I sat in the rubble between Naruto and Sasuke, trying to slow my breathing.
The Uchiha compound barely looked like itself. Buildings torn, walls leaning at impossible angles. Smoke clung to my clothes and throat. Children cried somewhere behind us, not loud. Just steady. Like they did not know how to stop.
Fugaku. I should have been faster. Stronger. My planning had failed him.
Villagers gathered at the edge, watching. Some pointed toward the Hokage Tower, faces tight with fear. They did not know the truth. They would never know the truth. And neither would I forgive myself.
You forced my hand.
It had happened in broad daylight.
Some had watched from rooftops. Some from the street. They had seen the cloaks. They had seen Danzō.
They had seen enough.
Danzō had stood at Hiruzen's side for years. Fair or not, that weight would roll uphill.
I pushed myself up. My legs shook. I pulled a thin thread of Kurama's chakra through my coils. Just enough to stand straight. No more.
My hands still ached from overchanneling Kurama's chakra. Every movement felt like walking through molasses.
"Naruto," I said, keeping my voice even, "go home and wait for me."
His head snapped up. "You're not coming?"
"I will. I need to speak to the Hokage first."
His mouth pressed into a line, but he nodded.
"Sasuke. Go with him. Stay together. In case any Root shinobi are still moving."
There probably were not. That did not matter. Right now they needed to be with each other.
Sasuke rose without a word. His eyes were rimmed red. The Sharingan had faded, but the strain behind it had not.
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. We'll stick together. You be careful too, Menma."
Sasuke hesitated.
"…Don't take long."
It was quiet. Almost lost in the wind.
"I won't."
I waited until they were halfway down the street. Naruto was already talking too much, filling space that did not want to be filled. Then I formed the seal for Body Flicker.
The courtyard vanished.
Hiruzen sat in his office with his eyes closed. His pipe burned low. The room felt smaller than usual.
He spoke before I did.
"Do you think I was wrong to keep forgiving Danzō?" His voice was steady, but thin. "Was I simply weak?"
"Yes," I said. "To both."
His eyes opened. No anger. Just something tired.
He gave a short, dry laugh. "You are direct."
"You asked."
He studied me. "Why are you here, Menma?"
I sat across from him. The chair felt too large.
"You care about the village," I said. "That was never the problem."
He waited.
"But you let things sit. You believed you could steer Danzō back. You kept giving him room."
I held his gaze.
"People died for that."
The silence pressed in. I could hear noise from the street below. It carried even through the glass.
"What would you have me do?" he asked.
"Step down."
The words did not feel dramatic. Just heavy.
"Name Kakashi as Hokage. He is respected. He listens. He knows loss without letting it hollow him out."
Hiruzen did not look away. "And Itachi?"
"Make him Kakashi's aide. Publicly. Not as a shadow. Let the Uchiha see trust. Let the village see that nothing is being hidden."
I leaned forward.
"If you do not move first, the village will."
He was quiet for a long time.
"You speak as if you have seen this before," he said softly. "Why?"
I shrugged. "I pay attention."
A faint crease formed between his brows.
"And you are certain this is right?"
"No."
That caught him.
"But it keeps us from splitting. Right now everyone can see what was covered. If you pretend nothing broke, it will break worse."
I stood and walked to the window. The crowd had grown. Shinobi tried to hold lines. Civilians pointed toward the tower. Faces were tight with something close to fear.
"It does not matter whether Danzō tried to kill you in the past," I said. "What matters is that people believe you protected him."
Hiruzen joined me at the glass.
"I believed in patience," he said.
"Patience is not the same as indecision."
He closed his eyes once, then opened them.
"I will speak to Kakashi."
There was weight in that.
"And the villagers?"
"I will face them."
We stepped onto the balcony.
The crowd quieted in waves. Hiruzen removed his hat. He did not stand tall. He did not project strength. He just stood.
"I have failed you," he said.
A ripple went through the square.
"I trusted a man who betrayed this village. That failure is mine. The losses suffered today will not be buried."
He did not raise his voice.
"Danzō Shimura is stripped of his position. Root is disbanded. Those who surrender will face judgment. Those who resist will be treated as rogue."
The mood shifted. Not calm. Not yet. But listening.
"And I will begin the process of transferring the title of Hokage."
This time the reaction was louder. Shock more than outrage.
I stepped back inside while he continued. Relief efforts. Patrol rotations. Medical teams. Orders given clearly, without smoke around them.
Jonin were already moving. Civilians were being directed to shelters. Water techniques cut down the last flames. Earth users braced what could be braced.
Nothing was fixed. But it was moving.
Kakashi appeared beside me in a flicker of leaves.
"You move fast," he said.
"We have to."
He watched Hiruzen, then the crowd.
"This will not be simple."
"No," I said.
Below, villagers lifted beams, Uchiha and non-Uchiha alike. Methodical. Calm. I couldn't join them. I'd failed, and no order could fix that.
No one speaking much. Just working. Children were being counted. Wounds were being wrapped.
The smoke was thinning.
My chest felt tight. Not from chakra. From everything else.
We had lost something today. Something that would not come back clean.
But the village was still here. And it was trying.