The sky above Konoha crackled with fading thunder.
For several long seconds, the world glowed white — lightning lingering in the clouds like a scar across the heavens. To the villagers watching from rooftops and streets, it felt as if day and night had briefly traded places.
"…That's terrifying…"
"…That's the Fourth Hokage…"
"No wonder he's Hokage…"
Many shielded their eyes, half-expecting another explosion.
Then the storm quieted.
Silence fell.
When the smoke and steam finally cleared, what lay inside the barrier stunned everyone.
The Sarutobi and Shimura compounds…
were gone.
Where homes, streets, and clan banners once stood, only scorched earth remained. The devastation was absolute — a clean erasure carved into the landscape.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then—
"Hiruzen…!" Danzō croaked.
He staggered forward, eyes wide, voice trembling.
His gaze darted wildly across the empty wasteland.
"This isn't possible… where is he?!"
He turned to Ryuji, fury and desperation warring in his expression.
Ryuji regarded him calmly… then gestured toward the blackened ground.
"He's everywhere."
The meaning struck like a blade.
Danzō's strength left him.
He sank to his knees, shoulders slumping, eyes hollow. Even with all his schemes, all his stolen power, he understood what that strike meant.
There had been no survival.
No escape.
The clans were gone.
Hiruzen was gone.
And with them, everything Danzō had fought for.
He sat there, stunned into silence.
Ryuji met Sakumo's eyes and gave a small nod.
The White Fang moved like lightning.
A single clean arc.
And Danzō — Konoha's shadow — fell.
The barrier hummed softly around them, then faded as the storm clouds dispersed.
Ryuji exhaled.
The internal crisis that had poisoned Konoha for decades… was over.
"Minato," he said quietly, "organize cleanup and reconstruction. We rebuild immediately."
"Understood."
With that, Ryuji returned to the Hokage Tower to resume governance. There was still work to do — a village to stabilize, a future to secure.
A Different Kind of Relief
Not long after, the office doors burst open.
Tsunade strode in — flushed, energized — with Orochimaru following at a casual pace.
Before Ryuji could react, Tsunade grabbed him in a fierce embrace.
"You were incredible!" she declared.
Ryuji sputtered, half-laughing, half-protesting.
"Tsunade — air — I need air!"
She released him with a grin, pride written all over her face. To her, this wasn't just politics — it was vengeance fulfilled, a wound of the Senju finally acknowledged.
And then—
"What's going on here?!"
A familiar fiery voice cut through the room.
Uzumaki Kushina stood in the doorway, eyes blazing, red hair practically crackling with energy.
Ryuji straightened instantly.
"Nothing! Just… enthusiastic congratulations!"
Kushina narrowed her eyes, suspicious — but after a tense beat, she relented with a huff.
Tsunade smirked, clearly amused, then waved and left. Orochimaru followed, lips curved in quiet entertainment.
Once alone, Ryuji spent the next few minutes smoothing things over with Kushina — a delicate negotiation that ended with her mood restored.
He leaned back afterward with a quiet sigh.
Peace in the village was one thing.
Peace at home was another battlefield entirely.
Preparing for What Comes Next
With Sarutobi and Shimura eliminated, Konoha stood unified — but Ryuji knew stability alone wasn't enough.
In three months, the Hokage Chat Group would activate the World Leaderboard.
He intended to be at the top.
The next morning, he turned to Minato.
"Send word. I want Uchiha Fugaku here."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
The Uchiha Summons
At the Uchiha compound, an ANBU messenger delivered the order.
"The Fourth Hokage requests your presence."
Fugaku nodded slowly.
"I'll come immediately."
After the messenger departed, he stood in thought.
Mikoto approached, reading the tension in his posture.
"Any idea what this is about?"
Fugaku shook his head.
"No… but whatever happens next matters."
As clan head, he understood the stakes.
The future of the Uchiha — perhaps even their place in the new order — would be decided in the conversation ahead.
And he intended to walk into that meeting prepared.
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