'A memorial tablet?!'
The words landed like a bombshell.
In an instant, everyone present—including the Anbu under the Third Hokage—shifted their gaze toward Sarutobi Hiruzen. Only Utatane Koharu stood firm, her expression unreadable.
Unlike the silent and blindly loyal Root, the Anbu directly under the Third Hokage had their own judgment. Especially the Fourth Hokage's personal Anbu unit, currently led by Tenzo—they followed orders, yes, but they thought for themselves.
They had long suspected things about Danzo. Whispers behind masks, sightings of missing shinobi, hushed questions unanswered. They knew the Third was letting old friendship cloud judgment.
Now, with Uzumaki Sora exposing the filth buried beneath Konoha's roots, the unspoken question lingered in every masked gaze: Should Danzo, a man who committed atrocities against his own people, be given a place of honor in the memorial?
Among the Anbu, one pair of eyes stared at the grotesque monster before Shisui—a bloated tumor of flesh, embedded with the blank sockets of Uchiha Hino.
"...Kill... me..."
The voice was faint, barely more than a whisper, but it rang louder than thunder in the ruined silence.
Uchiha Hino—stripped of eyes, humanity, and form—could still speak.
His only plea was death.
Shisui's Mangekyō flared, cross-shaped tomoe spinning as his fury surged. He took a step forward, eyes burning with anguish. But his voice was calm. Heavy.
"Hino, Uncle Tesho and Aunt Jing… they believe their son died a hero. That he died for Konoha. His name is inscribed on the memorial tablet."
The wind stilled. Even the broken ruin of Root seemed to hold its breath.
Water trickled from Hino's eye sockets. Tears...
His ruined lips moved, whispering, "Then… kill… me..."
Shisui's eyes welled. With a shaking hand, he drew the short tantō from his back. As he approached, his head bowed low.
"Danzo is dead. Burned to ash. It wasn't the Uchiha who struck the final blow… but if your soul can find peace in that—"
"...For… Konoha…"
The words were barely audible, but they reached every ear.
Shisui nodded. "And for the Uchiha… your soul will remain among us."
*Pshk!*
With the precision of the Sharingan, the blade pierced straight into Hino's heart.
There was no scream. No final gasp. Just a soft groan, as if the monster had finally been granted release.
Then—
*Boom!*
The flesh of Uchiha Hino twisted violently, vines erupting from his malformed body. Hashirama's cells—left unrestrained in death—reacted explosively, blooming into a massive tree that rooted itself deep into the ruins.
Shisui sheathed his blade, bowed once, and stepped back to stand silently behind the Fourth Hokage.
That single motion spoke volumes.
The Uchiha had acknowledged the Fourth Hokage's authority.
Danzo's ambitions and crimes had ended here. But his shadow—his legacy—threatened to stir unrest if left unchecked.
Hino's transformation into a tree eliminated the one living witness. His memories, potentially accessible through Yamanaka techniques, were now unreachable. And that was his final gift to Konoha.
He chose death—swift and silent—not for revenge, but for peace.
Uchiha Yun watched the towering tree, his mind replaying every word Uzumaki Sora had said. He knew the truth. Danzo's end came at the hands of Sora.
"One can even enter the memorial after experimenting on their own village's shinobi… Sarutobi Hiruzen, your face must be thicker than the Hokage Monument."
Uzumaki Sora's scornful voice echoed again from the giant tree above.
Then, calmly and with blade still dripping, he turned to Namikaze Minato.
"As Konoha's current leader, I ask you—what do you think of the Third Hokage's request?"
Silence.
Then, with a sudden shift in chakra, Sora turned his head slightly.
"Hyuga's Byakugan… quite useful, huh? But Hyuga Hiashi, are you scouting the battlefield—or eavesdropping on Konoha's leadership?"
The moment froze.
Minato sighed, troubled. He had sensed Hyuga's surveillance but refrained from calling it out. Now that Sora had exposed it, the decision to speak was no longer his.
*Swish!*
Hiashi stepped out from the shadows, his formal robe slightly rustled by the wind. He bowed to Minato.
"Greetings, Hokage-sama."
Then to Hiruzen.
"Greetings, Third Hokage."
Minato gave him a glance and exhaled quietly. But before he could speak—
Hiruzen raised his voice, weak but insistent.
"Hiashi, since you arrived, you should've seen everything. Danzo… yes, he made mistakes. But his loyalty to Konoha was unquestionable. He served since the Second Hokage's time."
He turned to Shisui.
"And the Uchiha—your clan was instrumental in founding Konoha. I have always believed they should be honored, not feared."
Hiashi scratched his head, offering an awkward smile. "I was just scoping the perimeter. That person—he has good eyes."
Clearly, he didn't want to get pulled into the tension. If not for the sheer gravity of the situation, Hiashi likely would've made a discreet exit.
But Sora wasn't done with him.
"Sharingan may be suited for combat." Sora said coolly, "But Byakugan—especially when deployed across a war front—makes a terrifying surveillance tool. Hyuga Hiashi… are you sure Kumogakure wouldn't want your eyes again?"
Hiashi stiffened.
"Didn't someone from Kumogakure already make a 'suggestion'? Since the branch family has the Curse Mark ∙ Caged Bird... why not target the main family instead?"
The tension crackled.
Hiashi's hand twitched, almost instinctively preparing for a Gentle Fist strike.
But the towering tree in front of him—Hino's final form—reminded him to restrain himself.
Sora continued, eyes narrowed.
"Do you remember how many times Konoha nearly sacrificed its own to 'maintain peace'? That includes the Hyuga."
Hiashi swallowed hard.
Minato studied him, reading both his hesitation and fear. He saw something else too.
'Resolve.'
The moment passed. But then, from the corner of his eye—
*Whirr...*
Hiashi's Byakugan activated again. This time, what he saw made his breath catch.
A pair of Mangekyō Sharingan spinning in the darkness.
Shisui's. And another pair—Uchiha Yun's—awakening into a three-edged pinwheel design.
Two Mangekyō.
Then—
*Chik!*
Behind Minato, Hatake Kakashi silently raised his headband, revealing his own Sharingan.
It pulsed with a new, eerie glow.
Three. Three elite shinobi with Mangekyō Sharingan—two of them Uchiha. One, a known war hero. One, the enigma known as Uchiha Yun.
And all of them stood with the Fourth Hokage.
Hiashi clenched his fists. He understood now.
The Third Hokage had lost his grip.
Minato... had already inherited the will of fire—and the strength to enforce it.
Konoha's power structure had shifted.
*****
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