."
"The killer's appearance and build matched Kakashi exactly. Also, um..." He hesitated, his gaze flashing quickly toward Danzo before lowering his head. "The killer said, 'The Nine-Tails jinchuriki should be firmly controlled by the village, not left wandering freely outside.'"
Good grief!
Everyone instinctively turned to look at Danzo.
Those words were still ringing in the air!
However, everyone only glanced once before turning away, pretending not to hear.
Now it was Danzo's turn to be dumbfounded. He angrily struck his cane, glaring furiously: "This is a frame-up!"
"This was definitely done by another village!"
No one spoke, everyone lowering their heads to count ants on the ground.
Village affairs were complicated indeed.
Frame-ups were one thing, but what if... it was real?
"Danzo stays. Everyone else, dismissed!" The Third ordered coldly, his tone flat.
Swoosh!—Almost instantly, everyone vanished.
Gentlemen don't linger beneath dangerous walls. What came next wasn't something they were qualified to overhear.
They only needed to wait for the Hokage to determine the official narrative.
"Hiruzen, surely you won't be so easily manipulated?" Danzo glared at the Third, his eyes full of grievance and indignation.
"Hmph!" The Third snorted coldly, drawing deeply on his pipe before exhaling slowly. White smoke rose like a dragon, veiling his facial expression in swirling mist, impossible to read.
"Danzo, I know you too well!"
"I'm fully aware of what you'll do to achieve your goals!"
"I've always indulged you before, but this time you've gone too far!"
"Konohamaru was just a child. How could you bring yourself to do it!"
The Third's eyes reddened slightly, but compared to his grandson, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki's importance still took precedence.
A fierce light flashed in his eyes as he finally displayed some authority.
"Danzo, you'd better honestly hand over the Nine-Tails jinchuriki. Otherwise, I won't let you off so easily this time."
Now Danzo panicked, hurriedly explaining: "Hiruzen, you know me!"
"If I'd done something like this, I'd definitely disguise it as a foreign village's shinobi. Why would I directly use Root personnel and disguise them as Kakashi, as if afraid people wouldn't recognize them?"
Hearing this made the Third even angrier. "You've always been narrow-minded, deeply hating betrayers."
"Last time you tried to assassinate me, Kakashi betrayed you at the critical moment, making you completely lose the chance to become Hokage. How could you not hate him?"
"Although everyone knows this killer was definitely impersonating Kakashi, the necessary investigation and review are indispensable. If you interfere again, this might become another repeat of Sakumo Hatake's story!"
This was what reputation meant.
Danzo stood speechless. He wanted to explain, but even he found his own words weak and unconvincing.
Because this incident aligned perfectly with his desires—something he wanted to do but hadn't yet acted upon.
Could it be that one of my subordinates read my intentions and proactively resolved my troubles?
Seeing Danzo fall silent, his gaze wandering, the Third's anger intensified. He immediately waved his hand, summoning an ANBU and ordering: "Relay my command. Effective immediately, Elder Shimura Danzo is ordered to confine himself for self-reflection and is forbidden from leaving."
"Also, have..." He hesitated before selecting someone clever to handle this. "Have Nara Shikaku lead a team to search Root. The Nine-Tails jinchuriki must be recovered!"
"Yes!" The ANBU saluted and vanished.
Seeing the Third's determination, Danzo knew all was lost. He stopped wasting words, merely striking his cane heavily before turning to leave, calling out resentfully: "Hiruzen, you will regret this!"
The Third's gaze followed Danzo's departure with profound depth, saying nothing, only continuously smoking, his thoughts unknowable.