*Swish, swish, swish...*
Five figures landed one after another on the ruins of Root. Their eyes fell on the towering giant tree dominating the shattered landscape. Four of them instinctively turned their eyes toward Tenzo.
Tenzo shook his head slightly and said, "No one in Root can use such a powerful Wood-style—not even me. If nothing unexpected happened, it must be the person Anbu has been gathering intelligence on."
Uchiha Yun, who had just joined this small gathering today, didn't fully understand what Tenzo meant. But he could guess that the person Tenzo referred to was likely the clone—Sora.
Namikaze Minato stood nearby, silent but visibly tense, his gaze sharp and contemplative.
'Uzumaki Sora...?'
'Flying Thunder God, Wood-style, and that chilling chakra just now—are those his possessed abilities?'
Even as the Fourth Hokage, the one entrusted with protecting the village, Minato didn't want to provoke Uzumaki Sora unnecessarily. From what he could tell, Root had already ceased to exist. The only unknown was Danzo's fate...
*BOOM!*
A massive tree pushed aside the collapsed rubble. A thick branch emerged, rising into the sky as it dragged up the unscathed Uzumaki Sora.
"Hey? You all got here fast. So lively today, huh?" he said with a smirk, casually looking around.
Minato ignored the light-hearted tone and frowned. "Did you do all this? Where's Shimura Danzo? Did you kill him too?"
Sora spread his arms dramatically. "Dead. To make sure that old dog doesn't revive again, I chopped him into pieces and burned him to ashes with Fire-style."
He scratched his head, glancing at the crumbling wreckage. "Good luck finding him. A landslide just happened. Even I'm not sure where his remains ended up."
"Is he really dead...?" Minato muttered, his frown deepening. "Uzumaki Sora, if you killed a high-ranking Konoha official, you'll be hunted down. I didn't want to fight you."
Sora clearly understood the warning—it was a suggestion to disappear before the official warrant came.
But—
*Swish!*
Three more figures appeared on the ruins, accompanied by several guards. One of them stepped forward with intensity burning in his eyes.
Sarutobi Hiruzen.
His voice thundered. "Where is Danzo?!"
Sora pointed lazily toward the ruins. "I chopped that old dog into pieces and incinerated him with Fire-style. He tried reviving himself several times using Uchiha's Izanagi. Real pain in the ass."
"You bastard!!"
Hiruzen slammed his hand to the ground.
*Poof!*
With a burst of smoke, the Monkey King Enma appeared beside him.
Seeing the colossal tree and the figure floating above it, Enma asked solemnly, "Hiruzen... is that really Wood-style?"
Sora waved cheerfully. "Hey! Don't get so worked up... Who knows? Maybe next time I'll kill you by accident."
Then, something shifted.
*BOOM...*
A sphere of tangled roots near the giant tree rose into the air, pushed up by the branches. As the wood retracted, a horrific sight was revealed—a grotesque, flesh-wrapped human monster appeared inside.
Sora glanced toward the two Uchihas and said, "I think you'll recognize this one."
The mutilated face—barely human—turned. Its empty sockets leaked black blood.
Uchiha Yun's eyes widened. "Uchiha Hino?! Uncle Tesho's son! How could he...?"
Shisui's memory clicked immediately. That name—Hino—had once belonged to a brilliant Konoha hero, a prodigy of the Uchiha clan.
Shisui's voice dropped. "Who did this? Was it Danzo?"
Sora nodded slowly, locking eyes with Sarutobi Hiruzen, whose fury had not abated.
"The rotten roots of Konoha." Sora said coldly. "He coveted the powers of the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara. So he started his twisted experiments."
"Experiments need test subjects. And when one of them gave promising results, Danzo returned his eyes to Konoha."
He turned his gaze toward Kabuto, who stood quietly behind the Fourth Hokage.
"As the only surviving Wood-style test subject, you know exactly how many innocent Konoha citizens were sacrificed for those experiments—both by Orochimaru and Danzo, don't you?"
"Impossible!!" Hiruzen bellowed. "I ordered Danzo to shut down all Wood-style experiments years ago! How could he..."
Sora cut him off. "Tell him, Tenzo. How Danzo ordered you to kill Kakashi to obtain his Sharingan."
Tenzo gave a solemn nod, confirming the statement.
Hiruzen's body trembled. He seemed shaken to his core.
But Utatane Koharu stepped forward. "Uzumaki Sora, no matter what Danzo did, this is Konoha's affair. You had no right to kill him."
Mitokado Homura added coldly, "Even with Wood-style, you won't escape from Konoha today."
Still floating atop the massive tree, Sora chuckled. "You're just like that old dog Danzo. What gives you the courage to talk like that? Strength? Power? Title?"
*Swish!*
Sora vanished—and reappeared directly in front of Homura, slashing down with his long sword.
*Whoosh... Bang!*
Two kunai struck the side of his blade, diverting it just enough. Instead of a beheading, the strike landed on Homura's shoulder.
*PFFF!*
The wound was deep—nearly splitting him in half. In a blink, Sora returned to the sky, while Homura collapsed in a pool of blood.
The stunned Hiruzen was about to act, rage in his eyes, but Minato quickly stepped forward and blocked him.
"Keep your words in check, old man." Sora said coldly. "Especially someone like you—so fond of barking, yet powerless to act. Maybe I'll drop in for a midnight visit next time."
Then he turned to Minato. "Fourth Hokage... why don't you explain to them? As someone who also uses Flying Thunder God, can I... say... destroy half of Konoha and still leave unharmed?"
Minato looked up sharply. "If you do that, then the only question will be... whether your soul can be resurrected."
'The Reaper Death Seal, huh?'
Sora scratched his head.
It wouldn't kill him. But… would his soul come back as Uzumaki Sora or Uchiha Yun?
'Damn it, I can't afford to lose my cover…'
He waved a hand, and the mutilated Hino floated toward Shisui.
"His life is hanging by a thread. If the Yamanaka clan arrives soon, they might still extract his memories. Danzo probably didn't bother placing a self-destruction seal on a failed test subject."
Shisui looked down at his fallen clansman. A trace of sorrow and gratitude flashed through his eyes.
'Danzo... you truly deserved to die!'
Hiruzen stood in silence for a long time, then looked at Shisui, and finally turned to Minato.
"I'm old. Danzo was a leader-figure of Konoha, no matter how rotten. Can he at least be allowed to... enter the memorial with dignity?"
*****
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