After examining Danzō's corpse and confirming his death, Mizuki casually removed his right eye.
"Why is it just an ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan? Could Danzō have anticipated his own death and hidden Shisui's eye beforehand?"
Mizuki didn't know that Hiruzen had already taken Shisui's eye.
He stood up, studying Danzō's corpse, "If I sell his body to the Exchange Office, it should fetch quite a bit of money, right?"
Unfortunately, the storage ring was full. Besides, he wasn't short on funds.
"Let's go. We'll rescue your companions. After you say goodbye to them, you'll come with me and leave Konoha."
From Daisuke's account, Mizuki learned that the orphanage prisoners were locked in a cell inside the cave, guarded by two young men.
Inside the cave, at the cell entrance, two young men wearing crop tops looked bewildered.
"Brother Shin, the curse mark on my tongue is gone. Does this mean…?" The black-haired youth stuck out his tongue.
He was none other than Sai.
At this time, Shin and Sai had not yet officially joined the Root. They had not yet undergone the final test, and their emotions had not yet been erased.
Because all the Root ninja had been taken away by Hiruzen and Danzō had no one available, he had summoned Shin and Sai — who were still in training — to guard the cell.
Shin said, "Lord Danzō himself placed the curse mark. Since it has disappeared, it means he's dead."
Sai: "If Lord Danzō is dead, won't the Root be disbanded?"
But Shin smiled, "For us, this is a good thing."
Sai's eyes widened in disbelief, "A good thing?"
Shin nodded, cheering inwardly, "A good thing!"
As the older brother, Shin was more mature and understood more. He had long known that he and Sai would eventually have to kill each other. The survivor would completely lose all emotion and become a killing tool that only obeyed Danzō's commands.
But his love for his younger brother meant he could never bring himself to harm Sai. This was why, in the anime, Shin chose to die willingly — his love for his brother intact — rather than kill Sai and live on without emotion.
"Brother Shin, what should we do now?" Sai asked.
Shin was confused by this question too.
Yes, with Danzō dead, what should they do now?
"From now on, why don't you follow me!"
The voice that suddenly sounded behind them startled them both.
"Who are you?" Shin immediately drew his long sword and shielded Sai behind him.
Another brother complex!
"I'm Mizuki, also a Konoha ninja — well, about to become a missing-nin." Mizuki stood not far from them with Daisuke, "I killed Danzō, so I'm your benefactor. I freed you from the grip of fate. Come with me and leave Konoha."
Sai said, "You killed Lord Danzō, making you our enemy. You want us to defect with you? That's absolutely impossible."
But Shin said, "Can you really take us away from Konoha?"
Sai stared wide-eyed at him, asking in disbelief, "Brother Shin, why…?"
Shin said, "Sai, whether you believe it or not, I have to tell you — Konoha is not worth our loyalty."
Mizuki looked at him with approval. He hadn't expected this young man to have already seen through Konoha's darkness, "Sai, you probably don't know that if Danzō hadn't died, your brother would have died soon."
Sai said, "My brother is fine. Why would he die?"
Mizuki explained, "Those cultivated by the Root must have no emotions — they become specialized killing tools. To erase people's emotions, Danzō uses extremely cruel methods. He arranged for you and your brother Shin to live together from childhood, developing very deep feelings.
But soon, he would order the two of you to kill each other. Your brother, unable to bear killing you, would willingly die at your hands. After killing your dearest brother with your own hands, your emotions would be completely sealed off. You'd become a killing tool devoid of feeling."
Sai's eyes widened. His fists clenched tight.
He muttered, "Impossible. Absolutely impossible."
Mizuki said, "Whether it's possible or not, just ask your brother."
Sai couldn't help but look at Shin.
Shin nodded, "It's just as he said. Several years ago, I discovered the Root's cultivation methods. Since then, I've prepared myself to die at your hands."
Sai's face instantly turned pale, though his eyes became fierce.
"It's alright now. Danzō is dead. We're free." Shin quickly patted his shoulder. He turned to Mizuki, "I'm willing to follow you and leave Konoha. However, can you guarantee Sai's safety? Missing-nin face endless pursuit."
Mizuki looked at Shin but nodded toward Sai, "Aren't you going to ask his opinion?"
Sai said quickly, "Wherever brother goes, I'll go."
A smile finally appeared on Mizuki's face, "Don't worry. My strength isn't weak. Taking you two to establish yourselves in the ninja world won't be difficult."
Today was his lucky day — not only had he killed Danzō, but he'd also gained two potential disciples with decent qualifications.
Although his disciple quota was full and he couldn't obtain teaching returns from them for now, it didn't matter. He'd take them with him first.
'After leaving Konoha, I'll find a small country to establish a ninja village and become its Kage. Then I'll promote Naruto, Sasuke, and Daisuke directly to Chūnin — no exams needed. That will increase the system's disciple quota.'
The plan was perfect!
There was no reason it couldn't work.
Meanwhile, outside the cave, three patrolling ANBU members passed by and discovered Danzō's corpse.
"It's Elder Danzō!"
They approached the body. After one glance, an ANBU announced, "He's already dead."
"I'll take the body back to Lord Third. The killer might still be inside the cave. You two guard here, but don't act rashly — just watch from the shadows."
The squad leader crouched down to lift Danzō's corpse onto his back. Suddenly, he noticed something — white granulation tissue was moving in Danzō's chest wound, repairing itself at an extraordinary speed.
Danzō had Hashirama cells implanted in his body, giving him powerful vitality.
"He's not completely dead! Maybe he can still be saved."
The squad leader carried the body and raced toward the village at top speed. His two teammates exchanged glances and quickly hid in the shadows.
When Mizuki emerged from the cave with his group, Danzō's corpse was gone. He immediately used Echolocation to scan the surroundings and detected the two ANBU hidden in the shadows.
The two ANBU realized it was Mizuki and sensed trouble immediately. They already knew he was capable of sensing techniques. His strength was far beyond what they could handle.
Their first reaction was to flee!
Mizuki didn't move, letting the two escape. Though he wasn't exactly a good person, he had a clear sense of right and wrong. His feuds were with Hiruzen and Danzō. The other Konoha ninjas had done nothing to him, so there was no need to hunt them down.
As for those who died in the Hokage Building explosion — blame Hiruzen. That old man had dragged them down.
"Go back to the orphanage. Don't worry — with Danzō dead, no one will harm you now." After sending off the orphanage children, Mizuki turned to Sai, "Your Super Beast Scroll can draw birds, right?"
Sai asked in surprise, "How do you know that?"
Mizuki: "Never mind. Take Shin and Daisuke and fly out of Konoha. Head west and wait for me at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain. I still have business to handle. I'll meet you within five days."
Konoha had no ninjas who could fly — unless Might Guy opened the Eight Gates. So leaving by air would be very safe.
Sai took out a scroll and brush, quickly drew three large birds, and the three mounted them, soaring into the sky. In the blink of an eye, only Mizuki remained outside the cave.
His figure rose as well, stepping on air as he flew toward the Hokage Rock.
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At that moment, Hiruzen had already seen Danzō's "corpse".
"This wound was caused by a Rasengan. Mizuki made his move against Danzō."
Hiruzen's expression shifted as he realized something was wrong. Mizuki had struck directly at a village elder. Such a brazen move clearly meant he already knew about the village's plans to kill him and intended to strike first.
"This is bad!"
Hiruzen had considered all of Mizuki's abilities and prepared targeted tactics, just waiting for him to fall into the trap. But he never imagined things would take such a drastic turn.
"Damn that Danzō, useless fool!"
Just then, an ANBU reported, "Third Hokage, sir, the Barrier Team reports that three people have left Konoha from the air. Also, Mizuki is flying toward the Hokage Building."
Hiruzen's eyes widened, "Quick, get to the Hokage Building immediately. We cannot allow Mizuki to cause any more damage to it."
When he arrived at the Hokage Building, he saw Mizuki suspended high in the air above.
Mizuki held an unconscious child in his hands, looking down at the old man with a smile.
The child was none other than Hiruzen's grandson, Konohamaru!
"Mizuki, what do you think you're doing? Release Konohamaru at once!" With his only grandson in enemy hands, Hiruzen panicked.
At such a height, he couldn't rescue him even if he wanted to. Ninjutsu might reach that high, but with Konohamaru in Mizuki's grasp, who would dare attack?
"Third Hokage, I actually had quite a favorable impression of Konoha. But you've repeatedly tried to kill me — framing me, assassination attempts, poisoning, even trying to use Zabuza and the Akatsuki against me. Such effort! Since that's how it is, I can't be bothered to stay in Konoha any longer. Today, I'm defecting."
Mizuki took out a kunai and slashed it across his headband, announcing himself as a missing-nin before all of Konoha.
"To thank you for your past hospitality, I'll give you two great gifts today. Here's the first."
He looked toward the Hokage Rock, raised his right hand above his head with palm facing upward, formed a Rasenshuriken, and hurled it at the monument.
Boom!!
Before everyone's eyes, the stone carvings from the First through Fourth Hokage collapsed with a thunderous crash.
"The second gift is this grandson of yours."
Hiruzen shouted, "Mizuki, if you dare harm a child, there will be no place in the entire ninja world where you can hide!"
Mizuki laughed, "Don't worry, I won't kill him. On the contrary, I'll take him with me, make him my disciple, and teach him all kinds of ninjutsu. Then I'll send him back to destroy your beloved Konoha Village. Hahaha!"
Amid his laughter, he took Konohamaru and flew east.
"Pffft!" Overcome with rage, Hiruzen spat out blood. He could only watch helplessly as Mizuki departed, powerless to stop him.
Flying beyond the barrier, Mizuki looked back at the prosperous Konoha with a cold smile.
"Heh, trust me — when you find out I've also taken Naruto and Sasuke with me, you'll be spitting up a lot more blood."
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
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Take a look at the new books I'm translating on my profile, Cyberpunk 2077: A God-Level Skill Every Day and Infinite Worlds: Building the Strongest Harem!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)