Hearing that, Sakura was just about to breathe a sigh of relief—
When Danzo's next words plunged her straight into an icy abyss.
"…However," Danzo continued, his tone turning sharp and commanding,
"you, Sakura Haruno, must from this day onward join ROOT and serve under me."
"What?!"
Sakura could hardly believe her ears. Her entire body trembled with rage.
"You—! You're going back on your word! I already gave you the item! On what grounds do you still demand that I join ROOT?!"
Danzo let out a cold snort, as if mocking her naivety.
"I said I would release your parents. And I will."
"But as a shinobi of Konoha, obeying the orders of the village leadership is your duty. I am now issuing a command in my capacity as a Konoha elder—join ROOT and contribute your strength to the village's 'roots.'"
"You resist so strongly, refuse to carry out orders… Could it be that you truly intend to defect from Konoha?"
At this, Danzo paused. A vicious gleam flickered in his single eye as his gaze swept over Sakura's captive parents, his voice growing darker and more sinister:
"If that's the case, then your parents—being the immediate family of a missing-nin—can no longer be treated as ordinary civilians."
"Then… they cannot be released."
This brazen distortion of truth—forcefully binding obedience and defection together—completely sealed off every possible path of retreat.
Either submit and join that nauseating organization of darkness—
Or be branded a traitor, dragging her parents down with her.
Sakura shook with fury at such utter shamelessness. She stared at Danzo with eyes full of hatred and forced out the words through clenched teeth:
"You… are truly shameless!!"
Danzo paid no mind to her insult, as if it were nothing more than the wailing of a cornered loser. He sneered and pressed again:
"So then, what is your choice? Swear loyalty to me and join ROOT? Or… choose to 'defect'?"
As he spoke, he once more placed the icy blade firmly against her father's neck. The blood that had just begun to clot was pressed open again, the threat unmistakable.
Sakura stared at the glaring red mark on her father's neck, at the terror and worry she could not miss in her parents' eyes. Boundless rage and hatred burned wildly in her chest.
She bit down hard on her lower lip, nearly drawing blood, and spoke word by word:
"If anything happens to my parents… I swear, even if it takes my entire life, I will kill you!"
Instead of anger, Danzo's eye gleamed brighter, as though he'd seized an even greater pretext.
"So, you are threatening Konoha's leadership? Is this your declaration of 'defection'—and revenge against the village?"
The label of traitor was being forced onto her tighter and tighter.
No way forward. No way back. Only dead ends.
Sakura's breathing grew rapid. Her mind raced, yet she could find no way to break free.
Across the shinobi world, everyone watching felt their hearts clench. They could clearly sense the crushing pressure and despair bearing down on the pink-haired girl.
Just as Sakura was being driven to the brink by Danzo's accusations of "defection," her father, Haruno Kizashi, suddenly struggled violently, muffled sounds escaping his throat.
Danzo frowned in annoyance—but then, as if something occurred to him, a calculating glint flashed through his eye. Instead of stopping it, he smiled.
He motioned for his men to remove the gags and restraints from Haruno Kizashi and Haruno Mebuki.
"Cough—cough…" Kizashi gasped for air.
Danzo sneered. "You'd better advise your daughter wisely. Those who know the times are heroes. Becoming a missing-nin has no future—only damnation for the whole family."
However, Kizashi and Mebuki exchanged a glance.
In that instant, the couple seemed to reach a silent understanding.
Kizashi turned toward his daughter, who was already in tears, her face full of guilt and agony. A gentle smile appeared on his face—soft, apologetic, and full of love.
"Sakura… I'm sorry. Your mother and I… have only caused you trouble."
Sakura shook her head desperately, tears streaming down like broken beads.
"No! It's not like that! It's me—it's my fault! I dragged you into this! I'm the one who's wrong!"
Watching this "touching" scene, Danzo frowned impatiently.
"Enough! Save this nonsense for after you swear loyalty to me. Right now—give me your answer!"
Haruno Mebuki took a deep breath, as if carving her daughter's image permanently into her heart.
She looked at Sakura, her eyes filled with boundless love and aching reluctance, and spoke softly:
"Sakura… from now on, take good care of yourself. Mommy… will always love you."
Sakura froze. A terrible premonition surged up in her chest.
"Mom…? You—"
Before she could finish, Kizashi cut in with a voice firm and resolute, as if casting off a thousand-pound burden:
"How could we… continue to be chains binding our precious daughter?"
"Being used as leverage—that would be true hell!"
His gaze sharpened as it swept over Danzo, filled with deep contempt and a final accusation:
"The Hokage cannot be trusted! This Konoha… is already rotten to the core!"
Before anyone could react—
Before Danzo's shock, before Sakura's terror, before the ROOT operatives or even the entire shinobi world watching through the Sky Screen could process what was happening—
Haruno Kizashi and Haruno Mebuki, two seemingly ordinary civilians with no power whatsoever, used every ounce of strength they had—
And slammed their heads into each other.
Thud!
The sound was dull, not loud—yet it struck every soul like a hammer.
Their bodies collapsed limply to the ground. Blood seeped from their foreheads, quickly staining the floor red.
In their final moment, their gazes remained fixed in their daughter's direction—
With relief.
With boundless love.
And with a final, silent protest against this dark and rotten reality.
Time seemed to freeze.
Danzo's single eye went wide. For the first time, his face showed genuine, undisguised shock and disbelief.
He could never have imagined that these two people—mere insects in his eyes, things to be crushed at will—
Would choose death.
Would use their own lives to shatter his coercion, severing the final chains binding their daughter.
Sakura stood there, staring blankly at her parents' fallen bodies, at the glaring blood on the ground. Her mind went completely blank.
"AAAAAA—!!!"
The resolute, tragic scene on the Sky Screen was like the sharpest kunai, plunging straight into the heart of the real Sakura.
She let out a heart-rending scream, her body jolting upright as if all her strength had been ripped away—yet at the same time ignited by an endless, searing agony.
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